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People are consuming music on their mobile phones in an increasing way. The way most people do this now is through their operator, downloading realtunes straight to their phones. Innovative companies like Futurlink have a different idea how people will do this in the (very) near future, using Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and soon NFC, I wrote on this before in my Proximity Marketing post.

At 3GSM, Futurlink presents Wili-co-ITS, a new technology to distribute and sell content on the point of sales directly to the end consumers mobile phones using an interactive touch screen with an advanced Bluetooth and Wi-Fi application platform. Dig?

Wilico-ITS includes an advanced software called Suite which permits the creation of flash movies on the touch-screen and advanced interactive mobile music catalogues to be downloaded in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi mobile phones (all versions of Java, Symbian, Windows Mobile, etc.), all in an automatic way without the necessity of having advanced programming skills. Wilico Suite permits to personalise the design of mobile phone music catalogues incorporating multimedia content (images, texts, music, videos, etc.). The solution allows obtaining real time statistics remotely through an Internet connexion or GPRS/UMTS.

Just think about putting this kind of screens in a MacDonald or other FMCG POS and the possibilities of uploading and downloading content within proximity through mobile phones; think a YouTube+MySpace+Wilico-ITS combination scenario for example… get the picture?

CEO David Masó showed me a demo this week, very impressive! Make sure you check them out at stand Hall 2 - 1A05, if not I’m sure you’ll hear more about this innovative start-up this year.

Year end goes together with the usual Top 100 of the year (or all times). You can check my most played music of 2006 and a lot more here at MyStrands.com. You can do all this also on your cell going to m.mystrands.com. And check what’s happening around on New Years’ Eve on your mobile phone at m-partystrands.com, including live partyStrands parties going on at the partyStrands blog.

Now isn’t this cool to start a New Year?

Vodafone’s receiver #17 is out and it’s another interesting issue with various great contributions. This online-only magazine is a neutral space where pioneer thinkers challenge you to discuss exciting, future-oriented aspects of communications technologies.

This receiver issue is a truly playful one. While the urge to play is a human universal, gaming cultures differ widely across different societies – that goes for the games people enjoy as well as how they enjoy them. You can play with interactive media alone or to socialise, to compete or to relax, at home or in the street. What is play and what’s in a game? Here are nine answers.

It was good to read the contribution of Michael Samyn and Auriea Harvey, Games in spite of themselves on Tale of Tales, the design studio they run together in Belgium and their latest game concept development The Endless Forest:

Many games that call themselves multiplayer are in fact glorified single player games. Most of the activities (gathering objects and exterminating monsters) are single player activities at their core. Sometimes the designers make the tasks so huge that practical reasons force the players to collaborate, but the tasks and the motivation remain egocentric. The common exception seems to be games in which players directly confront each other. Instead of killing monsters, they kill each other. With The Endless Forest, we try not only to offer players less aggressive activities to engage in, but also non-competitive forms of playing together.

Michael and me have been pioneering together the early days of the internet in Belgium end of ‘94, early ‘95… waw time flies! Michael still kept some traces of that period here and here; for fans, you can check out his impressive entire portfolio. Michael is a truely original and great designer and artist and his work since he met Auriea has been always amazing and inspiring, together they won the Webby Award Prize for Excellence in Online Art in 2000.

This makes me curious about how they would conceptualize a great mobile game, do check them out!

Kudos to Richard MacManus who offered me his space today in an idea to write some articles around the Mobile 2.0 subject to intend bridge the web 2.0 and mobile 2.0 communities. I’m kicking-off a mini-series of posts on the topic of Mobile 2.0, which will be explored more in detail on Read/WriteWeb this week.

“On the eve of Le Web 3 in Paris - and one month after the Web 2.0 Summit concluded - it seems like an appropriate time to explore the world of the mobile Web, a.k.a. mobile 2.0. There has been a lot of discussion lately on this topic, a good deal of it inspired by the mobile 2.0 event - a one-day event held on 6 November 2006, organized by Daniel Appelquist and Mike Rowehl….”

