Wi-Fi Warrants Lollapalooza

Earlier, I wrote about Michigan's Wi-Fi initiatives. Gee, I guess I'd better pay attention to my own backyard, with a free event planned for May 23.

Unveiling/dedication ceremony for the first free Wi-Fi Zone for downtown Tucson.

Scheduled speakers include Mayor Bob Walkup and Alecia Miller, president of the Tucson Wi-Fi Alliance, the nonprofit group responsible for creating the Free Wi-Fi Zone. More festivities, co-sponsored by the Tucson-Pima Public Library, beginning at 4:30pm in El Presidio Park with a Free Wi-Fi Zone Fiesta complete with Mariachi music, steel bands, computer vendors and computer user groups. -- from AZIPA/AzTechList/TechOasis

Mariachi music? Damn! I guess we're really excited about Wi-Fi here in the Old Pueblo.


[ technorati: Mariachi, wi-fi, wireless ]

Watching a Guy on TV Watching TV

There appears to be no end to TV promoting itself via, well, itself. I guess I'm a tired of being subjected to this mind-numbing intrusion everywhere. The TV goes on in the morning for early news. I can't escape TV when I shop, eat or even go to the bathroom in public restrooms. I've run into TVs at the movie theatre. TV is the last noise I hear at night. But I should be thankful I don't live in a neighborhood where the last noise I hear is police sirens.

It's only a matter of time before my daughter begs to trade in her vanilla-flavored cell phone for something more distracting. Schools no longer ask students to get rid of the gum. Teachers are heard saying "unplug" in reference to the proliferation of iPods in the classroom. My daughter's school has a policy of no cell phone use during classtime. Some teachers take the phone away if the student IMs or receives a call. But what will happen the first time a student is late for class because he was stalled in the hall watching a TV broadcast?

Who the heck cares, say the powers that be. The marketing geniuses at Sprint, Verizon and Cingular are pushing TV via cell phone plans, and nothing will get in their way. The idea is no longer a fantasy through an all-you-can-eat monthly plan.

A study in Denmark claims there is no link between cell phone use and brain tumors, according to the American Academy of Neurology. I sincerely hope there's no link between cell phone use and declining GPAs. Hmmmm. Maybe schools should start offering educational programming via Sprint.

Chrysler Ups Interactive Marketing Ante

This year, Chrysler plans to tackle wireless marketing initiatives "fairly aggressively." Streaming TV shows via smart phones is but one possibility. (via AutoWeek)

[ technorati: automobile advertising, wireless marketing ]

Ubiquitous Wi-Fi

You gotta hand it to Michigan retailers. They know a wireless trend when they see one. Stopping at McDonald’s with the kids? Let them play in the “hamster tubes” while you surf the Web on WiFi. In fact, there are about 413 locations around the state where you can get a wireless Internet connection through SBC FreedomLink. Oakland County would like to make the entire area wireless in an effort to market it to tech-savvy business travelers and high tech companies. The Wi-Fi access idea isn’t such a bad draw for residents, either, but some users think a session is pretty expensive. (via Oakland Press, Pontiac, MI,USA)

Bottom Line: Wireless is a major convenience when you have no other options. When ya gotta browse, ya gotta browse.

Of course being the Editor at MAO I've often wondered why more businesses and even cities aren't already wireless enabled. It's relatively inexpensive and by far the greatest marketing tool since radio. -- Steve Turner, Macon Daily, Georgia

[ technorati: retail, wireless marketing ]

Cell Phone Terrorism

Starting May 5, the Thailand government will require cell phone operators to register "the identity of people buying pre-paid SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards." That's because cell phones were used to detonate recent bomb blasts. Thailand isn't the first country to come up with this idea. Last year, Switzerland started registering customers after discovering Al Qaeda members used prepaid Swiss cards to coordinate terrorist communications. (via International Herald Tribune, France)

What's the wireless marketing connection?
1. Telecommunications companies are happy about the new requirements due to the potential strategic marketing and data mining benefits.
2. Wireless consumers aren't happy due to the potential invasion of privacy and possibility of unsolicited marketing.

