PlaceMEANT---A New Form Of Internet Advertising--- A Better Way

Current methods of Internet advertising are inefficient, for both products and services. There is a better way, it’s called PlaceMEANT.

Advertisers are finding more ways to place their brand in all mediums, that is product placement. There is a huge opportunity that awaits advertisers.

It is product PlaceMEANT.

It completely changes the model of "pay-per-click".

After I found myself saying “wouldn’t it be great if I could” and “what they should do” so many times, I put together an idea and a business model that solves this.

PlaceMEANT capitalizes on this huge opportunity.

--No risk, or upfront investment for advertisers (could even be cash-free)
--Click fraud is virtually eliminated
--Traffic unlimited
--Capture the impulse with placement
--Solves one of the biggest obstacles for local advertising
--Eliminates a key component of search engine optimization
--Content providers work for you
--Easily implemented

Who should or could implement this application?

Google, Amazon, PayPal or Visionary Innovations

If you have the ability to implement advertising on the Internet, and are interested in a revolutionary idea, email me.

21st Carnival Of The Mobilists

This week Justin at MoPocket hosts Carnival of the Mobilists.

He does a bangup job on categorizing and analyzing all of the mobile posts.

The Carnival is becoming a great weekly read of some of the best mobile bloggers.

Great job Justin.

Mozes A Killer Mobile App?

I called this the "things my mobile searched in the physical world today".

Justin at MoPocket has a great find about Mozes and their great application.

Imagine if you could keep a record of all of your texts requests as a bookmark/website.

The concept is wonderfully simple.

Text a registered keyword or other information like an ISBN number to the short code 66937 (MOZES) and go about the rest of the day. (My advice: Don't just limit it to keywords and OUTGOING texts)

First off, shortly after sending off the SMS, you will receive one in return with more information if its relevant. But that is not all, when you get to a PC and sign into your Mozes account, your keywords are there. with more information, waiting for you to turn your offline rendezvous into real online experiences and connections.

You can even get the information forwarded to an email account.


Here's my concept and what I think Mozes should do:

Coordinate with Google to sell mobile keywords and turn Mozes into a My-Optin or OptMe type of application. (Yes, I registered those domains a while back as I searched for a partner for this type of mobile application).

Google sells advertisers specific mobile keywords that can be used for text message campaigns.

Think of the advertising Google could place along the side of your Mozes/MyOpt page that correspond with the inquiry.

When a mobile user goes to check "the things I texted today" he can do so much more with his mobile bookmarks.

Make this application a conduit between the physical world and the electronic one using your mobile.

Are you starting to see how valuable this type of application will be? Does it leapfrog the 4INFOs? Did Google already think of this or will they buy it?

Probably the best part of this is that you can text things NOW, and review later (register). This is key.

.Mobi Coming Soon...Physical World Connection's Best Friend

What will be more value than having a website that can viewed with a mobile device? (answer below)


From CMP Net Sale of mobile domains start in May .

Mobile Top Level Domain (mTLD), the firm behind the .mobi (dotmobi) domain, will begin registering Internet addresses in May geared toward mobile devices, a company executive says on Wednesday.

The domain suffix comes with a new set of design standards that dotMobi CEO Neil Edwards says will make the Internet more accessible on tiny, portable screens.

Connecting a physical object USING a mobile device.

A physical object may have more than one hyperlink, with more than one website associated with it. Phase 2 offers exponential mobile opportunities.

Gates Sees Physical World Connection

What Bill Gates is referring to is Phase 2 of the Internet.

From Redmond Channel Defining the Digital Decade

Whether addressing college students throughout North America last fall or dazzling the packed Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January, Gates returned to those phrases ("digital lifestyle" and "digital work style") again and again to describe his view of a coming transformation in computing.

Phase 2 is when every physical object have at least one hyperlink, a physical world hyperlink.

An individual's cell-phone camera might provide a constant link to information and functionality from moment to moment: "If you're shopping, you take a picture of a product or a bar code that can be recognized, and your phone can tell you where you might get a better price or [whether] you should buy a different product," he said.

This is How Microsoft Can Beat Google

Or, he continued, if you're traveling and run into a sign in a foreign language, you can use your phone to take a digital photo and transmit the image to a server that, in turn, displays the language translation on the phone.

I just hope the Vista guys aren't working on this project.

Click on Bill to see what Microsoft should do.

CTIA Wireless 2006

It's that time of year. Time for all the latest and greatest mobile applications.

I'm eager to see what this year has in store.


I have my list of companies that I am interested in.

If you have a physical world connection application that you want me to see, send me an email.

Physical World, Soon To Be Connected

Adding a scanner to a camera phone, allows the physical world to be connected with the electronic one.

From TechNews World Cell Phones May Soon Add Scanning Technology

Once a phone is outfitted with a camera, the transition to scanner is fairly straightforward. The key is adding optical character recognition features to the phone, which allow small amounts of text to be captured and digitized.

Once a phone is outfitted with a camera, the transition to scanner is fairly straightforward. The key is adding optical character recognition (OCR) features to the phone, which allow small amounts of text to be captured and digitized.

While there are some potentially interesting applications, the technology remains immature for now. One problem is there are several proprietary approaches for reading scanned data. Some approaches scan bar codes, others scan digital watermarks, and still others do visual recognition of existing logos and products.

Those aren't the only problems right now, but one thing is for sure, this application (once implemented) will offer numerous opoprtunities for consumers and corporations.

