China Uses 1D Barcodes For Physical World Connection

How does a business card in China disrupt Physical World Connection?

A consumer in China shows us how China is starting to use 1D barcodes on business cards. The ability to generate and scan a 1d barcode with a mobile phone has enormous implications.


CamClic allows anyone to create AND scan 1D barcodes (in addition to 2D codes) with a camera phone.

The CamClic solution has solved one of the biggest hurdles of Physical World Connection, scanning a 1d code with a mobile phone.

What does that really mean to advertisers, brands, search engines and consumers?

If the barcodes that are already on packaging can now be scanned with a mobile phone, and consumers can create their own 1d barcode, has the mobile code standard already been established?

There are over 3 billion unique barcodes. A 12 oz can of Coke has one, the 16 oz has another etc. While that 12 oz can of Coke has one physical world hyperlink, it represents millions of ways to directly connect a consumer to Coke.

Billions of individual items/brands represent trillions of physical world hyperlinks waiting to be connected to the Net.

Every product with a barcode, Coke cans, Fergie CDs, just need to be "turned on". Google can add over 3 billion pages of unique data to their index by assigning a URL (website) AND FUNCTIONS to a barcode. Functions could include (coupons, video, consumer report, warranty, tech support, reorder etc)

Do you think barcode owners could find uses for this? More importantly, would consumers?

The killer app for Mobile Advertising will be a portal/platform that can “turn on” AND create physical world hyperlinks.

I explained how Microsoft can beat Google this way.

Up until now, 1d codes have been kept in a closed network. Cashiers and stockboys scan a 1d code for product information and checkout. The information delivered FROM the barcode comes from servers inside the store network....(intranet).

You can also type in a UPC code into a search engine and get a general summary of the product and manufacturer.

What happens when Google, Apple or Microsoft introduce a mobile barcode scanning application that allows anyone to scan a barcode and be connected to the Net. This will open the network for trillions of objects.

How does a barcode threaten search engines?

The physical world hyperlink will now allow website owners to direct traffic to their site with a physical object rather than a search engine. A barcode on a product replaces "For more information visit our website". That’s what I call disruptive.

However, here's how Google connects the physical world

Great thought goes into the packaging of a product, but one thing is put on every package that brands have never been able to use before, until now. The barcode. Its universal, can be scanned/typed, doesn’t take up any more room on the product to market, and can now provide a direct connection w/ the Internet…a Physical World Hyperlink.

In their massive content land grab, would Google ever consider acquiring the UPC database? Would they need to if they could just link them using their "Google Click" mobile application?

Google thrives on acquiring and creating content, the other opportunity I see for Google with physical world hyperlinks is social networking.

Google could offer bloggers, website owners, MySpacers or their own social network site a chance to create their own 1D code (physical world hyperlink) . If both brands and consumers used this type of mobile code, wouldn't that make it the default "standard" for mobile code scanning?

CamClic now makes it possible to connect all items with a 1d barcode to the Internet using a mobile phone AND allows users to create their own physical world hyperlink. This will have a huge impact on advertising and social networking.

Comments, thoughts?

Fed Questions Contactless Payments

From InfoWorld Fed Questions Contactless Payments

As major corporations like CVS, McDonald's, and Walgreens begin deploying new RF, or "contactless," payment technology, the Federal Reserve is taking a closer look at the technology and is asking the payment industry and card companies, among other questions, whether the new payment systems are secure.

Contactless payment technology uses RF technology embedded in credit cards, mobile phones, or USB devices to negotiate credit and debit transactions. As opposed to older generation magnetic strip technology, the RF cards can be waved in front of a card reader.

The rapid deployment of RF-equipped contactless payment technology was behind a meeting at the Boston Federal Reserve in May. According to interviews with those at the meeting, the payments industry argued that, while not foolproof, the new RF payments systems are a vast improvement over existing, "magnetic stripe" payments technology and that Americans' casual handling of their credit cards poses a far greater risk to sensitive financial information than wireless hackers that might target the cards.

"Adoption is growing at a faster rate than any other payment technology introduced in the last 50 years,".

Team Monkee Do To Appear At IronMan Germany

The Pondering Primate and Team Monkee Do are off to race in IronMan Germany on Sunday July 1, 2007 in Frankfurt.

350,000 expected spectators makes this the largest single sporting event in Europe.


Team Monkee Do will be wearing bib number 2211. Follow the race live

Monkee Do has appeared at various Ironman races.

Nokia Wants To Connect Physical Objects With Camera Phone Using "Point Find"

There is no doubt, Physical World Connection is heating up in a big way.

The ability to scan or click on any type of physical world hyperlink (barcode, image, sound) will have a profound impact on the mobile space.

Nokia has already started offering the ability to create and scan 2d codes (mobile codes). Now they want to introduce image recognition using a camera phone.

Look at what has happened with the image recognition players recently.

Last year Google acquired image and facial recognition player NevenVision.

Microsoft's Lincoln is their own image recognition application that lets people search the Internet on their cell phones using a camera instead of a keypad.

A year ago image recognition player Mobot was acquired by a mobile marketing company for approximately $10m. Visionary Innovations was instrumental in what was called, "The Marketing Wedding of the Year".

From Red Herring Nokia To Offer Physical World Connection

"What if people could click on objects in the real world in much the same way they click on text, pictures, and icons on the Web? That seemingly sci-fi scenario could soon come to pass if Nokia has its way.

