Google Power

Does anyone else see this?

When Google announced their investment in BPL company Current Communications last week, I started to put the pieces together and saw something big.

Tell me if you think I'm off base with my thinking.

Google buys into Current Communciations and creates a broadband infrastructure by using the existing power grid. To make it easy, I am assuming the States for my thinking, although I know emerging countries will benefit more from BPL (broadband over the powerline).

BPL allows every outlet in your house/office (with the appropriate hardware) to provide broadband internet access. Just like you plug in your toaster for electricity, you plug in your PC or laptop and get high-speed net access.

From this I see Google becoming a service provider, but which kind?

Remember Google became a registrar with The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Is Google planning on selling domain names?
(question, could a phone number be registered as a URL?)

There is also lots of speculation Google is trying to get into the VOIP space, Yahoo's acquisition of Dialpad could expedite this.

Could a "Google VOIP" add a download be the way they get on the mobile phone?
My thinking is that a Google VOIP app could create such demand that people will download and THAT will be how Google gets on every mobile phone, and that is how they create a mobile OS.




Let me put my Google goggles on and describe what I see.

1.Google teams up with utility companies to provide broadband service

2.Google buys into a company that offers/or sells WiFi/Wi-Max equipment

3.On all Google sites (web, images, toolbar etc), they offer their VOIP service by registering your phone number(s) as a URL. My Google turns into a portal for all of your needs

4. Google and utility companies place a Wi-Max antenna every mile? on every power box

5.They offer a download app that allows VOIP through your utility company

6.Google has now created a high speed platform for the masses for all sorts of search queries that require broadband (video)

7. Google buys into a GPS/LBS company/service and offers a true high speed mobile search platform for both mobile users and advertisers

How did Google get so big? They created an application that people use everyday (search), made it easier to use and find, and advertisers followed the traffic.

I have a bunch of other ideas that get created from this scenario, but let me know if you think it makes sense or if I'm way off base with my thinking.

We Need More Power Captain!

Last week it was Google, this week it is IBM that is going after BPL (broadband over powerline). I have a post coming up on what I see with Google and BPL

From The Economic Times CenterPoint, IBM team on broadband

NEW YORK: Utility operator CenterPoint Energy Inc and IBM will team up to test new technologies for delivering high-speed Internet access over electrical powerlines, the companies said on Monday.

CenterPoint has opened a technology center at one of its facilities in Houston, with design help from IBM, and has also launched a trial of broadband over powerline (BPL) to a 220-home area in Houston, they said

Broadband services over electrical lines are seen as an attractive alternative for rural areas where traditional broadband delivery mediums like cable and telephone lines do not or can not reach

Nestle And Napster Make A Chocolate Mess

Nestle Crunch and Napster have a marketing campaign that looks great except for one key element. It's a campaign involving today's technology using marketing from the 70's

Pick up a NESTLÉ CRUNCH Bar Look for specially marked NESTLÉ Candy bars with the special Napster logo on the front. No purchase necessary

Unwrap to see if you've won. Unwrap your bar to see if yours states "Congratulations"

Redeem your prizes. Once you’ve got your winning wrapper just send it in to claim your prize (here's the problem)

Winner must mail the entire original winning game wrapper (keep a photocopy for your records) along with your name, address and phone number on a 3" x 5" card by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested to: Nestlé Finders Keepers Instant Win Game, P.O. Box 1571, Young America MN, 55594-1571

Does anyone see the big pitfall with this campaign and where they could have had a great one instead?

The two audiences they have targeted are kids and the 18-34 yr old group. How many of these even write letters anymore or could tell you what a 3x5 card is? This audience LIVES online and has their cell phone with them at all times.

Here's what you do instead. Nestle gets the short code "CRUNCH" and when the winner opens up the winning candy bar wrapper, they send a SMS to "CRUNCH" with their name address as subject. The winner is notified via mail, email or a text message.

Just like that you got permission to market to most valuable demographic.

By having the winner send a 3x5 card what does Nestle expect to do with that data?

I'm thinking of how Napster could utilize that mobile phone data, are you?

GPS Location Based Services LBS Companies

Global Positioning GPS/Location Based Service Companies

Location based services (LBS) enable navigation services for the mobile phone. In order to offer these services, a Global Position Service (GPS) chip and tracking technology is required. FCC mandate requiring all cell phones to have GPS capability by the end of 2005 has created many opportunites for the mobile industry.

I think incorporating GPS/LBS will be critical for mobile search's success.

1rstWAP
A2B
Accutracking
AeroScout
Airbiquity
AirTrak
AirSage
Aligo
Binspy
Blip Systems
Bones In Motion
Cambridge Positioning Systems
Cell-Loc
Closer
Cube 80
DefyWire
Digital Envoy
ECONZ
Ekahau
Gate 5
Gemplus
HereCast
InfoWave Solutions
Infonxx
Intrado
Intuicom
LBS Mobile
Loc-Aid
Locate Networks
Locationet
Mapinfo
Meetro
MobileComNetworks
MobileGates
Mobiles2Go
Mobiloco
Mobile Location Based Services
Polaris Wireless
Proximity Mail
Pharos
RedKnee
Roaming Messenger
Rock Seven's Closer
SFAlert
Sirf Sirf Acquired Enuvis
Skymo
SnapTrack
Socialight
TagandScan
Telcontar
Telecommunication Systems
Teletouch
Telmap
TimesTen Acquired by Oracle
TruePosition
Vindigo
Visicom
Wheels Of Zeus
WhereNet
Whereify Wireless
WideRay
WindSpring Mobile
Zingo

If I missed your company and would like to be included, please email me.

British Petroleum Goes Mobile?

From AMEINfo.com Leading brands choose mobile marketing to differentiate their products

BP Middle East has appointed Cellempower, the one-stop-shop for wireless services to implement and carry out its mobile marketing campaign

BP Middle East has just launched its 'Drive away with a younger car' promotion running throughout July and August 2005, as part of a new initiative to take advantage of the mobile marketing medium to build ongoing relations with its customers.

