Google Serious About New “Health” Advertising
Google is getting closer and closer to launching it’s new Google Health system that aims at letting individuals and physicians alike have a better grasp on nearly every aspect of healthcare. While it’s an innovative approach to improving the healthcare system, it’s also a goldmine for Google in terms of advertising.There’s been some speculation as to how Google plans to go about it. There was a patent application filed in May of 2006 by Google that would in effect serve relevant advertising to physicians through an EMR, or Electronic Medical Records system. When physicians access a certain medical record, the system would retrieve and show a select number of highly relevant advertisements that could include things like medical seminar providers, medical journal publishers, and insurance companies. Insurance companies, for example, could then lower insurance premiums, but on the other hand, if one chooses to opt-out, premiums could rise for that individual. It’s a complex system, and as the patent stipulates, the privacy concerns are obvious;
Beyond the technical challenges, there are privacy concerns about the above-described advertising service. However, it should be possible for patients to request that this “feature” be disabled for their EMR system or their PHR system. However, insurance companies may raise premiums for patients who disable this feature.
A more reasonable approach would be to copy Google’s News service which to date still doesn’t show contextual advertisements alongside it’s content. Because Google has no business relationship with any of the providers of the news it links to, it would be controversial to serve ads. They still make money however, because if a user wants to know more about anything they read on Google News, they can conveniently use the embedded search box to do a quick search. They’re then back to receiving relevant ads alongside their search results. If Google Health sticks to this same methodology, it could tap into probably the most lucrative advertising around, which is healthcare and anything related. Consumers can log-on to check medical histories, symptoms, etc via Google Health, and then once they know what their ailment might be, they’ll most likely do a quick Google search to see how to help it.
Using Image Recognition Software instead of Barcode Recognition
Nokia has just acquired a small startup called Pixto who developed an application for mobile devices that would take images captured by the camera on the mobile device, and bring up recognition options accordingly. Nokia has began calling this technology Point & Find. It works by letting people point a camera phone at an object or picture and find out more about it or buy it just by clicking once when options come up on the screen. It works by somehow linking certain image properties of the captured image with a URL for information about what’s in the image. When a user points the phone’s camera at something, the system compares what the viewfinder sees with sets of image properties in a database. Also taking into consideration the user’s location via image specific information or GPS, it then delivers useful information about what the person is looking at.An example of this might be when a user sees a movie poster their interested in, while walking down the street. They could point their camera phone and snap a shot of the movie poster, click a button, and a WAP site would be brought up with more information about when the movie is coming out, where it can be seen and times, as well as options to purchase tickets right there while standing in front of the poster that caught your eye. By utilizing GPS sensors on the mobile phone, the WAP site the user is directed to can automatically be associated with the nearest theater to the user. Another example was that a user could snap a picture of the street, and a page would automatically come up with contact information to the nearest cab company.Here’s what I think. This technology would definitely be more useful and intuitive than barcode recognition, simply because it wouldn’t rely solely on barcodes for data recognition. Also, consumers could immediately start using this, instead of waiting for retailers, and manufacturers to develop mainstream barcoding techniques. The negatives I see are that mobile phone cameras will have to be high quality to take high resolution images enough for recognition. Older VGA camera phones might not work as well, or slow down the recognition process by having to take numerous shots of the object. We’ll have to see what happens as this technology evolves.
Point, Click a Photo, Search Social Networks for Profiles….
With all the potential privacy issues aside, it is interesting to think about possibly being able to see someone, snap a photo of them, and instantly see all their online profiles from MySpace, Facebook, etc. to learn a little more about them. With so many people providing photos of themselves and their friends on these social networking sites, it would be relatively simple to produce a script that could match image properties from user’s snapped photo’s to a central database of all the photos from profiles of the major social networking sites. There could even be security benefits to such a mobile application. If you suspect someone is up to something good or bad, you could instantly check them out against any photo that may be on the web with them in it, as well as google search information for background information.Social Networking sites could even incorporate this type of mobile interaction. User’s who see each other out and about, could snap photos, interact and upload new photos, and expand their online and mobile social networking further. I think mobile image recognition will play a huge role in mobile applications and social networking in the future. The security benefits of face recognition, of course on a much larger scale, is already being deployed worldwide. As camera’s on mobile phones and devices improve, the usage will improve as well because the whole process will work quicker for the end user.
Mass Exodus To iPhones For Exchange Support?
Answering the call of many a corporate fan, Apple finally announced that with the next firmware update or (iphone2.0) the iphone will finally support Microsoft Exchange.
