V/Speak

We’re seeing more and more instances of ‘TV on the go’ – everything from streaming your NetFlix queue through your mobile device, to downloading your favorite TV shows through iTunes (which just got a LOT cheaper) to live TV via dedicated devices.  Flo TV is one of the first to come through on the last example, but also has the cross over to your smart phone as well. With the opening of College Football season this weekend, they made a large commercial push through Saturday’s games.  I’m biased, but I thought this was a great ad.  Go Ducks!

David Veneski Mobile Marketing, Video Mobile, TV

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the connection between my digital world and the physical world.  I spend a lot of time in both (with my job being the forcing function for the former) and have often wondered how much cross over there really is in terms of the activities that are being done.  What has risen to the surface for me lately is the notion of ‘tagging’.  Think of it in terms of Facebook.  I take thousands of photos every year – of places, people, events, objects, animals, and simple moments in time that I want to capture.  When I post those photos – either to my Facebook account or my Flickr account, I am usually pretty diligent about ‘tagging’ the important objects (human or non human) that are present in each photo.  That creates a digital, track-able, trail that can be shared with those that I feel would like to participate in the experience.  Our social networking personas are full of ‘tagged’ content. From a simple statement on Twitter to a photo on Facebook to a mention in a blog post.

The thing that I am finding fascinating lately is the rise in the tendency to tag our physical world.  Take the application Stickybits for example.  The proclamation on their website is as follows:

“A fun and social way to attach digital content to real world objects”

How does it work?  You simply use your smart phone with the Stickybits app on it to scan a bar code on any physical object that might have one (soda can, magazine, packaging of your favorite DVD – you get the point – they’re everywhere and anywhere) and then attach whatever ‘tag’ you would like to that bar code.  The tag could contain a link to a document, sound file, photo, video, or just be simply a comment on the product containing the bar code itself.  Why do this you ask?  To enhance and expand upon the tangible offering of any physical object in your everyday world.  For example, rather than simply handing over your business card with your standard information on it – why not affix a scan-able bar code to it that provides your business acquaintance the ability to download your resume or any other file you want to share – simply by scanning your business card?  A brilliant way to make an impression beyond a 1″x3″ piece of card stock.

This new wave of real world ‘tagging’ is essentially a digital form of graffiti on physical objects. Let’s see how it might work.  Today I scanned the bar code on the back of my badge for work. Having done that and uploaded it to my Stickybits account, any friend that I have associated with that account will be able to see what I’ve scanned and add their own tag or comment to that object.  So this picture could easily be modified with a comment, additional photo, or incriminating video….if I’ve made it public to my friends.  I’ll be careful with whom I allow to see my scans.  🙂

Stickybits is not the only game in town. Tales of Things is doing something similar and there is a cadre of others hunting down the same path.  Is this new?  Actually, no – Wired published a story 6 years ago on the possibilities of linking your world to the Web – but the activity did not gain full momentum until the adoption of Smart Phones over the last 18 months.   Per Wired

“Technologists have long dreamed of a clickable world, where machine-readable tags link physical objects to the universe of information on the Web“.

It’s taken a long time for this activity to gain significant momentum with the natural correlation between Mobile and Social Media, I expect this to ramp exponentially moving forward.

David Veneski Mobile Marketing Bar Code, Stickybits, Tagging

My top 10 reads for the week.   This is a SMALL sampling of what I come across in my weekly media consumption addiction.  If you’d like to be on my email list, please email me and I will add you.

Facebook Readying Its Mobile-Social Move – Adotas

Heavy Twitter Users Bring Social Activity to New Heights – eMarketer

How Starbucks Plans to Capitalize on Free Wi-Fi – Mashable

The Science of Sharing: Platforms inject data into the art of going viral – AdWeek

How Nike’s CEO Shook Up the Shoe Industry (off topic, but GREAT read) – FastCompany

Is Facebook Foursquare’s Enemy? It’s Complicated – Mashable

Facebook’s Foursquare competitor is imminent – CNET

Social Media Strategy Lessons From Pepsi – Business Insider

D.I.Y. Tool for Apps Needs Work – NYTimes

The Best and Worst Campaign Deals on Foursquare’s Turf –  ClickZ

David Veneski Digital Marketing, Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Social Media Weekly News

My top 10 reads for the week.   This is a SMALL sampling of what I come across in my weekly media consumption addiction.  If you’d like to be on my email list, please email me and I will add you.

Say goodbye to the era of new stand-alone social networks – Guardian UK

Why Facebook Questions Could Be Zuckerberg’s Dream Come True – ReadWriteWeb

Google, undisputed heavyweight champion of mobile search – Pingdom

More Than 60% of Phones Web Capable by 2015 – ReadWriteWeb

Vice, a Media Company, Shows Big Brands How to Reach the Hip Crowd – NYTimes

Digital Media Director 2.0: Jack-of-all-Trades, Master of Many – FastCompany

A Look Back at the Last 5 Years in Blogging – Mashable

Check-In On Foursquare Without Taking Your Phone Out Of Your Pocket – TechCrunch

BlackBerry’s New Torch Makes a Leap From Drab – WSJ

Apple and the war for the mobile market – arstechnica

How Starbucks Reached 10M Fans: 6 Tips From A Social Media Superstar – Critical Mass

David Veneski Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Social Media Weekly News

With 56% share of consumer consumption between the iPhone and the iPod Touch – it’s very clear that Apple has a stranglehold on the mobile web with their devices.  Android has clearly made a big splash in terms of share of devices sold – however Apple is still dominant in consumption of content via handhelds.  Data chart – courtesy Quantcast.