'Consumers will enter the competition to win the latest model of their car by buying a promotional pack of BPVisco 2000 Thermal Guard, scratch to reveal a unique code then SMS the code along with their name using Cellempower's infrastructure in order to enter the grand draw'

Pepsi Launches Mobile Campaign

I think it is safe to say that mobile marketing is coming.
From NewMediaAge.com Pepsi kicks off global mobile strategy

Soft drinks giant Pepsi has unveiled a global mobile strategy for the first time, to be launched in multiple territories this summer.
The strategy will see the mobile Internet taking a key role, with a WAP portal forming the lynchpin of the brand's mobile activity.

The show will be promoted by an on-pack campaign. Every entrant to the text-and-win campaign will receive a WAP Push message with a link to the Pepsi WAP site. This will provide a range of free images and news

Think of how many people/ cell phone screens they will now be able to advertise to through this campaign.

Pepsi's global mobile strategy has been developed by Graphico, which has been appointed as Pepsi's global mobile agency, in association with Communicator from Australia.

"This launch demonstrates how importantly Pepsi sees extending its brand via mobile," said Graphico strategic partner Graham Darracott. "It realises what a fundamental part of its customers' lives mobile is."

My question is, tell me how Google plans to capture advertising dollars for this type of advertising once Pepsi and other brands can connect without using a search engine?

Bloggers Can Connect Through A Shotcode Now

OP3 and their Shotcode have introduced a great app for the blogging community and are showing more ways the physical world can be connected to the electronic one.

A special for the blogging community. ShotCode's automatic optimization service now automatically formats RSS and Atom feeds for mobile phones.


If you would like to have your blog correctly displayed and easily accessible on a camera mobile phone, then all you'd have to do is point a ShotCode to the RSS or Atom feed.

As a blogger you can use ShotCodes Free accounts in order to make your blog accessible on your businesscard, t-shirts, stickers, your forehead or any other widely visible attribute you can think of!

The resulting page will display your blog's RSS or Atom feed in a clean and simple overview. Don't take our word for it, try it yourself

In the near future we'll be working on switches to add the RSS or Atom feeds easily to any type of mobile RSS reader that might be installed on the target device.

Yahoo! UK Mobile Offers Price Compare

From NetImperative.com Yahoo! launches mobile price check

Yahoo! UK and Ireland has launched a new mobile service which allows consumers to check prices on the move, using Yahoo! WAP services.

Price and product information will be provided by the Yahoo-owned comparison service Kelkoo. Yahoo! said it will not charge for the service, which is accessible on all WAP enabled phones at standard browsing rates.

The new service will cover 3 million product offers and more than 5000 UK retailers

The site can be viewed at http://wap.yahoo.co.uk click on "products".

Dorothea Arndt, director of search and distribution at Kelkoo said: “Mobile price comparison is a major step towards aligning the on and offline shopping experience and brings us significantly closer to achieving our mission of making shopping simple for everyone.”

Offline shopping should provide something that online can't, interaction with the product.

Maybe it's me, but I just don't see price comparison via cell phone that desireable. Anything expensive I plan on buying, I won't be impulse buying. So why the urgency to get a price comparison on the phone?

I see this as ANOTHER example of PC content being offered as a mobile application without thinking about the mobile users wishes.

Qix, A Search App For Mobile Phones

From Moving Experiences Qix from Zi Corp could revolutionize search on mobile phones
Qix could be thought of as Google or A9 on the phone. It lets you find anything just by typing on the keyboard.

The SW will index the content on the phone and enable search from the idle so that the number keypad enters text mode on the second keypress and starts suggesting suitable words from the menu, phonebook or bookmarks which then can be accessed with the Select-key.


As the memory of phones is growing the importance of search will evolve just like it did on the web and now also on the desktop.

Zi's product portfolio includes:

eZiText® provides fast, efficient, predictive one-touch entry and word completion, enhanced with the interactive learning and personalization of a user's own language patterns and behavior.

eZiTap™ combines the power of predictive texting and automatic vocabulary learning with the familiarity and flexibility of multi-tap input. eZiTap is ideal for the youth market in which multi-tap is used to create unique and fun vocabulary and texting shortcuts.

Qix™ is a new service discovery engine that provides a quick and easy method for accessing a phone's full set of features, applications and services without having to remember where and how to find them via the traditionally structured menu system.

Decuma®is a new interactive handwriting input product from Zi that mimics how humans write with pen on paper - naturally and efficiently - in a broad range of languages.

All Bloggers Read This..Go Mobile For Free

This is a MUST for all bloggers that want their site to be mobile compatible AND it's a great start for those that want to have their own mobile site in general.

In minutes, you can set-up a free mobile site that's available worldwide on any web-enabled phone, PDA or desktop PC. Each mobile site is outfitted with easy-to-use mobile channels including chat, blog, mobile feed reader, surveys, journal, forum, calendar, guestbook, bookmarks, email and more

One of the problems with keeping on top of your favorite blogs through your mobile is the compatibility of the blog site w/ mobile standards, that changes now with WINKsite

I added the link on my blog that now allows you to follow The Pondering Primate on your mobile phone. It's much faster because it lists the posts as sentences, instead of the whole story. The actual link is

http://winksite.com/vangorilla/PP

Anybody that wants get THEIR OWN mobile site or make their blog mobile for FREE should sign up for this service.

To see what the site looks like on your mobile phone

Some TESTIMONIALS

Audi Does 3G Mobile Marketing

Another major brand using the cell phone to introduce a marketing campaign. Search engines, your biggest customers are starting this industry without you..better pay attention. Once brands learn how to connect directly with the consumer, why will they need to pay you?

Adverblog points out Audi's new mobile marketing campaign using 3G.


The Audi TT Quattro Sport model is currently being pushed in the UK with a rich media mobile marketing campaign. Thanks to the technology provided by MindMatics and MassOne, smartphones users are able to view content related to the TT Quattro Sport just texting a shortcode.

The content is sent as a self-contained data packet that’s designed to run on 2.5G and 3G smartphones on UK networks. Viewers can take a tour of the entire car, using their keypads to zoom in on particular features.

Party Like It's 2007

Great writer John Dvorak has some interesting insights on where and when he thinks tech will take off

There are no fundamental developments, fads, new technologies or inventions that would change the pace of standard growth we are currently experiencing.

That will change in 18 to 24 months, and if you want to sit on dead money in a vain hope of a rally before then, then be my guest.

