Last week Google launched the Latitude service.  Latitude allows you to notify your family and friends your location via your cell phone or computer.  The location updates are manual for now — so your cell phone does not automatically update your location. You simple go to the Google Latitude web site on your computer or through your mobile browser and enter your location. Your friends can see where you are and you can see where your friends are on a Google Maps interface.

Location aware devices are a HUGE development in technology.  Although this service requires users to manually enter their location GPS phones will soon do that automatically. By merging cell phone with location awareness you now have an extremely powerful marketing tool that we’ve all been talking about for years.  And remember that Google is in the Advertising business.  So expect Latitude to be a platform for pushing very relevant ads to your phone.

Thoughts:

• Expect to see a lot of activity around mobile and local search advertising.  Now that we know where the consumer is we can push very relevant promotions to them.  For instance,  Latitude knows that you and Sally frequent the local Starbucks — it knows where you are and where Sally is AND it knows where Starbucks is.  Now the local Dunkin Doughnuts can push promotions to you and Sally as you’re getting closer and closer to that Starbucks.
• Google will become the next Facebook.  I don’t have anything to back this up with other than we know Facebook will most likely fizzle out (remember they don’t make any money and their ad CTR are terrible) and that SocNet will go mobile.  Google has the platform and the machine to make a mobile Social Networking platform that dominates.
• Merge this Mobile Social Networking with Location Awareness and now add in a bit of User Generated Content in the form of consumer reviews and consumer price checking.  Add in the cell phone camera and now you have everyone a walking, talking, picture taking communication platform.
• Is there an entertainment angle here?  Will we finally see a Real World / Virtual World game that actually delivers?  Add in Latitude with Geo Tracking and a Story Line and you may be onto somethings. Here’s the idea — set up 4 games in a location.  For example, “Vampires”, “Spies”, “Dungeons”, and “CSI – Your Town”.  Someone playing “Spies” needs to leave a secret letter under the mail box on the coner of 1st and main.  Players of “Dungeons” need to pick up a secret letter under the mail bos on the corner of 1st and main.  Each game will fuel the other — all of the them fueled by Location aware devices and Social Net.

Next time you’re asked “What’s the next BIG thing” — for awhile you can answer “Location aware devices”

SpongeBob on the iPhone

Nickelodeon working with the development shop Mobui has launched a SpongeBob iPhone Ap.  More Nick character aps are in development.  Check out the press release here (link)  and a Mashable post here (link). This ap quickly rose to the top 10 iPhone ap list with over 3000 downloads per day.

I’ve been keeping an eye on iPhone aps mostly because I’d like to do one but haven’t found a way to justify it.  As iPhone sales continue to grow the users will start to include the target audience I’m after.  I’m wondering why Nick went with this — I’d guess that after 10 years on the air SpongeBob has a pretty large audience of 20 year old that are now carrying around iPhones.  But that doesn’t explain why Nick will soon be releasing Dora and iCarly aps. Another thought is that the dev shop was building Advergames for AddictingGames.com and Shockwave.com so why not tweak the code a bit and get an iPhone version.

The big picture here is that all phones will be iPhone or iPhone knock offs within 3 years.  Unfortunately, they will probably all have their own development code (unless Android takes off).  So there will be huge opportunities in reaching the mobile consumer through aps but they will be costly to develop across phone platforms.

Thoughts:

• As I’ve written before (post),  Mobile Aps as a marketing strategy will become HUGE!  Keep an eye on this space and consider the benefits of getting in early rather than waiting for the field to become very very crowded.
• Aps are great at connecting consumers with your brand in a very engaging way.  When developing these aps think about making them viral so fans of your brand can share their love with their friends.
• Also think about how the ap could drive to sales.  For example, could this SpongeBob Tickler ap tie into a physical product?

MeetMoi location based mobile dating

Back in 2001 I was working for some folks experimenting with WAP user generated content.  At the time we were running WAPdrive.com — a service that allowed users to create their own web pages for cell phones.  During a meeting one of the managers presented this idea of being able to set your cell phone to find a date.  The user would create a profile of themselves and what kind of match they would be interested in.  The service then would use the cell network to find the user a match in a given radius.  Very cool but way ahead of it’s time — I’m happy to see that this much needed service is now available.  Check out MeetMoi.com.

Here are some links to lists of other cell social applications:

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/10_mobile_social_networks_redux.php

http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/11/the-holy-grail-for-mobile-social-networks/

Thoughts:

• Social Networks are very hot right now.  Application publishers, media buyers, and big brands are all looking to find ways to tap into the audience.  Problem is the Social Networks aren’t profitable and the users aren’t receptive to ads.  Check out this post predicting trouble for Facebook by Tameka Kee. (link). Expect the mobile social network space to have the same difficulties.
• That said,  there is something fundamentally different between a PC based social network and a mobile one.  Specifically the fact that you are mobile — and now that the devices are aware of location there is a lot of cool this to be had.
• If you’re looking for the next big thing keep an eye on Mobile Social Networks.
• When a colleague has a wacky idea that seems 5 years too early — make a note of it and set a reminder to ping you in 5 years.