White Label Social Networking for a Mobile Platform

I have been playing with Ning a lot lately and really pushing it to see its potential for a rapid social network deployment.

It is very powerful and gives you a huge amount control over setting up a social network.

Now I heard about a new white label social networking platform for mobile and handhelds. It is called iamota impact.

It allows you to:

• Quickly and easily create and launch mobile services.
• Add mobile "Opt-ins" to many types of media: Web, blogs, email, social networks, TV, print, billboards, bus boards, on-product, radio, POS, live events

And it gives you:

• Single interface to power mobile marketing, messaging, social networking, location-based services, content delivery and payment
• Handles all wireless carrier certifications, device-specific content optimizations, digital rights management, carrier and Mobile Marketing Association rules
• Open API and custom mobile services
• Financial clearing and settlement
• Reporting and statistics

It looks like the start of a pretty sweet service. It is a little pricey, but as we see more competition in this space I think we'll see more FREE and low cost solutions.

Case Western Reserve University to Debut Usage of 2D codes on campus

I was turned to an article about usage of QR Codes on Campus over at 2d-code.co.uk.

Beginning February 1st 2008, students, faculty and staff at Case Western Reserve's Cleveland, Ohio, campus will be participating in the nation's first trial of "2D codes"—commonly referred to as "QR Codes"—by bringing the cell phone technology to campus.

The 2D codes, first introduced on campus during fall orientation will be used as a link to mobile content in the form of pictures, music, videos, news articles and other interactive media.

For companies, the codes present an avenue for extending the value of their product packaging. For students, the codes are a way to deliver information and entertainment to friends. For professors, they allow a new level of interactivity for engaging the Facebook generation.

All faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the university who have a case.edu e-mail address can enroll in the pilot beginning February 1st at http://www.mobilediscovery.com.

From this Web site, members of the university community will be able to download to a cell phone the software needed to read the codes, create their own 2D codes and connect the codes to content—for free. Some wireless carriers may charge users for each code read and content downloaded to the phone.

Sometimes I get the feeling the educational institutions are behind the game when it comes to technology, it is nice to see some taking risks and leading.

2d Code - QR code and two dimensional bar codes, news, views and analysis.

After posting about cellular and mobile barcodes yesterday I received a comment from a guy who started an online magazine on the subject. 2d-code @ http://2d-code.co.uk/

From their home page about the magazine:

In Japan QR codes are found on everything from business cards to fresh lettuce. Now they are coming to the West and advertising and promotion will never be the same again. 2d Code will keep you informed as it happens, with news, views and analysis.

If you are interested in the QR code phenomena you can participate with us in several ways.

• Mention or write about this website on your blog
• Send us your sightings of QR or 2d barcodes
• At the bottom of each individual news item there is an opportunity for you to comment or leave a message
• At the top of each individual news item you can email the item to a friend or colleague.

Great resource to introduce and follow the subject of mobile two dimensional bar codes. I highly recommend you check it out and subscribe to their RSS Feed.

I really think this is an under-realized technology and topic in this country, and if we learn from the Japanese on how they use we can solve that problem off our online / offline lives and how that relates to social media and online marketing campaigns.

Camera phone and other cell phone bar code technology

Some very interesting stuff in two-dimensional camera phone barcodes out there on the Internet.

Was reading the NY Times Articles on Mobile Phone Barcodes and it referenced a couple of technologies like Semacode, QR Code and Qode, and barcode technology maker Nextcode.

Here is an introduction to Two-Dimensional Camera Phone Barcodes that explained the technology to me.

There are plenty of big players in the game trying to push camera phone and other cell phone bar code technologies in the is country such as Microsoft Launches Windows Live Barcode Beta.

What is Windows Live Barcode?

Windows Live Barcode is a set of services that transfer information between various media (PCs, billboards, magazines etc.) and handsets via Quick Response Code (QR Code), a two-dimensional barcode. It provides a new method for people to exchange information and enjoy various online services on handsets. Windows Live Barcode aims to enhance handset utility and provide you with more convenience and flexibility.

The technology is big in Japan and is used in many daily activities. Here is a definition of QR code:

What is a QR Code for Mobile Devices? - A QR Code is a two-dimensional bar code introduced by the Japanese company Denso-Wave in 1994. QR stands for “Quick Response”. QR Codes are most common in Japan, and are the most popular type of two-dimensional code in Japan.

These two-dimensional images are truly the missing link in taking your social media campaign off line or bringing your off line campaign online.

Mobile Phone as Your Physical Link and Communication Device

I was just reading this article from the NY Times on the future of hand-held mobile devices (well for us in the US, others are using it).

It talks about using your cell phone / hand held as a physical communication device in the real world.

With wireless and blue tooth communication, your cell phone could be used to communicate with businesses and individuals out there in the real world. You can bookmark locations, get more information, profiles, and sign up and communicate with others without actually talking directly to them.

You can purchase and check out at a store without the long lines!

This is definitely the answer to social media marketing campaigns and solving problems with extending and tracking your campaign as users come and go online.

You can have a sign or billboard and the user points their mobile phone at it and it bookmarks your web site and later they can visit you. Voila....you just tracked a click through from an off line medium.

Lots to flush out here, many ideas.