The cell phone giant plans to launch an advertising service next year that will use pattern-recognition technology to let people point camera phones at cars, movie posters, and other objects and click to get various information. A person might, for example, use what Nokia is calling its Point&Find service to take a picture of a CD cover and then, once the image has been matched in a database, buy and download tracks via a site on the mobile Internet.

The company is currently looking for partners in advertising, media, and retailing to take part in trials it hopes to start in various parts of the world in August, Philipp Schloter, senior business development manager at Nokia’s Palo Alto, California, research center, told Red Herring. The aim is to launch a commercial service in 2008, Mr. Schloter said. Initially Point&Find will work only with Nokia phones, but the company says it intends to make the service available for use on any phone using the Symbian operating system.

The Nokia system is not without precedents. In Europe, posters and print ads carry codes people can type in to phones as text messages to get more product information.

Point&Find works using the same sorts of pattern recognition techniques developed for security applications such as retinal scanning. Nokia acquired its technology when it bought Silicon Valley startup Pixto in April."

Interesting quote:

Niek van Veen, associate analyst at Forrester Research, said Point&Find has potential. Anything that makes it easier for consumers to use mobile Internet services is good, he said. But the technology’s success or failure will ultimately depend on the end user’s experience. When he’s tried camera phone and barcode based systems, he’s quite often encountered problems. “Usually it’s [just] the light level,” he said, but this kind of uncertainty is unsettling for consumers. “If it is going to be really successful, it has to work straight out of the box.”

And here's a quote last week from HookCode on why they chose Nextcode's ConnexTo's platform for their mobile code scanning solution.

"mCode and the ConnexTo decoder were engineered for mobile phone optics.
With other codes, you have to hold the camera just right, in the right light, because they were made to be scanned by that laser thing at the grocery store - not your mobile phone"

The ability to use your camera phone to connect physical objects to the Internet (Physical World Connection) is coming fast and in many forms.

Apple's iPhone...Could They Introduce An iTunes Browser And Create An ECommerce Powerhouse?

The Apple iPhone arrival is almost here.

I thought it would be a good time to jot down some ponderings about what the iPhone could provide for mobile marketing and Physical World Connection.

In my opinion, it's not the phone itself that will be a huge success, it's that Apple is tying in their iTunes platform (PC) with a mobile device.

The iPhone could be "the" universal remote control that ties in a website for control and further review.


If Apple can make it as easy to interlink a mobile phone and a PC (like they do with iTunes and an iPod), they could become a mobile marketing and mobile commerce powerhouse .

A user with an iPhone interacts with the physical world, outside of the PC world. (mcommerce, barcodes, text messages, maps, alerts, phone calls etc). They "dock" their iPhone into their PC and pass/store their mobile world activity into the iTunes platform.

Your Physical World Connection activity (mobile phone) can now be presented on the iTunes platform creating exciting opportunities.

This product/service could be a mobile marketer's dream.

Outside of the phone itself, why could Apple become a mobile marketing powerhouse?

Ecommerce billing method is already resolved with iTunes, and the platform is so easy to use.

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 (surfing, text, email pictures, calls) and content to your PC. Advertiser can place relevant ads.

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

So will Apple introduce an iTunes browser and complete the circle?

I see an iTunes browser that allows a user to search, buy and "work" with the activity generated on the iPhone. Also an iTunes browser will allow ecommerce to be facilitated easier (billing platform) with other merchants. Pay with iTunes or iBill.

Mobile Ticketing.
Apple can start selling tickets (movie, airline) through the iTunes platform. A barcode can be sent to the phone and presented at the door.

Pictures.
The pictures taken with phone are uploaded to the PC for numerous interactive and advertising options.

Apple has already started to use QR codes in their advertising too. All of those 2d codes that an iPhone scans can have another dimension to them. Not only will the user be directed to the URL when iPhone scans the mobile code, but your Physical World Connection activity will be recorded on iTunes. This allows you to get more information about a product using your PC and advertisers (2D code owners) will be able to continue the interaction with the user on the bigger screen.

This will make mobile codes even more valuable.

Other ponderings about the iPhone

Abaxia's Mobile Codes To Be Featured In French Magazines

Physical world connection player Abaxia will begin offering MobileTags in three prominent French magazines.

Smart barcodes make camera phones portals to content

In summer 2007, French magazines Public, Closer, and Voici will begin printing two-dimensional “smart barcodes” in their publications, giving some readers an even faster and simpler way to access a wealth of multimedia content.

When photographed using compatible camera phones, the barcodes, known as “Tags” or “Flashcodes,” immediately open access to multimedia content on a user’s cell phone, including photos, video, and Internet links.

According to Cédric Mangaud, CEO of Abaxia , the French provider of MobileTag , the application "was developed by Abaxia to allow simple and easy access to external content—drawn from places like newspapers, billboards, television, advertisements, catalogues, and so on".

MobileTag's application has already been customised for a major Telecom group and their barcode reader is embedded in some of Nokia's phones in France.

By adding a smart barcode to their layouts, newspapers could provide readers with immediate access to their corresponding websites and expanded multimedia content, thus bridging the print-online gap even more quickly.

More info on Abaxia

Christina Aguilera Uses Mobile Barcodes

Shakira is doing it

Fergie just started doing it

Here comes Christina.

They are all using mobile barcodes and Physical World Connection(PWC) for mobile marketing.