There is a basic weakness in the tech side and I do not see anything to change that until late 2006 when exciting technologies come to market

To see his 7 trends and triggering mechanisms.

Wireless, Wi-Max ,VOIP and IPTV are four I try to cover here.

Forrester has the same timeline in their Fourth Wave article.

Mobile Content Market Set To Go

From ABC Money.com Survey predicts phenomenal boom in mobile content industry

A new study conducted by LogicaCMG has found that the mobile market is going to peak up in the next few months. The mobile market in Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and South America the will be worth over 7.6 billion euros by July 2006, the survey has predicted.

LogicaCMG says that the mobile owners are set to top 2 billion in the next year and this means that the market for mobile content downloading will only get richer

90 percent of mobile users admit to being influenced by marketing promotions offered by their network provider. However, two-thirds of people considering downloading content are looking for incentives linked to the tradtitional calls or short messaging services SMS.

FOX Sports Radio Add Text Messaging

From PromoMagazine.com FOX Sports Radio adds text message

Listeners of Fox Sports Radio are now using cell phones to give their feedback or participate in surveys, quizzes and giveaways by sending a text message to "ON FOX"



HipCricket, an Essex, CT-based mobile marketer, handles the campaign for Fox Sports Radio

Google Over The Powerlines?

From India Times.com Google to back broadband venture

Very interesting...closer to creating their own infrastructure. Broadband Over Powerlines BPL is a technology I have thought could allow broadband to be deployed rapidly with minimal costs.

In developing countries, an electrical outlet is found in 90% of the homes, but the figure for a phone line is minimal.

Google Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Hearst Corp are investing about $100 million in Current Communications Group, a start-up that offers high-speed Internet connections over electricity lines, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday

Current Communications, of Germantown, Maryland, uses a technology that sends Internet signals over regular power lines, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the situation

How much does Google spend on adding more servers? How much would it cost to make cities, counties, countries broadband enabled by enabling Internet over the powerlines?

Next question. If Google DID enable broadband through powerlines, could they ALSO attach a WiMAx/Wi-Fi to a powerbox on every street corner and offer a truly ubiquitous society?

Comments, opinions?

Want To Get Mobile Coupons

MyMobileCast, a company I included in my Mobile Coupons category, offers a way to get coupons on your mobile phone.

Download exclusive SMS text message coupons from your favorite restaurants & retailers directly into your mobile phone. It's free. Then simply show your mobile phone to receive discounts.

Search by your city to view participating locations, & get your mobile coupon now!

An idea for restauranteurs, retailers, promoters to start a mobile campaign

Talking Wine Bottle

From Reuters.com Talking wine label for consumers

A "talking" wine label could soon tell consumers in Italy everything they want to know about a particular bottle -- from its production history to the kind of food it should accompany

Tuscan company Modulgraf is putting the final touches on the product to be launched in November

The new "label" would consist of a chip implanted in the bottle that could be listened to with a small device about the size of a cigarette package in the wine shop or the restaurant

Here's a better idea. Instead of spending all that money on a chip for every bottle of wine, just make every bottle of wine interactive by "turning on" the barcode.

Not only would it be much cheaper, but the information that you could offer can be changed at any time (wine-tasting fairs, special retail offers). Once the chip is put on the bottle, the information is static, make the advertising/information dynamic.

Playing the chip will not give the wine company any information about the consumer, but clicking on the bacode on the back can allow the wine manuf to have the consumer "opt-in" to their next advertising campaign.

I also think anybody that interested in the information on a bottle of wine will be more apt to be carrying a web-enabled phone. See the opportunity?

The Barcode Goes Mobile

From Fairfax Digital Bar codes to mobiles deliver instant redemption

The humble bar code - workhorse of the packaged goods industry - is poised to enter the world of modern communications.

In coming weeks, bar codes will be sent by SMS to consumers' mobile phones offering them promotions that can be redeemed instantly in stores.

Vodafone said one of its divisions was talking to retailers and brand owners and expected to sign a deal within the month..Wonder what company and advertising company gets that campaign.



For the launch of a new G-string, a television commercial for British lingerie brand Gossard recently asked viewers to text a short code to receive money from a coupon. More than 22,000 responded and their details were captured for future promotions

I felt this was an important part of the story...:)

Rabble Offers Mobile Blogging Through Verizon

From HispanicBusiness.com Rabble lets Verizon Wireless customers join mobile blogging network

Verizon Wireless, the nation's leading wireless provider, and Intercasting Corporation, the first Location-Aware Media Networking Operator (LMNO), today announced the availability of Rabble, the first mobile application designed to empower individuals to create, publish and share media and connect with others based on proximity or areas of interest

Verizon Wireless Get It Now customers who use many of the top blogging sites can use Rabble as a tool to publish to their existing blog on the Web or import their existing blog to Rabble

Yahoo Introduces SMS Mobile Search

From C.Net News.com Yahoo expands its mobile phone search functions

Yahoo is set to launch on Thursday a new mobile search feature designed to let users send short text message queries to Yahoo and receive results back on their mobile phones

The short code for this is 92466 (YAHOO).

The new SMS Search feature promises to let people get specific information in text on their mobile phones, such as weather, stock quotes and store addresses, and use shortcuts on the keypad to make it faster. For example, typing in "w" and the ZIP code will retrieve a short weather forecast, Yahoo said

Yahoo and Google are in a heated battle to be the first place people go to for information on the Internet. They have turned their attention to mobile phones and other non-PC devices and are racing to offer localized content and search to make getting Web-based information as easy on handheld devices as it is on a laptop or PC.

Unlike Google, however, White said that once a user retrieves a reply from Yahoo's text message search service, they can refresh it without having to retype the query

. That could be useful, he said, for retrieving the latest stock quote on a company.


Who will win the true mobile search race by incorporating a GPS feature into this?

In my opinion, the first mobile search company to incorporate GPS into search queries will own this space.

Microsoft, France Telecom Have Big Plans

From CNN Money.com Microsoft, France Telecom have big plans

Companies to collaborate on rich multimedia wireless service, plan to release product in a year

The world's largest software maker and France Telecom (Research) held a joint news conference in Paris to highlight that the partnership would initially focus on mobile phones using wireless technology and on bringing together voice, video and data over networks.

