BRAND OF THE WEEK: Kincafe

I just recently posted Geni as the Brand of the Week, a social collaboration platform for the building of a family tree. But Kincafe (a fun relevant name) is Geni on steroids. It is very intuitive as it is very visual, using icons, images, and less text (text is sequential and slow to the brain). But what is great is that it takes collaboration a relevant step further with photo album building, blog, stories, shared between family members and friends.

I began to muse the opportunities that Kincafe could evolve into. The problem with Web 2.0 is that the hosted services are fragmented–and there is only so much time any of us have to spend sitting at a keyboard. And more user IDs and passwords than we can maintain. This is where the battle will be won, aggregated functionality.

So Kincafe could become a substantive “inner circle” network adding features like auto-prompted birthday greetings or birth announcements, videos, audios–as it is Kincafe is a fabulous way to keep in touch and add meaning to “family” or a group of friends.

I’ve heard musings about Kincafe taking longer than Flash based Geni but I think these are small glitches, easy to overcome. The depth of the service is to be noted. My personal preference is the zoom tool at Kincafe rather than the tedious scrolling at Geni–but hey, “one man’s meat is another man’s poison”.

I expect like Geni you can use Kincafe free up to a point. How to monetize this for the founders is a question I am sure I will get an answer to shortly.

Google AdSense complicit in blog post theft?

Apparently I am one of the blessed ones to get this letter from Google AdSense in response to my complaint about abuse of my writings (this is how some pretentious bloggers create content to fool AdSense into paying up). Advertisers should know this practice is rampant.

Hello Marie,

Thank you for your note. It is our policy to respond to notices of alleged
infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the
text of which can be found at the U.S. Copyright Office website:
http://www.copyright.gov/) and other applicable intellectual property
laws. In this case, this means that if we receive proper notice of
infringement, we will forward that notice to the responsible web site
publisher.

To file a notice of infringement with us, you must provide a written
communication (by fax or regular mail, not by email) that sets forth the
items specified below. Please note that pursuant to that Act, you may be
liable to the alleged infringer for damages (including costs and
attorneys’ fees) if you materially misrepresent that you own an item when
you in fact do not. Accordingly, if you are not sure whether you have the
right to request removal from our service, we suggest that you first
contact an attorney.

To expedite our ability to process your request, please use the following
format (including section numbers):

1. Identify in sufficient detail the copyrighted work that you believe has
been infringed upon. For example, “The copyrighted work at issue is the
text that appears on http://www.legal.com/legal_page.html.”

2. Identify the material that you claim is infringing upon the copyrighted
work listed in item #1 above. You must identify each page that allegedly
contains infringing material by providing its URL.

3. Provide information reasonably sufficient to permit Google to contact
you (email address is preferred).

4. Include the following statement: “I have a good faith belief that use
of the copyrighted materials described above on the allegedly infringing
web pages is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the
law.”

5. Include the following statement: “I swear, under penalty of perjury,
that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the
copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an
exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.”

6. Sign the paper.

7. Send the written communication to the following address:

Google, Inc.
Attn: AdSense Support, DMCA complaints
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View CA 94043

OR Fax to:

(650) 618-8507, Attn: AdSense Support, DMCA complaints

Regards,
The Google AdSense Team

Until the victim goes through this red tape, the thieves continue. Even though the thief has violated Google AdSense’s terms, there is no sign of action on Google’s part. I will go through the process but c’mon Google–get real! Get human beings on this without delay, not automated responses, robots and inaction in the face of uncontroverted evidence.

I might add that I provided all the evidence already, WHO IS info, images of the theft. Google has enough to proceed. Google must know that this letter frustrates the victims, slows the process and both Google continue to collect from unaware advertisers and the thieves from Google. What a sideshow.

The question to be asked is, “Is Google complicit in the theft by getting revenue on stolen property?” Yes, especially when they are made aware. Their lawyers are way to busy fighting Viacom on their claims (which by the way I think is flimsy compared to this one); but the theft of bloggers’ content to extract dollars from Google AdSense is much more widepread.