BlogLines A Web Must-Have

Don't be turned off by the name, it's not just a blog tool, but one of the best web applications and IT'S FREE.

I have talked about and use this service all the time. There's a story managing bookmarks and news never easier from Chicago Sun Times that does a great job of explaining how useful the Bloglines is.

Bloglines.com is one of the Four Horsemen of Web services, whether you're accessing it from a desktop, a notebook or a mobile device. It's one of the few services that I don't think I could really get along without.

With a free account on Bloglines, the wretched task of tracking, managing and bookmarking hundreds of sites in my Web browser -- and the likelihood that the bookmark for the site I want to visit is on a different computer -- is completely eradicated. I just type "www.bloglines.com" into the address bar of any browser on any device in the world, and up comes Bloglines' clean, one-window interface.

To the left: a column listing those hundreds of Web sites, highlighting the ones that have been updated since when I last visited. I click on a site, and a second later the right-hand side of the window shows the new, unread content.

On your phone, its already clean, one-window interface is streamlined even further into an effective one-column display, and those new articles are formatted for maximum small-screen readability

When you set up an account, be sure to get the "Sub To Bloglines" favorite link. Any time you vist a site you want to remember, just click the "Sub To Bloglines" button.

Want to follow a certain company, topic? Just type the phrase in search bar and you can be alerted if any stories mention it.

How do you get started? See that grey box at the right "Sub With Bloglines"..just click it.

Google Wi-Fi Patent Faces Challenges

Last week I discussed how Google's patent filing could play a key role in delivering location based ads. I think whoever owns this IP, will play a key role in mobile marketing.

WiFiNet has an interesting story Ggoogle's Wi-Fi patent faces challenges from Wayport

WavePort CEO Dave Vucina, said Wayport’s intellectual property (IP) portfolio in patents were focused on location-based advertising, location-based services, digital certificates (that’s identity confirmed through cryptography), and multiple applications over one Wi-Fi network (virtual networks).

Vucina wouldn’t be pinned down on specifics about how the company might or might not react to Google’s filings, noting that Wayport is in discussions with what he described as very large players that circle around location-based technology.

This conflict will be interesting to see unfold.

Apple The Mobile Marketing Powerhouse?

I mentioned previously that Apple could turn into a mobile powerhouse with some innovation.

Apple could provide the link between the PC and the mobile (and other mediums) using an iPhone with iTunes. This product/service could be a mobile marketer's dream.


IBD has a story Apple iPhone Is Near

An Apple wireless phone and service will debut late this year or early next, say analysts and industry observers.

The iPod and computer maker is in talks to buy excess network capacity from one of the big wireless phone service providers, says one person familiar with the talks.

Apple would resell minutes to its customers. That would make Apple a mobile virtual network operator

At one point, Apple worked with Nokia to develop a traditional cell phone, analysts say.

How could it be so powerful?

Billing method is already resolved, and the iTunes platform is so easy to use.

iTunes provides the conduit for the PC and mobile worlds .

I am already thinking of the link the iPhone could provide with TV and Internet advertising. It's not hard to see how the iPhone could be a universal "remote".
Remember, more shows are offering to sell episodes thru iTunes.

Bring your iPhone home and upload/download activity and content to your PC.

Keep a record of your text messages, and all of those links sent via text that you couldn't really open using your mobile.

What's next, an iTunes browser?

I have lots of thoughts on what mobile marketers could do with this.

Thoughts comments?

MOVO Mobile And Captive Interactive Promote Gillette's Fusion

Gillette offers yet another mobile marketing campaign for their Fusion razor.

Captive Interactive and MOVO introduce Mobile Marketing and Text-to-Screen solution to Spring Break 2006 night clubs in Panama City, FL and South Padre, TX.


MOVO’s hosted mobile application combined with Captive Interactive’s industry leading IMPULSE text-to-screen application creates a provocative and engaging environment that consumer brands can only achieve through mobile interactivity

Sponsored by Gillette, Spring Breakers were able to use their cell phones to text-chat with their friends, win prizes, and engage with others through this medium. The promotion was part of Gillette’s national Venus and Fusion Razor Tour.

Apparently not enough Spring Breakers watch The Apprentice .

The Gilette's Fusion brand manager is trying a bunch of ways, and companies, to promote his brand via mobile marketing.

Which one worked best?

iTexter Offers Group SMS Messaging

I think this is a great idea. This really implements Howard Rheingold's Smart Mobs concept.

Think of this application like Google Groups, only with the ability to reach all participants anywhere, anytime using text messages. I wonder when a service like MySpace adopts this into their service.

Air2Web , the leading provider of mobile messaging and marketing applications, today announced its release of iTexter, a private-labeled group messaging application that enables wireless subscribers to create mobile groups and communicate instantly with the entire group at once across all major network carriers.

View the demo

iTexter is based on short code technology, making it easy for group members to send and reply to messages. Groups can be created directly from a wireless device or a PC, and group names are stored in mobile address books for quick reference. The application also features an opt-in-only membership that supports federal SPAM regulations

mSpot Chooses Enpocket For Mobile Marketing

From PrimeZone mSpot Chooses Enpocket for mobile marketing

Mobile multimedia entertainment provider mSpot has selected the Enpocket Marketing Engine to drive customer acquisition and retention.

The Enpocket solution enables mSpot customers to weed through the bevy of multimedia content and discover audio and video content tailored to their tastes. Users can simply text to MSPOT (67768) with keywords such as music, radio, movies or sports to quickly and conveniently find out what's available.

