SnapTell Blog

Join The Mob

Here's yet another cool way to use your cellphone's camera; join the Big Art Mob.

The Big Art Mob is an effort to create a comprehensive survey of public art in the form of a mobile blog. The project has just launched in the UK, and everyone is encouraged to contribute by snapping some public art and uploading a photo.

The ultimate plan is to use a mashup of Google Maps, a geo-coding facility, and tags to create an interactive map that will be both a guide to and a way to preserve sometimes transient public art.

Big Art Mob is also the precursor to a new UK television series called Big Art Project.

FlickrVision: Eye Candy In Beta

We think about images a lot around here, since our mobile marketing solution is built around our image recognition technology.

During one of our more recent wanders around the web in search of cool things people are doing with images we spotted Dave Troy's FlickrVision, a great mashup that lets you see what pictures Flickr users are posting, as they post them, plotted out on Google Maps.

It's fun – and oddly mesmerizing – to watch as images pop up on the map.

People are already tinkering with the mashup too. Flickr API whiz Steeev made a Yahoo Pipe that grabs geotagged images from a Flickr account and outputs the results as a KML. Use it to make the FlickrVision experience even cooler with Google Tours. Oogle Earth and Google Earth blog have more info and some ideas on how to extend the image/map mashup.

 

 

 

'Tis the Season

The annual family and friends computer fixathon is about to start. Anyone who knows anything about computers is invariably asked at least once, when he or she heads home for the holidays, "hey, can you take a look at my computer? It's been running really slow lately."

 In anticipation of the festive fixit season Lifehacker has put together a first aid kit of essential utilities to download and burn onto a disk. Their picks include Ad-Aware to purge spyware, open source antivirus program ClamWin, Spybot Search and Destroy to purge all those sneaky, snoopy, speedkilling apps,  SpywareBlaster to prevent spyware from installing itself on the PC in the future and CCleaner to remove unnessary junk like  temporary files, cookies, system logs and programs set to start up with your computer automatically. Check the article for links to these programs.

To their gaggle of tools we'd add PageDefrag, which lets you defrag paging and registry files, and for severely traumatized computers, the Ultimate Boot CD, which can boot up virtually any Windows computer (even one that refuses to boot into Safe Mode), includes a bunch of troubleshooting/fix utilities, and if nothing else will let you copy files off the affected machine before you reformat it to reinstall Windows.

Not going home for the holidays? Then perhaps you'd like to tinker with your wireless setup, and get it running a little faster and better.

We Don't Do Bar Codes

We'd like to clear up a misconception published in a mobile marketing blog. The write-up on SnapTell's Snap.Send.Get mobile marketing solution is so off base we didn't know whether to laugh or scream.

Snap.Send.Get is not a bar code-reading application. Snap.Send.Get is an image recognition solution.

Here's how Snap.Send.Get works:

 Consumers take a picture of an image, any image – ads in a magazine, product packaging, a movie poster, a billboard, a commercial on TV, etc.

 They send that image to SnapTell's server, our technology matches the image to an image in our database, and returns the relevant, associated comment – this could be product information, discount coupons, movie trailers, song files, wallpaper, games, sweepstakes entry forms – whatever one of our advertising partners opts to send.

The benefits are many. Consumers can snap pictures of posters/ads/products on the go, without having to zoom in on a tiny bar code. Our patent-pending image recognition technology provides unparalleled accuracy even with low-quality camera phone images, and produces accurate processing of images with real-life flaws such as lighting artifacts, Fuzzy focus and blur, perspective distortion and incomplete overlap with the database image.

And since Snap.Send.Get isn't reading bar codes marketers can repurpose existing advertising material, and have complete control over their brand image. And they don't need to shift through the competing standards and the confusion rampant of the bar code world.

Marketers using our solution also don’t need to deal with impending challenges   to the bar code patent monopoly in US. No one wants to invest in a marketing campaign only to have to go back to the drawing board when and if standards shift.

 Snap. Send.Get is based on stable, standards-compliant technology and works with all camera phones, on all mobile carriers' networks, around the world.

 And unlike many bar code reader solutions, there's no software to download – Snap.Send.Get uses standard messaging capability. Any camera phone can use Snap.Send.Get anywhere and at any time that a consumer decides to access the service.

 Bar codes are fine for some things, but when it comes to mobile marketing we believe a picture is worth thousands of those ugly black lines.

