Cut price iPhone in exchange for watching ads?

Could a cut-price iPhone be about to appear? There is a new patent with Steve Jobs name on from Apple that talks of an invention for viewing ads on mobile devices, (seen on Slashdot) where the device locks until the ad has been viewed, it includes a 'process' where by the viewer must verify their presence before continuing normal use, i.e. you can't walk away and make a cup of tea. See full patent HERE*.

I wonder if this is an Apple version of the Blyk concept of free mobiles for teenagers in exchange for taking part in research and viewing ads. Apple have previous with education aimed devices.

If this was linked say to the new Apple netbrowser/tablet/mega iphone  that's widely rumoured to appear in 2010 all the more interesting. The app store trend and the beginnings of an Augmented Reality advertising market does mean a rethink for the models of revenue generation across mobile devices. Has Apple jumped the gun by building in such capabilities to its new 2010 products?

** = Found via:Gene Quinn
Patent Attorney & IPWatchdog Founder

Home Sweet Home theatre event at BAC

Home Sweet Home

This is very good. Subject to change are staging a performance/art event at Battersea Arts Center. Difficult to explain fully but in a nutshell the audience build and maintain paper houses in a cityscape built on the floor of a large theatre space - sort of. Huge fun, not least because I was never quite sure what was happening - not least because you could wander of to the bar at any point. The event has already run in Brighton

Laziest TV programme ever?

Lee Mack and Frank Skinner check the direction of the First Class loungeBBC launched what is probably the laziest bit of programme making I have ever seen. 'Celebrities' race around the world in 80 days in aid of Children in Need. You can just hear the brainstorm now, "...what about the ghost of Micheal Palin mixed with a TopGear challenge and a sub Charlie Boorman travelogue.." What we actually got was Lee Mack and Frank Skinner travelling first class by train and hired mini bus, London to Turkey in Nine days, NINE DAYS!! they didn't even reach their destination on time. You could get a black cab to do it quicker than that! as for the required peril or disasters on route, we got a hotel key put in the wrong way round and a bit of confusion over a tourist visa in Turkey (something a gazillion Brit package holiday makers successfully complete every year) How stupid do the programme makers think the audience have to be to find this entertaining?

The only point of note in the whole show was the rather nice shirts both Lee and Frank wore. The rest was utter tosh of the highest order, even Sky won't have made something this crass.

Final word from the person responsible for green lighting this awful mess.

Jo Ball, BBC Commissioning Editor for Features, BBC One and BBC Two, said: "Around The World In 80 Days is an exciting part of our autumn schedule and we are looking forward to seeing some of TV's best-loved famous faces (BTW that includes Shane Richie) take part in this 21st-century twist on Fogg and Palin's epic voyage."

The twist being we just spend a load on a travel planner, get some second rate celebs to moan about being worn out, sat in first class all day, and heh presto cheapskate TV.

The continued rise and importance of the Socialnetworkosphere*

* = soon to be a real word, honest.

The actions of Facebook users have become too important for brands to ignore.

The temptation is to address the users1 rather than the circumstances that drive its popularity2.

Facebook is not the answer, It’s the social skill it teaches3 that brands need to understand.

1. = Theo Papitis interview in The Daily Mail Online

2. = Dr Norman Lewis on Futures-Diagnosis.com

3. = Marta Kavan of Espresso (bonafidemarketinggenius.com)

The current debate on the usefulness of social media summed up in three documents.

Pretty neat set of papers summing up key view points on brand Facebook. Ranging from 'Ban it, close it off' to  'We're not using it enough' Great to see a debate underwritten by such urgency from both sides to do something now. What everyone agrees is not having a Facebook policy is the biggest crime of the year.

1. ‘Why ALL bosses should copy me and ban Facebook from the workplace’ by Theo Paphitis (published in The Mail Online - where else?)

2. "...innovative business leaders should be looking to introduce ‘Facebook’-like applications....to create a more collaborative and efficient workplace.." Dr Norman Lewis on Futures-Diagnosis.com

3. "What the f**k is social media? -one year later" Marta Kagan of Espresso (13 million views on slideshare inside a month of these slides below)

What the F**K is Social Media: One Year Later
View more documents from Marta Kagan.

This is gonna be huge

Augmented Reality (AR) applications launch on the iPhone.

While I have spent years getting excited by the possibilities of mobile apps like semapedia, (unlike most of my clients, who dispite my best efforts, passed on the opportunities). Now with the launch of a raft of genuine AR apps Like this from DiscoverAnywhere there appears to be a real case for commercial use. While it is true the actual audience of iPhone & Android users is really small compared with total universe of mobile (cell) phones, in time this should be the standard for 'whats that?' questions in the street. The answer being you aim your phone at the object and heh presto the phone overlays a label telling price, location, availability or simply its name.

