The Future of Mobile Payments & Banking

I came across this video and thought that it was very interesting and addressed some great points such as:

What will the future of mobile payments look like?

Will NFC ever become a major player in the world of technology?

Will Google be the next big bank?

What do you think?

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New App for Check In Junkies! CheckIn King

If you check-in more than once a week, you need Checkin King.

With one app check-in to Facebook, Foursquare, Google, and Gowalla with Checkin King. Here is what the press is saying about Checkin King:

“Checkin King makes checking in to any or all of those services as easy as one click.” – Phandroid

“How to check in to multiple location services with one click” – CNET

“43 Best New Android Apps” – AndroidPolice.com

Another great way to encourage fans to check in at your establishment is to post a QR Code sticker on your business entrance.  You can order stickers for Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Google Plus, Yelp and more by clicking here

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Chevy Embraces Mobile Social Networking, AR, QR Codes

Chevrolet is attempting to maximize its sponsorship of South by Southwest conference later this month by announcing the integration of three new social media technologies.

Chevy has partnered with Gowalla, a location-based social networking service to let attendees at the show check in and let friends and followers know where they are at any given moment. The auto brand is also rolling out Camaro, Volt and Cruze models with QR codes. Attendees who use their camera phones to photograph the codes will be taken to a dedicated microsite addressing key vehicle features. Finally, Chevy will offer augmented reality in the form of iReveal, an app offering three-dimensional models of various Chevy vehicles.

In a written statement, Christopher Barger, director of global communications and technology for GM, said the use of the applications will go well beyond the show. The QR codes, for instance, could be used to download the price and options for a vehicle on a dealer lot. AR could be used to preview different colors of the Camaro. “We are just scratching the surface of what’s possible with mobile technologies and social media applications,” Barger said.

Source: adweek.com

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QR Codes Move Into Music’s Mainstream

A music industry tipping point of sorts arrived for QR (quick response) codes as PepsiCo announced that, through June 26, Taco Bell customers who buy the “Mountain Dew Free Music cup” can scan a QR code on the bottom of the cup to download free music and videos. The downloads will also be available for free, no purchase necessary, via the dedicated download site of Mountain Dew’s surprisingly cool Green Label Sound. They hope to distribute over 60 million cups in the course of this promotion.

Though QR codes for music promotion are apparently old news in Japan, momentum and acceptance seems to be slowly taking hold in the States. Noteworthy efforts have included Odd Future’s appearance on Jimmy Fallon and Lupe Fiasco’s Laser promo in San Francisco’s Union Square facilitated by RedLaser.

Actually, judging from sources like the Tappinn-connected QR Anywhere blog, a lot of experiments by mainstream brands are happening but somehow QR codes still have that edgy feel and that’s why folks can get so worked up about efforts like that of Odd Future. So does all this mean QR codes are coming into their own and it’s time for your music brand to get going?

Yes, absolutely. Smartphone usage in the States continues to grow as “69.5 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in February 2011, up 13 percent from the preceding three-month period.” Awareness of QR codes among those smartphone owners is considered high though usage certainly lags awareness. And a variety of services are now available for generating and utilizing your own QR code.

In addition to the previously mentioned RedLaser and Tappinn, ShareSquare is available with a QR based music promo platform after a debut at SXSW. You can also create QR codes on bitly, as did Odd Future. Numerous other contenders are also available with more likely to be on the way.

Given that QR codes still have a certain trendy appeal yet are getting a boost into the mainstream by corporations like Pepsico, it appears that now is the time to start sorting out your own use of this promising tool for music marketing.

Source: hypebot.com

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A Critical QR Code Mistake

Hi everybody! Who else out there uses short URLs when making QR codes that direct to websites? I’m sure a lot of you have come across the tip that writing less information into your codes keeps them simpler and easier to scan, especially at a small size. However, I haven’t seen anyone say ‘*make sure you leave ‘http://’ in front of the URL that you generate your QR code with!*’. Maybe that’s because it seems super obvious – after all, it’s the prefix that allows a URL to be read as a hyper link in the first place. But browsers are changing, and so are QR scanners. I use Google chrome, which did away with the once-ubiquitous prefix altogether. 