Smart companies like mSpot realize that the one of the best ways to tackle the task of creating awareness of services in the increasingly crowded mobile media market is through in-medium marketing on the device. The winners in mobile entertainment will be those who master mobile marketing." said President and CEO Mike Baker.


To get MSpot Music Radio on your Sprint PCS phone:

From your phone's main menu, select "Downloads."
Select "Applications" and press OK.
Select "Get New" and press OK. The browser will launch and take you to the corresponding download menu.
Select the "Music" category.
Select "MSpot Music Radio" and press OK.
From the summary page, select Buy

NASCAR Should Use 2D Codes For Tickets

This process could be easier if they eliminated the printing process and just sent the 2d code to your phone. Find a sponsor to turn this into a mobile marketing campaign.

From AutoRacing Daily Race fans get electronic tickets

Talladega Superspeedway officials announced today that race fans purchasing tickets to attend the Aaron’s Dream Weekend April 28-30 will now be able to print them at home. When they arrive on race day, they will be directed to a designated line, where the ticket will be electronically scanned for validation.

Each ticket printed at home contains a unique, two-dimensional barcode that will be scanned at the venue. The barcode will be honored on the first scan and immediately becomes invalid for any subsequent entries

Mobicode And Mobiqa Offer Barcodes VIA SMS

From Creamer Media Barcoded SMS solution on offer

Mobile ticketing and mobile coupon solutions company Mobicode has announced that it will be launching its flagship service into the South African market, which will enable companies to deliver bar-coded tickets, coupons and vouchers to mobile phones through SMS.

Mobicode has signed an agreement with Mobiqa of the UK, the world supplier of mobile barcode solutions (mobi-ticket, mobi-coupons, mobi-rewardcard and mobi-pass) to provide their patented technology in South Africa.

Mobiqa are the world leaders in mobile ticketing and mobile coupon solutions based on the creation, delivery and redemption of barcodes to mobile phones.

Their products are available for SMS or MMS using linear (1D) or 2D barcodes.

Mobiqa’s unique patent-pending Optimiser uses standard, familiar SMS and MMS messaging and optimises the barcode and content for the individual handset and delivery method.

Recently Mobiqa announced that O2 is in talks for a major trial of mobile vouchers.

Sprint Launches InfoSpace's FindIt

What I see is a carrier focusing on the consumer first, then worrying about advertising later. There's another industry giant that used this thinking to create the biggest advertising company on the Internet.

This has it all, a consumer application for info, location based and carrier support.

From Seattle Times InfoSpace launches mobile search

Using local mobile search, information can be found based on location rather than entering an address. InfoSpace of Bellevue has incorporated this technology in a new version of its Find It application, which is launching today on the Sprint and Nextel networks.

The application, which must be downloaded to the phone to work, will cost $2.99 a month for unlimited searches, or roughly the price of two phone calls to 411. It will be available on about 25 handsets, which reaches nearly 30 million of Sprint Nextel subscribers.

Sprint will first generate revenues by making the consumer pay. How long before they figure out how to include advertising for this? Not long.

By clicking on categories, you can search through a number of options, such as the nearest ATM, movie theaters, banks, malls, parking garages, cleaners, restaurants and more. Click on "restaurants," and you can choose type of cuisine. If you need help finding the place, it will provide turn-by-turn directions or a map.

The service works on GPS-enabled phones and phones that don't have GPS by using the nearest cellphone tower as a locator

Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft, other Seattle-area companies are in the field. Those include Medio Systems , which is targeting a broader set of search capabilities, and Bellevue-based Action Engine

What happens to SMS search applications once other carriers get this type of platform on the phone?

Dijji, (Dwango Wireless) Considering Liquidation

What a shame, Dwango could have done so much more with the clients they have. I sent them a couple emails a few months back offering some creative ideas.

There's one company in particular, with some innovation, could be a mobile marketing powerhouse.

From Seattle PI Mobile ring-tone provider considering liquidation

Dijji Corp , the Seattle company, formerly known as Dwango Wireless, said it will not be able to file the report on time because it is "considering near term strategic alternatives, including the potential sale or orderly liquidation and winding up of the company.

Just being in the mobile space isn't enough, you're going to need innovation.

Clickatell And MultiMode Merge

The mobile space is definitely heating up. This looks like a good fit.
Clickatell merges with MultiMode


Clickatell is the #1 mobile messaging provider on the Web with over 6,000 customers in over 180 countries.

MultiMode, Inc., a well-respected application service provider that offers global delivery of time-critical notifications to communication devices of all types

Multimodal messaging allows users to choose on which devices they would like to be reached for time-critical alert messaging. Text, voice, email, fax and pager alerts can be sent to one or more communication devices according to customer preference; including every mobile phone, fax machine, land line phone, text pager and IP-connected device in the world

Google Versus Perfect 10

The Google and Perfect 10 magazine copyright lawsuit is testing the legality of Google's Image Search program, but it could also offer a great opportunity for mobile marketers. There are lots of reasons why this story needs attention :)

From Times Dispatch Google versus Perfect 10-- The real story


The court ruled that Google didn't infringe the copyright to the full-sized images belonging to Perfect 10 because Google didn't host those full-sized images on Google computers. Google merely linked to those postings, and such linking didn't make Google liable.

The court also found that Google shouldn't be held liable for the copyright infringement of others in wrongfully reposting Perfect 10's pictures.

Those wins for Google are huge. Had the rulings gone the other way, they might have killed the Image Search program altogether and cast a cloud over all of Google's Web search functions.