These artists reach the perfect demographic for adoption and offer plenty of physical objects (CDs, movie posters, tickets etc) to use as links to the Net. Having MTV as a marketing partner will this PWC concept some legs.

Christina Aguilera Uses Mobile Barcodes In Manila

MTV in partnership with TMS proudly brings you Christina Aguilera in your mobile phone! Catch her first through TMS technology with just a click... See the advertisement.

TMS is using Scanbuy's mobile code scanning platform.

Grab the chance to earn fun bonuses for your mobile phone e.g. videos, pictures and wallpapers, etc…

Just shoot the tag below or enter the short code and experience this spectacular event!



What is Tag Mobile Service (TMS)? Instead of text messaging (SMS), consumers can scan a mobile code (mobile tag) or use a TMS code to be directly connected with content. Find out more
Download the TMS reader.

Microsoft One Step Closer To Offering Mobile Speech Recognition Browser

Google is hard at work with their Voice Local Search.

Nuance acquired VoiceSignal Technologies

Microsoft isn't wasting any time with their acquisition of TellMe


Joshua at the Boy Genius Report discovers the application that will enable voice search of your Windows Mobile device.

"A beta .cab file has leaked , giving some insight into the specifics of the application. Voice search will be enabled over Bluetooth and your handset's mic. The program allows you to search the web by way of Windows Live Search, directing your inquiries with your voice and some dictated search terms. It also allows you to enter text into just about any open field by way of voice command."

Keep in mind who recently received the "voice interface for a search engine" patent.

The mobile search/find space is getting much more exciting.

Physical World Connection...SMS 2.0?

TMS Republic have created an interesting way to market 2d barcodes and in the process, have defined Physical World Connection as "SMS 2.0".

Tag Mobile Service (TMS) is the new mobile Service allowing you to find, access, chat, surf and buy contents or products with your mobile phone in just a click. TMS is a Hyperlink to Mobile.

A mobile link between offline and online contents (physical world hyperlink) and is also the link that makes Internet - Web site - and - Mobile site - compatible

The typical method of SMS (text message) is to send a keyword to a short code and get a response. Users can then click for more info.

TMS users can either scan a mobile code with a camera phone and be directed to website OR they can type in the (keyword/keynumber) under the code and be linked directly to that site. The code scanning platform acts as a "direct connect" portal.

This is a great way to market PWC and also solves a couple problems still associated with Physical World Connection? Whose mobile code is this and

When you see a 2D barcode in your favorite Magazine or Web site, you can use the TMS reader to scan it or you can just enter the TMS short code below the 2D barcode to access directly to the services.


The TMS hyperlink is the user friendly bridge between the physical world or the Web and the Mobile phone

Other articles that discuss what TMS is doing with mobile codes.

TMS uses Scanbuy's mobile code scanning platform.

PowerMe Mobile Adopts Scanbuy's 2D Barcode Scanning Technology

Because DuPont, the world's largest consumer good packaging company licensed Scanbuy's interactive 2d barcode technology, and will be the exclusive marketer of their camera phone technology, I expect to see more companies adopt Scanbuy's 2d code scanning platform.

PowerMe Mobile Adopts Scanbuy's 2D Barcode Scanning Technology

PowerMeMobile, the Lebanese mobile solutions provider has signed an agreement with Scanbuy, Inc., a global provider of mobile marketing solutions, to market Scanbuy's two-dimensional (2D) barcode scanning technology in the Middle East and Africa.

The patented technology consists of a client application, called ScanLife,™ that is downloaded on mobile phones allowing the end user to read EZcodes, Scanbuy's patented 2D bar codes.

"Within the next 24 months we expect 2D barcodes to become ubiquitous as marketers and media deploy codes on products and marketing materials worldwide", said Jonathan Bulkeley, Chief Executive Officer of Scanbuy, Inc.

Bassam Tuéni, CEO of PowerMe Mobile, said: "We are proud to be associated with Scanbuy and its outstanding scan technology. We feel that it will enhance our solutions and offerings to the operators in the MENA region."

Recently PowerMe Mobile signed a content supply agreement with Universal Music Group, the world's largest music label. This could open the door to scanning all of Universal's physical items (Cds, movie posters etc) with a camera phone.

Whose Mobile Code Are You And Where Are Taking Me?

A comment was left on the HookCode offers mobile codes for MySpace post.

"Why cant they all just standardise on QR codes and be done with it?"

At first glance standardizing might make sense. However, the real power of a mobile code, or of Physical World Connection (PWC) is not just connecting a physical object to the Net, but the APPLICATIONS that can come from it.

The dilemma PWC faces is where (what URL) will this mobile code take me and what information will I receive. Whose code is this and what should I expect from it?

I don't believe standardizing the QR code, or any mobile code, should be the only option.

A 1d barcode, because the data is constant, will have many applications built for them (price compare, coupons, ecommerce, consumer reviews etc). The code stays constant, but how it's resolved allows numerous services and applications.

Because there are various types of 2d codes, the information, URL and applications vary too. The mobile code will have be identifiable. Proprietary mobile codes like Nextcode, ShotCodes and BeeTagg will always have great value because they are easily identifiable and you know what information is expected when scanned.

There are a few solutions I see.

1. The mobile code itself is unique, recognizable and user knows what information or function is performed when scanned. The mobile code has to be identifiable with the application or the brand.

