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Contextual Mobile advertising – NeuStar uses innerActive ads in IM application

Rating: pop-up ads in IM - sounds awful

By Bena Roberts

This is something I am going to have to try and test next week – its difficult to judge something that you haven’t seen.

But, NeuStar has been testing IM advertising and pop-up banners in IM via a “presence-enabled Ad Buddies”.

NeuroFocus

Rating: We have ways of knowing what you're thinking

by Tony Dennis

In a move which I personally think smacks more than a little of desperation, ratings giant – Nielsen, has decided to invest in technology developed by boffins at MIT and Berkeley. NeuroFocus claims that it can very accurately track brain responses to stimuli – which would include advertising, naturally.

When you look at how NeuroFocus achieves this capability – by checking skin condition (for sweating); by tracking your eyes (to see if your eyes look shifty); and monitoring your brain waves (for tell-tale patterns) – it really does sound like lie detection, doesn't it?

GoMo News at Mobile World Congress

Rating: I am so busy writing up pre-briefings and under-NDA news there is very little time for me to blog today, but shock horror I have been invited to some Vodafone events that I might attend next week

By Bena Roberts

Anyway here is my general diary for next week. Tony Dennis is also at the event and is attending a bunch of hot events too.
Sunday
Show Stoppers and Mobile Sunday (bloggers event)
Monday
MoMo Peer Awards – I am a judge
Mobile Focus
Nauta Capital football match and dinner
Tuesday
Show floor, briefings (Motricity, JumpTap, Player X, Novarra, NeoMedia, m-spatial) conference Global Mobile Awards evening with Tony Dennis
(Quick but very grateful thank-you to the GSMA for inviting me to Judge the awards, moderate a panel and attend the awards)
Wednesday
Airwide roundtable, Qix lunch, Moderating Social networking panel – followed by MyStrands GoMo News Blender and PlayerX Nokia Party
Thursday
Pitch to GoMo News day –I will be in the press office all day with meetings from 9am. More news on this on the day.
Early evening drinks with Michael Crane and dinner with my good friend Andrea Gaal also General Manager SonyEricsson Austria and Switzerland.
Friday - home

Medio’s response on ODP vs Search Application with regards to new Medio ODP

Rating: one minute I’m pr’d the next I stand corrected

by Bena Roberts

So, as a follow on to the blog I posted below with regards to the new Medio ODP, Michael Libes, Chief Architect and co-Founder of Medio pinged me with a couple of points.

Also he sent me a screen shot - see here -
Download tzones_odp_overview.jpg

Vodafone and Facebook? Vodache?

Rating: ding dong the witch is dead

by Bena Roberts

I am not sure if it was when Vodafone’s analyst relations told me I wasn’t an analyst and they didn’t want to talk to me or if it was when Vodafone’s media department said – “we don’t do bloggers” that I cancelled my Vodafone contract.

GoMo News Update

Rating: Welcome NeoMedia and thank-you Juice Caster and party on MyIota not forgetting GetMobile and MyStrands...

by Bena Roberts

There are some huge changes coming up on the way with both BKI Media and GoMo News. Some will surprise and have been very very difficult to make. Others are an opportunity. Also the new GoMo News 2.0 website will be live soon - I promise.

I am so excited as the new site looks absolutely fabulous - there are just a few hiccups that we need to get through.

So fingers crossed its live on Sunday. It has to be live by Tuesday for the Global Mobile Awards because Juice Wireless has graciously offered us a Juice Caster device to video the highlights of the awards. More at the time.

Thank-you NeoMedia, JuiceCaster, Mixipix (Mixibodz), Iota Sphere and GetMobile (Quattro Wireless - headliner).

Also huge thank-you to MyStrands for sponsoring our GoMo News Blender at Mobile World Congress on Wednesday. We now have 150 people down on the list - representing nearly every mobile search and advertising barcode company and eight different mobile operators.

Ofcourse our year long newsletter sponsors are MCN, JumpTap and Medio.

We might just be getting there.

Movius and Action Engine partner for interactive mobile media applications

Rating: psychic

by Bena Roberts

I was just thinking about Action Engine today as I wrote the article about Medio ODP and hey presto here the company is with its own press release.

Action Engine has teamed with Movius a messaging and solutions company to create intuitive and personalised media applications.