In recent months, several leading software and telecoms companies have announced collaborations in the area of developing new Internet and mobile phone services

Where Will The Advertising Dollars Go?

From Investors Business Daily PepsiCo, P&G And GM Channeling Ads Online (sub req'd)

A couple lines I found of interest.

When a major player like Procter Gamble changes their advertising patterns, I take note as to where they redirect it.

Spending on TV commercials is expected to fall sharply in the coming months, while outlays for online ads continue to surge.

In place of the traditional 30-second TV promotion, these players are turning more to Internet ads and other types of new media

"At the end of the day, marketers have a simple principle: They follow consumers," said Greg Stuart, president of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, a trade group.

"If marketers are removing money from TV because consumers have removed themselves from TV, my assumption is (marketers) will follow consumers to the Internet."

Why not follow them to the Internet they carry with them at all times, all day long?

WeatherBug Offers Wireless Weather Services

A neat service being offered by Weatherbug and Sprint.


Get LIVE streaming local weather data, severe weather alerts, detailed forecasts, local radar, live weather cameras, photos, as well as World weather conditions

WeatherBug offers these services

Tech's Fourth Wave

Another reason to get excited about emerging technologies.

From Australian IT.news.com Tech fourth wave begins to surge

EARLY signs of the fourth wave of the tech economy are emerging, according to Forrester Research's information technology innovation report.

Unlike the past three waves driven by mainframes, PCs and the internet, this phase will begin sooner and spread faster than historical cycles suggest, and will lead to a "truly IT everywhere" planet

"We have seen three big growth cycles, with more than 5 per cent of GDP invested in technology," Forrester analyst Chris Mines says.

"Each of these supernormal periods of spending was followed by a digestion phase as companies rationalised their infrastructure and focused on return on investment.

"We are in a digestion phase now, but a new set of technologies will take off as soon as 2007 or 2008."

Forrester has identified four trends as "the seeds of the next big thing".

Digital business architecture

Extended internet: The X Internet will connect systems to physical assets, products and devices, from RFID and telematics to mobile networks and biometrics



Innovation networks
A business model for software development that lets companies match demand for innovation with worldwide sources of talent and capital.


Social computing: Companies will tap into the social structure created by search engines, blogs and viral marketing

Microsoft Hooks Up With Alien For RFID

The RFID picture is getting clearer.

From BusinessWire.com Alien Technology announces alliance with Microsoft on RFID initiatives

MORGAN HILL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 5, 2005--Alien Technology today announced an alliance with Microsoft that establishes Alien(R) as one of the key partners in Microsoft's RFID Initiatives whereby Alien RFID reader and tag products will be supported by Microsoft's RFID technology.

Alien also announced that Microsoft selected Alien tags and European-compliant high powered ALR-8780 readers as one of the readers to demonstrate its RFID technology at the Microsoft TechEd EMEA conference this week in Amsterdam

When I suggested Microsoft could be creating an RFID browser, it didn't get much reaction.

Another way to look at this. Imagine that every RFID tag is a URL with a lot more data, and then realize why Microsoft will want to own this market.

New Wireless Broadband Technology

From Reuters New wireless broadband whispers below the radar

A new communications tool that "whispers" on busy radio channels could enable broadband Internet services for on-the-go wireless devices or hook-up homes that cannot yet get fast Web access, its inventor said

xMax, the latest innovation in broadband communications, is a very quiet radio system that uses radio channels already filled up with noisy pager or TV signals, said inventor Joe Bobier

The technology could interest a telecoms or Internet operator with no radio spectrum because it can begin a wireless broadband service with very few base stations and add more stations and increase density as demand rises.

It is also appealing for rural areas which operators find too costly to cover with the current third generation mobile phone networks which need base stations every few miles

The first xMax network is currently being built in Miami and Fort Lauderdale where one base station can deliver broadband Internet over a 40 square mile area.

New Service From KEEPSMS

KEEPSMS introduces a new service that lets you save your SMS and phone contacts online.

How KEEPSMS works ?

Register and we create your own online inbox. Then forward SMS messages that you want to keep to 4863111 and you can view, access and file them online. Never lose another SMS or contact again even if you change your phone or operator.

21st Century Mobile Marketing

Managing Director at BeepMarketing give a nice summary of where mobile marketing is going.

With more active mobile phones in the UK than people and 85 million text messages sent person to person every day and more than 70 per cent of all customers using their phones for texting (Mobile Data Association) this thing is huge.

More people have access to mobile technology than desktop or laptop computers. Mobile phones are with us wherever we are, whatever age we are (more than 25 per cent of under 10s have a mobile phone according to Mobile Youth) and whatever state of mind we're in. This of course makes it a very powerful marketing tool.

But what happens next? Most data collected from text and win competitions is binned and not even analysed fully (even though it contains extremely valuable data about customer likes/dislikes and their usage of mobile phones).

What's more with the advent of mobile barcodes and tracking techniques, we can start to test different offers with different groups and begin to find out more about our customers and add to their experience of our brand.

Nokia RFID Phone Now Available

From More RFID.com Nokia RFID kit available

The Nokia Field Force Solution is specifically designed for a variety of industry sectors such as security, services, utilities, health care, and government branches.

The information exchange starts by touching the RFID tag placed on objects, such as assets, billboards, meters or other equipment, with the Nokia RFID or Nokia NFC ( Near Field Communications ) enabled mobile phone.

While I'm anxious to see this technology implemented and see endless possibilities, I think information exchange thru the cell phone will occur sooner with a barcode.The technology is here AND there are barcodes on just about everything.

Google Maps On Your Phone

Mobile GMaps is a free piece of software that displays Google Maps and Keyhole satellite imagery on Java J2ME-enabled mobile phones or other devices.

You may download, use and distribute the application free of charge for non-commercial purposes. You may NOT use it for any commercial purpose

Is it just me, or does it seem like Google is slowly creating one massive infrastructure to take on the mobile advertising industry?

There is still one thing they need though...a browser. Not like you know it, but a physical world browser

Everything Is OK, So Don't Read This

Steve Ballmer says everything is OK so this story isn't worth reading.