2. The mobile code is branded so user knows what application or where on Net they will be taken. HookCode is associated with MySpace users, or MySpace adopts this platform and brands it.

3. The mobile code is placed on closed environment and info received when scanning the code is obvious (train station, magazine ad).

4. A multi-function code scanning application. Click on any code and a physical world connection portal provides a menu of choices. (price compare, coupon, commerce etc).

Design QR brands QR codes which are identifiable to the user.

Design QR provides a solution to one of these options. They embed a company's logo, or identifies the QR code by placing an image inside the code. They "brand" the QR code which will allow users to identify the mobile code.

Design QR allowed me to "brand" my QR code.

Here's what I envision.

Google offers a 2d code creating site and places their color theme or the word Google inside of every 2d code created. Advertisers and consumers can place these mobile codes anwyhere and be connected to appropriate URL when scanned.

Because Google is so well known (brand recognition), and their applications will be adopted on the majority of mobile phones, their mobile code scanning platform will provide many functions for the Google Mobile Code.

In addition, this Google mobile phone scanning platform will also offer the ability to scan 1d barcodes as well. This opens the door for advertisers and the approx three billion 1d codes out there already.

2D Barcodes To Take Giant Leap Forward

Another respected technology publication realizing Physical World Connection is coming and highlighting one of the players.

From Guardian Unlimited Mobile Phone Hyperlinks For The Real World

The world of the so-called 2D barcode is nearly upon us. After several false dawns, hyperlinks for the physical world are becoming a reality, thanks to mobiles with higher resolution cameras and the emergence of 3G high-speed connectivity.

ScanBuy, a New York-based provider of 2D barcode capture technology, has signed a deal with Nokia to embed its software into the mobile manufacturer's S60 and S40 models - primarily in China, a country with 500m mobile phone users. And global packaging company DuPont is offering to print the codes on to its customers' products using ScanBuy's technology.

These more sophisticated versions of the traditional barcodes (universal product codes, or UPCs) used in retailing can be scanned by cameraphones and converted into text, images or video. They can simply contain information - up to 1MB in some cases - or act as web links, making the hitherto tricky process of surfing the net via mobile as easy as "point and click".

Barcelona-based Codilink is selling 20,000 2D barcode cinema tickets and discount vouchers a week, having licensed ScanBuy's technology. Codilink managing director Ben Chesser says: "Within one-and-a-half to two years, early adopters will be doing this regularly. It takes time to build awareness, but this technology is finally ready for take-off."

One drawback preventing widespread adoption has been the lack of standards in a fragmented and highly competitive mobile phone market. Few consumers have been bothered enough to download decoder software on to their phones.

The advantage of ScanBuy's proprietary software is that it can read any of the main barcode protocols, such as QR, mainly used in Japan; Data Matrix, mainly used in Europe; and EZcode, ScanBuy's code designed specifically for VGA cameraphones. And once more mobiles are shipped with decoder software built in, the mobile web will take a giant leap forward.

HookCode Uses Nextcode Mobile Barcodes To Connect MySpace, FaceBook And Beebo Users

A Nextcode angel investor has developed a new implementation using Nextcode's mCode format and ConnexTo decoder aimed at making it easy for social networkers to create Physical World Hyperlinks to their online profile.

Add HookCode and their application to the Physical World Connection company list .

MySpace, Beebo, and Facebook users now have an easy way to create mobile barcode for their website. HookCode has made it easy for real world, non-techie people to create a mobile barcode for their website. It also may get advertisers to come around to the idea that mobilecodes don't have to look industrial.

Using Nextcode's ConnexTo mobile barcode scanning platform, HookCode makes it easy for MySpace, Facebook and Bebo users to create a real-life web link to their user page.

No registration is required and your HookCode is created in 3 easy steps. The HookCode site is in early stages of implementation (SMS delivery of the codes to users phones so they can run as a wallpaper on the phone) but the Nextcode team wanted to let Pondering Primate readers have a sneak peak and get reaction. Their effort here is to show how easy code creation can be and to evangelize codes to the social networking, under 25 yr old group. They probably wouldn't mind if a few brands or social networking sites grasped the possibilities either....

HookCode looked at lots of different code formats and found that Nextcode Corporation's unique mCode format was the best by far. mCode and the ConnexTo decoder were engineered for mobile phone optics. What does that mean to you? They work dependably. With other codes, you have to hold the camera just right, in the right light, because they were made to be scanned by that laser thing at the grocery store - not your mobile phone!

MySpace user Nicole used the HookCode widget to create a HookCode for her site and post it on her MySpace page. Take a look at her MySpace site that uses a HookCode.


FROM THE HOOKCODE SITE:

Here's how it happened: We got sick of tapping people's MySpace address into our phones to check them out online. Or worse, writing iton a napkin, and then trying to read it after it went through the wash.

Using Nextcode's ConnexTo mobile barcode scanning platform, HookCode makes it easy for MySpace, Facebook and Bebo users to create a real-life web link to their user page.

HookCode has made it so easy to create a code for your site. HookCode's easily identifiable codes will allow quick adoption and scanning among users.

Snap a pic of a HookCode and go straight to a MySpace profile or anywhere else. Nextcode Corporation's unique mCode format were engineered for mobile phone optics. What does that mean to you? They work dependably. With other codes, you have to hold the camera just right, in the right light, because they were made to be scanned by that laser thing in the gorcery store-not your mobile phone!

