Connecting Data Seamlessly

Everyday we work to connect data types. We do it by searching on Google.

I think of something I want see, I ask Google for it, it searches it's vast database and makes suggestions. In theory, it's a simple transaction:

What's happening here, while very complex, is not entirely complicated. Google is compiling information and deciding, based on your query, what to show you. The idea is that the results are relevant. In this particular transaction, you're required to make a query.

Google compiles all the information it can get it's hands on. This is a good strategy for them and works well, but when you start to silo off that information and group it together, you get communities. These communities can be very broad, Facebook, for example, or very niche, NextNY, for example.

The information that these communities draw upon is usually called your 'profile.' This isn't to mean that all profiles are filled out by the user. It can be based on information you provide, your behavior, the data and media you create, the friends you keep, etc. These silos, by themselves, don't mean very much.

When you start connecting these silos, in intelligent ways, it starts to get interesting. This is most often done at the user's request. I know what I'm interested in, so I seek out and join communities that share my interest. It's intelligent because it's human.

Sites with existing large communities, again Facebook is a good example, are starting to find ways to suggest intelligent connections. Here are people you might know, based on them being friends with your friends. Here are topics you might be interested in, based on what you've been interested in in the past.

Suddenly unexpected, but intelligent, communities are being formed.

So what does this mean to you? Well, the great part is, you don't really have to do anything. Unlike submitting a query into Google for information, there are solutions being developed that anticipate what information you're looking for.

Most of the innovation in this particular space takes place around advertising. Send an e-mail in Gmail to a friend about your apartment search and you're bound to see ads for real estate sites. But what if, instead of seeing advertisements for various marketplaces, you were connected directly with the market?

I'm working on something that connects people who can help each other. If I have an apartment that's a good fit for what you're looking for then we belong, whether we know it or not, to the same niche community. I want us to connect. Seamlessly.

Leaving QR Codes in The Dust

I had a very interesting meeting yesterday with Sam Kleinman of Craze. Craze is the leading digital urban record label. But I'm more interested in what they are doing on the technology side.

Sam is working on a product, already launched in the UK, that kicks QR Code's ass - even with Google's backing. The concept is the same, you take a picture of something with your mobile phone and information is returned back to you.

With QR Codes your phone has to have special software, but more important, the manufacturer of the product has to be on board and actually print the code. With Craze's idea, they are digitizing what a product looks like, in this case the fronts of CDs in the UK. The idea is, you take a picture with any camera phone, send it off and within a minute you have more information, the option to download the tracks digitally and more.

The product implementations are endless. Think about taking a picture of your kid's favorite toy and getting recall information sent back to you. Or take a picture of your TV and get a list of detailed replacement parts. Or, even, take a snap shot of me and get back links to this blog and my LinkedIn profile.

This can even be driven by the users. Take a picture it doesn't recognize and you get prompted to fill in the details. There's no software installed, but so much more importantly, there's no reason at all to get manufacturers/printers/advertisers on board.

I didn't tell Sam that I was going to blog about this, and hopefully he doesn't mind, but he's looking for a partner or company to take this full scale in the US. If you're interested let me know.

I first wrote about QR Codes back in January.

Google to Launch Another Cuecat

I was at Google's NYC HQ last night for an interesting Meetup with The Advertising Club of New York. Google's speakers included Tim Castelli, New York Sales Director; Long Ellis, Head of Sales, Television; Joseph Anastasi, Team Manager, Audio East; Sarah Carberry, Team Manager, Consumer Packaged Goods; Patrick Grandinetti, Senior Agency Lead, East Region; and Tiffany Shen Miller, Account Executive, Print Ads.

Anyway, the talked-about news of the night happened when Tiffany alluded to Google placing 'bar codes' of a sort in print ads in hopes that people would take a picture of them with their software enabled cell phones and be redirected to a website. The idea is that these bar codes would make it easier for consumers to get more information and easier for marketers to track the effectiveness of their print ads.

All I could think about was the CueCat. I had one of these things plugged into my computer for ages. I had the PS/2 version, not even USB. Anyway, at first I thought it was pretty cool that I could scan barcodes in my latest issue of Wired, but it quickly wore off. Google's taking a little bit of a different approach, using cell phones, but man, they have a long, long way to go with this one.

Good luck Tiffany.

The Pudding Media Misconception

Bloggers have a foul taste in their mouth over Pudding Media receiving $8 million in funding. The idea is, like Google reads your e-mails and search queries, Pudding Media will listen to your VOIP phone calls and serve you contextual ads around keywords they extract. The misconception is that these ads will be served by some kind of computer-voice-thing.

Pudding Media will listen to your calls and pick out keywords, but the ads are displayed on your computer, in the Pudding Media interface. At least, that's how I understand it. I don't think that's horrible. Think about using Skype for free, but it shows you ads based around what you're talking about. No biggie.

To quell your privacy woes, they don't actually record your conversations. They don't even save the keywords gathered from your conversations. Each new call starts an entirely new session - where they know nothing about you.

I think it could be quite useful, actually. Just as sponsored search results in Google are useful.

Google Maps Logo

I was using Google Maps today, checking out my mate's place in Denver where I'll be next week when I noticed a special logo today:
I Thought, why is there a big poop on Google's logo? Oh wait... that's Asia. Sorry Asia, I don't think you're poop.

Google's Android Official

Google, along with 33 other companies, is currently announcing Android, the open mobile software platform. Engadget is live-blogging it here. For more information, check out the Open Handset Alliance.

Morning Notes

I ran across a few cool things this morning that I wanted to share.

Outside.in provides super-local aggregation. I've always wanted to find a source of news for my little corner of Brooklyn, but I didn't want to read everything, everyday on blogs like Gothamist. Using Outside.in I can enter my zip code and get a news feed pertaining only to items in Bay Ridge. Even better, I can subscribe to an RSS feed. Super cool - I love it.

Blogger Play is a Google service which is, simply, a photo stream of pictures people are uploading to their Blogger blog. It's a time-suck, but you see some interesting photos you wouldn't have otherwise. Plus, if you see something you like just click on it and it takes you to the original post.