Continue reading “Understanding Mobile 2.0“, in which I tried to give an overview of what I currently understand as Mobile 2.0 and I included some links to essential writing done on the topic by fellow mobilist bloggers.

Last weeks’ MobileMonday Barcelona on Proximity Marketing was the occasion to get briefed on the present real-world cases of mobile technologies used in a physical context. FuturLink presented their (rather impressive) content delivery system based on Bluetooth access points; Media Contacts talked about tailoring content; and Nike related on their (mostly) good experience on using proximity marketing; finally Daem Interactive revealed their MMS image recognition solution.

(from left to right: Joan Grau, Media Contacts - David Masó, FuturLink - Miguel Sola, Daem Interactive - Paulino Moraleda, Brand Communications Manage, Nike)

Carles Fereiro from Barcelona Media did a great job while I was checking out Villes 2.0, an excellent initiative launched by FING, also founders of Mobile Monday Paris. I liked a lot the speakers’ box concept they introduced at BETC Euro RSCG, you can view some of this Paris trip picture here. Thanks to Marie, Daniel, Stephane and especially Véronique of the MoMoParis team for just being so wonderful

Fabien Girardin took some pictures of the MobileMonday Barcelona evening. Check out his blog used for his Ph.D. thesis on collaborative work in the context of mobile and ubiquitous environments.

From Fabien’s Flickr images (l-to-r): FuturLink’s Bluetooth Access Point, Nike’s proximity experiment on a big Christmas ad in Barcelona, Media Contacts’ new generations of content.

Subscribed MobileMonday Barcelona users can download the presentations of that evening in the subscribers profile page. There is a very interesting video demo available from Media Contacts bluetooth campaign with VolksWagen-EOS.

Next MoMoBCN event on December 4 has topic Mobile Social Networks. Head over for more details at MobileMonday Barcelona website.

Continuing with its monthly events, MobileMonday Barcelona announces its next event on “Proximity Marketing” that will take place on November 6. Kudoos to Carles from MoMoBCN partner Barcelona Media to get this interesting list of speakers together:

David Masó, CEO of Futurlink, one of our most popular and successful local start-ups will explain us about Futurlink’s experiences and future plans on proximity solutions.

Miguel Sola, Director of Daem Interactive, another Barcelona Start-up will present their latest products and services for marketing campaigns using mobile image recognition.

Joan Grau, Director of operations at Media Contacts, will explain us about implementing proximity marketing solutions, the challenges and opportunities from the demand side.

Paulino Moraleda, Brand Communications Manager for Nike, will share with us what a major brand sees in the value and potential of proximity solutions and what they can provide.

As usual, a networking party will follow the conference where participants will enjoy a glass of cava, the event takes place at the Auditorium of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra.

Attendance is free; all you need to do is register at www.mobilemondaybarcelona.com/subscribe to reserve one of the 150 seats available. Book early to avoid being left out!

19h30 Registration and Pre-Networking
20h00 Proximity Marketing
21h05 Cocktail and Networking Party
22h00 End

This event is sponsored by Media Contacts, CIDEM (Centre d’Innovació i Desenvolupament Empresarial of the Generalitat de Catalunya) and Barcelona Media.

I wanted to write this article before summer but workload took me until now to take some time to write some of my insights on this interesting subject, so here we go…

Up to now, most people in the industry used the bluetooth marketing term to name advertising and marketing campaigns made using Bluetooth on mobile phones. Before entering the real ubiquitous marketing era, I think the time is right to start using proximity marketing to define the new era we’re entering to start using more then just bluetooth for mobile marketing campaigns.

Wi-Fi, RFID, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), and Near Field Communication (NFC) will soon be used to send multimedia content to your mobile phone, together with other ubiquitous devices, supposing you want it of course. As of now, the mobile phone is the best positioned device for mobile marketing campaigns for it’s multifunctional use and it’s market penetration.

