MSearchGroove

First, an update on MSG. The site has been down over the last days due to some server problems that also kept me from posting yesterday, but Paul Nash and the team at fifty50 have it under control. We’ve decided to move the site to a new server tomorrow in preparation for MSG expansion and a few surprises.

In the meantime, I’m catching up on my reading and planning coverage/features/podcasts for the next weeks. Top of the list is the Carnival of Mobilists (CoM), which is on this week at Xen Mendelsohn’s Xellular Identity. It’s a great line-up as always, but a few really merit a closer look.

My favorite (and Xen’s as well since it was her pick for the best post of the week) is a deep-dive from mobile consultant, author and esteemed colleague Tomi Ahonen. He expertly and eloquently outlines the advantages of mobile as a mass media (the 7^th Mass Media channel) and provides examples that make me wonder (as he does) why we don’t “think mobile” when we develop mobile content/apps/ads/etc…

To drive home this point he describes MTV, a content creator that truly “gets” it. When MTV shoots Jackass, for example, they do it with two separate camera crews. One focuses on producing a show for the TV screen, and the other films it for display and enjoyment on the mobile phone. Both crews shoot the same action, but they do it with the media in mind. Tomi’s conclusion: “This is the level of thinking we need. Don’t copy. Develop expressly for the 7th Mass Media.”

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• Mobile Research, Mobile Social Networking, Mobile Search, Mobile Content, Mobile Advertising

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In-Brief: A look at AdMob Mobile Analytics & an exclusive Q&A that connects the dots to describe the competitive landscape and answer the all-important question: Why does data matter? Plus: A surprising scoop direct from Bango CEO Ray Anderson ….

Jason Spero, AdMob VP Marketing, pre-briefed me on the company’s new release analytics tool just prior to my last speaking engagement. I was excited because I could see this was not just another product announcement (and thus I decided not to report it as one).

It’s a tool that puts AdMob back in play and potentially one step ahead of rival vendors including Amethon Solutions, Google (which hasn’t yet launched a mobile analytics product!), Mobilytics, TigTags and Wapalizer. In fact, this worthwhile assessment via ClickZ concludes Bango is AdMob’s closest challenger, and I’m inclined to agree.

Or could it be the other way around?
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• Mobile Research, Mobile Search, Mobile Advertising

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In-Brief: In response to the comment Medio Systems’ co-founder Michael “Luni” Libes recently posted on MSG I tested Verizon’s Get It Now service. My analysis reveals what Verizon delivers - and doesn’t.Mobile search is about allowing users to find what they already know they want. It’s important to get search right, but even power-search does little to encourage impulse buying behavior. That’s where recommendations come in. Unlike search results, recommendations suggest similar content to users based on their search queries. It is also possible to base recommendations on other factors such as browsing patterns, purchasing habits or intelligent segmentation - but the mobile industry, for the most part, isn’t there yet.

What the industry can do is match content recommendations with keywords. At least, that’s what I assumed when I began my study of mobile search/recommendation on the T-Mobile USA and Verizon portals. However, I am forced to conclude that the industry has a long way to go before it properly implements content recommendations. To be fair, the industry has to get search right first, (which it is currently struggling to do), but I believe the industry should tackle these issues in parallel as the technologies are intertwined and mutually beneficial.

In response to my earlier post Luni correctly pointed out that the searches were performed from within Verizon’s Vcast Music application. He stated that “for a better experience on a Verizon phone, subscribers (today) must download the “Get It Now Search” application, which will search not only the VCast Music catalog, but also the ringtones, ringback tones, wallpaper, games, and applications catalogs, all from a single search box.”

Curious to see if there would be a vast difference in the quality of the results I downloaded the Get It Now app to my handset and conducted mobile searches for a variety of content, the results of which I have documented in this post.

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• Mobile Research, Recommendation, Mobile Search, Mobile Music, Content Discovery

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It’s official! The ink is dry, the business plan in place and I’m proud to formally introduce Stuart Willett and his team of ad sales professionals. Stuart will be the contact for all companies interested in advertising on MSG, sponsoring a podcast series and/or branding a “briefing room” on the site to present their value proposition to the MSG community. You can contact Stuart directly at sw@morianamediagroup.com

Stuart is perhaps best known as Group Publishing Director, Moriana Media Group (MMG), the company that produces trade magazines including Wireless Business Review, Convergence World, Telecoms Europe, and Middle East and Africa Communications. (These magazines are all available in a digitized format, so I encourage you to visit the sites and explore the archives.)

Stuart, whose publishing career spans over a decade, has developed much more than a leading online destination; he has created a knowledge portal that expertly meets the needs of its community with a targeted mix of white papers, technical presen­tations, magazine articles, and webinars. MMG also develops and organizes leading industry events. Chief among these is the Convergence World Awards, which showcases the convergence of fixed and mobile communications, broadcasting and entertainment, and recognizes the innovations and achievements of the companies driving convergence forward.

I’m excited about what MSG and MMG can co-create, and I am also pleased to have an international team in place that can help advertisers address MSG’s growing audience of mobile operators, mobile professionals, and VCs. Since the re-launch in October, MSG has become the essential read for executives worldwide. The people count is impressive, but the engagement (10-minute visits on average) is a testament to the quality of analysis and the breadth of coverage MSG offers.

Naturally, our partnership will be instrumental in taking MSG to the next level. I look forward to introducing MMG readers to MSG content, and I hope for an exciting cross-pollination in the other direction.

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• Mobile Social Networking, Mobile Search, Mobile Advertising

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In-Brief: A quick overview of the new names and approaches in mobile search that merit a closer look. Companies include Cafegadgets.in, ChaCha, dotMobi, Veveo, & Zodigo.

Is mobile search a source of competitive advantage? Or is it merely a must-have navigation feature well on its way to becoming a commodity? (The scenario: Every service will need a search box - and any technology will do…) Well, the jury is out on this one for now. (I might add it was a topic of lively debate at Search Goes Mobile - over dinner and after-dinner grappa.) One conclusion I did reach: There is new interest in offering — even cultivating — a breadth of mobile search engines. For operators, mobile search is a new weapon in their competitive arsenal, and being the gateway to new search services is top item on their agenda. (More in follow-up coverage from SGM.)

In the meantime, a review of this week’s developments reveals a growing interest in mobile search. There are new names and new approaches, and you can count on coverage here and at AltSearchEngines. (I have sent out requests and will circle back as the companies file in.)

Indeed, I greatly look forward to a webinar/briefing next week with Veveo, a vertical mobile search engine provider. The company’s vTap application - available for Windows Mobile, Nokia N-series, and handsets from Samsung, Sanyo, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and LG - effectively lets users search video from the Web and then transcodes it into a format that will work with the player on the handset. MSG covered the company from the start and it’s encouraging to see the mainstream media catching on as well. If you want to read up on Veveo and its vTap offer in the meantime, then check out this column in BusinessWeek.

ZODIGO: Zodiac Interactive is in the news after grabbing headlines at DEMO 08, where the company also introduced Zodigo, a mobile content search and discovery engine for TVs and browsers. Earlier this week the company made the decision to spin off Zodigo into a new company, entirely focused on mobile content search, led by Matt Johnston, formerly Zodiac’s SVP of strategy and Zodigo’s CEO.

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• Mobile Search

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