How do you get a HookCode?

Click Here and enter your web address. It's that easy.

To get your HookCode reader go to http://www.wap.connexto.com/

Let HookCode know how you use your HookCode. Send them an email and they will post your idea on their site. The coolest HookCodes will get a HookCode tshirt.

HookCodes generated by ConnexTo

Write Reviews On Products Using Barcode And Mobile Phone

Orange County Register has a story titled Cell-phone Secrets that discusses an indirect Physical World Connection application. Mobile phone users can enter a product's barcode to get reviews of a product.

You're walking through the grocery store, Web-enabled cell phone in hand. You wonder, is that gallon of organic milk really environmentally friendly?

Your cell phone can help answer that question, with information from GreenScanner.net.

If you point your mobile browser to that site and type in the product code for Horizon Organic 1% Milk (UPC Code 742365264108), you'll tap into a database of environmentally focused consumer comments. For Horizon 1% milk, the overall rating is fairly good – 3.57 out of 5 – based on comments such as "better for people and cows too – fewer pesticides, etc." and "Locally-grown food is the best way to go."

The system still has many shortcomings, starting with its cumbersome requirement for entering UPC codes. In the future, consumers may be able to access GreenScanner data by taking a cell-phone photo of a product's bar code.

The beauty of this application is that it lets consumers provide the input on products. I guess it could be called a Barcode Wikipedia.

I can think of lots of applications that could be introduced using the UPC database:

For consumer goods a "Consumer Reports" application could be introduced.

For fun I added comments to Coke's new Enviga Green Tea.

Have a comment on a product? Post a comment at Green Scanner and let PP readers know.

The Boom For Bandwidth...Or The Boom For Bandwidth Efficiency?

BusinessWeek Mag has a great story Telecom: Back From The Dead

Some of the highlights.

-Today, fully one-third of all Internet traffic comes from Web videos.


-This year broadband adoption among U.S. adults is expected to cross the important threshold of 50%.

-the glut in broadband communications capacity is all but gone

-Thanks to bandwidth-hungry services such as YouTube, global Internet traffic from 2003 to 2006 grew at a compounded annual rate of 75% a year, according to TeleGeography. "When you compound those numbers, I don't care how much inventory you have, it's going to disappear off the shelf," says Level 3 CEO Crowe.

-A dollar spent on telecom infrastructure produces an outsize impact on the U.S. economy as a whole.

-That(Apple's iPhone), in turn, could create ever more demand for servers and routers, video services, and upgraded wireless networks.

-Verizon says it will steal a page from YouTube and allow TV customers to create their own personalized video channels

-While telecom revenues are now 19% higher than they were in 2000, that money supports just 1.1 million workers, down nearly 30% from boom-era levels.

-For the first time, this year the growth rate for new wireless subscribers in the U.S. is expected to decline.

-Back in 2004, Cisco's John Chambers recalls, critics laughed when Cisco rolled out an audacious new router, the CRS-1, capable of transmitting the entire contents of the Library of Congress in a few seconds. Analysts predicted only a handful would sell. This year, thanks to the video bandwidth hogs, sales of the CRS-1 are expected to hit $1 billion, more than double the figure for 2006.

What the article doesn't address is the efficiency of the network. There's lot of available bandwidth, that is not being utilized.

Things to ponder.

What happens when the bandwidth "pipe" is really opened and when sending/receiving any size of data, from any location, are no longer a factor?

What new multi-billion dollar companies are created? How much more efficient does our economy become?

With the proliferation of HDTV, IPTV, VoIP, SoIP, IPv6, YouTube etc how will, or could, this bandwidth demand be resolved?

Over a standard 100Mbps internet connection, TCP typically utilizes less that 3% of the available bandwidth. Downloading over HTTP, a 10 Gigabyte file over a 100Mbps connection from Asia to the United States would require over 18 hours to receive the file.

There's a software solution, that works over any IP network, utilizes up to 96% of the available bandwidth, performs 10-200 times faster, and does this under 20 minutes.

As Todd Dagres from Spark Capital said "Two kinds of IPs (Internet Protocol and Intellectual Property) are creating the biggest opportunity we've seen in a long time, probably since the Internet, in terms of new companies being formed and value being created"

Do you know what technologies, applications, and companies will play a key role?

More Free Advertising On Google, But What Other Methods Do You See?

In 2005, I showed examples of how to get free advertising on Google. Since then, companies and individuals are getting even more creative.

I expect to see more examples like these as a way to get free advertising on Google. If I am in one of the cities Google has in their Street View database, I would be thinking of a creative way to incorporate an ad for this.

Do you know what I would do?


Naked Lap Dancing Ad angers council. A creative ad that went a bit too far.

An ambitious German programmer decided to create a huge Semacode saying "Hello World!" in a crop field.

Could this advertising open up a new revenue stream for farmers, or for painters on roof tops?
What other creative ways can you think of that can get you free advertising on Google?

Do you know one of the biggest, and it's free?