Telus introduces Qix Mobile Search and Discovery Engine

Rating: Qix I would say more a discovery tool that a search engine

by Bena Roberts

Zi Corporation’s QIX discovery tool will be made available on devices from Telus. Telus is a Canadian mobile operator that has just signed up to QIX services.

What is Qix?
Qix describes itself as a mobile search and discovery engine but I think that it’s actually a discovery tool for the device to make the UI crystal clear and intuitive. The way it does this is to reduce the number of clicks on a device so that users can navigate menus very quickly.

There is a lot of confusion about mobile search and discovery and Zi Corp's term here does not help! The same is true for an article recently featured in Totaltele. Qix is a discovery tool that faciliates users to find.

But the teacher in me is coming out -back to the information...

Medio Systems launches On Device Portal

Rating: I am sure I’ve seen this already

by Bena Roberts

Medio has launched a new on device portal and its already live in T-Mobile USA. Its pre-loaded on the Nokia 6263 and Motorola RAZR II phones. More devices are in the pipeline.

Miyowa to launch InTouch 5 at Mobile World Congress

Rating: Touch me, Touch me (Sam Fox)

By Bena Roberts

Miyowa is offering a new complete service to mobile operators for IM, content sharing, TV, mobile, internet and entertainment.

Basically the name of the service is InTouch5 (in touch with five services) or as the press release puts it: Quadplay plus 1 and the 1 addition is entertainment.

Idle screen company Celltick partners with GroupM in Asia for mobile marketing

Rating: take off in Asia

By Bena Roberts

Celltick is partnering with GroupM.

GroupM?
GroupM is a media investment company. It is the parent of the WPP media agencies. (So its very very big then).

Music recommendation company Gracenote partners with Ikivo

Rating: this service is going to get even better

As a huge music fan, the moment Sony Ericsson sent me a full loaded with mobile services Walkman device the music recommendation service, was the first one I tried.

Since then (about seven months) Gracenote’s music recognition services have helped me win many a pub quiz and look like a music guru among colleagues and friends.

In a recent visit to the pub in Germany during a music quiz out of ten songs the recommendation engine from Gracenote got nine out of then right – so basically, I am a fan.

But now Gracenote has teamed up with Ikivo.

Interview with Leiki’s Petrus Pennanen on personalisation, advertising, widgets and more

Rating: OK – so now I get it!

By Bena Roberts

Yesterday, personalisation company Leiki released a press release announcing a new collaboration with Talentum. I thought Leiki was purely mobile and this was an online announcement so I had a lot of questions on the service.

Here is the explanation I received from Leiki’s CEO Petrus Pennanen

Talentum chooses Leiki Focus Dynamic Linking for Information and Advertisers

Rating: I had to interview the CEO

by Bena Roberts

Talentum, a leading Scandinavian business and technology publisher, has chosen Leiki Focus for content linking on all of its online publications. The intelligent Leiki Focus content discovery engine is used for recommending articles and advertisements that match a detailed analysis of the topics of each page.
The content on the different Talentum sites is combined automatically; at the end of the article there are links to other similar articles.

Funambol teams with Amobee for ad based mobile email

Rating: advertising on email is awful

by Bena Roberts

I had a hotmail account and every time I sent a mail – hotmail would add an advert. When I use the new mobile yahoo oneSearch for my gomonews (at) yahoo account I get the odd advert. But I can live it with it because it’s a quick fix of email on the move. But this (Amobee and Funambol) sounds as though it is an ad-based mobile email service.

What?
Basically an ad-funded mobile product to drive adoption of mobile email.

More mixed messages over the iPhone

Rating: It's useless in Germany but I'd like to sell it to the Dutch. Eh?

By Tony Dennis

The established cellular industry's ambiguous attitude to Apple's infamous iPhone has just been exemplified by remarks made by a Dutch mobile operator, KPN's Ad Scheepbouwer. He described the device as "pretty useless", then went on to say that he wasn't averse to selling it in the Netherlands where Apple has yet to select a unique partner.

Scheepbouwer was, of course, referring to the iPhone's impact in the German market where T-Mobile has apparently sold a mere 70, 000 units.
That compares to around 700,000 new subscribers which KPN's E-Plus German network signed up in the last quarter. It also compares to the 20,000 or so iPhones per day which Apple claims to be selling globally.