As for Google's loss, the court ruled that Google infringed Perfect 10's copyrights by posting thumbnail images (which form the grid of initial search results) of illegally reposted pictures found on the Web, but only because Perfect 10 had a deal to license thumbnails of their pictures for use on mobile-phone displays.

The court said mobile-phone users might use Google to find those phone images for free rather than paying Perfect 10's business partner to obtain them.

I'm curious why Perfect 10 would license images for mobile-phone displays only?
Is it because mobile searching is much slower, and people are less likely to rebroadcast?

I used my mobile phone and Google Mobile to get Perfect 10 images, what they returned is the same images I got on my PC.

Here are a couple upcoming conflicts and opportunities that I see:

What if I take a picture using my camera phone and upload it to the Net?

What if there is a mobile marketing service (physical world connection) that offers the ability to take a picture of an image in a Perfect 10 magazine and be directed to a website, or content? Hint hint, wink wink, nod nod.

Magazine sales, brand recognition, exposure and content, this idea has all the goodies for a great mobile marketing campaign. Did any of these guys think about offering it?

I thought about this mobile marketing idea when the suit first started, but realized Perfect 10 wouldn't be able to act on it at the time. All it takes is a little Vision

Ok you can go back to the top of the page now, enough pondering.

Powerful Pondering

There's something I want to share with my readers.

A couple weeks ago, I was asked if I could give a presentation on where I think mobile is headed, to one of the largest mobile players in the world.

This is a company that implements innovative ideas, and I hope after they hear my visions, some are included.

Someday I hope to be able to share these ideas on the blog.

I think you would be surprised and stimulated with some of my insights.

The Physical World Is Looking For Innovators

This week BusinessWeek has a couple physical world connection nuggets.

From BusinessWeek The bar code learns some new tricks

Japanese startup Content Idea of Asia (CIA) says it has invented a printable bar code that stores bulky data files such as video clips in a space just the size of a postage stamp.

These can be swiped with a cell phone and the contents then viewed on the phon'e small screen.

CIA's PM Code adds color.

Snap a picture with the cell phone's camera, and the codes can activate the handset's Internet service to pull up an advertiser's home page.

That is connecting the physical world with the electronic one.

In a story called Innovation-The view from the top

IBM conducts a survey of CEOs and government leaders every two years to find out what's high on their agendas. This year's topic: innovation.

CEOs and business leaders see all roads lead to innovation.

Here's the kicker.
"with the Internet and the proliferation of semiconductors, you'll end up with trillions of things connected-not just individuals but cars, roads, homes, applicances, health-care data, and pacemakers.

Yes, that is what I have been calling, "Physical World Connection".

Now more than ever, the opportunities are endless for people with Vision

Visionary Innovations Offers Innovation Through Imagination

Last Fall when I was reading my M.I.T. Technology Review magazine, I saw a story and immediately thought of a business idea, a way to get free advertising on Google.

I gave Pondering Primate readers a tease, a quiz. It was called Do You See What I See?

"I just got this months issue of Technology Review magazine and it has a great story called "Killer Maps" that discusses location-based services using GPS and maps . It discusses how Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are racing to utilize maps for information retrieval.

That part of the story isn't anything new but there was one thing that I saw that made me do a double take. Truly ingenious advertising from a company that I would never expect to come from."

I followed up with the answer called Free Advertising On Google

Target painted their logo on the top of their store and it is clearly visible when using Google Earth.

A Pondering Primate Possibility, could owners of buildings use the top of their rooftops and sell advertising?

Would this be a way to get free advertising on Google?

Business 2.0 is reporting in this months issue that Jay Saber, founder of RoofAds in Redwood City, Calif has reported a surge of interest in his company's rooftop advertising products.

This is what Visionary Innovations does.

We provide innovation through imagination. We find numerous ways to capitalize on innovative and disruptive thinking. Pondering can be profitable.

Im glad to see a company prosper from this thinking.

ActiveSymbol Debuts Camera Phone Mobile Marketing Tool

Another physical world connection company and another great mobile marketing campaign.

ActiveSymbols lables it a visual "Google" for customers.

From CBS Marketwatch ActiveSymbols debuts MobilePromote

Racing fans attending this weekend's Toyota Indy 300 at Miami's Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 26 will be invited to "Take a Mobile Test Lap" with MobilePromote 1.0, a fun, new service for mobile consumers.

Cell phone users will be able to subscribe to live race-day alerts and download rich content using this brand-new mobile imaging technology service offered by ActiveSymbols , a Logicalis Company and a sponsor of the Rahal Letterman Racing IndyCar team.

View the demo

The MobilePromote service enables mobile consumers with popular camera phones, from manufacturers such as Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Hewlett-Packard, to send text messages or pictures to an online ActiveSymbols database.

A unique and patent-pending key attribute of the ActiveSymbols technology is its ability to interpret a photograph taken with an auto-focus camera, intelligently match it with an image in its database, and return a response appropriate to the photograph and the time it was taken.

ActiveSymbols works with:
Text Messaging, 1D Barcodes, 2D Barcodes, Branded 2D Symbols, any Branded Image (logo)

Once the message is received, it is matched against a sponsor's promotion and a rich content message link is returned to the caller.

What can ActiveSymbols do?

Tyson Likes Mobile Marketing

Granted you had a captive audience, but 57% is a remarkable participation figure for any mobile marketing campaign.

From Promo Magazine Tyson flips over mobile marketing

Tyson Foods scored high with its text-messaging campaign at the Tyson American Cup international gymnastics competition earlier this month.

