The Lighthouse Diaries

Talking Mobile Code

nobody@vox.com(Packman) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 03:03:40 +1100

Springwise highlights Augme this week, a site which lets you create a unique two-dimensional barcode. When scanned by a mobile phone, it links up with the website embedded in the code. This could be a Facebook profile, a cause, a product site or a brand link. Augme also lets people link to profile pages they create on the Augme site. They make their money through selling customisable t-shirts printed with your code. These semacodes or QR codes have been around for a couple of years now, but with readers only available for a limited number of handsets, it hadn't really taken off beyond places like Korea, where these box-shaped codes are becoming as common as URLS and barcodes. They present a fantastic way to get to consumers and give them the opportunity to access your information in a dynamic and interesting way. The good news is that sites like Augme offer readers for a much broader range of handset models now, which can be downloaded to your computer or direct to your handset very easily. I found my model easily. I currently use a MOTO Q9 and was able to quickly download a reader for the model direct to my phone. I then used Augme to create a datamatrix for my PR business and everything worked according to plan when I scanned it using my phone. Check out the Active Print Project to learn how marketers and others are using mobile-coded media. I'm looking forward to getting a campaign using this technology up and running. /dp

Augme

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Vive la AOL France

nobody@vox.com(Packman) — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:53:35 +1100

As an AOL alumni and in fact VP of Communications for AOL Europe at one time, I was fascinated to hear of AOL France recently laying off 90 of their 140 strong workforce, who apparently spent their last day cutting a very amusing little video to the tune of "L'amour a la française." This little stunt, which has of course now done the rounds online, would have fallen into my lap from a PR perspective, and it reminds me of how much times have changed. While it has created some lighthearted jabs from the likes of Valleywag (you can also see the video here), all in all, I think it shows that even when facing the propects of unemployment at the hands of the company they worked for, the folks at AOL France managed to display some loyalty (at least for each other and the ride they were all on, if not AOL). It doesn't really surprise me. I spent a fair amount of time in the Paris office and while there was the usual "disgruntlements" and misalignments of operational direction one might find in a company facing extremely serious challenges, the folks in the trenches always displayed great passion for what they were doing and stuck together. Most of all, this video made me laugh and remember the fun times. It is just another example of the powerful voice we now have as consumers and employees. Great stuff, I love it -- but never in my day ;)

/dp

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Anyone for Kameraflage?

nobody@vox.com(Packman) — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:09:54 +1030

As a marketer, the idea of planting subliminal messages on T-shirts, movies and billboards that can only be seen with digital cameras might be pretty cool, right? Well, it's here and it's called context-sensitive display technology. It works by using colours that are invisible to humans but easily picked up by the silicon chip in your camera. Think about the uses! Very cool.

/dp

Kameraflage

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Family Guy Hooks Up With Google

nobody@vox.com(Packman) — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 09:03:29 +1030

Seth McFarlane, creator of "Family Guy" has hooked up with Google, using its AdSense network to distribute original video shorts. The show, which will be paid for by embedded ads, will appear in banners Google serves on both its own and independent sites. The notion is that as ads, the videos will reach a larger audience than a website dedicated to the clips. For Google, it's a way to fill unsold ad inventory and prove the notion of AdSense as a distribution vehicle. By inserting content into ad banners, it could also have a longer term benefit of making users pay more attention to banners, something users don't often do these days. Either way, I am a big Family Guy fan, so I will be checking the new vids out.

/dp

Family Guy

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

About Facebook

nobody@vox.com(Packman) — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 13:10:09 +1030

I think it's pretty obvious to everyone by now that Facebook has gone well over the tipping point. Interestingly, it's done that by recently attracting my peers, those folk who have left college or university. The 30-somethings (and above!)

A quick sidebar before I continue. An intriguing issue I have with all these new people joining is this. How do you politely refuse someone as a friend once they have tracked you down and sent you a request? Look, I am a friendly guy, but like everyone else, there's some people whose lives have previously crossed with mine, socially and professionally, who, in all honesty, I didn't really consider as "besties," to put it mildly. Yet, here they are again, out of nowhere, grinning inanely in their profile pic, and..."poking" me. Hmmm. Anyway, off the rant and on to the topic at hand...

Some are describing Facebook as the operating system for social networking. That's high praise indeed among the likes of MySpace and Bebo and the many others that are out there. The comparison to Google is interesting too. What any search company struggles to achieve is a network of connections and the ability to reach them. Facebook has created something they can't, a viral distribution platform.

Recently, Facebook took the next step and opened up its platform to outside application developers to create and monetise widgets for its users. LinkedIn followed suit, or at least anounced their intention to follow suit.

"They're all going to Facebook at the moment." Now who said that? In fact, it was Rupert Murdoch when asked if his News readers where using MySpace. He's certainly noticed.

To date, not many brands have launched applications within Facebook, to some degree because Facebook isn't encouraging it and partly, I would quickly suggest, that unless you build something that is actually useful for Facebookers, as opposed to just adding your logo to their profile, you will damage your brand as opposed to enhancing it. And finding that Facebook widget that manages to be highly useful to users and also connects them to your brand with the right message is no mean feat. Very discerning, this lot, and they can destroy a brand as quickly they can build it for you.

