MSearchGroove

Regular readers will know from this earlier post that I am attending an exciting mobile search conference in Bertinoro, Italy. It was well worth the trip, not only because the city is serene and beautiful, but because the university is the center of path-breaking informatics research and innovation. I learned that Eric Schmidt, Google CEO, flew in with his own plane to attend last year’s Web search conference - and this year an equally stellar line-up of executives and academics has gathered to give their expert view on the current state of mobile search and the outlook for the future.

Picture/image/camera search in all its forms is a hot topic, and you can count on me to come back with a deeper analysis of what was discussed and the potential impact on mobile search services. A personal favorite is MUFIN (Multi-Feature Indexing Network), which enables similarity searching for images. It gets even more interesting when you can put” for a variety of results in a variety of forms. I’m proud to report Pavel Zezula, a member of the faculty of the University of Brno and a passionate man who has spent 40 years looking at search problems and solutions, will give us the inside track on MUFIN in a Q&A following the conference.

Not that MSG follow-up coverage will be all theory (although I have to admit I am excited by this topic). I also had the pleasure to meet with telco executives who have all agreed to tell MSG about their mobile search pilots and plans. In short, MSG will also have some worthwhile “scoops” - so check back for exclusive Q&As that speak volumes about their current and future search ad advertising strategy.

Special highlights so far (the conference continues tomorrow) are Carlo Alberto Liccardi from Telecom Italia Lab, who will give us the inside track on a content and context (!) sharing platform that provides the basis for a photo/video sharing service set to launch this year.

It’s wonderful to attend a conference that will have a profound impact on the present and future focus of mobile search. Thanks to the organizers for inviting me to speak - and thanks to the academics and executives who have agreed to be featured in the coming days. Your support is an important confirmation of MSG’s blueprint and business model: To be a knowledge resource and thinking space for this industry.

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• Web 2.0, Mobile Research, Mobile Social Networking, Multimodal Search, Mobile Search, Mobile Advertising

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In-Brief: SpinVox reveals its vision for mobile search and mobile advertising services that will harness its voice-to-text technology to pick up on clues in voicemail exchanges to deliver users relevant results in an unobtrusive way. It’s not here yet, but you can bet on some deployments this year as mobile search providers and operators take notice.

Talk about timing! I first met SpinVox co-founder Daniel Doulton last summer at the company headquarters in the U.K., a mind-meld during which we discussed the progress the company had made (its voice-to-screen technology now lets users post to their Facebook, Twitter and Jaiku sites by simply speaking into their mobile handset) and the potential for the same technology to supercharge mobile search and enable the delivery targeted mobile advertising. It was an invigorating exchange and I put in my request for a podcast when the time was right.

I got my wish this week and had an exclusive interview with Daniel just a few days before the news broke that SpinVox has raised more than $100 million in funding from a Goldman Sachs Group unit and other institutional investors. The cash allows the company to expand its presence in North America and introduce voice-to-text services in more languages. (The company has deals with 12 mobile operators and plans to double that number this year. It is negotiating with all the top U.S. network operators and expects to announce two deals in the next quarter.)

I’ll bet SpinVox also uses the investment to move its strategy of enabling what Daniel calls “implicit mobile search” a quantum leap forward.

The scenario: An exchange between friends looking for a suitable restaurant to meet might trigger the service to suggest a few nearby restaurants, complete with a link to a local map or even driving directions. “It’s a fascinating ability that we now have in the actual voice message conversion system, which obviously has a semantic ability. And by that I mean; it can actually link together intelligently, keywords and messages that would make up an intelligent request or a search query.”

Listen to the podcast here. [10:56]

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• Multimodal Search, Mobile Social Networking, Web 2.0, Mobile Search, Mobile Advertising, Content Discovery, Local Search, Podcasts

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In-Brief: MSG’s Navigation Day @ CeBIT pre-event coverage kicks off (albeit a day late due to server issues) with an overview of Nuance, a provider of speech-enabled technologies and solutions for mobile search, navigation and in-car communications. Fatima Vital, a Nuance senior marketing director, provides a snapshot of mobile search use in the U.S. (where Sprint and Verizon offer Nuance voice-enabled search services), shares her checklist for an optimized voice UI and brings us up to date on Tegic (a former AOL company best known for its flagship T9 text input product, which Nuance acquired in 2007).

Nuance used this week’s CeBIT to showcase new speech solutions and put more marketing muscle behind its predictive mobile search offer known as T9 Nav. I followed this content discovery solution from the start, from the days that it was just a cool idea circulating around AOL and had yet to make its mark.

The product launches at the end of 2Q2008, and we have the chance to sign up for a special trial during CeBIT. Show delegates can download T9Nav here to experience first hand the mobile search and content discovery experience it allows. To be fair, T9 Nav does cover many of the bases to have a significant impact on the marketplace. However, there are also some striking similarities to Zi Corp. - and we can’t ignore the traction it’s getting, including a recent win that will see Zi Corp’s mobile discovery solution Qix picked up by Canadian mobile operator TELUS and installed on “select models” of phones and PDAs.