So let’s say I want to make a QR code that directs to a web page and I copy the URL from my address bar in Chrome and paste it into any QR generator. Or let’s say I am trying to keep my code small and I shorten my URL at goo.gl, where ‘http://’ is left off as well (see link section /below/ the generator). Then I test my code with Barcode Scanner and other Android QR readers and it totally works! So I think ‘Great! I don’t even need ‘http://’! That’s 7 less characters in my code!’ Or maybe I don’t even notice I left it off…

Long story short, I’ve done all of the above and I had no idea it was a mistake until I asked a coworker of mine to test some sample QR stickers I had ordered for our company. I’d personally tested lots of readers on my Droid, but she had an iPhone, so I was curious. She downloaded the first free scanner that came up in the iPhone app store,* QR Reader for iPhone*, and it scanned my code as plain text on a notepad, without even the capability to copy and paste it into a browser (p.s. short URLs look REALLY stupid this way)! And I repeat, THIS IS THE FIRST FREE QR SCANNER THAT COMES UP IN THE IPHONE APP STORE, so I imagine it must make up almost half of the scanners in use today. 

She downloaded another one and it worked just fine, but what I learned is that there is still software out there that needs ‘http://’ in order to recognize a link. Most programs fill it in on their own, and I assume that is the direction things are going, but we’re not there yet. So don’t make the same mistake I did and end up potentially losing half of your audience! Double-check that 

‘http://; is part of your code before you even make it! If someone goes 

to the trouble to scan your code and all they get is “goo.gl/Qnaxw “,

written on a plain text notepad, I have a feeling you’re not going to 

get the result you want.

Sarah Weis is an artist and Creative Director of i^3 hypermedia, a 

digital production and post-production studio in Chicago.

 

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Coming Soon Near Field Communication Payments ( NFC )

With announcements by Google, Amazon, Mastercard, Sprint, and the 2012 Olympics Committee in the last few days, everyone is talking about near field communication (NFC) payments. As we transition to these contactless phone payments, the burden of security will shift from card-issuing banks to a new set of players: software developers, retailers, and consumers.

Everyone’s been talking about the companies involved in these new payments, who is investing in the technology, and how it will be used. People aren’t talking about the security implications, and which of the four involved parties (developers, banks, retailers, or consumers) should be responsible for our data security. As we saw last week in the Epsilon breach, our information is out there, and it’s not nearly as secure as we would like to think.

Who should burden this responsibility? Are software developers the gate-keepers of our information, or should financial institutions continue to be responsible for security as they have been with credit and debit cards? The issues are complex, but the time to discuss these issues is now. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile have announced plans for NFC by the beginning of next year. Sprint one-upped them by announcing they will have NFC contactless payments in place by the end of the year, beating other providers to the punch.

A recent article and poll by Software Advice explorers these issues and asks readers to voice their opinion on the security implications of NFC. You can check it out here.

What’s your take on NFC? How do you think the technology will fare, and how will it affect QR codes?

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Thanks to the appearance of more and more smart phones, social media is becoming accessible to us at all hours of the day. Below are some social media stats about mobile social media.  The statistics may surprise you. This new way to access social media is growing rapidly.