Let’s start what it’s all about with the definition at Wikipedia:

“Proximity marketing is the localised wireless distribution of advertising content associated with a particular place. Transmissions can be received by individuals in that location who wish to receive them and have the necessary equipment to do so. Distribution may be via a traditional localised broadcast, or more commonly is specifically targeted to devices known to be in a particular area.”

I would like to introduce you to qr-codes first since I’m sure they will become an inevitable part in the coming months/years of proximity marketing campaigns. Mobile barcode scanning, which is ubiquitous in Japan and Korea using technology, has never been introduced on a big scale outside of these countries. Japanese consumers are used to “clicking” on physical objects by reading special consumer barcodes. In US and Europe those campaigns are ready now to emerge…

For nitwits, using qr-codes with a mobile phone works like this: it works by reading a two-dimensional barcode called a “tag” that contains a URL Internet address. The user “scans” or clicks on the tag using their mobile camera phone running a qr-code reader software. The software decodes the URL automatically and delivers the user to the appropriate content. Metadata can be send additionally to know more about the user’s phone model, location, etc. This is essential to send back the right multimedia content to be displayed correctly to the user’s phone, whatever model he might use.

Most known qr-code companies are Shotcode and Semacode, check also Smartpox, Scanbuy and TagIt but I’m not going to focus on these companies and their products now. What interests me is the fact that big brands start using the available tools around, see also Shotcode’s latest Coca Cola Mexico launches 40 million Sprite bottles campaign.

Some other blogger collegues like Charlie have been writing on the subject, Yasmine who launched her inspiring neo-nomad - my body is a hypertext summer last year, and Kelly who wrote on qr-codes in America. I have been writing or reporting on proximity (bluetooth) marketing campaigns in advertising, politics, music/entertainment and sport.

In theory, it’s all about connecting the web (the platform) with the physical world through devices with the mobile as an obvious choice for users to compare and browse product catalogues, use recommender systems to discover and share opinions with other users. For the ones having browsed the mobile web, qr-codes are a great solution B2C solution to make this happen within the reach of one click + it combines triggering contextually relevant information, correctly displayed for the user with a business model that makes sense for the operators, brand advertisers, technology and service companies in-between…

The twist however to use qr-codes is that they need to be scanned and decoded, thus need a client software to be installed on the mobile. A Swiss company named Kaywa is simplifying the process with a public qr-code generator but also needs a reader to be downloaded to the phone. My guess is that as long as the qr-code client readers don’t get bundled on popular phone series with the big mobile device manufacturers, qr-codes have little chance to go mass-market just yet, retailers will need professional encoders and readers, adapted and compatible with their current systems before they will use it in their stores. Following the discussion on Bluetooth Marketing Revisited from Carlo last week, I agree with him and Tom that most campaigns have really poor usability and user experiences to now but there is some new stuff coming up…

Meanwhile here in Spain, brand advertisers and agencies are looking for new ways to create more compelling proximity marketing campaigns.

One of the tech companies, called Daem Interactive provides image recognition technology to identify the advertisements photographed by users and sends back related multimedia contents. The photographed pictures can be send to an MMS short code to trigger a URL, no decoder needed here - it could actually to send back a qr-code, but I think this is a different and much more fun way for the user to participate and attractive to create innovative marketing campaigns. I have been sceptical about the MMS-use but this seems to be finally solved by the operators now, so this opens a lot of new possibilities and perspectives. Check the picture below:

1. A user takes a picture of an advert and sends it via MMS or e-mail (works for all camera phones!)
2. Datacenter receives the image and the advert is recognized
3. Related multimedia contents are sent back to the user, the user receives the multimedia contents including: applications, ring-tones, video, games, screensavers..etc (example from Daem Interactive)

Another Spanish startup, called Futurlink is taking the challenge to take proximity marketing to it’s next level. FuturLink is a high-tech company oriented to develop and innovate wireless products and applications to interact with mobile phones in the proximity, using short range radio technologies like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, RFID or UWB. They developed access points that allow companies and public organizations to interact with the mobile phones of their customers within the company premises, and now also in shopping malls… All that tech in one box, get the picture?