“Don’t be evil” is Google’s mantra. We’ll see.

Read my earlier post about the theft.

The two Steves get in the boxing ring

Ballmer defends Motorola Q and Zune and says about iPhone “doesn’t have a keyboard…doesn’t make it very good for email “, “$500!…fully subsidized!” Here is CNET’s review of Q - they rated Q 7 out of 10.

Jobs says Microsoft have “no taste”, “they make really third rate products”. Ouch!

Who’s giving the KO punch?

YouTube must return fire to Viacom

Indeed copyright law imparts a great deal of rights to creators and Viacom will cause perspiration to YouTubers and the entire web community. Will the $billion claim dropped on Google Monday (Reuters) change content sharing on the web? The final verdict will set a dearly needed precedent for those who abuse on the web. As one who has had her posts ripped by opportunists I can relate.

But! let’s be honest the entire entertainment industry knew their content was being shared for a long time. Surely Viacom was no exception.  Getting evidence of this will be important. Perhaps they did not realize how the digital age and a connected world community would change the way they do business. They were either asleep at wheel, or planned to launch an enormous law suit as a new source of revenue. It Viacom tolerated use of their properties over the years (the numbers being quoted in the media range from 100,000 to 160,000 clips for over a billion views) and were in contact with YouTube and its assigns (Google) and made no objection at the time, this is a “constructive trust ” in law. Note, that Google removed the content when asked. That South Park clip of Tom Cruise in the closet is now gone. It took me under a day to send a Cease and Desist demand to the thief who took my content. Why so long, Viacom?

Now Viacom is putting a value on losses comparing their negative growth vs YouTube’s growth, co-incidental with the use of their materials? This is a real long shot. And it certainly is not $1 billion dollars (that sounds like $1 a clip–a far cry from what they would make in TV advertising revenue for this exposure)–a newsworthy amount surely pulled out of their lawyers’ hat. After all, an $850,000 suit would not make as juicy a headline. Viacom’s website is certainly well detailed and poised to receive the incremental traffic from the publicity. In fact, they claim increased traffic; but I assure the resulting publicity in this action is the catalyst– not clips removed. The lawyers arguing for this will be loathe to ignore the publicity effect.

There is no doubt that many of us in technology have an affection for the Google and YouTube brands–both underdogs who redefined the way the world becomes informed and entertained. But my cooler brain prevails. I also have an affection for productions by Paramount (a Viacom subsidiary).

With all due respect to YouTube I don’t believe viewers are by nature inclined to watch long, small template/browser based videos often low quality for hours on end. YouTube is invariably the domain of shorts. And certainly an ideal place to promote one’s creative properties. YouTube must bring into its defense team an excellent valuator that can put a value on the promotion it has imparted gratis to Viacom. Viacom have allowed this to endure for years and benefitted from this. YouTube is not necessarily on the defensive here. I’m just sayin’…..

Yes there is the thorny issue of creative works but how complicit is Viacom in YouTube airing their material. Check the phone records, emails, visits to YouTube, conversations. How long did Viacom folks know before they asked YouTube to remove them? The burden is on the copyright owner to pursue.

I’m just saying again….

Fighting content theft aggressively

I simply hate it when a squatter copies my posts and paste them to a free WP template replete with AdSense ads–or anywhere else! Too many are pulling the wool over Google’s robotic eyes.  

One splogger pasted my post to four different blogs that are irrelevant, just in the past few days–blogs that are mindless junk. Having my post and name there is an embarassement!