Snap, Send, Sell

This could have interesting effects on the paparazzi industry, and create a new one too. Although the quality of the camera will have to improve first.

Scoopt

Virtually everybody now has a mobile phone, and virtually every mobile phone now comes with a camera. This means that somebody, somewhere is in a position to photograph just about anything that happens on the planet.

If you photograph a newsworthy event, you could have a valuable scoop on your hands. Scoopt represents you, making sure the right people see your photo and ensuring that you get a good deal. Scoopt is simple. Scoopt works. Above all, Scoopt works for you

FOX News Calls Scanbuy The Next Big Thing

The physical world connection industry made it to Brian Wilson's show on Fox News. Scanbuy and their CEO Olivier Attia were featured about the next big thing.


In essence Scanbuy has perfected a technology whereby consumers can download software to their cell phones that will allow them to scan the bar code on any item and search all databases for the lowest price.

Coke Uses Hypertag Technology

From Groceryfaqs.com Coca-Cola's new campaign uses Hypertag Technology

Coca-Cola with Lime will also be among the first to use the new ‘Hypertag technology by AURA Digital, in Australia which allows people with Bluetooth or infra-red compatible handsets to download ringtones, pictures, and more onto their mobile phone from outdoor billboards. Coke with Lime Hypertags will be in Sydney CBD only from August.

A Virgin That's Been Around The Block

There are a couple things I see in this story that could prove to be valuable and destructive for certain companies.

From CNN.com Branson trademark suit sparks debate

'Rebel billionaire' sues small companies using word 'Virgin' -- and often wins. But is it right?

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The "rebel billionaire" Richard Branson started out some 30 years ago with a small company that he turned into one of the world's most recognizable brand names -- in part by making sure no one else used the word "Virgin" to sell their wares.

Virgin and its lawyers say that when consumers think "Virgin," they think Branson – and that any consumer who hears a company using that word in its name will think it's affiliated with Virgin Group Ltd.

I see Branson going after search engines next. That might be a tough one to prove though.

For a guy that is so innovative, surely he can think of other ways to leverage the Virgin brand name using emerging technologies and media.

Nextcode Makes ALL Camera Phones Hyperlinkable

A story that didn't get the attention I thought it would. All camera phones can now be physical world hyperlinkable

Boston, MA – June 28, 2005 – Nextcode Corporation, a leader in optical barcode solutions for mobile devices, today announced the launch of the mCode format. mCode is a powerful new two-dimensional barcode technology optimized for use with any camera phone and was created by Nextcode specifically to support access to mobile content, commerce and services.

Using the mCode technology, consumers can gain easy, one-click access to mobile content from printed materials, computer screens and other media.

Most companies that offer a barcode reading software app for the camera phone have one big problem. The lens on the camera doesn't read a barcode unless you add a special lens (not the best marketing concept). This has been a big obstacle so far for mobile industry.

Some companies offer the ability to read a 2d barcode(that funny bullseye image on a UPS package) with their sofwtare, but they can't read a barcode.

Well it looks like Nextcode has solved that problem with mCode. Any camera phone can now read a barcode and a 2d code created by Nextcode. This opens up many opportunities for all advertisers.

The package goods companies can create campaigns using their barcodes and companies without a barcode can get one created by Nextcode.

The mCode format was specifically created for use in advertising and mobile marketing. It incorporates a highly efficient data structure enabling mCodes to be printed in less than one-third the space of other 2-D codes.

Unlike other codes, the mCode format also is highly flexible in terms of shape and size, allowing advertisers to easily meet printing and layout requirements

The mCode technology also enables custom code designs that can incorporate branding, graphics, color, and unique shapes

Stay tuned for some exciting mobile campaigns from these guys.

A Compelling New Medium

From Cape Business News A compelling new medium

South African digital marketing company Brandscape is offering marketers a remarkable new interactive technology since acquiring South African rights to Hypertag® and Redeemit®.

Picture this. You’re at the mall. A poster headline invites you to activate your cellphone’s infrared function. Then you point and click. On your screen you receive an invitation to try out a new fast food outlet in the mall. There’s also a barcode entitling you to a discount. At the door of the restaurant, you hold your cellphone screen next to a barcode scanner, your discount coupon prints out, and in you go. Sale accomplished.

Says Brandscape Director Gordon Parkin: “For the cellphone savvy marketer and consumer, it’s a compelling new medium and - unlike an SMS - it’s free to the user because there’s no network involved. For the same reason Hypertags® will operate even where there is no cellular reception

Consumers Help Advertisers Create Campaigns And Products

From NY Times.com Consumers,long the targets, become shapers of the campaigns

Crest, a division of Procter & Gamble, is asking people to go to the Web to vote for their favorite from a short list of contenders: lemon ice, sweet berry punch or tropica exotica.

Marketing executives say the campaign reflects an increasing interest by companies in involving consumers in their advertising

This comes with the inherent declining power of traditional media advertising

But does interactive marketing increase sales?

"If you took the time to submit a name(click on a barcode, send an SMS, take a pic) because you really wanted to win this honor, you had to have some kind of connection or like for that color in the first place," said a Crayola spokeswoman, Stacy Gabrielle

Not only are you giving them permission to market to you, but you are alerting them to your interests and YOU initiated the interaction.

Mr. Dhar said interactive marketing helps companies identify the consumers who care about their products and are most likely to buy them. Making that connection has been a challenge for companies that manufacture products and sell them through retailers rather than directly to consumers, he said.

Mobile Analytics M:Metrics Adds Leading Players

In a sign that mobile traffic is growing and needs to be analyzed.

M;Metrics,the authority on the consumption of mobile content and applications, announced that it has added several wireless industry heavyweights to its growing roster.

I explained what M:Metrics will doHERE

Verizon Wireless, InfoSpace Mobile, Kayak Interactive, MFORMA, VeriSign, Inc., Vindigo and Yahoo! are among the firms that recently subscribed to M:Metrics Syndicated Data Service

M:Metrics launched in March of this year and has gained significant traction in the marketplace as a credible and reliable source for mobile content consumption data.

Its multidimensional methodology to measure mobile content consumption and benchmark the performance of mobile operators, content companies and mobile device manufacturers includes the largest monthly survey of U.S. mobile subscribers, an extensive device database and comprehensive pricing and catalog data, including genre-level title information and deck placement across the major U.S. carriers.