The on-site promo invited spectators to text a message to World Champion gymnast Chellsie Memmel for a chance to win seats on the floor during the March 4 competition. Halfway through the gymnastics competition, one winner got a call from Memmel to meet her on the floor and watch the rest of the program together.

All other participants got a follow-up message from Memmel the next day, thanking them for playing and encouraging them to stay in contact with Tyson online. Fifty-seven percent of the audience entered the contest.

Gymnasts are a strategic niche target for Tyson, because their training diet relies heavily on lean protein. Arnold Brand Promotions, Boston, handles Tyson promos, with parent Arnold Worldwide as the lead agency on advertising. Tech firm LocaModa , Somerville, MA, executed the text-message contest at the tournament

Slingbox Goes Mobile

This application opens up a Pandora's Box of Pondering Primate possibilities. Talk about turning the mobile phone into a remote control.

From GeekZone SlingMedia releases SlingPLayer Mobile

A Slingbox enables you to watch your TV programming from wherever you are by turning virtually any Internet-connected PC into your personal TV

SlingPlayer Mobile is a new software package that gives Slingbox owners the ability to watch and control their home TV from any network-enabled mobile phone or handheld computer (PDA) powered by Windows Mobile.

This mobile application, could be A catalyst for physical world connection adoption.

Add some permission marketing ideas and this could be a very powerful mobile marketing tool. Could there be a creative way to get permission by recording a program?

I am already thinking of the numerous applications and mobile marketing ideas for this.

Mobile Marketing Is Here

This week Verisign acquired m-Qube and now BusinessWeek is highlighting this space, mobile marketing isn't coming, it's here.. Watch for more consolidation.

From Biz Week Now playing on your cell phone

Advertisers are jumping on the mobile marketing bandwagon. Will subscribers join them?

Discovery Channel's I Shouldn't Be Alive profiles people who have survived some pretty unusual (and life-threatening) ordeals, from shipwrecks to snowstorms. It's also relying on an unconventional way to hype the show: cell-phone marketing, done by ipsh!

Julie Willis, senior vice-president for marketing at Discovery says "We are getting a lot bolder about mobile marketing," she says. "This is something everybody should be doing."

I wouldn't say that the Discovery Channel targets the key demographic for mobile marketing, but if THEY are saying this, listen.

Mobile ads are highly effective. Last summer, when ipsh incorporated a special SMS code into 50 million McDonald's Big Mac packages (burger fans could dial a special SMS code on their mobiles for a chance to win concert tickets), the fast-food chain attributed a 3% sales increase to the push, Mehta says.

3% increase to McDonalds, what is that worth? What did they spend for that?

ipsh! was acquired by Omnicom last Fall. Who is next on the list ?

It only makes sense for an advertising agency that represent big/lots of brands, or a large content provider, to consider buying a mobile marketing company. You wouldn't see a TV station buy an advertising company would you?

A trickle of mobile-marketing dollars may soon become a flood, transforming the way wireless-service providers and their vendors do business.

There is great value in people/companies that have the creativity of an advertiser, but also understand how mobile marketing works (applications, phone limitations, rules etc).

This creates an enormous opportunity for individuals with Vision

Google Files Patent For LBS Ads

How will this affect the mobile marketing side. What happens when the majority of mobile phones are Wi-Fi enabled? What impact will this have on location based intellectual property utilizing GPS?

From ClickZ Google seeks patent for targeting ads on Wi-Fi hotspots

Google engineers have applied for a patent on a way to target ads based on the location of the wireless access point to which a user connects, among other factors.

It sounds like it relates to the "pull" form of location based advertising, where the user initiates the interaction.

"Push" is when an ad is delivered to you when you enter a specific location.

It describes a method by which an end user accessing the Internet via a wireless access point (WAP) would be served advertisements based on factors such as the geographic location of the WAP, a behavioral profile of users of the WAP, the vertical market served by the WAP's owner, or other predetermined criteria.

Location-based search, especially for mobile users, has broad implications for content providers and advertisers.

Barablu Offers Free Mobile to Mobile Calls

From Digital Lifestyle Barablu offers free mobile to mobile calls

A new service, Barablu , launches today claiming to offer free voice calls and text messages between mobile phones.

The phone handsets that work with this service must support WiFi - and Barablu have gone to great lengths of draw this to our attention.

Simply get a WiFi-enabled mobile phone, put the Barablu software on and you're able to chat freely to anyone else on their service, no matter what platform they're on.

Like other VoIP offerings, Barablu offers the ability to call people on 'normal' landlines who aren't on their network - at a charge

MIVA Offers Pay-Per-Text Mobile Service

From NetImperative MIVA launches pay-per-text mobile ad service

Performance marketing network MIVA announced yesterday that it will launch a new Pay-Per-Text ad channel that helps advertisers reach potential customers through SMS called TXT/AD .

The ad channel is being launched in the U.K. through an exclusive deal with The Number, which is Britain’s leading directory assistance service and the company behind the 118 118 brand.

A car hire company, for example, could now buy space in every text message sent in response to 118 118 enquiries for companies in the 'airlines' Ad Group

TXT/AD will allow advertisers to buy ad space within 118 118 text messages for the first time, and the ads will include advertisers’ phone numbers and special offers

OTAir Launches Nationwide Text Message Service

From PR Web OTAir introduces mobile text messaging marketing service

OTAir LLC, a Richmond, VA based mobile marketing and media firm, announced today the introduction of mobile text message marketing products and services for businesses and consumers.