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• Multimodal Search, Location-based services, Mobile Research, Mobile Search, Mobile Music, Content Discovery, Local Search, Mobile Advertising, Podcasts

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In-Brief: MSG ties up with Telematics Update for Navigation Day @CeBIT and speaks at a special session on search & advertising. Receive a €50 discount if you book using ‘1367 MSGroove’ as a special discount code. Conference organizer Abbie Badcock reports healthy attendance for the inaugural event which will feature 35+ c-level speakers from companies including Jentro, Multimap, Nokia, Nuance, TeleAtlas, TomTom, and Webraska. MSG will kick off coverage with a line-up of exclusive podcasts & interviews, so check back regularly.

Regular readers will note MSG has turned up the volume on its coverage analysis of the link between location and mobile search. We have Seeker Wireless exec Andrew Grill on board as a regular contributor and the site itself, which I’m proud to report is already an essential read for the mobile search & advertising industry, has benefited tremendously by the realization (or rather, revelation) that plain-vanilla location-based services are passé.

In fact, the concept of a killer app is passé. The Killer “Opp” (opportunity), to borrow a phrase from Yankee Group, is not location-based services. Nor is it mobile search, or even mobile advertising. Not even the much-hyped trend to mobile social networking will end up leading the pack. It will be the year of “all of the above” and competitive advantage will be based on the ability to provide a holistic and useful mix of these services that is presence-capable and context-aware.

The companies meeting on March 7 in Hannover to discuss navigation “get” this - which is why I’m excited to be both a media sponsor and speaker. The panel, chaired by well-known mobile evangelist Eric Chan, will deep-dive into the intersection between search, networking and location to answer questions including: How can smarter user intent algorithms, combined with location, improve the user experience of local search?; How can we combine advertising with proximity-targeted messages to capture user attention and clinch the sale?; and What impact will advertising models and rev-share deals have on the navigation industry?

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• Web 2.0, Location-based services, Mobile Social Networking, Multimodal Search, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Search, Local Search

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Another sign that multimodal search is finding its niche. Accenture Technology Labs have developed an image recognition technology that works using video taken from a 3G cameraphone. In this scenario Accenture uses an algorithm called Scale-Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) to identify objects in live video footage. (Put simply, users capture a video clip of an object in their surrounding area, send it to database and then receive a match related to items the system ‘recognized’ within the video.)

A service offered by Magnet Harlequin, for example, uses images users capture with their camerphones to support brand recognition and marketing campaigns. And there are many more lining up to stake their turf in this nascent market.

Indeed, image recognition space is crowding as more companies harness this technology as a means to overcome the usability barrier of mobile phones for search (tiny keypads, tinier screens) and excite the all-important impulse buy. I recently finished an in-depth feature on the topic and will post it soon in the Portfolio section of this website (with another 30 or so articles about mobile search I have yet to list…)

The technology is super-cool, but I’m most excited about the mobile commerce and advertising models visual search could jumpstart. Case in point is GeoVector in Japan. The company recently made headlines when it teamed up with Japan’s Mapion, a mapping services company, to provide a local search service that allows users to look for destinations and information about some 700,000 places of interest across Japan. The new release of the mobile search service, now available on over two million Sony Ericsson, Kyocera and Casio mobile phones using the KDDI network, also enables opt-in advertising, sponsored categories and preferred placement.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is working to make it a reality through Photo2Search, research in progress that uses images to act as the search query, with no text input from the user whatsoever. Users simply take a picture of a given image with their cameraphone; submit it to Microsoft’s search engine, and all the details are delivered directly to the mobile phone. Nokia has also filed a patent that lays the groundwork for a mobile visual search service predictably linked to Nokia cameraphones.

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• Location-based services, Multimodal Search, Mobile Search, Content Discovery

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Fring, Phling, Pringo…you know the scene is really hotting up when you can list some mobile Web 2.0 companies and their offers rhyme! (If you’re confused, then watch this space for analysis and deep-dive podcasts from Peggy. It’s part of her brief to monitor social media companies above and under the radar, but she’s also passionate about her work, so we count on learning a lot over the coming weeks.)

In the meantime, here’s a quick run-down of five of the newest kids on the block (via Webware.com). Each is super-cool in their own way, but don’t expect more than buzz until they each tackle usability issues. That’s why I speak out for voice-enabled social networking (no pun intended).

BLUEPULSE: Mobile only site Bluepulse has messaging at its core with a single inbox showing status updates, messages, friend requests and all the usual offerings you would expect from a social networking site. Posting photos and videos from your phone is also on offer, but there are some usability issues that need ironing out. No drop down menus or predictive text to quickly choose from and the all important click-to-call feature is still being developed - surely voice must be as integral to mobile social networking as messaging.