Imagine how easy it is for a nubile programmer to download WP open source platform, set-up a pile of URLs with a registrar that offers free URLs like Tucows, troll the internet for content to steal, all so he can make AdSense dollars. This is a violation of Google AdSense terms–I have reported it to Google. This is a violation of his ISP agreement– I have reported it to his ISP. It is a violation of Automattic, WP’s creators– I have reported to both. I have given this thief a chance to act and remove my content first. I was received with vitriol all through the day and denials–even though I have the complete WHOIS record sent to me by a WP related programmer and screen shots of 4 of his “blogs”.

A lot of bloggers are fed up with characters like this and they need to be prosecuted. It is plagiarism in a civil action; but i suspect it is also a theft in the criminal code. EULA must be inclusive of this. Copyright law must be enforced. It is a creation that belongs to me. This poor sod may be the poster boy for what I and the throngs have endured. His response takes away my guilt and fuels my cause.

What’s most damaging to the splogger is that he spent the whole day denying and then tried to mitigate his right to use my content by ripping Automattic’s TOS for justification. Little does he realize that the rights published are for themselves and do not extend to anyone else.

I quote a programmer who assisted me: “He’s completely off his rocker.”

There is a program that catches sploggers in advance, Sentinel by iwerx. I may be a candidate. But in the meantime, I will follow through this process and await Google AdSense’s, WP’s, Automattic’s and his ISP’s (DouglasFast in Oregon) actions.

One honest programmer removed the plug-in he created which the splogger ripped from his site enabling him to troll and steal this way. That is admirable. Now I await further action from the bigger players.

The next move is to call law enforcement in Oregon. And starting a file at Jones, Jones and Jones. I am not fooling around anymore.

We can no longer ignore issues of enrichment at someone else’s expense. Just last night my son told me he noted 30 million downloads of the movie 300 at a pirate site. Creatives are being abused everywhere every second.

Fair warning to those who copy my content without prior written consent, I will be like a dog on a bone.

Here is an awesome blog by Lorelle at WordPress to help victims take immediate action against plagiarists and sploggers. And yet another great post by Brad.

2D mobile bar code readers: breakthrough for marketers

  

Before I get into this let’s do a little backtracking. Traditional 1D bar codes hold limited data; however, it is expected they will continue to co-exist alongside the new data-hefty 2D barcode. The first 2D bar code was invented in 1988; but since then, it has been re-designed many times. In fact, the 2D has egressed from the  “stacked ” design to the more familiar matrix design (above). The Aztec code  invented by Andy Longacre of Welch Allyn in 1995 has entered our cultural lexicon; it is seen on t-shirts and construction clap-boards among others. You will see it more.

There are over 20 2D symbologies available today. What’s nifty about them is that they can carry so much information that they do not have to be checked against databases–all the data necessary is on the bar code.

OK now for a look at the players. Motorola has recently acquired Symbol Technologies, reknown for their bar code readers; this will give Motorola a clear advantage. One of the most active spaces for bar code software is its application in the mobile phone sector. Among the major players are Scanbuy (which signed a global partnership with Nokia in 2004), Mediaseek, Mediastick (Japanese player), Nokia (who seems to be going direct according to their end user agreement)  and Neomedia (USA). Have I missed some?

Camera cell phones are the common rudiment enabling this technology. So now consumers can point, scan and get coupons on the spot.  That’s better than Googling a brand on your phone browser and waiting for information that probably won’t be relevant. It’s just not practical.

In the meantime, companies have joined together in Europe(HP Labs, Gavitec (owned by Neomedia) , Publicis (an ad agency?) and Neomedia), to develop a Mobile Codes Standard standard, MC2 (that MC two D). Who knows if in this dog-eats-dog world the group will grow.

So if I seem to be making a case for bar code phones, it’s because I am. Guess what else a souped up camera-phone with bar code software can do? Gavitec has gone a step further to inspire marketers in the mobile market. (Don’t miss Gavitec’s excellent on-site videos if you want to “get it” fast). It features Neomedia’s capabilities with ticketing, couponing, payment, loyalty, transport ticketing wherever you are– the possibilities astound. Here are some projects already in play with Gavitec:

1. McDonald’s Portugal
2. Bus tickets in Spain
3. H&M promotional campaign in Germany
4. Movie premiere tickets in Turkey
5. Payment in Switzerland
6. See the video below to get a broader perspective!