Now available nationwide, OTAir enables consumers to actively engage a company's marketing media to receive an immediate incentive, such as a coupon, or for further information. The SMS or text message responses are trackable by the advertiser in real-time while maintaining mobile user privacy.

Jim Washok and Chris Littleton, co-founders of OTAir, explain their suite of initial services. “TXTmarkTM is our core product that permits customers to actively engage a company’s advertising by using the text messaging feature of their cell phones,” says Washok.

“For example, if a fast food restaurant wants to offer a discount coupon, they simply add their reserved keyword and the OTAir short code to their advertising, instructing prospective customers to ‘Text Burger To 68247 (OTAIR) To Receive A Discount Coupon’ ".


“The interested customer simply sends a text message”, continued Washok, “and within a minute, receives a text message reply that is a coupon. The customer then goes to the restaurant, shows the text message, and receives the displayed discount. It’s that simple.”

For more info text OTAIR to 68247

Will ZoneTag Be A Mobile Marketing Tool?

I saw this application and immediately thought of the mobile marketing tool ability and how this could be used for location based services.

ZoneTag is a research prototype from Yahoo! Research.

ZoneTag can automatically tag your photos with the location, based on the cell tower, in which they were taken. The location of the cell tower is not known until our user community updates the city, state, or zip code of their photos on Flickr.

ZoneTag is then able to map the cell tower to the location.

If a user uses ZoneTag with a Bluetooth GPS unit, then the GPS coordinates of the image will be uploaded together with a cell ID.

This cell ID corresponds with the city, state and zip code of those GPS coordinates and so Yahoo is able to determine the exact location .

There are many applications Yahoo could use this for. Does Google have a LBS application yet?

Currently, ZoneTag only works on Nokia Series 60 phones. ZoneTag is known to work on 6620, 6670, 6680, 6681, 6682, 7610 and N70 models, and it is likely to work on 3230, 6630, 6260 as well.

PayPal Mobile Uses Text Messages

How will PayPal Mobile affect the wireless carrier billing monopoly?

From Reuters PayPay to offer paying by text message

PayPal , the world's largest supplier of online payment services, is preparing to offer a service for consumers to make purchases or money transfers using simple text messaging via mobile telephones, the company said on Wednesday.

The move to offer a mobile payment service holds out the prospect of reaching vast markets in the developing world where phones, rather than computers, are the main way to connect to the Internet.

When introduced, mobile phone users will be able to send a text message to 729725 (the spelling of PayPal on a numeric handset keypad) with the amount of money the sender wishes to transfer and the recipient's phone number.

A PayPal computer then calls back the text message sender on the phone and asks the user to enter a secret PIN to confirm the transaction. PayPal immediately notifies the recipient and tells it how to claim the payment online.

The mobile commerce application I like is "Text to Buy", and I think will be a huge mobile marketing tool.

One feature, called Text to Buy, would allow magazine readers, for example, to buy advertised items such as clothes, concert tickets or music or movie-video discs using their mobile phones, by sending product codes located in the ads

The service, known as PayPal Mobile, will be launched in the next couple of weeks in the United States, Canada and Britain, a spokeswoman said. Other markets worldwide will follow

NYPD Uses Physical World Connection

This doesn't involve a mobile phone (at least not yet), but it shows how valuable scanning an image in the physical world will be.

From NY Daily News N.Y.C.'s crime fight to get more eyes

The NYPD is installing 505 surveillance cameras around the city - and pushing to safeguard lower Manhattan with a "ring of steel" that could track hundreds of thousands of people and cars a day, authorities revealed yesterday.

The NYPD also has applied for $81.5 million in federal aid to install surveillance cameras, computerized license plate readers and vehicle barriers around lower Manhattan, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.

The cameras capture images of license plates and drivers' faces. Officials then run the license plates through a database of stolen cars and terrorism suspects

Voice Activated Mobile Search From Promptu

Who scoops these guys up first?

This is the perfect type of application that consumers would pressure carriers to adopt. It is FOR the consumer, but advertisers can benefit too.

From Sys Con Promptu launches voice-activated mobile search

Promptu , formerly known as Agile TV, a leading innovator of voice-activated search and navigation services, announced today that it is bringing its award-winning technology to the mobile marketplace for the first time.

Promptu will enable mobile subscribers to use their voice to search for, discover, and easily purchase content on their handsets simply by asking for it.

Promptu provides mobile subscribers easy access to the vast library of content offered by their wireless carrier whether its music, videos, ringtones, games, wallpapers, or other applications.

Promptu replaces "send keyword to shortcode" with "Find x". Think mobile marketers and carriers will like this. Me thinks so.

See the demo

As their site says "Voice navigation will do for the phone, what the mouse did for the PC"

Once a carrier has deployed Promptu's economical and scalable network-based solution, consumers can use a simple, phone-based application to search for content by title, personality, brand or genre simply by pressing one button and issuing a voice command rather than going through countless clicks and scrolls on their handset.

To search with Promptu, users say a voice command such as "Find Coldplay" or "Find ESPN" into their handset and results are returned within a few seconds.

If they can offer the option to associate a word with a site like "Find Google", along with a query window (for privacy), you could be looking at your first complete mobile search engine.

The only problem I see is matching where you want to go with what words you need to say. That should be easy to resolve.

Another company that I will get more info from at CTIA show.

Text Message Alerts And Reminders

Did you ever wish you could have an alert or reminder sent to your cellphone?

Now you can with ToTheCell

The options include date, time, frequency and even a message you can submit.