Location social network company Loopt launches developer program

Rating: I am feeling guilty now for missing several opportunities to talk to Loopt this week

by Bena Roberts

I get the feeling that LBS is definitely back in the air. Location seems to be fashionable again. Developers are being urged to jump on board with access to Loopt’s live location feed and then to create stronger n ewer fresher services.

Helio nightlife mobile search via Buzzd

Rating: Vodafone did this in Germany in 2001

by Bena Roberts

Funky youth MVNO Helio in the US has partnered with a company called Buzzd (source).
Buzzd powers mobile sites for with a mobile local search flair.

Basically the collaboration is for a Nightlife search via mobile powered by Buzzd

The service will be ad supported.

Bango launches analytics service

Rating: Aims to fill gap left by Google
by Tony Dennis

Everyone repeats the industry mantra that advertisers in the mobile space simply can't get useful statistics on how their ads are performing. So Bango has decided to do something about this with its newly launched Analytics service.

Bango's Anil Malhotra claims that the standard web methodology for gathering data – by using browser cookies, simply doesn't translate into the mobile web space.

What Bango Analytics can do is provide a very high level of detail about cellular subscribers who are accessing mobile web pages. Not only does this go down as far as make and model of handset but which network they are connecting via. It can even tell if somebody is on Orange France or Orange UK.

Phling! MusicStash

Rating: am I the only one in the world renting music?

by Bena Roberts

Phling! The music brand from Oxy Systems has announced MusicStash.

What is it?
It lets a phling! mobile music service subscriber stream music from their phone to the PC.

Playtxt becomes Rummble, mobile search, recommendation and LBS

Rating: link: http://mashable.com/2008/02/05/rummble/

I saw this on Mashable this morning and signed up for the Beta. I remember the founder Andrew Scott and emailed him in the past. Playtxt is a mobile social recommendation tool that is linked to location.

I can’t wait to test Rummble as apparently the service incorporates a mobile search engine. There is also a micro-blog to add notes to the location saved or area.

The Mashable author thinks that Rummble should stick to basics of the service –but actually I disagree. I haven’t tested it yet – but we are desperate for a location service in the mobile world with a tagging or micro-blogging solution that can start a new eco-system for mobile searches that are based on user generated mobile content.

Vringo tries for new mobile rich media format

Rating: Will anyone bother with video ringtones, though?
by Tony Dennis

Calling yourself the sponsor of the 'World's Tiniest Film Festival' does at least generate a modicum of interest. Following up with a claim that you're making Personalisation 2.0 a reality is the clincher.
What are the guys at Vringo up to with their video ringtone sharing, then? After a little bit of investigation, it turned out that while I liked the idea, I'm not entirely convinced that video ringtones will take off as a fad. The whole thing is too fiddly.

New Mobile advertising Alliance? Anam, Cibenix, Mobile Cohesion, Openet and SLA Mobile. Good Grief

Rating: now the software players are talking mobile advertising, what next

By Bena Roberts

I have to say it, Mobile Advertising seems to be like Acid. No one knows what is in it but everyone is willing to drive to a field in the middle of the night to try and get a slice of it.

So what is the new alliance?

Well basically its a Mobile Advertising Alliance between software companies Anam, Cibenix, Mobile Cohesion, Openet and SLA Mobile.

Nokia’s Mandeep Mason on the Advertising business

Rating: super human growth

by Bena Roberts

Everyone I meet seems to be joining, about to join or interviewing for the Nokia Ad Business. The goal is to have nearly 300 (I think the exact figure was 280) new employees by end 2008.

So why is Nokia going mad for mobile advertising? Well basically, it has to if it’s going to be an Internet business.

Apparently via the recently acquired Enpocket, Nokia already ran 450 campaigns in 2007. When I quizzed Nokia’s Mandeep Mason during a panel session on mobile ad inventory – he said it wasn’t as much an issue for Nokia. Why? This is because of the Enpocket acquisition and because Ovi was opening up many doors for a new strategy in an inventory rich multimedia environment.

Google's David Thacker on the mobile user interface

Rating: interesting

by Bena Roberts

I recorded David Thacker's speech during the Mobile Ad and Search conference in London last week and just listened to it again.

I have to commend Google on the company's corporate ability to say a lot but still not say very much! But anyway the cream of the crop of the presentation was about the user interface and how that was the vital to mobile. He touched on Android but really the whole presentation was on UI.