 

Gavitec has made great headway as the leader in mobile ticketing.This provides Neomedia a marketing engine for its patented software. Imagine, no more waiting at ticket booths or purchasing locations. More time to live.

Look for omniscience of the matrix bar code in our society–on everything from ads, through outdoors posters to products. Unlike RFID (which is being met with much criticism for privacy matters) it is not conceived to follow you but rather to enable you with information, access and opportunity. However! these bar codes’ data effectively travel in the SMS network; perhaps scrutiny as to the security of the information is due. After all we are talking about cell phones where conversations can be heard by other parties. Remember what Prince Charles said to Camilla in the privacy of their SMS network?

The big question that remains unanswered is how will retailers repond to this soon to be ubiquitous application? Will they fear encroachment on their house brands or slotting revenue tactics? Retailers are control freaks.

Anyway this is my take so far. I am engaged. This is truly a fantastic space to watch.

Footnote: I can only hope Neomedia will be smart enough to demo at Plexus 2007 : The Marketing Conference & Demo this fall in Toronto, an international event for business and marketers. If they can go to Spain and Turkey, they come here too. US needs to pay more attention to its good neighbor.

Mobile sector missing branding power

Problem is technocrats are too self-consious about the device and its circuitry. Many devices other than iphone have commoditized themselves as either cellphones, smart phones or PDAs by their “corporate brand”. What’s also tragic is that none of them are just phones any more. They text message, walkie-talk, surf, take photos, play music and the most robust play videos. Some can even read bar codes! Iphone isn’t a great name by the mere fact that it is pretty generic (they rest on the powerful brand meaning behind Apple, Steve Jobs and iPod cult).

The tragedy is that these hand-held brands have little outstanding meaning–how can you if you don’t have a name? This is a critical aspect missing from this busy segment. Rim have the Blackberry and Pearl, LG has Chocolate and Motorola offer KRZR; these brands have a life of their own in consumers’ minds–regardless of carrier deals.

It’s a chicken or egg thing. 

Some of the carriers have begun naming their house brands (putting their names on devices). I keep saying that manufacturers must build their brands–build deep meaning around them–not just names. But a corporate brand name that stands for many things, stands for nothing. Their devices are not restricted to their circuitry–they have user context and can have deep psychological meaning to their users.

As for the innovators that add functionality to these devices, getting the users to demand your tools and services by brand name is invaluable. (This is still referred to as “pull” in marketing.)

Set a marketing budget that allows you to do this. You cannot achieve anything on a threadbare investment here. You don’t need network TV. The internet and experiential tactics like events can achieve this. But first probe the minds of customers for naming and representational meaning. Then you can unveil a brand (not necessarily named after a fruit!) with meaning that transcends its physical attributes, ones that resonate in the powerful emotional brain of customers.

If you dare think you can get away without this, think about the fact that the N.A. market is beginning to plateau (number of handsets) and settle into the smartphone segment rather than cellphones or PDAs. The cost of finding new customers globally is greater. It’s Darwin time!

Hey you can always sell your technology to carriers who will be more than happy to pocket the premium for that meaning. You’ll be known as a feature or Plan 1 or Plan 2. That’s sounds a bit like Brand X or Brand Y.

Or be eaten by another player. They say when markets are at maturity the “circle of life” begins.

BRAND OF THE WEEK: Geni

This hosted app in beta is something everyone can use. More than a tech innovation, Geni is about every human being’s need for meaning and yearning for immortality. It is a user-generated, hosted genealogy application. It operates somewhat like LinkedIn where you invite family members into the community and in turn they do same. The net result should be a detailed at-a-glance picture of family history.