Critics say registration won't do anything to prevent terrorists from using false documents to obtain registration. Better yet, they can still use other devices with wireless signals, like garage door openers and walkie talkies, to set off bombs.

<mindless rant>So the only people a registration will inconvenience will be law-abiding citizens. In other words, when you outlaw guns, only guns will have outlaws...errr...or something like that. (pause, scratches head) Cell phones. I meant cell phones. Geez. (pause) Whatever.</mindless rant>

Damn! I never thought of the cell phone as a lethal weapon requiring registration. But then again, I am the mother of a talkative teenager who is putting us in the poor house with her monthly overages. Maybe I'll tell her Bush has instructed the Department of Education to subpoena her cell phone records, so they can make sure she's not on the phone during homework hours. (pause) This could get ugly.

Meanwhile, what's next? (plants tongue in cheek) Have elementary school kids register with the government every time they go to Radio Shack or design a wireless science fair project? Sure. Why not? After all, you really can't be too careful when dealing with a disgruntled 4th grader.

<sarcasm>Marketing Genius Award: If you can't entice consumers to provide useful marketing data any legitimate way, lobby your government to link your product to terrorism.

That'll show 'em.</sarcasm>

[ technorati: terrorism, wireless marketing, satire ]

Travel the Hitchhiker's Galaxy Wirelessly

Opening Friday, April 29, the cult classic "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" comes to a theatre near you. A mobile version also comes to a device near you, according to Reuters via Yahoo! News. The movie's wireless tie-in could build a fast following among the tech-savvy Sci-Fifedom, making it a word-of-mouse...uh...word-of-thumb marketing success.

Online since April 1999, "h2g2 is an unconventional guide to life, the universe and everything, an encyclopaedic project where entries are written by people from all over the world," reveals the BBC-run companion site. Visitors can edit h2g2, much like they'd participate in the Wikipedia community, a collaborative encyclopedia now stirring financial support from Yahoo!. The editable interpretation of the Hitchhiker's Guide is now available wirelessly, making it that much closer to the original book's main theme.

Point your phone or PDA browser to h2g2 On the Move. To put in your two cents, on any topic, register for a free account. Director of BBC New Media & Technology Ashley Highfield confirms that entries to The Guide are reviewed for relevancy and decency by a core group of 1,000 users, but the majority of submissions will appear unedited.

When the late author Douglas Adams first described his globe-trotting fantasy in print, he had no idea how closely his work of fiction would predict the world of online communications. And now his concept has become somewhat of a reality. There are multiple books in Adam's repertoire, so expect a few sequels with additional mobile marketing exploits. There's also an official movie blog, by Buena Vista Pictures, but it hasn't been updated lately. Meanwhile, cross your fingers that The Guide's online popularity doesn't signal the demolition of the Earth to make way for a bigger Internet. [Heh!]

[taps microphone] I know you're out there. I can hear you breathing. [pause] Don't forget to tip your waiters. I'll be here all week.

Original props to the Online Journalism Review News Blog for alerting me to this mobile goodie.

[ technorati: entertainment marketing , movies, wireless, mobile marketing, Hitchhiker's Guide, Science fiction ]

If You Beam It, They Will Come

Content Beamer for BlackBerry, a new application that debuted at Orlando's Wireless Enterprise Symposium this month, enables printing of email and documents from Bluetooth-capable printers.

ThinPrint claims "enormous demand," citing a secure solution that prints documents in original formats. All you need is a small Bluetooth adapter for the printer. Concerned about Bluetooth security, especially on the open floor of a trade show? In theory, it's solid.

I started to imagine the on-the-go marketing/PR applications. To date, there's no connection between this and the ability to advertise to mobile users via their devices. No such intentions have been made public yet. The Content Beamer relies on the BlackBerry Enterprise Server to get the job done.

[ technorati: mobile enterprise, wireless, Blackberry, Bluetooth ]

Gaming Business Picks Up Wireless Steam

People with deep pockets have tripled their support of mobile gaming enterprises this year (finally), says media research company Screen Digest. (via eMarketer)

Thinking about paid placements on mobile gaming sites or within games themselves? Just remember. Numbers don't lie. People do.

[ technorati: wireless gaming, mobile gaming, WAP casinos ]