SnapTell At the Mobile Marketing Forum

We had a really good show at the Mobile Marketing Forum in LA yesterday. After almost two years in development we officially launched SnapTell's Snap.Send.Get mobile marketing solution. Launches are always a bit nerve-wracking. It's like watching your child go off to school for the first time – you know how special they are, but will everyone else take the time to get to know and appreciate your creation?

We needn't have worried – there was a lot of interest in Snap.Send.Get. So many people came by, tried our demos, said great things about Snap.Send.Get and entered our iPod Touch giveaway. We'd really like to thank everyone who took the time to do the demo and talk with us, we really appreciate your interest and encouraging comments. We look forward to continuing our conversations with you.

Thanks also to the media folks who interviewed us: a reporter from bnetTv.com came by and interviewed G. D. Ramkumar, SnapTell co-founder and CTO, and Monica Alleven of Wireless Week talked to Gautam Bhargava, SnapTell co-founder and CEO, about our launch.

Congratulations to everyone who won an award at the forum – it was really interesting to see the innovative ways that agencies and brands are using mobile marketing to reach out and communicate with consumers.

Special congratulations to our friends at iLoop Mobile who had a really big day. Their founder Michael Becker won the well-deserved outstanding individual achievement award.

 And last but not least, the winner of our iPod giveaway was Mark Logan, managing director from Barkley US. Hope you enjoy the iPod, Mark!

SnapTell And iLoop Partner

We're happy to announce that SnapTell has entered into a partnership with iLoop Mobile to offer iLoop’s Mobile mFinity™ platform to Snaptell’s Snap.Send.Get™ solution clients.

Also, as part of the partnership, iLoop Mobile will offer the Snap.Send.Get mobile marketing solution to its Mobile mFinity platform users.

The Snap.Send.Get solution from SnapTell allows marketers to enhance their mobile marketing campaigns with image-based audience interactions. The combination of SnapTell’s image-based mobile technology and iLoop Mobile’s services/technology for mobile content distribution offers mobile marketers the ability to engage consumers in an array of fun, interactive opt-in mobile marketing campaigns and services.

From our press release:

“We are excited that SnapTell’s image recognition solution can now be used by iLoop Mobile mFinity platform users to power innovative image driven mobile marketing campaigns,” said Matthew R. Harris, CEO of iLoop Mobile.

“SnapTell's technology creates a compelling mobile marketing solution that is fun for the end-user, while providing a very powerful mechanism for brands to connect with consumers. Adding images as a campaign trigger makes it exciting for consumers to engage in mobile marketing campaigns resulting in richer, more interactive campaigns.”

“SnapTell helps marketers connect to the booming mobile marketing market by offering a fun and easy-to-use solution for accessing information on the go,” said Gautam Bhargava, CEO of SnapTell. “Our partnership with iLoop Mobile further demonstrates our commitment in working with eco-system partners to ensure that mobile marketing campaigns can be created and deployed easily by our customers – marketers at major brands and agencies.”

 

Launch Day!

SnapTell, the leading provider of image-recognition based mobile marketing solution, today announced the release of its revolutionary Snap.Send.Get™ solution that converts every camera phone into marketing device.

But fret not, the marketers aren't going to take over your phone. SnapTell's Snap.Send:Get is totally opt-in, and is intended to provide consumers with the information, services and digital content that they want, when they want it.

Here's how it works: using a mobile phone's camera, the consumer takes a picture of an image associated with a Snap.Send:Get marketing campaign – it could be an ad in a magazine, a movie poster, a commercial on TV, even an actual product. The consumer sends the image and within seconds gets product or promotional information; custom ringtones, movie trailers, discount coupons, technical specifications, etc.

SnapTell has gone through great lengths to eliminate the barriers associated with barcodes and mobile software downloads to bring image-recognition technology into the mobile marketing space. The SnapTell Snap.Send.Get solution works on any phone and any carrier's wireless service.

Our goal is to unleash the power of mobile marketing using the camera phone in a way that's a win-win for consumers and marketers.

Taking Better Pictures With Your Cellphone

SnapTell's Snap.Send:Get™ solution doesn't require great or even good pictures in order to work perfectly. But since we-- and presumably you too -- use your mobile phone's camera for more than just Snapping/Sending/Getting, we really enjoyed this piece  over at Lifehacker on how to take better pictures with your phone's camera.