The application gives you a chance to set-up your immediate genealogy for free. After setting-up my children, sisters and brothers, parents, grandparents and aunts/uncles, I am going to have to pull out the VISA card. After setting-up approx. a dozen members, Geni advised me that I used up 30%. Immediately, Geni sent me an email with my temp password.

The app is intuitive in that girls are pink, boys are blue. And an on-screen scroll tool allows you to move around and add to your family tree visually. And I did not have to go in and set a password!–this in itself is a task no one likes when they are just testing the waters. Again intuitive.

What’s nice about this is that family can participate in adding their information about the tree. What I don’t like is that aging members are not on the web–and much of the knowledge is lost to the dearly departed. But hey, family will have to dig (no pun). Geni is to genealogy what Flickr is to family photo albums-live. Perhaps one day Geni will link to databases to help us add that knowledge. It would also be nice if we could skip generations adding ancestors which we happen to know about while we fill in the gaps with family Members. Perhaps Geni will become so robust that it could fill in the blanks. Why not ask for the moon? But one thing is for sure, I’d like to be able to print the tree on a large poster once we have it as complete as possible. Makes a great Xmas present. Add that to the Flickr photo album.

Geni was founded by former executives and early employees of PayPal, Yahoo! Groups, Ebay, and Tribe; so, we can expect this application will just get better and endure. Right now its fun, worthwhile and I’m getting drawn in!

PLEXUS 2007: The Web Marketing Conference & Demo

I am excited about the “demo” format : CEOs, CTOs and CMOs presenting their innovations in multi-media regalia within 7 minutes on stage (digitally recorded for continued viewing on the web) and joining their intended audiences again in their “theatres” in our large Demoplex. This format has been used for years for start-ups and has drawn mostly VCs. But we are bringing the format to our broad business audience, who want to squeeze as much value as possible from spending one or two days at an event. Time is money and they have little to spare. This format delivers. It’s dynamic and eliminates yawns. Frankly, it delivers more value than a short parade of “talking heads” in the tech innovation sector.

There is no better outlet for new launches. Demos trigger buzz and fast growth. Expect many unveilings at the Plexus 2007!

Plexus 2007  is in Toronto this November 27 and 28, 2007. Starting at $2,777 CAD a Demoer can get a spot at the event. And for a little more Sponsors can have a real presence with business.

It’s an international event which will draw from across Canada and be easily accessible to N.E. USA and Europe.  

It will be a “medium tail” event populated with Fortune 500s, medium biz, small biz, start-ups and homepreneurs to be. There simply is no event in Canada yet that can enable businesses whose core competencies may not be technology to leverage everything technology has to offer them to market to their customers. Tech events are usually esoteric, geek populated. This event is especially for marketing, advertising and the throngs who populate the industry.

Expect innovations in web marketing, customer management, ecommerce, mobile marketing, security, analytics, social media, internet media and so much more.

I am “Pumped for Plexus”. hmmmmm… That could be our t-shirt mantra.

HOT NEW LAUNCHES March 2007

A number of developments in web 2.0 and gadgetry keep the market hopping. HOT NEW LAUNCHES will be published each month featuring innovations from start-ups and behemoths. It is a live list that will grow through the month so you can have a quick picture of what’s fresh in the marketplace.

1. Google launching a mobile phone – a Blackberry like device with a C++ core. Google did start a partnership with Samsung in January; so there is collaboration here. Lots of chatter here and chattering teeth from the competition. Idea rating: 3 1/2 stars

2. My.Netscape - the next generation of Netscape’s personalized home page in beta (there’s nothing at this link today-keep checking). The chatter in the market is hopeful on this one. Idea rating: 2 1/2 stars

3. Adobe Creative Suite 3.0 – due out March 27. Idea rating: TBA

 

4. Geni on-line family tree building already into its second round of financing with Charles River Ventures value at $100 mm. I simply love this hosted app. I am in! Idea rating: 3 1/2 stars

 

