Garner Consulting, LLC

And the winners are...

• Cellfire
  
• CellSpin
  
• CTA Bus Tracker
  
• E*Trade Mobile Pro
  
• MightyBackup
  
• Movial Social Communicator
  
• Remember the Milk
  
• Skyfire
  
• sniff
  
• VZ Navigator

As found in FierceMobileContent article here: http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/special-reports/top-apps-2008

EA demonstrates a perfect corporate response to, and use of the Web 2.0/social networking phenomenon.

And...the Jobs control-freak reputation continues (though it could be an AT&T requirement...)

AdAge article on how NBC is measuring Olympics consumption.

Mobile numbers are interesting, but still tiny compared to TV / Online. I've experimented a bit with the mobile offering and it could have been executed better. That will certainly affect the return-visit / sustaining power of the mobile effort as the games continue.

Quotes:

"To some extent, these Olympics are staring to influence how people use new technology," said Alan Wurtzel, president-research and media development, NBC Universal. "About half of people who use mobile [to watch NBC Olympics content] are using it for the first time."

NBC's Mr. Wurtzel unveiled what the network calls a metric dubbed "TAMi," or total audience measurement index. The data capture in rudimentary fashion the numbers of people watching Olympics content on TV, online, via mobile and through video-on-demand. Results are far from perfect; some of the numbers may represent duplication of viewership.

While NBC will make TAMi information available for all of its programs, don't expect advertisers to buy and sell ad time off of it, said Mr. Wurtzel. "It gives you an insight that you normally wouldn't have about TV viewership across platforms," he said.

Google hides behind its "don't be evil" mantra, but it really is a gigantic organization that is hungry for profits just like all of the others. And I use Google, for alot of things. It's just disappointing when blatant hypocrisy takes over. They need to stop with the anti-establishment, moralizing garbage before they get themselves into real trouble.

I, for one, am looking for alternative services and use other web tools whenever feasible. This latest StreetView flap might just grow into something that gets them some much needed, unwanted attention.

From Directions Magazine blog:

NLPC Follows up on Google Dismal Request; Pushes Privacy Issue

The National Legal and Policy Center spread the news (press release) about Google's response (a request for dismissal) to a privacy complaint from a couple on private road in Pittsburgh. Now word from the Mercury News the organization has posted photos and route to work info for Larry Page, one of Google's founders. The idea is to get the company to rethink its vision of privacy.

BBC News Article

Google has been accused of "hypocrisy" over its stance on personal privacy.

In court documents defending a lawsuit brought against its Street View mapping tool it has asserted that "complete privacy doesn't exist."

--

In an effort to turn the tables on Google the NLPC compiled a comprehensive amount of personal information on an unnamed Google executive in less than 30 minutes

It included the licence plates of cars outside the individual's home, the landscaping company the exec uses and even the name of the next door neighbour's security company.

The Centre used Google Street View and Google Earth to gather all the necessary information which it released publicly it said to "highlight the invasiveness of these technologies to individual privacy."

"The fact that every American is now subject to this type of scrutiny with the click of a mouse is frightening," said Mr Boehm.

I had to drop this in. If for no other reason than the picture...something inherently painful about it.

The real story is trouble with AT&T's network.

IPhone 3G Users Heated Over Network Issues | Gadget Lab from Wired.com

"People aren't done complaining about the iPhone 3G. This time, it's the 3-G network that's grinding people's gears.

Hundreds of peeved iPhone users in Apple's support forums say they're experiencing problems with the 3-G network. Some Gadget Lab readers have written in echoing similar concerns. And CNET editors say they're receiving e-mails about 3-G issues, too."

--

Full article: http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/07/iphone-3g-users.html

I decided to try out "Brandcaster" from Coupons, Inc. It is their latest iteration of technology for distributing CPG brand coupons on the Internet. You can find it down the left hand side of this page.

Let me know what you think.

A wee bit of angst out there about the whole iPhone 3G-Apple-pricing-tactics-ATT-service-plan-hike thing.

View Original Article

View Original Article

Mobile Marketing Association releases new revision of U.S. Consumer Best Practices for cross-carrier mobile marketing services

July 9, 2008

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), (www.mmaglobal.com), today released version 3.3 of its U.S. Consumer Best Practices (CBP) Guidelines for Cross-Carrier Mobile Content Services. Updated twice annually, the guidelines have become the baseline set of rules for cross-carrier mobile content services that include, but aren't limited to, text messaging, multi-media messaging, shortcode programs, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and mobile web.

The guidelines are effective immediately and are available for download at

www.mmaglobal.com/bestpractices.pdf

Mobile Marketing Association releases new revision of U.S. Consumer Best Practices for cross-carrier mobile marketing services - FierceWireless

Fairly placid review; doesn't drool all over himself.

 Also, Wired's take.

 

View Original Article

Some info coming out through TechCrunch from ScanBuy and a relatively new demo video on YouTube (below).

Evidently it is cool to have an iPhone app and "use" it in the demo video, even though I suspect the demo is staged. The Techcrunch article states that an iPhone app is "upcoming" and the demo illustrates a different user experience than the one available on significantly older devices. The Windows Mobile version, for example, automatically recognizes the code if the ScanLife app is running and kicks off whatever experience has been determined. There is no need to touch / "capture" the code on the screen.

Can't blame them for riding the iPhone hype wave, though.

TechCrunch article

 

 

Surge of New Software for the iPhone

Aiming to capitalize on the new features of Apple's iPhone 3G, developers are planning an array of applications, including several for business

by Jay Yarow

---

MIMvista's application is just one of the 4,000 applications being developed specifically to run on the iPhone(BusinessWeek.com, 6/9/08). These are part of a wave of so-callednative applications, meaning they're designed to run directly on thephone, as opposed to being downloaded onto the phone from a Web browser. The first of these programs becomes available by mid-July, around the time the new iPhone 3G hits store shelves.

---

See BusinessWeek.com's slide show for a glimpse of the next generation of iPhone apps.

Surge of New Software for the iPhone

Supermarket of the future

A German supermarket is encouraging customers to scan and ring up their shopping using mobile phones, and check out without the help of a cashier. It is one of the number of innovations at the new "Future Store" - as Steve Rosenberg discovered when he went along to do his weekly shopping.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Supermarket of the future

The MBA myth"There’s a popular book on entrepreneurship called The E-Myth which claims that bakers shouldn’t run bakeries, plumbers shouldn’t run plumbing companies, and everyone else should think about how they could turn their small business into a franchise. On the face of it, there’s a lot of good advice about how you can’t just be a good baker if you don’t have a business bone in your body and expect commercial success.""Problem is that the reverse is also often true. If you just put MBAs inplace — or other professional managers without deep subject matterexpertise — you’re equally likely to end up with an uninspiringbusiness that fails to be passionate about the right things."

The MBA myth - (37signals)

A little bit of press recently:

"Mobile phones have greater potential for collecting valuable marketing data than any other medium currently available, said Laird Garner, president of Garner Consulting LLC."

2D mobile barcodes to be launched nationwide after successful trial

Margaret Grady, Staff Reporter

 I said a bit more than that of course...you can see/hear the rest in the 2D code video a few posts down this page. At least it wasn't a misquote.