Forrester Research Acknowledges Physical World Connection

It's nice to see a Physical World Connection company, and the technology, being recognized by Forrester Reasearch

Forrester Research has a piece called "Mobile shopping looks to change retail self service"

"Mobile applications for search and comparison are emerging to aid shoppers and give them more control at the point of decision. SCANBUY , for example, enables shoppers to compare retail prices with online prices by taking a picture of the barcode or tapping the barcode number into a downloadable mobile application. The application then retrieves prices for the product from online comparison shopping engines. "

Great find by Multi Channel Shopping

Samsung Pre-Installs Inspiry's Mobile 2D Barcode Application

Samsung Installs Inspiry's 2D Code Application On Mobile Phones

BEJING, June 12, 2007 — Inspiry Limited (“Inspiry”), China’s leading 2D barcode technology and application provider, today announces its strategic partnership agreement with Samsung to pre-install its self-developed mobile 2D barcode software on Samsung’s handsets. The first Samsung handset model preloaded with Inspiry’s mobile QR Code software, i718, is already widely available in China.



Since 2006, Inspiry has been selected by China Mobile as the sole 2D barcode technology provider for China Mobile’s customized handsets. This strategic partnership has led to the successful deployment of 2D barcode software in mobile devices shipped by world class handset manufacturers including Nokia, Lenovo, Dopod, NEC and ZTE.

Zippi Networks Offers A Mobile eBay

Thanks to Zippi , you can sell your unwanted things with almost no effort whatsoever, other than making a single phone call. Zippi will zip on over, pick everything up and sell it all on eBay for you. They take care of the whole process, start to finish.

What happens if a eBay user could use a camera phone and a product's barcode to add products?

The newly introduced Zippi Handheld, could open lots of doors for the Physical World Connection space.

Combine the barcode database with eBay function and Zippi offers the equivalent of an anywhere, anything, anytime eBay. In addition, Zippi is already working with Motorola.

Zippi Networks Unveils Mobile Barcode Scanner

Zippi(TM) Networks, Inc., the innovative force empowering a new generation of online sellers, today announced the Zippi Handheld, a 6.5 oz. palmtop device packed with physical world connection features and applications.

Recent deal with PayPal will allow them to process all of Zippi's online auction sales transactions.

The Zippi Handheld at a Glance
-- An Intel XScale 416 MHz processor with 64 MB of SDRAM with a USB 1.1 interface
-- Windows Mobile 5.0 Premium Phone Edition Operating System
-- 6.5 oz. weight with 5 in. length by 2.59 in. width
-- A 2.8 in. backlit QVGA color screen with an active touch screen area of 43.2mm by 57.6mm
-- Wireless WAN radio for data and voice communications with speakerphone, headset and push-to-talk
-- Wireless LAN radio and data for up to 11 Mbps using 802.11b or 54 Mbps for 802.11g standard
-- A 2-Megapixel image capture camera with flash and macrofocus capability
-- Realtime signature capture and submit
-- Embedded GPS with Express GPS connect
-- A bar code reader that decodes 1D above 8Mil and 2D above 15Mil
-- A rechargeable Lithium Ion 3.7V main battery capable of lasting an 8-hour "shift"
-- Voice capture

Mobile Search Apps Threaten Brick And Mortar

SelfService.org lists a couple mobile related search sites, one a PWC application in a story called Mobile shopping looks to change retail self-service

Mobile-based product search threatens to turn brick-and-mortar stores into showrooms for Web-tailers such as Amazon.com and other lower-priced online pure plays as consumers compare prices while in-store.


GPShopper , which has more than 100,000 users through its mobile application, lets consumers search for products at local stores and compare prices and promotions.

NearbyNow , another local search-based application, gathers local inventory feeds from mall-based stores; when users search for specific products, the application sends back an SMS detailing which stores carry the product and whether it is in stock.

SCANBUY , for example, enables shoppers to compare retail prices with online prices by taking a picture of the barcode or tapping the barcode number into a downloadable mobile application. The application then retrieves prices for the product from online comparison shopping engines.

If you're a brick and mortar shop, what services should you offer to get the consumer to buy in the store?

CamClic Mobile Barcode Scanning Demo

Due to the high interest received on the CamClic story , I asked CamClic to post a video on how CamClic is able to read a 1d barcode with a camera phone.

Because the CamClic application is able to scan both 1d and 2d bar codes, they are getting attention from brands, carriers, major portals and mobile marketing agencies.

The billions of 1d bar codes that already exist on products, and newly created 2d codes from consumers and content creators, when scanned with a camera phone (Physical World Connection), have the ability to disrupt the advertising industry.

Barcodes And Physical World Connection Could Transform Ad Industry

Adotas has a nice summary on how barcodes (physical world hyperlinks,) when scanned with a camera phone, (Physical World Connection) have the ability to transform the ad industry.

The article discusses what could happen when special barcodes (2D codes) are used as links to more info about products. Although the data contained in the barcode ALREADY on the products contains less info, it too will be used as a link to the Internet.

The Humble Barcode Could Change The Ad Industry



"One particularly interesting technology already gaining considerable traction in the Far East is the use of barcodes that enable mobile phones to interact directly with every day objects.

The premise is simple – people use the cameras on their mobile phones to read encoded information via barcodes. These new types of barcodes (2D codes) can hold a far greater depth of data than the barcodes we’re used to seeing on every day objects today. Once scanned, software built into mobile phones can translate the information into content ranging from text and images through to video clips.

For direct response advertisers this could have a major impact. Instead of being restricted to the inclusion of 1 800 numbers and URLs, offline ads could start to evolve into far more powerful pull marketing tools."

Sprint Launches Slifter For Location Based Search Engine

Introducing a GPS function with search opens a lot of opportunities for mobile marketing and social networking possibilities.

