In the end our mobile phone, or any another device we always carry with us like a watch, will probably be the central computing device in our lives. Sony Ericsson sees it that way as well and therefore they have released the Bluetooth Media Center MMV-200. I normally don't blog about gadgets here, but this is a promising concept and contrary to Engadget's doubts, I do believe there will be massive consumer demand for something like this. Although it could very well be that the required network intelligence will be embedded in the various devices instead of in a separate hub like this one.
"Not sure whether there is any massive consumer demand for something like this, but the MMV-200’s basically a hub you connect to your home entertainment rig that let’s you beam photos to your TV or stream music to your stereo from your phone (Nokia has had something similar out for a while). You can also pop your phone’s memory card into the MMV-200 and then use your phone as a remote control."
zondag 6 maart 2005
The fall of centralized marketplaces
Jeff Jarvis on centralized marketplaces:
And, in fact, I've also said -- and said to Craig (Craigslist founder Craig Newmark)-- that I believe he and Monster and company are only waystations to a different future, a distributed future when these buyers and sellers won't need to come to a centralized marketplace but, instead, will sit out there, anywhere, on the internet waiting to be found by some specialized successors to Google that put them together (with, perhaps, no revenue at all).
I think he's completely right, and I'm trying to proof it with a new project I'll tell you more about later. Although Eccky is an amazing project that's keeping me busy 15 hours a day, I just can't ignore the interesting opportunities that will be the result of the developments Jeff is hinting at....
And, in fact, I've also said -- and said to Craig (Craigslist founder Craig Newmark)-- that I believe he and Monster and company are only waystations to a different future, a distributed future when these buyers and sellers won't need to come to a centralized marketplace but, instead, will sit out there, anywhere, on the internet waiting to be found by some specialized successors to Google that put them together (with, perhaps, no revenue at all).
I think he's completely right, and I'm trying to proof it with a new project I'll tell you more about later. Although Eccky is an amazing project that's keeping me busy 15 hours a day, I just can't ignore the interesting opportunities that will be the result of the developments Jeff is hinting at....
Are social networking sites useful?
Roland Piquepaille writes about whether or not social networking sites can be useful. He points to an American Reporter article that focuses on this topic as well, but which also relates it to web services. It's an interesting read and although no real answers are given it touches upon many trends and issues that are shaping our online/offline future.
"These criticism apply to social networks they way they're currently implemented. Because viral marketing and new media have an excellent possibility of becoming important social movements, I think online social networks will grow in importance, and at some point somebody will make one that works. We can also move to yet another stage where we statistically measure our network and learn from aggregate facts about the people we know. There's plenty there for a century of innovation."
"These criticism apply to social networks they way they're currently implemented. Because viral marketing and new media have an excellent possibility of becoming important social movements, I think online social networks will grow in importance, and at some point somebody will make one that works. We can also move to yet another stage where we statistically measure our network and learn from aggregate facts about the people we know. There's plenty there for a century of innovation."
Popularity slider
Recommendation systems can be very valuable but they also tend to direct you to the most popular things. "This is popular" is not the same as "you’ll like it". Finding ways around that might prove to be even more valuable for users of these systems.
"An easy way to mitigate this is to selectively decapitate the recommendation engine’s results. Last year I blogged about Andrew Grumet’s “Similar Feeds”, which implements this. I just came across a music filtering site that makes the feature more prominent and intuitive by putting a nice, fat “popularity slider” right at the top of recommendations pages. Try playing with the slider on this page to see how it works."
"An easy way to mitigate this is to selectively decapitate the recommendation engine’s results. Last year I blogged about Andrew Grumet’s “Similar Feeds”, which implements this. I just came across a music filtering site that makes the feature more prominent and intuitive by putting a nice, fat “popularity slider” right at the top of recommendations pages. Try playing with the slider on this page to see how it works."
zaterdag 5 maart 2005
Viral campaigns
Everybody's talking about them, and many want them, but it's not that easy to get one. The New York Times has story on this topic and basically the final paragraph says it all. That's why it's hard...
"The success of Brawny's "Innocent Escapes" depends largely on the entertainment value it brings visitors, said Stephen Strong, director for interactive at the Chicago office of Foote Cone & Belding, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. "It's human nature to share that stuff," he said. "People will be sending each other stuff online until the Internet shuts down."
"The success of Brawny's "Innocent Escapes" depends largely on the entertainment value it brings visitors, said Stephen Strong, director for interactive at the Chicago office of Foote Cone & Belding, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. "It's human nature to share that stuff," he said. "People will be sending each other stuff online until the Internet shuts down."
The operator's dilemma
Russel advices mobile operators to embrace V0IP. It's an inescapable future. Although I agree with the latter, I'm not sure the consumer benefit is going to be compelling enough to see a very rapid penetration of VoIP calling. We'll see...
"The only other approach is to shrug (Gallically, if you manage it - the French do shrugging so well) and although it feels counter-intuitive, embrace these changes. You have to run as fast as you can towards the approaching danger. Seek out handsets which are VoIP compatible and market the new service aggressively to your users."
"The only other approach is to shrug (Gallically, if you manage it - the French do shrugging so well) and although it feels counter-intuitive, embrace these changes. You have to run as fast as you can towards the approaching danger. Seek out handsets which are VoIP compatible and market the new service aggressively to your users."
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