5- Skype Prime Beta a Skype to Skype 1-900 style i.e. paid by the caller to experts at the posted fee per minute. This is about a brand so visionary that it sees beyond its appliance. Linked in has a similar service but I do not believe for mobile and for larger fees. Idea rating: 4 stars

 

6- Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G1 Sonys’ first wireless digicam which will send images over wi-fi networks. Standard resolution 480 X 640 at 30 frames per sec. Memory card able to hold 8 GB. No touch screen on this one. Idea rating: 3 1/2

Business now “gets” social networks

Reuters CEO, Tom Glocer, announced today it is launching its own version of MySpace for financial markets later this year. Analysts, fund managers and traders will be able to visit this on-line collaborative community (by subscription) and share research.

Social communities are a huge opportunity for publishers and broadcasters or for that matter, producers of intelligent content. This does not preclude any industry or theme. Who will own these communities (the media call them “channels”)  five years from now?

Yahoo! is moving quickly in this direction with its 100 media brands using mashup platforms.

Communities are truly real estate on the web. The location is in the mind of the user though. Location! Location! Location! The curb appeal must be good i.e. the content. “Fixer-uppers” and “charming” communities just won’t do. They must be robust, rich and provide a real value.

It’s not about corporate web sites so much as it is about communities anymore. Through them businesses will prosper. A true sign the web is out of bubbledom.

MARIE’S PICKS: Top Technology Innovators 2007

The following innovators from the stalwart behemoths to the bootstraped entrepreneurs are worthy of praise–they are changing our future. I am confident I’ve forgotten a few. Sadly, I am not omniscient. It is a live list that I will expand in the same updated post daily, weekly. Your suggestions are welcome. These ideas are actionable, useful and often border on genius. All are worthy of praise whether they make it to the finish line or not. So they are NOT PRIORITIZED. It is a democratic list. Their innovations are recent 2006 and 2007–some are so fundamental yet “new” that I ignored their birth date.

Listed as: Brand Name, Corporation, (description)

1. iphone by Apple (the most robust phone device yet)
2. Qode by Neomedia (Mobile Phone Bar Code Scanner)
3. Zink by same (portable inkless printer for digital devices)
4. Eyejot by same (video sharing thourgh email)
5. PayPerPost by same (Paid consumer blog network for advertisers)
6. Joost formerly Venice Project (richer alternative to YouTube)
7. Lotus Connections  byIBM (Collaboration software)
8. LinkedIn by same (Answers/Experts Low cost procurement of soft expertise)
9. Yah00! 100 brands  by Yahoo! (Media Channels for advertisers)
10. ejamming by same (voip for musicians)
11. Apollo by Adobe (web apps to the desktop)
12. Mobio Networks  by same (mobile mashup platform)
13. Scram by Ceelox (embeds encrypted messages behind images)
14. Sentinel by Iwerx (catches blog content pirates)
15. D’Fusion by Total Immersion (inserts 3D into live video images)
16. Advanced Photonics (No name yet) by Alps Electric / CAPE (holographic image from mobile devices)
17. BitTorrent by same (bandwidth enabling video distribution like no other)
18. Orb Networks by same (allows users to view and create videos on their mobile devices)
19. Sundance Global Short Film Project /Robert Redford (creating short content for mobile devices)
20. Sitemaps by Google, Yahoo and Microsoft (new search protocol by stie maps)
21. Wibree by Nokia (radio technology dual core chip uses so little energy for smallest devices like a watch)
22. Tagworld by same (social network with all-in-one capabilities)
23. RDF and OWL – Semantic Web by Tim Berners-Lee (application-free framework and language that allows data interchange)
24. Videoegg by same (simplifies video capture)
25. iUpload by same (blogging platform that requires no programmer)
26. Xensource by same (moves mutliple virtual servers without friction)
27. Scrybe by same (robust and elegant productivity tool driven by a calendar-perhaps the best)
28. Geni by same (great hosted genealogy app )