T-Mobile Offers Mobile Google

A few things I don't understand. Do mobile users really not know how to set their own homepage on their mobile?

Does T-Mobile think that www.google.com on your mobile is that good or relevant?
Have they ever tried doing a mobile search using Google?

Search on your phone is NOTHING like search on your PC, it's navigation. If Google and the other search engines looked at the queries they get from a mobile versus a PC, they would create a better mobile mousetrap. Take a clue from the SMS search companies and what they are starting to offer, THAT'S what mobile search should be.

T-Mobile should create a simple almost SMS like search app for their mobile homepage, so people could get used to the mobile in a different manner than the PC.

From NetImperative.com T-Mobile teams up w/ Google to open up mobile Internet.

T-Mobile has announced it will use the Google homepage as the entry page for its mobile Internet service, in a bid to encourage more of its users to log on to the Web via their mobiles

Ulli Gritzuhn, T-Mobile board member, said: "With the Google homepage we want tell our customers from the first moment that they are carrying with them the Internet they know from home.” They still don't get it.

If U Can't Beat Em, Annoy The Hell Out Of Em

Under the category of "Me Too!".

Microsoft tries to catch Google in search wars by buying a what?

The company that Microsoft has pursued is controversial: Claria, an adware marketer formerly called Gator, and best known for its pop-up ads and software that tracks people visiting Web sites. The Gator adware has frequently been denounced by privacy advocates for its intrusiveness.

Yes, just when you thought those annoying pop-up ad days were over, Microsoft feels they have value.

All of the latest toolbars are newly introduced browsers have made it a key selling point that they block pop-up ads.

I was just talking about how Google is becoming THE WEB ANALYTICS COMPANY for the digital Internet and now Microsoft is trying a backdoor method way.

Have You Ever Looked At Google This Way?

I have been reading a fair amount of articles about Google’s stock price. Is it a bubble, is it undervalued, and what price “target” should be put on it. I have no idea and I really don’t care.

What I have realized is what type of information Google gets every day and I don’t know WHAT kind of value you can put on that. I also wonder why the privacy groups haven't squawked more about this.

Google is becoming more like a portal every day. It is a central location where many services are offered, in spite of what the “do no evil” people say. With that concept comes more Internet traffic. The more focal, the more information. But did you ever stop to think what Google is doing or really becoming?

I would say Google is THE Sociologist of the Internet…. HUH?

Every day you use one of Google’s services, you are telling them more about your interests/habits/patterns by your queries. Every keyword you put into the search bar, every news item you click on and every SMS request you make. Think about that.

YOUR behavior can be measured could be predicted by all of their servers and some software algorithms.

Not only is Google the advertising powerhouse for the "digital Internet", they are becoming THE WEB ANALYTICS company for the digital Internet too. Notice I said "digital Internet", the physical world Internet will have a completely different analytical tool.

That my friends has more value than any pay-per-click statistic.

So when I hear these “analysts” give price targets on TV for Google stock, I listen to see if they really “get it”. Cost per click, online advertising and Internet traffic are the stats I hear regurgitated. There’s also the issue of click fraud and that search is just an advertising commodity.

For right now, Google is numero uno. The more services they introduce, the more of a portal they will become, and the advertising dollars will follow. It's self fulfilling.

When you think about how much is spent on ALL forms of advertising, the database that Google has compiled/is compiling with YOUR interests and habits, I don’t really know how you can value something as big as that.

Thoughts, comments?

Good Mobile Marketing Will Not Be Spam

This is a great story but the title is misleading. Spam is something that is unsolicited(without permission). In every campaign that is mentioned in the article, the user GIVES THE BRAND PERMISSION to market to him. Calling this spam is inaccurate.

Another thing to consider. These examples show more games/prizes like interaction. When people get used to using the phone as a browser, the barcode or shortcode will deliver information about the product as well.

From RedHerring.com Is Cell Phone Spam A Reality?

It's a lengthy read and I highlighted the sentences of interest to me.
Brand-name companies have caught on to the interactive power of mobile phone marketing

Starting this month, Coke drinkers in Germany can use their cell phones to text message codes found under the caps of 800 million bottles created for the campaign this year. In return, Coca-Cola, with the help of mobile marketing company 12snap, will reply with a java-based cell phone game branded heavily with Coke’s logo.

Eventually, the distinctions between the fixed Internet and mobile models will blur. Any kind of ad you encounter on the Internet will be available over mobile.”
-Farid Yunus, Yankee Group

In Western Europe, London-based Flytxt recently offered what the company calls “the first video advertising campaign on the mobile portal.” Over the carrier 3’s service, subscribers can download a 30-second movie trailer clip to preview the film

Unlike Japan, South Korea, and Western Europe, most countries do not maintain the third-generation (3G) cellular infrastructure to carry the rich-media mobile marketing services But because of the low cost of simple text message campaigns—which can cost less than $0.01 per message—combined with the massive population size of emerging markets like China and India, big-name brands have started to look toward developing markets. (This is why searching using SMS imo will be big)

Enpocket, a New York City-based mobile content company with clients like Nike, Levi’s, and Intel, says that its biggest growth markets are India, China, Brazil, and Russia, along with the United States

12Snap will likely open an office in China sometime this year

According to Empower Interactive, a London-based company that provides data services to operators, 84 percent of European wireless users are open to the prospect of receiving SMS-promotions on their cell phones

Physical World Connection Companies..Connecting A Mobile Phone With A Physical Object

When a display was added to the first mobile phone, a new media was created. Since then, Internet connection and a camera have been added that have created a new way to interact with the physical world.

Soon speech recognition will allow an additional way to browse the physical world too.

Every physical object will have a physical world hyperlink

That means every physical object will allow connection to a designated website and the mobile phone with it's physical world browser will be able to surf the "real world", the physical one.

I think you find THE NEXT GOOGLE in here.

Your ad could be here.