Both companies will be presenting their latest stuff at next Mobile Monday Barcelona. Stay tuned!

(qr-code image above left by Semacode)

I included some scenario’s of collective mobile lifestyle trends in my vodafone receiver #16 contribution: Connecting cultures through music.

Here’s another (older) one that still seems to continue to grow beyond borders: Mobile Clubbing, check the website for details for next gatherings in your city.

The rules are simple:

Though I’m not a frequent clubber anymore, I like the idea of Mobile Clubbing; however I always wondered how people keep the vibe dancing all those different beats… I think I prefer Silent Disco better since clubbers can tune in to one of two DJ sets offered by the on-stage turntablists - all with headphones connected through BlueTooth.

Mobile clubbing story via Helen via Trendcatching. Mobile Clubbing photo by Willis Monroe

Spain has a great tradition of using the mobile as a viral tool for matters that matter to the people. Spain has one of most interesting case studies on the role of SMS in the Spanish elections of 2004, and there is this very spanish phenomenon of the ‘Macro-Botellóns‘ organized by internet mailings and SMS.

Now the mobile is used as a viral tool to spread a political message. Next Sunday, June 18, Catalans are asked to vote by referendum on the new negotiated text of the Estatut - which defines more autonomy for the region of Catalonia. To spare you the risk for a too long blogpost, I will not get into the political details of this here.

The interesting part for us, mobile passionates, is how PSC - Catalan part of the PSOE of Spanish president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero uses the mobile as a viral instrument to spread a message, a week before the referendum, to vote in favour of the yes…”Sí“.

During the four meetings PSOE PSC organizes before the referendum, Barcelona-based ubiqua created a Bluetooth booth where party members can download video’s, ringtones and images to their mobile phones to help spread the “Sí” message on the street. Partcipants can also send their SMS messages to big screens and receive another viral SMS message in return to spread to friends and relatives… ¡Pásalo!

Check all the viral marketing ideas they have worked out to organise the “Sí” campaign to support the yes vote. Have a look, even if you don’t understand Spansih or Catalan, it’s well done and visual.

FYI: the last meeting on Friday will be transmitted live and streamed for any 3G users in Spain, accessible through all 3 operators. I’ll promise to update you after the weekend on the results

Discovered at momablog.

This morning I received a box from a friend with some new released cd’s of my favourite artists. Pretty old skool this may seem, and it definately is to us people used to watch trends daily surrounded by the latest mobile tech. But this present brought me a particular pleasure I haven’t felt for a while - think music discovery coming from a friend who knows your personal taste better than yourself

I don’t know about your climate but here in Barcelona summer has started since a while and the package happened to contain my coming summertune that made my day: “Throw It All Away” from Zero 7. The tune has everything a summertune should have: instantly regognisable, infectuous fresh up-beat tempo bringing you in an immediate summer feeling mood. This tune has the voice of Sia Furler’s (picture) to make it perfect.

I beamed it immediately to my mobile memory stick to hit the streets with it and go and enjoy the newly discovered tune and share this nice music with some friends - good music just initiates to be shared, isn’t it?

While on my way, I started thinking of it as my mobile summertune, since I’m going to carry the song with me and listen to it while on the move and share it with my friends in different places on different devices. This reminded me I needed to check how we can enjoy this kind of pleasures in a mobile music distribution environment.

I checked the Mobile Jukebox from T-Mobile this time (see image above) and ra-ra-ra (Flemish expression to express surprise). Just watch the little icons… unlimited play (got it?), 10 x burn and 8 x copy to mobile… Now that’s nicely packaged but frankly is this a solution to put numbers on the copies and put the accent to “unlimited play”?

I think I’m going to buy the vinyl of “The Garden” (whole album), share the price with my friends if needed and make as many copies as we like to copy to our devices, and I think this is what smart youngsters are doing these days and use their mobile to sms eachother the place of the party!

BTW: the whole story above of beaming to my mobile was just imagined… In real I got restricted by DRM!

But for the fans, do check the video, it’s great!

* Picture of Zero 7’s Sia Furler © Bilboard