Keyspots, based on GPS location will be the equivalent to keywords for mobile marketing. Just like the keywords sex, travel, and news command high fees, so too will GPS locations with heavy traffic. Manhattan versus Des Moines, what will attract more traffic?

This is how Google Makes A Googol

Sprint is tying in their GPS capabilities with Slifters search engine to deliver location based search results.

Think of this as a mobile Froogle with GPS capabilities.

Sprint and GPShopper today announced the launch of Slifter, the first mobile local product search application that employs GPS technology to find products at neighboring retail locations.

Slifter makes real-world shopping more interactive: customers simply enter a keyword, product name, model number or UPC code (barcode) to find a product. They can then view product availability, price and promotional information. (Imagine the possibilities when a barcode is scanned with your GPS enabled phone.)

See the revenue opportunities for Sprint with this service?

Sprint GPS capabilities ensure the closest possible retailers are identified in the search. From video games to vacuum cleaners, using Slifter, Sprint customers can now search for more than 85 million products available at more than 30,000 retail stores across the country.

The big difference is Slifter powered by GPS uses your phone's GPS ability to give you even more accurate results then regular Slifter. N

Slifter is immediately available for download for $1.99 per month* with Sprint's GPS function.

Slifter, is North America's leading mobile local product search and shopping list application. It is accessible for free without GPS functions via SMS (text "SLIFTER" to 75438), wireless web, or java application download on almost any mobile carrier/device combination .

Would you pay an extra $1.99 per month for GPS to be included in all of your mobile applications? (search, maps, weather, alerts, traffic)

Coca Cola Launches Sprite Yard, A Mobile MySpace

Coca Cola is using Sprite as their brand for innovative mobile marketing campaigns.

Last fall, Coca Cola Mexico placed ShotCodes on 40 million Sprite bottles. Consumers, using their camera phone could scan the circular barcodes, and be connected to the Net. This was the first time ever an on-pack mobile barcode scanning campaign was launched outside of Asia.

From NY Times Coca Cola introduces Sprite Yard , a mobile MySpace

The Coca-Cola Company is hoping its new mobile site for social networking, Sprite Yard, will become the MySpace of the cellphone world.

Sprite Yard, to be introduced in the United States this month, will look a lot like the social networking sites that have become popular on the Internet. Consumers will be able to set up personal profiles, share photos and chat online with friends, all using cellphones rather than computer screens.

The effort launched in China last week and is set to launch in the United States beginning June 22. To access the application, U.S. consumers can text “YARD” to 59666 and receive a reply with a WAP link to access the Sprite Yard for the fist time.

People will type in codes from Sprite bottle caps to redeem original content, like ring tones and short video clips called mobisodes.

Mobile Barcode Scanning CamClic Is Out Of Beta

What happens if Wikipedia and MySpace created a Physical World Connection application?





CamClic combines a Wikipedia and MySpace function for Physical World Connection.

CamClic is a 1d code (barcode) reading Physical World Connection (PWC) player with a couple twists.

First their CamClic Barcode Reader can read, 1D barcodes as well as 2d codes.

Second, they are building communities around barcodes that have been scanned. Think of CamClic as MySpace meets CamClic from the rest of the PWC companies.

Consumers choose which barcodes to click on, form social networks around the products, and let brands determine the appropriate advertising.

Here's why I think their model could really take off. Brands can encourage consumers to click on their barcodes for info/coupons etc and consumers can also click on codes and form their own hyperlink, or social network community.

As an example: Music star Fergie is using barcodes for mobile ticketing. CamClic could "turn on" the 1D barcodes of all of her CDs. When a CD barcode is scanner, her music label can direct a scanner to an appropriate site/info. In addition, Fergie fans could also click on any barcode to be connect to the "Fergie Fan Club". How valuable is this data?

From their site:

CamClic Barcode Reader
"This is a Java ME software that enables camera phones to be used as barcode scanners.
The software handles noisy, rotated codes with 0,25 mm (approx. 0.01 inch) module widths.
We aim at decoding all major 1D and 2D codes, currently manifested by EAN13, Code128 and QR Code. CamClic handles QRcode now and can also be adjusted for Datamatrix etc".


CamClic doesn't want to be a PWC technology provider to other PWC companies. Instead they want to be a PWC Services provider for customers and brand owners.

Currently they are building a large group (community) of CamClic members that will capture their favorite friends and products (stores with physical world hyperlinks (PWH), restaurants with PWH, clubs with PWH etc etc) with CamClic and "put in a request of information/offer" about the product, and they build up "brand fan groups".

Right now the CamClicMe service connects people to people with personal hyperlink codes to launch. The service also makes it possible to download all your friends in a new phone with the CamClic software and to have you address book in the phone updated automatically with your friends.

The Swedish Trade Council is looking for CamClic sales & marketing partners in Canada and USA.

CamClic is privately owned and looking for venture capital.

Nextcode And Network World Mobile BarCode Follow-Up

BtoBOnline has a nice summary of the Nextcode and Network World mobile barcode partnership announced this morning.

It is likely the first time a business publication in the U.S. has offered its readers the option of getting to the information they seek on a Web site via the mobile Internet without keying in or clicking.

Dan Gallagher, VP-audience and architecture at NetworkWorld.com said "Through cell phone scanning, we can now offer the same extended brand experience in our print magazine. That is very exciting."

