TAP TAP ?

Pudding Media, a small San Jose startup, with development staff in Israel, founded by brothers Ariel and Ruben Maislos is “growing” a technology that marries voice recognition with ad-serving technology in a unique and potentially powerful way.

The company provides free phone calls via browser in exchange for tapping into or “eavesdropping” into your conversation. The system recognizes spoken keywords. Combined with profile data provided for the “free” service, algorithms will determine which ad offers are best suited to your profile during the conversation. Ads are displayed on your PC or e-mailed to you (eventually directed to your cell phone as well) with the expected result to be a click-to-action.

The company, whose management team is heavy with technology experience, is funded by VCs to include Opus Capital, an experienced venture team that has played an integral role in the early stages of many successful companies, such as Bridge Communications, DoubleClick and FedEx.

The single concern with the platform focuses on measuring real consumer need for free calls given broad, low cost (often free as well) VOIP access and the over-riding issue of privacy and security.

Although the technology is innovative, the business model will likely need to change.

For mode information, visit their website at Pudding Media.

WE INTERRUPT THIS COMMERCIAL FOR ….

Yet another commercial, superimposed logo, pop-up promo or screen-crawl. Television broadcasters have run away with promotion overload pushing viewers to lash back by tuning out.

Scheduling commercials to satisfy revenue demands is understandable … some would argue to the point of driving audiences to the competition …. The Internet.

Today, the number of commercials is no longer regulated by the FTC (except for children’s programming). Broadcasters do, however, attempt to adhere to a maximum of 18 minutes (36 30-second commercials) per hour! That figure does not include in-program superimposed promotions.

I’ll interrupt my rant so that you can hear what the comic, Lewis Black, has to say …. humorous but true!

Enjoy the laugh.

HOW DO YOU SPELL G-STRING?

As new forms of digital, or electronic, commerce and communication take root in our lives, so has the syntax that evolves to help us interact with one another.

The Oxford dictionary does not have a policy on e-words. It does, however, show the e-prefix denoting the use of electronic data transfer through the internet.

E-mail started in 1965 as a way for multiple users of a time-sharing mainframe computer to communicate. E-mail was quickly extended to become network e-mail, allowing users to pass messages between different computers by at least 1966.

Other findings and polls taken over the last 10 years seem to support the hyphenated version, or e-mail, while some authorities claim the email version as most suitable.

A 1995 search on about 40 million words of Usenet news articles, counted the following forms:

email 19371
e-mail 15359
E-mail 7572
Email 5906
E-MAIL 3659
E-Mail 2986
EMAIL 1269
EMail 521
eMail 303
e-Mail 42
eMAIL 5

Total without hyphen: 27378
Total with hyphen: 29622

In yet another study, articles posted to alt.usage.englishbetween mid-May and mid-September 1995, found 604 instances of"e-mail" and 235 of "email".

Many dictionaries favour "E-mail", which can be justified by analogy with such forms as "A-bomb", "C-section", and "G-string".

The "other" G-String

RHYMES WITH PILLOW

From time to time I will happen upon a site that I believe deserves praise for the information it provides … at no cost, and the ease with which you can navigate its contents.

Zillow.com is, very simply, a real estate valuation tool. Type your home address into its search field and, in seconds, the site will provide you with a host of information ranging from an estimated property value and square footage to the year it was constructed. The site also provides an aerial photo (courtesy of Microsoft’s Virtual Earth), estimated taxes as well as the last sale date.

The site generates its information on over seventy million homes on a county by county basis. Naturally, not all county municipalities carry matching data and in some instances the estimates are provided as a range. The site will, however, let you know how complete the data is for the area you’re searching in. My guess is that the site originated as a tool for the real estate trade and has broadened to the consumer market with close to 1.7 million page views per month. And yes, it accepts advertising.

Want to know what your neighbor’s home is worth? Can’t wait to drop the “confidential” information on that house that sold in the Hamptons last month at the next cocktail party? Want to explore the value of your own home or NYC condo in today’s market and put it up for sale? Zillow it!

While the sale of a home is a matter of public record and is accessible with a simple visit to a town clerk’s office, most owners would rather the information be kept private …. or as private as possible and not necessarily open to broad public view “on demand”.

Although home values rise and fall with the country’s economy, the digital revolution has forever changed its landscape.

FORTY DAYS AND FORTY KIDS

This commentary will likely not be the first you will read on the controversial new CBS reality show, Kid Nation.

The premise of the show is to take forty kids, aged eight to fifteen, to an abandoned ghost town in New Mexico and let them bring the town back to life and create a society complete with its own government. Parents were forbidden to interact in any way with the kids or the production … and that’s where the swirling controversy begins. Many are finding the production highly offensive.

Questions concerning adult supervision, child labor laws, physical and psychological health of the children and insulation from state authorities are now haunting CBS and the show’s producers. Advertisers are getting cold feet as well.

Although it can be argued that the parents willingly accepted the conditions under which filming would occur and that the children wanted to undertake the challenge, some would suggest that they are too young to make rational decisions and that their parents had no right to “sign certain rights over” to CBS.

In either case, the children were not forced to remain on the set and could opt out of the production.

The real question here, outside the legal issues, is what the purpose of the show is? Most, including those who argue against the show, believe it was to see how the kids survive the ordeal. Although we might never know the motive, beyond ratings, for CBS, there are valuable lessons to be learned …. not for the kids, but for adults.

As adults, we manage societies governed by rules that are often created by our governments, corrupt or otherwise. Children are unencumbered by rules and are “tainted” only as they mature into adulthood. A child’s innocence sparks creativity and nurtures an open and honest environment built on trust and confidence.