MOBILE BAR CODE COMPANIES

23half and their Thrrum Visual Browser
3GVision
5o9 Inc
Abaxia and their MobileTag
ABBYY
Active Print (Hewlett-Packard)
ActiveSymbols
Aeritas
Airclic
AlpsLab
Applied Digital Solutions and their VeriChip
Aura Interactive
Baracoda
BaToo
BeeTagg
BluePulse
BrandAttention
CamClic
[COD]mmunication
ColorZip Media
ConvergeLabs
CounterFight
DSPV
Daem Interactive
Denim Code
DiMoCo
Digimarc
Domino Solutions
Ecrio
Elcode
Evolution ViPR
Evryx
Exbiblio
G2Tactics
Gavitec
GenTag
GeoVector
GMedia
Google 2D Code
Google Voice
Hitachi
HookCode
Hypertag
Iconlab
Infokall
Innofone
Intelcom
Intellareturn's Append
Intrasonics
JagTag
Jaxo and their BarShow application
Kameleon
KoolTag
L.G. Electronics
Liquid Information
Luna Development
MBarc
M-Bar-Go
Matrix Solutions
MediaSeek
Mobicode
MobileAMA
Mobile Assets Corp
Hewlett Packard'sMobile Bristol
Mobile Discovery
Mobile Tag
Mobile2Win
MobilRelay
MobiMarketing
Mobot
Mobiqa
MyBestPrice
MyClick
MyMobileCast.com
Mytago
MyThum Interactive
NetInformer
Nextcode
Neven Vision
NewFound
NPCTelecom
nThrum
Nuance
Ontela
Kooaba and ooLink
OP3 and ShotCode
Opera
PaperDisk
PixeCode
PriceNoia
Psiloc
QuickMark
QMCODES
RealEyes 3D
Riya
SCANBUY
Scansoft/SpeechWorks
Secure Symbology
Semacode
Semapedia
Sintef
Skuair
SmartPox
SnapTell
Socket
SpyderLynk
SwiftPass
Tagit
TellMe
Trillcode
Tripletail Ventures and their VideoBarcode
Veritec
Tivik
Visual Magic
Vocalocity
VoiceGenie
VoxSurf
w3 Logistics Handyscan
Wappple
WideRay
Xerox
Xobile's Leapscan
XXTreme Measures
ZapCode
ZapLinks

List is not complete due to some companies wishing to remain private about their applications


If your company is not included, please send an email and I will be happy to include in this category.


Wouldn't your ad look good here?

SMS Player Neustar Prices Its IPO

SMS Player Neustar prices its initial public offering

Neustar manages the authoritative directories for the .us and .biz Internet domains, as well as for Common Short Codes, part of the short messaging service relied upon by the US wireless industry. These databases require that there be one authoritative source for the information in these databases

I think SMS will be the key component for mobile search for some time .

A list of the SMS companies

Outdoor Ads Using SMS

Makes a lot of sense. All that space, why not make them interactive,

From NewMediaAge.com Kinetic puts mobile focus onto outdoor ads

WPP outdoor ad company Kinetic Worldwide has embarked on an education drive to persuade clients to begin including mobile shortcodes as standard on outdoor advertising.

The company's digital agency, OneZeroOne, is leading the drive to convince clients that mobile shortcodes are a far more powerful method of communication than URLs.

"We're starting with areas where people spend a lot of time, such as train stations," said OneZeroOne's head Chris O'Connell. "Here the chance of getting out an Internet-enabled device is small, which is why shortcodes are very effective, as they let people text in for more information or to receive a WAP Push message."

Heres a list of the SMS companies

Investor's Business Daily Goes Mobile

Want to spot stocks moving up on unusual volume?

Want to check an IBD rating for your stock?

Now you can on your mobile phone.

IBD Mobile

For each listed stock, you get:

Current Price (20 min. delay)
Price change
Volume % Change
Mobile Stock Checkup (from the previous day's market close

Could you offer a real-time quote service too? Maybe you could include a news alert feature for your favorite stocks

SMS Short Messaging Service Companies

What is a short message service or SMS? Otherwise called "short codes", SMS can be defined

To register a short code, Europeans click Here

THE COMPANIES

2SMS
21 Communications
3United
411 Song
4INFO
82Ask.com
A-Tono
Active Media Tech
Ads2Cell
Aglaya
Air2Web
American IDC
ASPSMS
AutoPage
Axontek
Bango.net
BlueBlitz
Brand2Hand
Breathe Communications
Capitext
Cardboard Fish
China Mobility Solutions
Clear Sky Media
Clickatell
CLXLLC
Connection Software
Coruscant
Dada Mobile
Derdack
Dialogue
DreamTXT
E-Spectations
Enpocket
Esendex
Flytxt
General Wireless
Go2.com
Google
House4Cell
Hay Systems
Image Habitat
Impactmobile
Incode
Info2cell
ipipi
ipsh!
Issuebits
Itagg.com
Keytxt
Kapow
Kinetic
Legion One
m-Qube
M Channel
M:Science
Mass Media Studios
Mauj
MarineCall
Mblox
Media2Win
Media Burst
Mkodo
Mobile 365
Mobilereact
Mobiltek
Mobliss
Mozat
MySMSaddress
MythumInteractive
MX Telecom
N5R
NetPace
NetpiperSMS
NetSize
Northwest Nevada Telco
Neustar
Opera Telecom
Opt-It
PageOne
Pocket Reach
PhoneFlyer
PhoneNumbers4U
PlaYtXt
PocketThis
PrompTXT
PropTXT
Proxito
Puca
Q Tags
Quios
Redcoal
RedRock
Retrieval Dynamics Corp
Roaming Messenger
Shazam
Skymo
SimPill
ScoreConnex
SimpleWire
SmarterSMS
SMS.ac
SMSMG.com
SMSPup
http://www.smsactive.com/
Sofia Digital
Synfonic
Tekelec
TeleCommunication Systems
Textin2win
Text Suite
Timesten Oracle just acquired.
Trade Doubler
Travertine Entertainment
Tribal Internet
Txt Nation
TynTec
Upoc
Upside Wireless
UpSnap
ValueFirst
Vazu
Vindigo
Voice Signal
WapMe
WapOnline
Waymobile
WeatherCall
Wiggle Wireless
Wireless Information Network
Xiam
Yell.com
Zed
ZeeWee
Zim

If your company is not included, or know of one I missed, please email me and I will include.

If your company is listed and want to advertise on this page, email me.