Get stock quotes, weather alerts and even surf reports too.

Where2Talk Offers PTT and LBS

From LBS Zone Where2Talk offers PTT and LBS

Clarity Communication Systems Inc., a leading provider of Push-to-Talk (PTT) solutions and Location-Based Services (LBS) for the wireless industry, will officially introduce its Where2TalkTM solution at CTIA Wireless 2006, Las Vegas, April 5th – 7th.

Where2Talk combines "location at-a-glance" with the instant calling and presence capabilities of PTT. The PTT contact list now presents who is available and where they’re located.

The PTT contact list on the mobile phone displays all contacts on the main screen with their city/state location visible at-a-glance. In addition to being able to instantly call individuals and groups, the user can obtain a map of each contact’s location, street address, and directions

Pizza Coupons By Text Message

From CNN Money Text message pizza coupons

More local businesses may try to drum up business by sending ads and discount offers to your cell phone. But will users accept marketing by mobile? They will if it's relevant and convienent.

You know those pizza coupons you find hanging on the doorknob when you get home?

Soon you'll be getting the equivalent on your cell phone, if the plans of mobile marketers come to fruition.

They also allow for targeted marketing. In the Boston area, a number of companies have signed up with MobileLime, a startup that allows consumers to pay for purchases with their cell phones. Users also can opt in to get text messages of special promotions -- including, yes, deals on pizza.

See how easy a small business can implement a mobile marketing campaign.

Raffi Hovagimian, owner of Waltham Pizza, says that more than 100 of his customers have signed up for MobileLime, most of them regulars who order pizza several times a week. When he recently started a 15% discount for MobileLime customers, he sent out text messages to customers, and he says he plans to do more mobile marketing.

Much depends on location and context, says Nihal Mehta, founder and CEO of Ipsh , a mobile-messaging services company that has consulted with clients ranging from Madonna to McDonald's (Research).

As advertisers experiment with the medium, they may find it's more cost-effective to advertise a pizza shop down the street than a luxury car. And text messages have one key advantage over door-hangers: They're infinitely easier to discard.

Cognex Seeks To Invalidate A 2D Symbology Patent

Expect to see more of this patent fighting as we get closer to physical world connection being adopted.
Cognex seeks to invalidate 2D symbology patent

patent 5,612,524

This space and application will be too big, and intellectual property will be key.

Google Finance Beta

John Battelle is reporting that Google Finance beta has lanched

Google Finance

As soon as they incorporate this feature (along with news alerts)into news/home page, MyYahoo days are over.

What a nice site.

They have charts and even a discussion group. The content creation machine continues.

Neven Vision Offers Physical World Connection Using Images

Remember an image is a physical world hyperlink too.

Two major physical world connection events took place this week.

NTT Docomo announced they would be embedding Neven Vision's image recognition technology on their phones, and Bill Gates highlighted the importance digital images will have in the new platform for interactive advertising and media companies.

A major wireless carrier is implementing the physical world connection.

My interview with Neven Vision's CEO Alex Cory came at a perfect time.

Neven Vision offers the ability for mobile phones to interact directly with real world images to get offers, contest, transactions and more. Their iscout application focuses on "points of interest" and allows mobile phones to "see" and understand visual imagery which then offers a direct connect function.

Neven Vision is able to turn an image INTO a physical world hyperlink. Think about that. By taking an image and extracting "points of interest", they can identify the image and then direct the user to the targeted site or content....from ANY IMAGE.

Their mobile technology can even resolve a barcode today.

The focus of physical world connection has centered around a code, barcode or 2d code. A barcode is usually on packaging, while a 2d code has to be added to make an object hyperlinkable.


Neven Vision uses existing images to make any packaging it Internet accessable.

Last year Neven and Coca Cola teamed up for a mobile marketing campaign that made the CocaCola logo a mobile hyperlink.

I can see the problem coming for the 2d code players.

They can function great as hyperlinks, but there are many companies that offer them which will lead to lots of closed networks. This is fragmented and unless there's one application that can read ALL of them, mass adoption will never occur.

If you don't have a logo or barcode and don't want to put a 2d code on your advertsing, Neven Vision solves this problem. They can read a barcode, 2d code, or any image.

When NTT Docomo announced they were putting Neven's application on their phones, I could see a physical world "platform" being adopted how quickly other applications could come from this. It's nice to see a major wireless provider recognize how big the physical world connection application will be.

Expect to see them launch 2 mobile marketing campaigns with major brands shortly.

I plan on meeting in person with them at CTIA show and show in detail how this technology works with pictures.

A Mobile Marketing Menage A Trois

I hope this isn't a sign of what's to come with mobile marketing.

I am now watching The Apprentice just to see what kind of mobile marketing/text messaging campaign they will offer, but what I see a mobile marketing mess.

For starters, there's a half page ad in the TV Guide titled "It's Crunch Time in the Boardroom"
Sign up for tonight's episode reminder by sending "CRUNCH" to 48433.

48433 short code is registered to Direct TV.

During the show last night, they ask you to go to www.nbc.com for cell phone text messages. Text APP to NBCTV (62288) to get text messages from The Donald.

Why would they want viewers to leave the screen? Wouldn't it make more sense to just have people send a text during the show? Is it easier to get permission via a website than a text?

ipsh! with short code 65570, is also providing a text messaging campaign around The Apprentice.

Three shortcodes around one show. Wrong.