While small companies and new companies will push for corporate iphones for sure, large companies with deep roots to Microsoft will have to be persuaded pretty hard. They have a large infrastructure based on certain carriers and devices that they’re already comfortable with, and their employees already understand. Changing systems and devices could cost a fortune, and create a nightmare for IT administrators. Is it worth it?
I think an article on Forbes laid it out pretty well by explaining that Apple will have to boost more than exchange support to sway savvy IT heads to make the switch…
…Apple has done a great job selling the iPhone to consumers, but tapping into the corporate market will take more than just supporting Microsoft e-mail and adding a few security features. “It’s like if you want to be a great baseball player. You don’t just go out and buy a bat and glove and think you’re done. They’ve got to learn how enterprises work,” says Mort Rosenthal, chief executive of Enterprise Mobile, a Watertown, Mass. company that helps big companies manage Windows Mobile devices….
With the advanced web-browsing experience, and other multimedia-based features, I think the iphone could prove to be a successful corporate device. The only lacking feature I can see is the low battery life, but corporate based iphones will surely be fitted with better batteries.
By taking advantage of the itunes-based sync-to-update system that iphone’s use, corporate IT departments could centrally update and monitor their network remotely. I’m sure again that the corporate version of this system will be much more feature packed and secure.
Google Maps + Triangulation = More Local, Location-Based, Targeted Ad-Serving Space
Google’s yet again expanding it’s reach, and providing even more space for the company to expand it’s local advertising business. Google has always offered innovative new services and technology for free, which consumers flock to, but what most don’t understand is that Google will profit greatly by eliminating the price tag. Services such as Gmail and YouTube, get an unbelievable amount of users because not only is it completely free to join and use, but it’s simply better than any other competing service (in my opinion.) Google then serves it’s ever-popular relevant advertising alongside content to turn it’s profit. It’s a win-win situation that Google does very very well.
It’s no secret that Google is wanting to expand into the mobile arena. It’s apparent with the roll out of mobile version of most of it’s most popular products and services. The newest feature is the use of cellular tower triangulation via mobile Google Maps. What this does is open up their mobile advertising reach to location-based, highly targeted, mobile users. Since they now know where you are, they can easily and effectively serve up local advertisements when you look up directions, or businesses. These highly targeted ads are much more likely to get a high CTR for Google’s paying advertisers, which has been the name of the game since the beginning!
Utilizing Cellular Tower Triangulation for Mobile Coupons & Much More…
The mobile version of Google maps is now offering the ability for people to find their position down to one to two meters accuracy, plotted on a map to better facilitate directions and finding nearby businesses. It’s great for people with phones that don’t feature GPS, even though it’s not as accurate. After doing some more research on the subject of using triangulation techniques to find the position of mobile phones, I quickly found it to be yet another technology that’s heavily underutilized. Mobile networks have been using triangulation for some time now to locate it’s users and provide information for law enforcement, and emergency services, but it’s obviously open to other uses with Google implementing the technology for their maps service.
Triangulation is defined by whatis.com as;
“…..a process by which the location of a radio transmitter can be determined by measuring either the radial distance, or the direction, of the received signal from two or three different points….”
Basically, every cell phone is constantly pinging radio frequencies to nearby towers, saying “here I am, send me a signal..” By tracking these pings sent to different cell towers, you can effectively track the position of a mobile phone to within 3-9 feet. This also means, that you can effectively track the position of anyone with a cell phone.
It made me think of some other uses for this technology, and I found some interesting methods other companies are using to implement triangulation. A company called Path Intelligence is using the technology to track consumers in malls and populated shopping centers to help the owners better understand the flow of shoppers, and where they spend the most time. The company installs small transmitters at different point in the shopping centers that continually track the position of shopper’s mobile phones. The transmitters then send this information back to a central system that analyzes the data and produces interactive maps and reports.
Triangulation could also be used in location-based marketing very effectively. Businesses and events could install transmitters that sense the pings from nearby cellphones, and send SMS/MMS messages and bluetooth connection requests that include event announcements, discounts, coupons, and more. This extreme targeting could be a powerful marketing tool. Imagine walking down the street of a massive city you’ve never visited before, looking for an interesting place to eat. A hidden jewel of a restaurant could sense your proximity, and dispatch a text message that includes coupons, and a menu.
Free Phone # and Voicemail To Homeless?
