The Future of Mobile
There are some big players banking that mobile is the next big thing. Google has android, Dell is thinking about making a handset, Apple is killing with the iPhone, and various services are experimenting with GPS (friend finding, directions).
Let's try to picture the future for a moment. Let's imagine a post 3G world where mobile bandwidth is as good as or better than wi-fi hotspots. You're handset is anonymously tracked and the bottom inch of your 4-inch touch screen randomly shuffles through ads based on where you are.
An Exxon is coming up, perhaps you should stop for gas.
There's a Best Buy at the next exit, and oh, Blu-Ray box sets are 20% off.
Macy's is two blocks up, and they're having a sale (today only!).
And those are just the involuntary suggestions.
You hit a button, select restaurants, and suddenly, you're zoomed in on a map that shows the 10 closest eateries within 4 blocks.
You pick the nearest restaurant and you bump into some girl you met the other night at a party. She says hi to you, but you don't remember who she is. After making some small chit-chat with her you pull out your cellphone and beam a blue tooth request to her. She acknowledges your request and beams back her info.
That's right, you totally remember her now that you have her cell number, email, and links to Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn.
Your friend walks in right as the girl leaves and says hi to you. He saw that your GPS Twitter auto-update had you pegged at this location.
--------------------------------------------------
Mind you, in my future, I assume that people are all voluntarily enabling this sort of tracking and open access to information about one's self. I'm not really here to discuss the social or ethical implications of the scenarios provided above, I just think it's kind of interesting.
There's a great deal of opportunity for advertisers, startups, and tech-savvy users who want to be THAT connected to the internet.
Let's try to picture the future for a moment. Let's imagine a post 3G world where mobile bandwidth is as good as or better than wi-fi hotspots. You're handset is anonymously tracked and the bottom inch of your 4-inch touch screen randomly shuffles through ads based on where you are.
An Exxon is coming up, perhaps you should stop for gas.
There's a Best Buy at the next exit, and oh, Blu-Ray box sets are 20% off.
Macy's is two blocks up, and they're having a sale (today only!).
And those are just the involuntary suggestions.
You hit a button, select restaurants, and suddenly, you're zoomed in on a map that shows the 10 closest eateries within 4 blocks.
You pick the nearest restaurant and you bump into some girl you met the other night at a party. She says hi to you, but you don't remember who she is. After making some small chit-chat with her you pull out your cellphone and beam a blue tooth request to her. She acknowledges your request and beams back her info.
That's right, you totally remember her now that you have her cell number, email, and links to Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn.
Your friend walks in right as the girl leaves and says hi to you. He saw that your GPS Twitter auto-update had you pegged at this location.
--------------------------------------------------
Mind you, in my future, I assume that people are all voluntarily enabling this sort of tracking and open access to information about one's self. I'm not really here to discuss the social or ethical implications of the scenarios provided above, I just think it's kind of interesting.
There's a great deal of opportunity for advertisers, startups, and tech-savvy users who want to be THAT connected to the internet.
posted by Allen M @ 3/02/2008 01:53:00 AM
1 Comments:
At 9:08 PM,
Joe Lee said…
I love that idea. Thats the type of future I've been hoping for too. I wouldn't mind getting ads for something I might be looking to purchase anyways.
and to those who are screaming privacy rights, the federal governments listening on your phone calls anyways. what difference is a little ad poping up on your phone.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home