OP3's Updates ShotCode

I'm glad to see the physical world connection starting to take shape.

The 8th of June OP3 took the first step in making mobile Internet easy accessible by launching shotCode. OP3 today offered automatic optimization of regular Internet pages, making them readable on the tiny displays.

On average the mobile Internet simply is not being used. 99 percent or even more of current websites don’t look good on the tiny mobiles’ screens. But OP3, the company behind the ShotCodes, has now made its second step in its attempt to eradicate these problems.

Small mobile displays have a lot of limitations, compared to the ordinary PC- and laptop screens. Even if most of the mobile models are able to read HTML, optimization is usually needed. The new optimization feature on ShotCode.com is completely automatic and free of charge.

Here's a great idea that eBay could utilize. Instead of using a lengthy URL , use a ShotCode.

Say you would like to sell your bike on eBay, you can now easily point a ShotCode to your auction’s URL and hang this ShotCode on your local supermarket’s notice board. The ebay pages’ will be automatically updated so that the scanner instantly sees your auction in a readable format.

Another idea.

When you post your garage sale notice at the supermarket, include a ShotCode on the flyer. Click on the ShotCode for the address and the service provider provides a map to the location.

To get OP3's ShotCode software (for free)on your mobile phone, just point your camera at a ShotCode, (which is a circular type of barcode) click once and you’re instantly connected to the corresponding Internet site

WINCASH With Smart SMS

In my opinion this is NOT how you start SMS adoption.

From BusinessWire.com WINCASH with SMartSMS

June 28, 2005--American IDC Corporation's CEO Gordon Lee announced yet another one of several slated winning campaigns which is starting today.

Anyone with a mobile phone will now have the opportunity to win between $100 and $10,000 per day, using SmartSMS. Players can "Text InTo Win" as often as they like to see if they are Instant Winners. Once they are identified as winners, they will be text messaged a skill-testing question to qualify to win the cash prizes!

All a player needs to do is (1) Find the text message option on his mobile phone; (2) Text in the code "WINCASH"; (3) Send to 76278; (4) Wait for a quick response; and (5) Answer back according to the instructions in the message "Send the return message "WINCASH YES" for a chance to WINCASH instantly!

Here's the catch.

Play as often as you like: .99 cents/msg.rec'd.

This is dangerous in my opinion. Kids could get in big trouble with this. It reminds me a lot of search engine www.iwon.com and their advertising campaign. They would pay people to use their product. I don't recall Google ever paying people to use their search engine.

If a product or service is good, people will discover it and get the word out. Case in point, 4INFO. In my opinion it's better than Google, offers great results and last I recall I don't think they were paying anybody to use the service.

I can tell you though, the "early adopters" discovered this service and have done more advertising than any prize contest could.

What happens after the SmartSMS campaign is over, then what? Where's any value in this except to see if you won money ?

MobileReact Gets SMS Marketing

A company that truly gets mobile marketing in many ways MobileReact

I can't help think that if this company was in Europe or in the States, they would be making advertising headlines daily.

This is how you make the mobile phone an effective tool in various advertising campaigns.

M&M's has a promotional campaign that involves using the wrapper and an SMS code to win prizes. Running from 1st of May for 6 months in Thailand, customers send text to 4863003 and include the code on the wrapper to see if they have won.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a broader scale, Mobile React offers their Engage service.

ENGAGE is a simple to use for both consumers and advertisers.

1. Consumer sees an ad which contains a call to action.
Ex: “For more information SMS PSP to 4863333 and we'll call you back”

2. Consumer sends the SMS and based receives an instant customized response via SMS
EX: “Thank you for your interest in PSP. Our sales agent will call you back shortly.”

3. ENGAGE stores the incoming SMS from the consumer in the system log and immediately triggers an alert on the advertiser's PC with a pop up message containing the consumer's mobile number and timestamp.

4. Advertiser's sales agent calls back the consumer.
EX: Hello, I'm calling you about your interest in PSP. May I help you?

This isn't direct connect, but it allows brands a number of exciting ways to make their physical products interactive.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Want to check on airfare from Nok Air? (any airline could offer this)
Simply type your city of origin, leave a space and then your destination city. Within seconds, the reply message will list all available flights and fares for the date requested.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heineken Taps Mobile Marketing

Specially designed 6-pack of Heineken beer cans contained an embedded scratch-off code inside. Consumers must SMS the code to a dedicated number and receive automatic replies with points they have obtained, for first time participants and with the current balance for repeat consumers. Codes provided 1, 2 or 5 points and consumers could keep track of their points via SMS, through Heineken’s website or via an 24-hour automated interactive voice response (IVR) system. Redemption for giveaways began with 5 points.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To see a list of all of their Case Studies and the list of their services

One of the concepts they are incorporating is interacting using SMS in a TV program. This goes way beyond voting for the next American Idol and this is a great idea that should be adopted here in the States.

Keep an eye on these guys, something tells me their ideas and services will get noticed by the bigger players soon.

4INFO Adds New Sports Features To Their SMS Service

I don't know how many times I have covered this company in the last couple months, but they are constantly improving and offering new services for their SMS service.

If they created a section on their site called "Labs", I might get confused.

4INFO targets fantasy sports fans with statistics app .

Mobile search provider 4INFO Inc. will target fantasy sports addicts this week with a new application that will allow sports fans to access in-game and post-game statistics from their handsets.

Fantasy Sports Stats delivers statistics from recent events to users who text an athlete's name to the company's short code. The service, which is free aside from carrier messaging charges, includes results from National Football League and Major League Baseball players, as well as statistics from Professional Golf Association events.

Send a text to 44636 (4INFO) with your favorite sports star for their stats.

Advertisers Try To Adapt To The New Consumer

Great find from Martina at Adverblog Consumers are in control: what's the future?

From Adage.com Seriousness of changing consumption patterns

The trend, which was until recently little more than a novel notion, has now taken hold with a vengeance as the Internet, digital video recorders, DVDs, satellite radio, iPods, podcasting and other technologies enable millions to control when and how they access -- or avoid -- entertainment content and the advertising that supports it.

But all acknowledged, in some way, that they've got to respond to what is a sea change in the relationship between consumers and marketing and media companies