Google quietly acquired a San-Francisco start-up last year called GrandCentral, and with it has started to hand out free phone numbers and voice mail accounts to the homeless around the Bay Area. It’s the beginning of an effort by Google to help the less fortunate obtain employment and get back on track.
By not having access to a steady phone number and voice mail, people can’t respond and interact with potential employers like others can. When applying for any job, the employer must be able to get a hold of you at the very least, and by not having access, it eliminates almost any chance of getting back on track.
Google hopes to take the service beyond the Bay Area, but it’s an interesting acquisition, and one that Google will be sure to use to their advantage in the future. The article I read about this didn’t state whether or not their handing out free devices, or if it’s a pre-paid type service or any other details, but I’m sure being Google, mobile-based advertising will be in the mix.
GrandCentral also has many other uses, and features for organizing and controlling your incoming calls to one or many phones lines you have, such as screening and central voice mail systems. I’ll post more on this later…
Affiliate Links, Voicemail & A Brring! Number
I’ve seen a few postings regarding blackhat methods to make money using Brring!, affiliate links, and free online classifieds sites like Craigslist. I thought I’d put in my two cents.
For those of you who haven’t heard about Brring!, it’s a service that gives you a free VOIP phone number in any area code you choose, and in exchange, they serve advertisements to your callers before being connected to you. For every call you receive $.05 in earnings. Affiliate marketers have taken notice, and devised blackhat methods to multiply your earnings, and even tie it into affiliate offers to make even more in commissions.
Here’s what you do; Sign-up for your free Brring! number in any area code you choose, then find an old SIM card or third party voicemail service and setup a simple voicemail, more on this later. Go to Craigslist, and write a simple personals ad saying something to the effect of;
I’m new in town, looking for someone to show me around and hang out with. Call me if you’re interested. Leave me a message on my voicemail -**Insert your Brring! number here***
Now go back to your voicemail and have a female voice record a greeting to the effect of “contact me on (any social networking site you can affiliate with), my username is (make up something) Go to your favorite affiliate network and sign-up with some sort of dating affiliate offer and get your link. Cloak that link or use a re-direct to hide the long URL, and place the URL in your voicemail.
When callers call your Brring! number you automatically get your $.05 commission, then they’re transfered to the voicemail you setup and enticed to go online via your affiliate URL to sign-up which you’ll also get an affiliate commission for. If you change your ad daily, and keep re-posting to craigslist to keep your ad on top of the others, you’ll get decent traffic, and decent earnings.
My thoughts are this; obviously Brring! is going to catch on to this sooner or later, because it dilutes the effectiveness to their advertisers. They’ll undoubtedly safeguard against this and most likely ban any user practicing this technique, so while it will work for a while, it won’t last forever.
I had a similar campaign running using classified ads in newspapers around the state a while back while I was still testing the waters, and while it did work, it took a lot of tweaking overtime to keep it profitable.
Location-Based Marketing via Shopping Carts in Your Local Grocery Store? Enter MediaCart
MediaCart, and Microsoft have teamed up to provide a unique service aimed at grocery stores, and other department-based shopping environments. It takes location-based-advertising to a whole new level. Forget your cell phone, forget bluetooth, forget SMS. MediaCart brings together a video screen on the end of a cart coupled with RFID readers to know your location at all times within the store. Microsoft enters the picture by serving up the ads. In addition to knowing your location, to serve location-relevant advertising, the system also incorporates a loyalty card scanner that allows the shopper scan their card first, and then with the computer knowing what you’ve purchased in the past, it could serve up behavioral-based advertisements as well.
In addition to the unique monetization models that are in place, the systems also offers up several other unique benefits.
A user can upload their shopping list, or keep a running list via their mobile phone or home/office PC. They can then upload the current list to their local grocery store, and have it displayed in an aisle-organized fashion on their shopping cart. Electronic Coupons can be delivered and redeemed easily and securely via the shopping cart itself. No more waiting at the register while all your coupons are being tallied. It’ll cut costs for both parties by way of cutting advertising costs for the store itself, as well as the obvious savings for the shopper. The shopper can locate products in the store using the cart, as well as perform comparitive pricing analysis in real time. As the shopper enters the aisle, they receive specials available and where they’re located in that aisle.
Probably the best feature, in my opinion, is the newly introduced cart-level checkout feature. As you add items to your cart, the computer computes a running total. When you’re ready to check out, use your debit/credit card to pay for the items, similar to “express checkouts” used commonly today.
Looks like a really interesting service. They’re beginning with introducing the technology at ShopRite stores on the east coast, but should hopefully expand rapidly.