David Veneski Mobile Marketing Android, iPhone, Mobile Web

My top 10 reads for the week.   This is a SMALL sampling of what I come across in my weekly media consumption addiction.  If you’d like to be on my email list, please email me and I will add you.

Forrester: Why Most Marketers Should Forgo Foursquare – AdAge

And the rebuttal…

Four Reasons Brands Must Check in to Foursquare. Now. – AdAge

Twitter Disconnect Between Marketers And Consumers – MediaPost

Are Location-Based Services All Hype? – NYTimes

Majority of Consumers Use Social Networks to Inform Buying Decisions – ReadWriteWeb

There will be blood: why Apple and Intel are destined to clash – ars technica

Once More, with Feeling: Making Sense of Social Media – Brian Solis

The Race to Organise Television – The Economist

Google Develops a Facebook Rival – WSJ

Why the Facebook-Amazon.com integration is bigger than you think – VentureBeat

David Veneski Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Social Media Weekly News

My top 10 reads for the week.   This is a SMALL sampling of what I come across in my weekly media consumption addiction.  If you’d like to be on my email list, please email me and I will add you.

Android Versus Android: Which Phones Are Winning on the Web? – Mashable

Content Farms 101: Why Suite101 Publishes 500 Articles a Day – NYTimes

Beyond Foursquare: What Search Engines Could Do With Location Data – ReadWriteWeb

How to Measure Brand Value: Likes, Followers, Influencers, Views? No, Social Currency – FastCompany

A Look Back at the Last 5 Years in Social Media – Mashable

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Talks to Diane Sawyer – ABC News

Amazon Mobile Sales Topped $1 Billion In Past 12 Months – paidContent

Facebook Connects 500 Million People: Defines a New Era of Digital Society –  Brian Solis

11 Mind-Blowing Mobile Marketing Infographics – HubSpot

Facebook Could Transform Mobile Phones – BusinessWeek

David Veneski Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Social Media Weekly News

My top 10 reads for the week.   This is a SMALL sampling of what I come across in my weekly media consumption addiction.  If you’d like to be on my email list, please email me and I will add you.

How Old Spice won the Internet – FastCompany

The Future of Mobile is Now – Canadian Marketing Association

Corporate Social Media Policies: The Good, the Mediocre, and the Ugly – FastCompany

Inventor of cell phone: We knew someday everybody would have one – CNNTech

TV on a PC or Phone Has Some Drawbacks – NYTimes

How “Real” Media Misses The Point Of Social Media – Business Insider

Skype and Fring Go to War Over VOiP Video Calls – Mashable article

Can WinTel gain a foothold in tablets? – MarketWatch

The Trouble at Twitter Inc. – Valleywag

Social Media is F**king Addicitve – Slideshare

David Veneski Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Social Media Weekly News

If you’re like me, it’s likely a device that plays multiple roles in your life. Personally – my mobile device (both of them – I carry a BlackBerry AND an iPhone) is:

I almost forgot – I actually do use it for it’s traditional purpose, to make phone calls.  Although that seems to be a task that is called upon (no pun intended) less frequently as the phones get smarter. According to Pew Internet Research, my usage pattern is not unique, although I would say that I am a heavier consumer of content on my phone than most mainstream consumers – that just goes along with my job here at Intel.  The interesting pattern that I have noticed (and that Pew points out in their latest report) is that as the general population makes the transition from feature phones (voice and text only) to smart devices (think iPhone and Android phones) the use of non voice related applications has increased dramatically.  Will we one day reach a point where we no longer use our phones to talk?  I’d say no, but I think we will see that usage model continue to decline – at least in the near term.

David Veneski Mobile Marketing Mobile Phone

Apple is the latest retailer to create an app that allows direct purchase from the users mobile device.  It comes at a fortuitous time as their website (and AT&T’s for that matter) are overwhelmed by customers trying to pre-order the latest iPhone as demonstrated by Digg founder, Kevin Rose‘s latest tweet:

“sweeeet got my iphone v4 pre-order in, pro tip: use the iphone app “apple store” to order, much faster..”

Others online purveyors have taken to mobile commerce with astonishing success – take eBay as a shining example.  In March, they related the following stats to the NYTimes:

“Eight million people shop eBay on their iPhones. Mobile commerce generated $600 million in merchandise volume last year, and eBay expects that to increase to $1.5 billion this year.”

That’s some serious cash – amazing what putting a mini shopping engine in the palm of a customer’s hand does.

David Veneski Mobile Marketing Apple, eBay, Mobile Commerce