1. On average mobile users are more active in social media than non-mobile users.

Minutes spent on social networking per day accessed by mobile device or desktop
Social Network	Mobile Internet	PC Internet
Facebook	45.2	32.4
Bebo (AOL)	39.6	22
MySpace	8.2	7.5
Twitter	19.6	7.2
Source: GSMA/ComScore, January 2010		via: mobiThinking

2. In the U.S. Facebook and Twitter are in the top ten most visited mobile destinations.

3. Ages 35-54 are the most likely to be using social media via mobile device.

4. The average mobile social media user is on 2.7 hours a day.

5.  In 2010 30% of smart phone users accessed social media via their phone browsers.

6.  That’s 22.5% up from the previous year.

7. Total social network access from mobile phones rose to 11.1%. This is a 6.5% rise from 2009

8. In the past year, twitter via mobile browser has increased 347%

9. Facebook has also seen a significant increase in traffic via mobile phones.  The total percent increase is 112%

10. This means that over 150 million Facebook users are using their phones to view their profile.

11. An average of 30% of tweets come from mobile devices

12.  Even by the end of 2009, 11% of the mobile social media users switched to smart phones.

13. Consumers download 2.4 billion mobile applications from app stores via their phones.

Looking Ahead…

1. This year companies plan to increase social media spending on mobile by  10%.

2. Touchscreens will be included in over 60 percent of mobile devices shipped in Western Europe and North America in 2011.

3. It is estimated that total spending on mobile advertising will reach $11-$20 billion. This is up from $6.5 billion in 2010.

4. In 2011, mobile photo sharing will become even more popular.

5. Facebook will dominate the mobile traffic in 2011.

6.  31% of US mobile phone owners have a smartphone as of December 2010, and you can expect smartphones to become the majority by the end of 2011.

7. US sales of smartphones to grow from 67 million in 2010 to 95 million in 2011

8. Mobile Phones will overtake PCs as the number one way to access social networks by 2013.

9.  It’s estimated that the combined installed base of smartphones and browser-equipped enhanced phones will surpass 1.82 billion units by 2013

10. What consumers and advertisers spend on mobile media will rise from just under $75 billion at the end of 2010 to just over $138.7 billion by 2015.

11. Mobile data traffic is expected to grow 40-fold over the next five years!

Source: bootcampdigital.com

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Facebook-Enabled Phone One Step Closer To U.S. Launch

Just days after the INQ Cloud Touch, once called the first official Facebook phone, launched in the U.K., the device passes its first United States debut hurdle: the FCC. Rumors are swirling of a United States launch as soon as late summer, 2011.

While no official carrier has been announced, the Android Community speculates AT&T will carry the phone with a purchase price of around $500 without a contract, and $30 with a contract. AT&T has neither confirmed nor denied the speculation, but considering testing included GSM 850 and 1900 bands, as well as WCDMA Bands II and V, AT&T seems the logical carrier.

U.K. customers are reporting specs for the phone, which include the Android 2.2 Froyo operating system, with a  Qualcomm MSM7227 800MHz processor, 3.5” touch screen, 512MB of internal storage, GPS, WiFi, bluetooth,  5 MP camera and a sliding QWERTY keyboard.

While these are good specs for any smartphone, Facebook integration is at the heart of the phone’s marketing plan. As the pictures attest, the phone’s homepage is designed for easy Facebook tracking, and the QWERTY keyboard is ideal for quick status updates.

The phone is sure to be well received among American Facebook users, which is a broad market that encompasses a wide age range. But, the question remains: Will AT&T help or hurt the phone’s popularity?

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3 mobile technologies you can benefit from

The phone is quickly becoming an ally to restaurateurs looking to build visibility and customer loyalty — and ultimately drive revenue. This was evident at this year NRA Show 2010, as panels of providers and practitioners shared the merits of our increasingly mobile world. Today, cell phones are used more for data than for calls, and restaurant consumers and employees are no different.

2-D barcodes – Robert Russell, Director, Industry Solutions, Consumer Goods, Retail and Hospitality at AT&T, spoke to NRA Show attendees about the growth in the mobile space — but also about the unique possibilities of 2-D barcodes. Now that most phones are equipped with cameras (read: scanners), adding a bar code to your menu or storefront could provide significant benefits to customers. Add a barcode to your menu and a customer can take the menu and restaurant information with them on their phone. Provide the 2-D barcode on your receipt and give a customer a quick, painless and innovative way to fill out a survey on service, quality, you name it. Exciting stuff — all made available by the innovations of today’s mobile phones.