We can all learn by watching children play, work, laugh and ask questions. It is, perhaps the single most redeeming factor the show offers that may have been overlooked in the swirling controversy.

SINGING IN THE RAIN

A while back, I commented on an invention for an “Internet Umbrella” …. an umbrella designed to tap into the internet on a pliable screen. The effort scored a resounding zero on a one to ten scale as a complete waste of time (unless, of course, your hobby was to waste time tinkering).

As a variation on a theme, a Korean company, SDesign Unit, announced the completion of a design for an umbrella that incorporates four wafer-thin, pliable speakers into the fabric of the umbrella. The speakers can connect to MP3 players (or other audio sources) to play favorites or even listen to radio broadcasts (SIRIUS and XM …. are you listening?).

The concept recently won the International Forum Design award. SDesign is now turning its efforts to securing contracts for production models.

The concept has real merit and should take off with some hot creative shop taking the lead with a forward thinking client. The concept can lend itself to extensions for beach umbrellas, shade awnings, or promotional vendor pushcarts.

Gene Kelly never had it so good!

MORE ROUNDS THAN ROCKY BALBOA

As much as things change, they stay the same.

The controversy in the print world is now focused on whether or not publishers should guarantee their circulation base on an issue by issue basis. The controversy is not new .... but agencies and marketers need to stir this pot once again .... because most of the industry cannot get its act together when it comes to audience measurement.

Frankly, the act is tired. Over three years ago, I posted commentary on just this topic offering a solution to the problem (you can find the commentary at MediaLifeMagazine if you care to humor me).

Yes, the publishing groups have had some ups and (mostly) downs over the last few years. So let's beat them while they're down. Let's not applaud all the positive contributions they've made over the years -- negative reinforcement works best!!

Margins are shrinking --- for everyone. And we all have bigger battles to fight. The mere act of suggesting issue-based guarantees will, in the end, amount to a hill of beans while the related costs to support any such plan will, again, eat away at every one's bottom line.

Instead of coming up with schemes to squeeze another nickel out of the publishers, let's consider opening a real dialogue here and "play nice" in the sandbox, working with publishers, clients and agencies to forge partnerships that foster growth and encourage new thinking.

Let's stop running in circles.

NOW YOU SEE IT --- NOW YOU DON’T

Marrying the “magic” of technology with a commercial message is a challenge marketers are faced with every day. “Breakthrough” marketing events inspired by creative, marketing and media professionals can be fun and exciting while, at the same time, making a strong connection with the consumer.

Consider the common digital camera.

Because the camera sees a broader spectrum of light than the human eye, content in these “invisible” wavelengths can be created to generate displays that, while invisible to the naked eye, can be seen when imaged with a digital camera. The company that is exploiting this technology is Kameraflage ( www.kameraflage.com ), founded by Sarah Logie and Conner Dickie.

Uses for the technology can range from contests driven by hidden messages, forwarded to an advertiser (and creating a database in the process), to watermarking movies or photos to prevent pirating.

Audiences can be encouraged to seek out these messages and build a brand around an interactive experience, where discovery, sharing and technology play a leading role.

The fashion industry is the first to utilize the new technology, generating a form of self-expression that will likely result in controversy …. defining jurisdiction between hidden images and physical reality.

WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS .. OPEN THE DOOR

The digital world is moving at such a rapid pace that many marketers simply do not have the bandwidth to keep up with, or take advantage of, opportunities and innovations in the marketplace.

One such underutilized digital tool is the BDA (Branded Desktop Application). You might even have it installed on your own desktop in the form of the widely distributed WEATHERBUG…..83 million users do! Another successful BDA is Southwest Airline’s DING …. a desktop alert mechanism that matches a user with special offers that meet their criteria. Since 2005 it has generated over $80 million in direct revenue for the airline.

BDAs have bee around for quite some time. Advances in software development raised the BDA to a higher level, creating the “stickiness” that so many marketers hold dear. As a CRM tool, it’s a marketers dream. BDAs can report on a wide range of usage behavior, tied back to any number of databases that serve up “alerts”…. and generate revenue in the process. Flu Alerts, developed for Roche, tie back to a national database that tracks the spread of influenza and warns users when certain levels are reached.

BDAs can take many forms or morph into others. They are becoming viral and develop as social networks, both public and private, to communicate with other users that maintain similar interests. Gadgets and Widgets are part of this growing trend.
This is not a passing phase. Don’t let the marketing opportunity slip by.

SINKING THE DIGITAL ISLAND

Digital media has come a long way. Today it represents fifteen to twenty percent of all advertising dollars and will continue to grow, albeit at a slower rate, but still outpacing traditional media growth.

As traditional or “analog” media converges with digital media, we will see the need for agencies and marketers to take a hard look at their media investment strategies. Actual measures of performance and accountability will rein where AC Nielsen program ratings and pass-along readership were the hard currency for “projected” delivery.

But in order to best take advantage of both worlds, it will be necessary to sink the digital island. Why?

I recently attended a meeting at a digital agency where digital strategies flowed like the Euphrates. Following two hours of digital discourse I could not contain myself any longer.

Yes, the digital world is growing. It’s sexy and it’s bold and new and promises a rosy future. But …. eighty to eighty-five percent of the world’s media is NOT digital. If you want to make an impact in that world, you need to reach out and understand the analog space. Today it drives your business…. digital does not drive theirs.

There has long been a disconnect between these two worlds. If both are to grow, they need to collide and become one. This makes it difficult for agencies steeped in tradition to accommodate change. Staffing resources that can play in both worlds are limited. And the vision to make it one world is not easily articulated.

My mission is to sink that digital island and bring its people back to the mainland.