Among the tips:

Capture the unexpected: Your buddy wears a funny t-shirt. You want to remember that web site address for later. That fruit plate is something you want to try putting together at home. You just have go get one of those bumper stickers for your brother-in-law. These are the types of things you will capture with a cameraphone that you might not with another camera - because you simply wouldn't have it on you. You will have your cameraphone on you at those moments you never expected to take a photo. Take advantage of them.

Sneak it in.The main advantage to a cameraphone is the stealth factor. You can take photos with your cell phone a lot more inconspicuously than using a traditional camera, so you can get great, unique shots you don't see many places.

Get close and personal:  A good rule of thumb with any type of photography is to get in as close to your subject as possible. This holds true even more so for cameraphones, which produce lower-quality pictures than full-on digicams. Especially for portraits, just remember - the closer you are, the more personal and detailed your shot will be.

 Read the LifeHacker post for the rest of the tips, and don't forget to check out the readers' responses—some great ideas there for making the most of your phone's camera.

Google's Android

Strange how underwhelmed the general media response to Google's new Android platform was – apparently most people were expecting the gPhone and didn't get it which has sparked some disappointment. But the idea behind Android sounds interesting to us. What's not to like about an alliance of leading technology and wireless companies working together to "develop an open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices"?

Check out Google's Android video, embedded above, to see the possibilities. And if you're a programmer the Android Developer Challenge sounds pretty sweet. There will be cash prizes ranging from $25,000 to $275,000 to developers whose Andrioid applications are picked by a panel of judges.

 From Google's programmers challenge press release:

 "We believe that the Android platform offers developers a unique opportunity to create truly innovative mobile software," said Andy Rubin, Google's director of mobile platforms. "We're challenging developers to stretch their imaginations and skills to leverage the full capabilities of this new platform and to create something amazing."

Submissions for Challenge I will be accepted from January 2 through March 3, 2008, and the 50 most promising entries will be recognized by end of March with each receiving $25,000 awards to fund further development. These 50 entries will then be eligible for even greater recognition by applying by May 1, 2008 for ten awards worth $275,000 each and another ten worth $100,000 each. Recognition for the top apps among those entries will be announced by end of May 2008.

 Interested developers can download the SDK here and check out the additional info here. Good luck!  

Opt-Out Marketing is Doomed

"Your privacy is important to us," a Verizon Wireless notice sent out recently cheerfully assures the company's customers.  So important that customers need to call a toll-free number if they don't want Verizon to share their personal information with the company's "affiliates, agents, parent companies...and their subsidiaries."

Mobile marketing blogs started running the story, and few of the comments were complimentary. Jason Devitt, over at Skydeck, wrote: "I called 1-800-333-9956 and opted out of sharing. That last paragraph seems to imply that I have to stop using my phone as well. It’s not clear."

 A section of the Verizon notice reads: "If you do not want us to collect, transmit or use such information about you for the above purposes, you should not use the services; by using the services, you expressly authorize us to use your information for these purposes.” We agree with Jason, the wording is not clear.

Verizon Communications responded  on its own blog, assuring customers that they aren't selling "personal customer information to third-party advertisers. Period," according to Jim Gerace, Verizon Wireless VP of corporate communications. What Verizon wants to do is simply share customer information with its affiliates so customers can receive information about bundled offerings of Verizon Telecom and Verizon Wireless.

Responses to Gerace's post challenged his statements, pointing out that the wording of the opt-in notice allowed Verizon much broader usage than the activities Gerace cited.

Any many customers wrote that Verizon should have allowed them to opt in to receive such offers rather than forcing them to opt out.

We believe that opt-out mobile marketing will never work – people are sick and tired of being force-fed "useful" information.  Opt-out marketing may produce a huge number of potential targets to pester, which may impress your marketing partners at first, but  when most of  those people ignore or are angered by receiving your ad,  what did targeting those millions of people who failed to opt-out really achieve?  Far better to reach out only to those who have indicated a real interest in wanting to hear from you.

Advertising will only be accepted on mobile devices if it's 100% opt-in. That was one of our guiding principles when we created SnapTell – we didn't want to annoy people, alienate them, make them feel like they were being spammed. We knew opt-out was the quickest way to kill our marketing service dead. Unless you – the mobile phone owner – specifically request information from the companies who use the SnapTell service, you'll never hear from them – at least not through SnapTell.