/dp

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Project "Cloverfield"

nobody@vox.com(Packman) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 18:24:24 +1030

Here's an interesting one. Paramount has released a movie trailer, currently running in the US before The Transformers, which basically amounts to a grainy home video of a twentysomething party abruptly turning into a scene of huge fireballs erupting into the city and culminating in the Statue of Liberty's head landing in a burning heap in the street. Intrigued?

There is no title. Only the date of 18 January, 2008 is shown, along with a line saying it is produced by Lost co-creator and Mission: Impossible III director J.J. Abrams. The trailer is known by the code name Cloverfield, but apparently that is not the real movie title.

Great marketing campaign, the blogospere is abuzz. Everyone wants to know what the movie is called and everybody wants to see it.

Paramount have set up clues online, and sites such as EthanHaasWasRight.com ruminate that the film will involve H.P. Lovecraft's tales of monstrous ancient gods wreaking havoc on Earth. Or is it the much vaunted Voltron movie about ancient robotic lions that defend Earth from invasion. Some say it's a new Godzilla film, or a big-screen takeoff on Abrams' Lost TV series or an entirely original project. Plenty of chatter. All good for business.

Paramount has not posted the trailer online, are busy removing all pirate versions from YouTube and stick to the line of "no comment, yet" Congratulations, Paramount, you've got my attention.

Check out CNBC on the "mystery movie trailer"

/dp

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Crowdsourcing To A Tee

nobody@vox.com(Packman) — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:49:57 +1030

I have always been fond of a good t-shirt with a clever/humourous tag or design. I often find myself looking for my favourite tee at music festivals and outdoor gatherings, even distilling it further in my mind to giving top honours in both male and female categories. And for those who've followed my blog, you will know I enjoy the concept of crowdsourcing.

I stumbled upon this WSJ article on Threadless, a Chicago-based t-shirt business that solicits designs from the best and largest design team anyone can have: the online community. The two teenage start-ups, Jake and Jacob, ask for submissions, have people vote for them online and then print only the most popular designs. Nothing like accessing the distributed knowledge on the Web, from design to focus groups.

From an initial investment of $500, they now have a business with an annual revenue of $15M. Nice work.

The question is whether crowdsourcing is a collaborative endeavour or simply a way to find people with great skills for a great price.

Threadless receives about 150 design submissions a day. Each one remains posted on the site for a week and those winning the most votes from more than a half-million registered users are chosen. Winning designers get $1,500 in cash and $500 worth of merchandise. Threadless has received 150,000 submissions to date, with only 1 percent of those chosen for production. Even famous designers who have entered the contest have failed to win.

I like their t-shirtin' style.

/dp

Threadless

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

P2P IPTV Hots Up With Joost Competitor

nobody@vox.com(Packman) — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 18:16:20 +1030

Joost finally has a competitor in the P2P IPTV market with the appearance last week of Babelgum. With many pundits hyping this as the next big thing, these applications allow you to flip through channels (or create your own perosonalised channels) and then stream shows straight to your computer. Both have heavy backing with Skype and Kazaa legends Niklas Zenstrom and Janus Friis financing Joost, while FASTWEB founder Silvio Scaglia is behind Babelgum.

Joost has been greatly benefited by first mover advantage and early buzz with major content deals with Viacom, CNN, Sony, and the NHL and even taking some of these partners on as investors. Babelgum is currently only streaming more generic content, although it has just signed Spike Lee and is screening some of his movie footage.

The big difference is probably in the social networking side, with Joost offering chat and other social widgets, while Babelgum apparently having none.

Early reviews of the application and interface pitch Babelgum as behind the Joost eight ball at this stage, but all agree that competition in this exciting area will ultimately drive innovation, and that's clearly a good thing.

Meanwhile, I'll keep spending the odd lunchtime watching Ultimate Fighting on Joost, less so for the lure of the content, but more because I love the new technology.

/dp

Babelgum

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Search and Discover New Music

nobody@vox.com(Packman) — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 19:27:31 +1030

There are lots of "search and discover" music websites out there, but one I am using a bit more at the moment is MusicMesh. I really like the interface and the fact it gives me reviews, wikipedia links, related YouTube videos and more. I guess the one downside is that I am not 100% in agreement with some of the search results it gives me in terms of related artists. However, it is improving over time. I have just purchased Xavier Rudd's new album "White Moth." On typing it in, I noticed the new album is not yet included, not so great, but it did give me Sufjan Stevens, which is not a bad genre match. This is a site worth keeping an eye on, but quite honestly, it could go either way.

/dp

MusicMesh

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

The Algorithm

nobody@vox.com(Packman) — Wed, 30 May 2007 09:06:40 +1030

Not sure about Ask.com and their Algorithm campaign. Not sure if anyone cares. My search results are brought to me via a very complicated algorithm. OK. That's great. In fact, 80% of search results on the Internet are generated by one algorithm. Hmm. Not sure this piece of information is worth owning as part of a brand position. If I was more techy and I knew all about this stuff anyway, why is Ask.com reminding me? Here is Ask's VP of Marketing discussing the campaign. What's even more interesting, if that is the right word, is that the campaign has now moved outdoors with billboards invoking the name of the Unabomber. What? Yep, that's right. Check it out below. I'm not sure who thought this was a good idea. Seems the guys at Techcrunch are a bit bewildered about all this as well.

/dp

The Algorithm

Read and post comments | Send to a friend