Mobile Search Choice for Schibsted’s Mobile users

Rating: Sesam, up up and away

Norway's mobile search engine Sesam, has teamed up with mobilePeople to offer its users a wider choice of search options. Sesam's users can now conduct mobile searches through a new downloadable mobile search tool (java client) as well as via the existing Sesam mobile browser mechanic. Both services are powered by mobilePeople's liquidTM platform.

Trond Bugge – Making money from mobile social network SuperLocal.com

Rating: No way, Batman!

By Bena Roberts

Well shiver me timbers, Trond Bugge must be a Viking as his case study on superlocal.com location based advertising was one of the best during the mobile advertising and marketing conference in London.

Why did Trond hit me on the head with a baton?

MobiLuck’s Patrick Lord on Mobile Search and LBS

Rating: according to everyone and their dog LBS is finally going to happen

By Bena Roberts

During the London Search and Advertising conference a few companies pushed Mobile LBS services. I shouted quite loudly – been there, done that – it didn’t work.

But when I asked the whole conference to “put your hands up” if mobile LBS will be huge in the next five years – at least 75% of the audience did.

Chat with Supratim Biswas Vice President Products and Technology Motricity (ex-Infospace)

Rating: what is going on?

By Bena Roberts

After moderating a panel at the recent Mobile Search and Advertising forum in London I made a beeline to one of my panel members – Supratim Biswas.

I have known Supratim for some time now, but I generally spoke to George Fraser when dealing with InfoSpace in Europe. So, now George has moved to the US and Supratim is the new Head of Europe.

Firstly, I congratulated him on his new position. Then I thought I shouldn’t mince my words and hit him in the jugular with the following question, “Microsoft is buying FAST – where does that leave your special partnership”.

A-Z maps brought to mobile

Rating: Ok if you live or work in and around London's environs
Tony Dennis

Don't you hate it when the popularist press carries a story about some neat kind of mobile phone service but don't give any clues how to find it?
Well, that was my experience with AZ Finder which is a freshly launched site enabling mobile phone users to take advantage of  the popular A-Z city guides in the UK. I've finally tracked it down, though.

High Society – The Rise of Mobile Social Networking at Mobile World Congress

Rating: looking forward to seeing you there and moderating

By Bena Roberts

This is the panel session that I am moderating at Mobile World Congress. It looks like a great line up with 3 vs Virgin Mobile and Bebo vs Facebook.

I look forward to seeing you there.

See Me TV from 3 plus LookAtMe from O2 becomes EyeVibe

Rating: YoSpace!

A couple of years ago when 3 annouced SeeMeTV the 1p back video portal where users get paid to download – the hype was high. 3 also fuelled this by disclosing case studies of user generated mobile content where one woman’s flashed boob video got 100,000 downloads.

At the time I wasn’t sure of the hype but it didn’t stop MoMo from launching (and failing) with a similar platform. Then O2 jumped on the bandwagon.

Now 2 years See me TV and Look at me are merging the databases both run by company YoSpace!

Mobile World Congress Parties GoMo News and Player X on Wednesday

Rating: omigod Wednesday night is hot!

I realise that the GoMo News blender is hot and starts at 6pm until 10pm in BelChica Barcelona (see here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=20478158584)

I should also thank the fabulous MyStrands for sponsoring the event as well.

But I just received my Player X Dog Tags. Everyone invited to the Nokia Nseries Player X Barcelona Rocks party will stand out like a chav on the Wednesday with the blingy dogtags!

NO really. It’s a necklace and metal and just simply so OTT it strangely works!
It starts at 9pm is at Calle Plato 15, Sarria – Sant Gervasi in Cafe Noir. But you need an invite.

Ad supported mobile games in India with Hovr and Times Internet

Rating: No mum, not Hoover – Hovr

By Bena Roberts

Hovr will partner with The Times in India to launch GameZone. This will be India’s first ever free mobile gaming portal.

The portal is supposed to be a social network where gamers can also chat and meet and interact and is not solely for free game download.

Mobile Advertising company MoPhap now re-branded gets USD 6 million funding

Rating: mophap is now ringleader tra, la, la, la la...

MoPhap has changed its name to Ringleader Digital and has won USD 6 million in Series A venture funding led by the W2 Group.