Scanbuy And Syscan Digital Announce Strategic Partnership To Market 2D Mobile Barcodes To Chinese Mobile Carriers

Scanbuy, Inc.,a global provider of mobile marketing solutions, and Syscan Digital Systems ), a leading provider of 2D barcode solutions in China, today announced a strategic and long term partnership to market a range of 2D barcode services to mobile carriers in China.

Syscan Digital’s CM (Compact Matrix) and GM (Grid Matrix) barcodes were approved as China National Industrial Standard by the Ministry of Information Industry in 2006, and makes it the first Chinese owned national standard.

The strategic partnership will create a solution combining technologies of both companies around 2D barcode services including: mobile ticketing and couponing, anti-fraud solutions and media codes such as WAP, SMS, or vCard codes that provide consumers with quick and simple access to digital content. The combined platform will be promoted by Chinese mobile operators and will leverage the respective strengths of both companies.

Lon Chen, Chief Executive Officer, Syscan Digital System Ltd. said "We chose to partner with Scanbuy because they are the leader in making it easy for consumers to fully utilize enhanced services via their wireless phones".


China is the world’s largest mobile communications market and Syscan Digital, with their expertise, relationships and commitment to innovation, is the clear choice as a partner to bring mobile 2D barcodes to this burgeoning market,” said Jonathan Bulkeley, Chief Executive Officer of Scanbuy, Inc.

Scanbuy entered into a partnership last year with Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, to preload Scanbuy’s 2D barcodes application on Nokia’s multimedia handsets. The Scanbuy technology allows users of the Nokia S60 handsets to recognize and decode barcodes on products, media and advertising and to link directly to content and services from their handsets.

ScanBuy also signed an exclusive agreement with DuPont Packaging to place interactive 2D barcodes on packaging.

This partnership between Syscan Digital and Scanbuy, two recognized leaders in their fields, is another step toward the adoption of 2D mobile marketing technology in the fast growing Chinese mobile market.

Founded in year 2001, Syscan Digital was led by a group of industry veterans and has strong intellectual property portfolio with over 100 patents filed in China and internationally. Syscan Digital made the “Best Mobile Barcode Solution Provider” in China in 2006.

Network World Partners With Nextcode's ConnexTo For Mobile Barcodes In Publications

This a very strategic win for Nextcode.

Nextcode's mobile codes, which are designed specifically for mobile phones, will appear in a recurring publication offering familiarity and a greater chance of adoption.

Second, these codes will be presented to an audience that are considered "early adopters". These are the people most likely to test and adopt a new technology.




ConnexTo's 2d barcodes look different, and perform a lot better, than most mobile barcodes.

I think proprietary codes like mcodes, have a great chance of adoption because consumers will be able to recognize the distinct code and WILL KNOW what functions/applications are associated with them. O

Network World has partnered with Nextcode and is adding ConnexTo 2d barcodes to their weekly magazine. Using your camera phone, just scan a code and get IT news delivered right to your phone. Want to add a comment to a story, just scan a code and be connected to their mobile site.

No need to type in lengthy URLS, just scan a ConnexTo code.


Network World Code Scanning Through Your Cell Phone


"We are starting with a single code (picture) on our table of contents that, when photographed, will deliver IT news headlines right to your phone. As code scanning becomes more popular we plan on creating a more immersive mobile online experience, such as being able to post a comment on an article through your phone or read other readers' comments. Want to know more about what you just read in the magazine? Then select related articles and read that article now or save it for online reading later. We’d love to hear from you "

More on Nextcode's mCodes

What is mCode™? How is it different from existing barcodes?

A: mCode is a new 2D barcode designed specifically for mobile phones and mobile services. The mCode technology works faster,its more reliable, can do more and carry more data content than traditional barcodes. mCodes are easy to create, using the code creation pages on the ConnexTo site.

Want to get the ConnextTo reader?

To load the ConnexTo Code Reader on your phone use your WAP browser on your phone to go to wap.connexto.com Click the download link, the correct version of the reader will be downloaded onto your phone.

Prince And Verizon Use Physical World Connection For Mobile Marketing

Prince is giving away the first single from an upcoming album to Verizon users.

Prince's new single "Guitar" became downloadable on Thursday to Verizon Wireless phones to customers who use the service provider's new V Cast song ID feature, which identifies songs for listeners who hold their phone next to a speaker. (The phone sends the machine readable identifier (song) to be resolved and then content is delivered to the phone---- that's Physical World Connection.

The song is the physical world hyperlink. Artists will be able to link their song to a website or content. A song becomes a URL.

Fans who download the free ID feature can then go to Web sites such as revver.com, myspace.com or veoh.com to play the video from the Prince single holding the phone close by. (Great way of tying in the social networks)

The phone will then provide information about the song and an option to download it wirelessly on the spot.

BMW Partners With Semacode For Mobile Marketing

Until 2d codes are produced in volume by a major brand, and 1d codes (barcodes) can be scanned by camera phones, I expect to see more branded Physical World Connection readers. This private label code scanning platform gives the brand much more control.

On the BMW site , they are using Semacodes on an integrated marketing campaign for the new BMW 1 Series launch in Europe.

translated release

BMW has created a branded Semacode reader. The scanner works on ALL Semacodes, not just the ones created by BMW. (If done properly), a private label scanning application allows control over where the user is directed, what information is given AND control over the database created.

An extensive campaign using Semacodes is expected soon.

More details from Semacode