There should be ONE short code with different keywords for different advertisers. Who can remember all of these codes. It is this shortsightedness that will just lead everyone to one or two shortcodes they can remember.

Did anyone notice the ad from Quaker Oats cereal during the show? Quaker Oats versus Post Cereal. Interesting, kind of like using a trademark for a search engine. I'm surprised NBC allowed that.

m-Qube Is m-Confusing

I find it strange that m-Qube agreed to be acquired by Verisign this am for $250m when the figures we see here are at $340 to 400m.

Will there be a bidding war?

From BizJournals Motricity in talks to make $340m deal

This story was posted on Friday March 17, 2006.

Several sources say New Enterprise Associates, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital concern, is working with Motricity to structure a $340 million buyout of M-Qube Inc., a Masschusetts-based supplier of wireless features run by Jeffrey Glass.

Motricity, which is headed by CEO Ryan Wuerch, plans to pay for the acquisition with $200 million in cash and $140 million in preferred stock. Sources say negotiations are almost final, but the price tag could go even higher and touch $400 million.

Motricity sells the plumbing necessary for cell-phone users to download music and games. By buying M-Qube, it would gain access to customers such as CBS Corp. that use M-Qube's technology to transmit news clips and alerts on cell-phone screens.

Thoughts, comments?

How Could American Idol Be American Ideal?

While I think American Idol has done a great job promoting text messaging, I think they are missing a huge opportunity for mobile marketing.

From IndyStar American Idol a Cingular sensation

No matter who triumphs in this year's "American Idol" competition, Cingular Wireless may be the biggest winner.

Cingular Wireless is making out better than any of the contestants in the nationally televised talent show because of the boost it gets in text messaging from customers who vote for their favorite performer.

Cingular has an exclusive deal with the show's producers that lets its customers text in their votes instead of trying to call in on often-busy lines.

Last season, 41.5 million text votes were sent in; Cingular charges $19.99 per month for a text package with 2,500 messages included and 10 cents per message on a pay-as-you-go plan, meaning the company raked in as much as $4.15 million in text messaging fees from "American Idol" votes alone last year.

41.5 potential interactive mobile ads. Think of the potential advertisers could have with this.

Let's say of the 41.5 there's 5 million individuals. How much would an advertiser pay for this data? What could they do with this?

$4.15 million is peanuts compared to a creative mobile campaign.

Verisign Acquires mQube

This deal is sending ripples throughh the mobile marketing space.

From MoneyCentral VeriSign Acquires m-Qube

March 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- VeriSign, Inc. VRSN, the leading provider of intelligent infrastructure services for the Internet and telecommunications networks, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire m-Qube, a leading mobile channel enabler that helps companies develop, deliver and bill for mobile content, applications and messaging services.

m-Qube , based in Watertown, Massachusetts, is privately held with 200 employees across North America. The acquisition price is $250 million dollars net of cash

m-Qube is the recognized market leader in delivering premium messaging and content services that can reach more than 200 million wireless subscribers in North America.

The company's intelligent application platform powers hundreds of mobile storefronts and marketing campaigns for customers including Sony Pictures, CBS, Major League Baseball Advanced Media, Warner Music Group, Reuters, GQ, Virgin Mobile Canada and Telus Mobility

What Will The Fundamental Development Platform Offer?

From Red Herring Google plans to boost CapEx

Google plans to significantly crank up its capital expenditures in 2006, signaling the search giant is anything but complacent about its 60 percent share of the worldwide search market.

The company is likely to focus on acquisitions in the mobile technology industry, as Google described the mobile phone as a “fundamental development platform.”

What will that platform offer?

Google is also aggressively expanding its advertising programs. It has already begun testing ad placements alongside its mobile search offering in Japan.

Carnival Of The Mobilists 19

This week C.Enrique Ortiz hosts the ninteenth issue of the Carnival Of The Mobilists

Each week we new mobile bloggers are submitting their thoughts.

Hope to see the Carnival Crew at CTIA.

2006 A Mobile Experiment

From TMC Net 2006 The Year of Mobile Advertising Expermentation

As advertisers and operators seek out the best business model, 2006 will be a year of experimentation for the emerging mobile advertising market.

The next five years will see a shift by major brands from simple SMS mobile marketing to more sophisticated multimedia advertising. By 2007, brands will know what works, and mobile advertising will become mainstream by 2008.

These are some of the key findings from visiongain's new report, entitled "Mobile advertising and marketing: Market analysis and forecasts 2006-2011".

The increasing availability of multimedia content is opening a large opportunity for sophisticated forms of mobile advertising.

Send email for report

Fandango And Cingular Offer Movie Info

Fandango calls on Cingular for ticket deal
Now Cingular Wireless users can quickly, easily and discreetly check reviews, showtimes and purchase tickets using their mobile.

Developed in conjunction with Crisp Wireless , users of Fandango can access it at mobile.fandango.com , from Google's toolbar or by text message (text zipcode to 36346) and instantly receive showtimes and ticket availability for nearby theaters and other movie information.

Cingular customers can also dial *V to access showtimes and ticketing using voice commands as part of Cingular's Voice Info Service.

Want to know what else could be done with this campaign?

Motorola Introduces Optical Character Recognition

What will Motorola decide to scan next?

From InfoWorld Motorola offers optical character recognition software on the Ming in China

Motorola Inc. is making life a little easier for Chinese executives. The company's latest smart phone, the Ming, packs a 2-megapixel camera that doubles as a business card scanner.

Motorola engineers added a card scanner and optical character-recognition software to the Ming handset.

Great find by Textually