TRUTAP: More usability issues are uncovered when we look at U.K. based Trutap. Available on AT&T in the U.S., users can chat with other Trutapers all they like (although the all-in-one IM service is limited to MSN, Yahoo, AIM and ICQ), but photos and posts are re-directed through partners such as Blooger and Flickr. (Peggy adds: Since meeting with David Whitewood, Co-Founder & Global VP Business Development, at a recent Mobile Monday I’ve got this one high on my radar…)

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• Web 2.0, Usability, Mobile Social Networking, Multimodal Search, Mobile Search

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A quick round-up of some mobile search-related news before I skip off to a delegate dinner to meet panelists participating in tomorrow’s cutting-edge conference on recommendation technology. I’ll circle back with those highlights tomorrow night…

In the meantime, the blogsphere is full of news (and some well-deserved praise) for the updated Live Search for Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6.0. This newest version includes voice input (in beta and jointly developed by Microsoft and TellMe, the voice recognition company it acquired earlier this year.) The main attraction is the Live Search 411 service, which gives users toll-free access to directory assistance and allows them to find and connect to local businesses and other listings using their voice. Users can say, “Connect me,” to make the connection. Mobile phone users can request a link via text, to a map with directions. (The service is quite similar in this respect to Google’s own 411 service GOOG-411, so it’s clear Microsoft is out to do one better than its arch rival.)

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• Mobile Social Networking, Multimodal Search, Mobile Search, Mobile Advertising, Local Search

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Only have time to write this snippet, but I promise more - and an exclusive Q&A with the architects behind the deal - once I land. JumpTap will announce a significant partnership focussed on recommendation - marking another deal in this space over just the last weeks. (Think back to MCN’s tie-up with Caboodle and FAST’s purchase of AgentArts

More exciting and personally satisfying is the confirmation that recommendation is becoming a key component in the quality mobile search experience. It’s a view i’ve passionately argued for the last 3+ years. In fact, some in the industry might even make the good-natured observaton that I’ve preached it …

But it’s an idea whose time has come. That’s not just me; that’s also the mood at Mobile HCI2007, where I just spent the last days discussing human-centered mobile computing, content consumption and mobile search with some brilliant researchers and practicioners. Our new agreed motto: No one-size-fits all approach (or interface) to search will every satisfy our demands for a good user experience. I’ll leave you with that - and I’ll leave for the airport. I’ll circle back once I’m back in my office with some of the highlights - including some of the coolest ideas I’ve have the pleasure to explore in my career. Can’t wait till the next Mobile HCI in Amsterdam next September!

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• Multimodal Search, Mobile Search

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I couldn’t come out and say it in Part I of this series, but now I can report that Mobile Content Networks (MCN), a U.S. mobile search platform provider, has acquired Caboodle Networks Inc., a company best known for its multimedia, multi-service semantic recommendation platform. Translated: Caboodle has the know-how and the patents to deliver recommendations based on the user’s context and the intelligence to tackle age-old semantic search problems such as Jaguar (the car) and jaguar (the cat). It doesn’t have a silver-bullet solution, per se, but it does go a long way toward disambiguating similar search terms.

More importantly, Caboodle’s open source approach to recommendations transcends content types and silos to deliver recommendations from across all available content types. (In this aspect, the recommendation capability reminds me of Xiam, a server-based recommendation solution that may not have solved the semantic Web problem, but has developed a capabilities mix to offer a user who types in “Beyoncé”, for example, a wide choice of news, gossip, tracks and ringtones – the works. More about that when the service formally launches soon.)

Marc Bookman, MCN CEO, who graciously agreed to be grilled for over an hour in a pre-briefing, puts it this way: With Caboodle under its belt MCN can create the associations between content and successfully cross-sell and up-sell the users to similar content. Caboodle doesn’t index content; it relies on taxonomies and contextual information to categorize it and play matchmaker between users and the content likely to matter most. It’s an interesting hybrid approach that builds on collaborative filtering, but goes a step further. “It’s going to be very much a content-driven approach to this [recommendations] in terms of trying to get the correct associations between the content and the user’s queries.” (Further down in the story, I deep-dive and provide a few excerpts from an internal white paper, so read on. Thanks again to MCN marketing execs Stephen Burke and Michael Crane for passing on excellent background material!)

Listen to Part II of the podcast. [27:36]

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Several surprises come out of a new report by Usable Products, a New York-based company focused on UI design and usability testing. The vast majority (79 percent) of users surveyed felt advertising-supported banners enhanced their mobile search experience. Conversely, 37 percent said paid and sponsored text-based ads “proved most detrimental to user experience.” (More details in this release.)

No further explanation on this interesting observation, but Scott Weiss, president of Usable Products, will join us next week in an exclusive podcast to outline his research and delve into more details and best practices. (His full report, Mobile Search User Experience Benchmark – which tested InfoSpace WAP, JumpTap Java (Alltel Axcess Search), Nuance Voice Control, and Yahoo Go - spans a whopping 179 pages, so there’s a lot to tell.)

The usability report also underlined the pivotal position of voice as a no-brainer interface to content and services. Scott reckoned participants would be put off by voice search – but the opposite was true. “In final usability, it performed better than expected. We were surprised that participants enjoyed voice search, and how much more they liked it than searching via phone keypad.”
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• Multimodal Search, Mobile Search, Mobile Advertising

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