Text (SMS) Marketing – In Internet years, text message marketing has been around for a while. As the demographics of your “typical texter” has shifted, utilization of this technology has grown significantly. According to Michael Lam, principal at the Mobile Marketing and Text Message Marketing firm Opt-It, the average age of “texter” is now 38 years old. Pair that with a staggering open rate,  97% (according to Lamb) and you’ve got a hyper-effective, opt-in marketing vehicle. With location-based SMS possibilities taking shape, expect a new reality for restaurant marketers. Are your customers nearby? Would they like a special offer delivered to them in real-time?

Apps – The life of the mobile party, applications, have had a particularly significant impact on the restaurant industry. And with good reason. First, they don’t require a browser experience, which is a timely and varied experience depending the phone, platform and connection. An app provides a more intuitive experience, and restaurants/service providers can tailor and update the product offering to the unique needs of the user. Scott Jampol, senior director of consumer marketing at OpenTable said that their mobile apps have generated 3 million dines — equaling $150 million in restaurant revenue. And it’s not just about the consumer. Apps play a role in employee communication and performance. HotSchedules developed mobile apps to manage restaurant labor scheduling, but the usage yielded even more demand. Today, said HotSchedules owner Ray Pawlikowski, they are enhancing the app’s tools to help managers better communicate with employees.

Is it ironic that I use my OpenTable app to make reservations instead of just making the phone call? Perhaps. But the new mobile era is here, and early adopters will reap the rewards. Have you heard of any other ways restaurants are using mobile technologies to find new customers, drive sales or create efficiencies? We’re eager to hear your experiences.

Source: smartblogs.com

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How QR codes can help your restaurant marketing

This guest post is by Shashi Bellamkonda, Social Media Swami at Network Solutions, a company that helps small businesses establish an online presence  and conduct online marketing. Learn moreabout Bellamkonda and his love for curry and for small business.

Smartphones are now more popular than ever. According to eMarketer estimates, there are 73.3 million U.S. smartphone users in 2011, and 44% of them use their phone to research products. Quick Response codes, QR codes, read like bar codes when scanned by a smartphone and return information back to the phone (you may need a bar code scanning app, which is usually free). This could be a URL or Web address or business-card information or even an offer. I have seen them being used on business cards, brochures, magazine ads, trade show booths, contests, fliers and more.

As restaurant owners, you probably have a lot of customers who use smartphones. You might actually find them checking in to your establishment on Foursquare or Gowalla, which are location-based phone apps. You can capture this fascination for apps and smartphones through the use of QR code technology several ways:

• Carry-out menus: Print a QR code on your carry-out menu along with your phone number. As QR code scanning apps get easier to use, the code can take the user directly to dialing your restaurant.
• Business cards: Add a QR code on the back of a business card so that the address and complete contact information for the restaurant can be stored on the user’s phone contact list.
• Linking photos to recipes: When restaurants have pictures as part of menus or brochures they can add a QR code to link to a recipe on the Web.
• Coupons: On discount coupons, use QR codes to make it even easier to use them.
• Link to your Facebook page: In order to continue to engage your customers, encourage them to join your Facebook page by a QR code that takes them to your Facebook page.

As this technology gets more adaptable you may discover other ways to use this code. Here are places where you can generate your own QR code:

• QR Code Generator from the ZXing Project
• Kaywa QR Code Generator

Also, see this useful infographic on QR codes from Brian Asner. As your customers go mobile, the best reason for you to embrace a mobile technology is to make it more convenient for your customers to do business with you. We have touched the surface, but you might have other exciting ideas on the use of QR codes. Tell us in the comments.

Source: smartblogs.com

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