We are not sure if the name change had anything to do with the funding –but in any case Ringleader is significantly better than MoPhap which sounded a bit hapless.

Orange to outline new developer/ platform strategy at Mobile World Congress

Rating: aha!

by Bena Roberts

All my information is unfortunately under embargo –but all will be revealed at the Orange Press Conference on Monday 11th at 11.30am at the Orange stand.
The following will be speaking:
• Yves Maitre, VP Devices, Orange
• Jyrki Rosenberg, Director Series 60 Operator Account, Nokia
• Didier Diaz, SVP Product Strategy Management, Access
• Application Developers

The dashing Tony Dennis will be there to cover it and more information as it happens.

Google now offers bid to help Yahoo! The plot thickens

Rating: OMG

by Bena Roberts

So this article in the International Herald Tribune states (http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/04/business/04google.php)
That Google’s CEO phoned Yahoo! CEO to try and help?

It states
In addition, several Google executives made "back-channel" calls over the weekend to allies at companies like Time Warner, which owns AOL, to inquire whether they planned to pursue a rival offer and how they could assist, these people said. Google owns 5 percent of AOL.

Google on Yahoo! And Microsoft hostile bid

Rating: hmmm

By Bena Roberts

Now, when I first read Google’s response to Yahoo! And Google bid posted by David Drummond SVP and Chief Legal Officer – I wasn’t sure what to think.

The push on the word hostile is very clever and strategic. There is no mention of the fact that Yahoo! Was in trouble and was about to get rid of 1000 jobs and in this light Microsoft might actually be helping the company?

On top of that I sense from this that any IM company is now squarely on Google’s hitlist as it is nervous about the MSN and Yahoo Messenger link.

Microsoft and Yahoo! What will it mean?

Rating: Y! becomes M!

By Bena Roberts

At the tail end of last year, I had some private conversations with Microsoft employees. Senior executives have been polite but afraid to really open up to me; as I feel corporations remain slightly nervous about talking to bloggers. So, I approached Microsoft employees via this blog. Employees that had signed up for the newsletter and asked for a “candid” chat on mobile search.

Colibria scores client for Presence enablement

Rating: About time Mobile IM started to take off
by Tony Dennis

One of the victims of pre-Mobile World Congress fallout was Colibria. I was supposed to have a pre-briefing with them but I double-booked the call.
So I'm just going to have to guess what they wanted to talk to me about and judging from the Colibria web site, it might have had something to do with a client announcement – namely, Mobilkom Austria Group (MAG).
This operator has picked Coibria's Enrich product to help it roll out Presence across three territories - in Central and Eastern Europe, reaching a total of approximately 11 million subscribers.

Microsoft/Yahoo will send out shockwaves

Rating: But is this a wise move, Captain?
by Tony Dennis

I didn't think I'd ever hear an acquisition by Microsoft as a "Good thing for competition", but that's exactly how some industry observers are describing news of Microsoft's unsolicited bid for Yahoo!
The general consensus is that the regulators would let the pair combine even though Google's proposed acquisition of DoubleClick is still under investigation.
The logic seems to be that Google is commanding far too great a share of the emerging online advertising market and that advertisers would welcome a strong opponent. Yeah, but Microsoft as a White Knight? Am I dreaming?

microsoft wants yahoo

i am in the town and driving here the german radio said microsoft has made a 22.4 bill bid for yahoo

Yikes. I am using my iphone to blog this and my first reaction is what would apple think.

Then that would be good for yahoo.

But also if microsoft was going to buy yahoo why bother with fast?

I can't wait to get online to asses this properly.

Sorry about the short blog the iPhone wasn't made
for blogging.

GoMo News update

Rating: ch, ch, ch changes!

Sorry we are not up to speed on articles and news and we will remain in soft mode as we move our content etc to new servers - as we start to transform the look and feel of GoMo News.

Get ready for a better user interface.

It also doesn't help that my hard drive has died and my laptop is crumbling. I hope to be back up to speed on Monday.

Blogging via the Nokia 770 is tough. But the thought of buying a new laptop at the weekend does make me smile - slightly!

Google results boring, Terry Semel out of Y!

Rating: in out in out shake your Yahoo! about

So, first of all I listened to the Google results in the recording. Then I received an email that Terry Semel is stepping down.