I found this interesting

This is what I'm currently reading. Mostly focused on business, especially 'presentationzen' and 'Master Class in Brand Planning: The timeless work of Stephen King'. You need to understand history before you can change the future.



Found this piece about cellphone novels in Japan fascinating.

"Of last year’s 10 best-selling novels, five were originally cellphone novels, mostly love stories written in the short sentences characteristic of text messaging but containing little of the plotting or character development found in traditional novels. What is more, the top three spots were occupied by first-time cellphone novelists, touching off debates in the news media and blogosphere.

“Will cellphone novels kill ‘the author’?” a famous literary journal, Bungaku-kai, asked on the cover of its January issue. Fans praised the novels as a new literary genre created and consumed by a generation whose reading habits had consisted mostly of manga, or comic books. Critics said the dominance of cellphone novels, with their poor literary quality, would hasten the decline of Japanese literature.

Whatever their literary talents, cellphone novelists are racking up the kind of sales that most more experienced, traditional novelists can only dream of."

Not sure if this is a local phenomenon or something that will take off globally. Time will tell.

And, last but not least, if you need some entertainment, it doesn't get better than this:

"On August 6th 2007, Mark Gagliardi drank a bottle of Scotch...
And then discussed a famous historical event.

That night history was made...Drunk History."

Mobile Marketing is about dialogue

A piece in the NY Times talked about the importance of mobile marketing for concert promoters, sponsors and artists.

Combine this with current mobile stats:

Over 250 million of mobile users in the U.S.
35% of adult surveyors were willing to accept incentive-based ads.
56% were willing to accept these ads as text messages.
40% were willing to accept ads via picture message.

The initial stages of mobile marketing were about polls, ringtones and news alerts. Unless you have the pull of American Idol or Beyonce, these tactics don't really go that far and will not be successful in the long run.

As the NY Times piece explains, mobile marketing is about building relationships. It's not enough to reach out to the mobile crowd once as part of an overall campaign. Compare mobile marketing to email marketing: in order to build a database and initiate a mobile relationship, you need to build a relationship and allow them to interact with you on their own terms.

When I went to Coachella a few years ago, I signed up for their mobile updates. I received updates about lineup changes, tips how to avoid traffic, etc. throughout the two days I attended. This was the experience I was looking for. Unfortunately, the promoters didn't continue to market to me after the concert was over: No messages about posted live performances, videos or photos. No insider information about next year's lineup. That's where marketers tend to miss the mark: It's not always about today's sale. Your customers are willing to open up their wallets next year if you continue to engage them.

Why would you not?

Another buzzword: MoSoSos

MySpace, Friendster, Club Penguin, Facebook - social networks are everywhere.
And as if this is not enough, mobile social networks are starting to take off
(Or as some call them MoSoSos - for mobile social software).
Everybody is talking about Twitter but there are others out there that serve different needs, such as Rave Guardian, Jaiku, Loopt and Sociallight.

These platform-agnostic mobile social networks have become the favorite of the Web 2.0 community and give users the opportunity to quickly communicate with friends and family about their immediate reactions and what they're doing/feeling at this moment. And one can access these platforms through any device and, if your PDA/laptop is GPS-enabled, you can be informed when friends are close by (Loopt) or share comments about businesses/locations through Sociallight.
MoSoSos will really take off when people don't have to type their messages anymore and can just convert them from voice to text. And allow for even quicker interaction.

The need to stay connected is everywhere: at work, with friends and family. I see a major shift from personal connectivity to business connectivity. When IM's enjoyed their time in the sun, they were mostly used for personal reasons. This has shifted in the last few years to a much more business-driven approach. We'll see the same shift in MoSoSos in the next few years and this will change the business of mobile social networks as well: Opportunities for real-time, geo-located marketing opportunities will allow for new ways to connect with consumers in a very valuable way.

It's hard to say if Twitter, Loopt or others will be the major players in this field. It depends on how they continue innovating their sites (see Friendster) and where the masses will ultimately end up and spend their MoSoSo time. In the mid-term future, only geographically mobile solutions that help us connect with our affinity groups or friends will be the winner because they allow for stickiness and valuable content.

Get ready for the newest buzzword

My good deed of the day: Sound cool and cutting-edge by using the newest member of the buzzword family: Video Snacking.

What does it mean?
Basically, marketers don't expect people to watch a Hollywood movie of 90 minutes or so on a small LCD screen. What all mobile marketers are banking on is that people will be more inclined to watch short clips - video snacks - of up to 10 minutes.

Mhm, possible. The Video iPod showed us that people like to watch shows, videocasts or even movies on a very small screen. Still not sure if people feel the same about the third screen (Buzzword alarm).
Marketers continue to jam outdated models into new devices and communication channels. It might work for a short period of time, due to the curiosity factor, but it won't last. There's an urgent need for marketers to come up with ideas how to connect with consumers on mobile devices. Banners? Won't do it. Textlinks? Whatever. Repurposed Video? Not really.
We need new thinking for new channels.

For now, Video Snacking is just another buzzword. Use it at your own risk.