Very interesting that Amazons tech division A9 have brought Snaptell, which basically puts Amazons prices and availability information over the top of any item you see in a shop, (currently only works in the US)

Like most people I often emerge from a station and ponder where is? (the nearest bar) having an interactive live map to overlay reality is a fantastic bit of black magic to delight. This last bit, is in my opinion, the key to any new techs ability to succeed, is it a joy to use and do you want to tell you mates about it?

Just look at the footage below of the yelp.com trial AR feature, yes you really do have to shake the phone three times for it to show the hidden button, how charming is that? -there is also a neat London Bus AR demo HERE from Presselite. The Next Web has a bit about a live tweeter layer which could see even more tourists actually being hit by buses (while tweeting), the guys at Presslite had us tracking.

 

This is really rather nice, distracting in a Friday kind of way.

Song lyric visualiser


www.identitee.com
Links words across songs with a lovely flowing action. Like the typography. Does need a bigger data base, the current selections are very reflective of its ultra conservative sponsor 'Hard Rock Cafe' (its one Clash track is however - 'I'm so bored with the USA'!)

The buy a shirt section does vex me as they want $55 for a rather ordinary example. When personalised shirt printing is so good right now, (Threadless  or Design by Humans etc.) this seems extremely poor value (and design)

Use Your Local.com

"..we're going down the pub.." -or rather your post is.


Not that I need anymore reasons to spend time in bars, but this is a really neat idea.
Use Your Local.com
Rather than spend Saturday morning's queuing up at the Post Office to collect parcels that have been delivered while you are at work. Get them sent to your local pub, pick up on way home, stop for a quick drink to thank the landlord, genius! Nobel prize's have been given for less.

The scheme is backed by Scottish & Newcastle (now part of the Heineken group) appears to have been thought as a way of giving country pubs another offer, to me the big pull is for urban pubs/bars, As I have ranted about before the parcel delivery service is just out of wack with modern work patterns. The Saturday queue at the Clapham Post Office is daunting if you don't arrive by 8 a.m. having the option of going to the pub instead, now that is an advancement for mankind.

(already posted on allthe7thfloors.blogspot.com)

t7F London are recruiting : Account Director

Entrepreneurial self-starter with a good understanding of how small agencies operate. £45K. Central London. Temp > Perm. Access to beer.

We are looking for a creatively minded, inquisitive thinker to join a small multi-discipline team. You should have a strong interest in the changing nature of today’s communications.

You will have already had responsibility for day-to-day management on a portfolio of client accounts. Now seeking a greater autonomy and a bigger contribution to the running of an agency.

MORE

A missed opportunity?

The current phone tapping scandal** is a fantastic creative opportunity for the phone companies to run tactical ads informing consumers how to change the default passwords on there voicemail. Scanned the papers this morning and nothing!

** = it would appear that most celebs (and royals) are like the rest of us and leave there voicemail in factory settings. Which means all you have to do is call the number when its off, enter the pin (1234 on 90% of handsets) and heh presto you get to hear all the inane chatter you like

Freeium, the future business model for content providers? -that also includes agencies like us

I have been writing a piece about premium brands turning to 'Freeium' provision. This being the idea of parcelling up content into free to air sections that sit alongside full fat, longer, wider, versions. Works for just about any product area as long as the brand in question has retained enough unique equities. This made me think that actually companies like ours could start offering this. -and yes I know we've been doing it for years when we pitch. What I was thinking about was what if we 'give' our new campaign to the client to enjoy and contemplate. But then require a fee if they want to see the full picture; like where the logo goes, what the call to action is or even an explanation to 'what the hell is that?'

Ace new 3D mapping system

The guys at Saab Defence (nothing to do with the cars they tell us) have obviously got bored of missile guidance systems and have developed an amazing Google Map killer. Now if there were to talk to the car division and get this working in-dash that would be a top product, not least an amazing version of Amplified Journeys seen on blip.tv via W3haus

Tweet of the day

I have been looking at Twitter measurment tools for a client today. Found this eyecatching tweet via the People Browser platform, blending the weeks biggest storys into one

"..If you are a celebrity who has not died yet, please say something in support of the people of Iran.."

It goes without saying the scale of the pain, the people of Iran are going through, would never have been possible to convey without a platform like Twitter.

Hugley useful resource on Twitter use by the way on Jeremiah Owyangs blog web-strategist.com. Also soon to be published book Twitterville by Shel Israel.

Emirates Globe stays the course

Emirates at the Arabian Travel Market May 2009

What feels like a gazillion years ago (2006) I designed an exhibition stand for the airline Emirates. I was very chuffed to see they are still using the epic structure to this day, having sweated blood on the thing (and a stack full of also-ran ideas) its great when your work survives beyond launch day. I will post, later via slideshare, all the roughs and back up ideas that went into this design.

Big thanks have to go to the poor souls in the Pulse production office who were faced with the slightly daunting task of not only making it work but then transporting it all over the world.

Story about its current form in The Dubai Chronicle