UXIdeas blog

Phorm’s technology creates an anonymous profile by assigning a random number to web users – no personal details are captured. The web user’s subsequent browsing is then categorised, and these categories are used to serve up ads based on behavioural preferences.

The result is better targeted online advertising without the privacy issues.

An introduction to the service:
http://www.phorm.com/about/introducing/OIX.html

How it works:
http://www.phorm.com/about/introducing/phorm_priv_rev4.html

Phorm’s company website:
http://www.phorm.com/

Nice campaign from Firefox to set a World 24-hour Download Record for Firefox 3.0 (it will start today 17/6/2008 at 6PM BST).

We want to set a Guinness World Record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours. With the backing of our community and your help we know we can make it.

Since I really like Firefox I’d like to help them to achieve this record (see below):

I just discovered this IA TV website, reading the good Brazilian IA blog I mentioned other day:

Videos on Information Architecture, Usability, Search and other stuff. Watch IA videos and videos on Usability, Information Literacy and Information Architecture.

Many excellent talks and presentations (if you have time to watch!).

http://iatelevision.blogspot.com/

In the past few weeks I’ve been constantly checking the rumours about the new iPhone 3G (and Apple WWDC conference) and yesterday most of them were confirmed: 3G, GPS, black cover… And even better… they dropped the price from USD 399 to USD 199 for the 8gb model (this was the great surprise for me)! It’s probably going to be more expensive than that in UK (as always…).

Apple has also upgraded the .mac service (now it’s MobileMe) adding many nice features such as live sync from any device, iDisk, and new web interface:

Maybe you have a computer at home, one at work, and an iPhone or iPod touch. And it can be hard to keep them all up to date. But now there’s MobileMe. Wherever you are, your iPhone, iPod touch, Mac, and PC is always current and always in sync. And with a suite of elegant new web applications, you can access your data from anywhere.

The only thing missing for me is a ‘bigger’ iPhone… A 32 or 80gb model so I can retire my old-new iPod classic 80gb (yes, I’m never happy)!

Cam-Trax supplies a unique patented software solution that can track any object in real-time with high reliability and precision, using any simple webcam. This provides users with new and exciting ways to interact with PCs.

The application simultaneously tracks multiple colours and shapes through three dimensions, allowing you to control your computer with your body or all manner of objects ranging from soda bottles and ping pong bats to maracas! [Etre blog]

Techcrunch is always a good resource for new stuff:

Acrobat.com is a combination of three recently launched online services: Adobe Brio (online meetings), Adobe Buzzword (online word processor), and Adobe Share (online file sharing). Thus with the public beta launch of Acrobat.com, Adobe is taking on Google Docs, Microsoft Office Live Workspace, WebEx, and GoTo Meeting—all at the same time.

I just tried the online meetings with my colleagues and it’s very impressive. Very easy to use and just one simple plugin which doesn’t require admin privileges to be installed (only if you want to share your desktop). And YES, it works fast, including webcam, microphone, chat, desktop sharing and collaborative annotations!

I keep you posted on the other services as soon as I start to use them. Meanwhile you can try for yourself (for free):

• Adobe Acrobat.com
• Acrobat.com website

Google demonstrated last week (at Google’s I/O developer conference in San Francisco) its new Android prototype featuring a full screen and multi-touch display (yes, like the iPhone). At the moment there are no compatible devices on the market but it will change later this year, when heavy weight mobile phone manufacturers will release their products.

Google is focusing its strategy on developers, providing a complete SDK, support and development tools for them. It also promoted Android Developer Challenge, a competition which will provide $10 million in awards for those who create the best Android applications. By the way, you can check the winners here:

Winners – Google Android Developer Challenge

Definitely will give Apple a challenge. Competition is good for everyone!

Nicky Cheshire, Sales Director of ‘Alive’ gave a talk about the opportunities for outdoor advertising that they provided. ‘Alive ‘ are an arm of ‘CBS Outdoor’ who are media owners of several outdoor display mediums, most memorably seen around London Transport. These mediums include DEPs (Digital Escalator Panels), XTP (Cross-track projection), 57″ LCD displays and LED bus displays.

According to ‘Alive’, the time people spend travelling is on the increase (the current average commute being 45 minutes). This makes it important to reach consumers as they move around, for example in a city like London, between home, work, shops, evening entertainment, etc. Digital media allows brands to reach these travelling consumers in a more exciting and dynamic way.

‘Alive’ claim that the delivery mediums they offer have been well received by consumers (brightening up the otherwise mundane experience of public transport. They also can provide a great advantage for companies who need a quick turnaround on a campaign (for example the National Lottery who need to quickly spread the word of a rollover jackpot), or for companies who need to appear cutting edge (Digital companies like Sony will benefit from pushing their products through digital mediums).

The mediums also provide new creative opportunities, which Advertising Agencies can take advantage of. The positioning of the LCD screens down the escalators has been used to effect but brands like Sony Bravia, who had the coloured balls from their famous Ad bouncing down through all the screens to the bottom of the escalator. There are also locative advantages to the media. Campaigns can appear in locations relevant to the product they are selling (for example a ‘Britain’s next top model’ campaign at oxford street tube station, next to Topshop). Also GPS allows the content on the LED bus displays to change depending on the buses location.

Furthermore, there is potential in the technology to expand on these advertising opportunities. It is possible to involve RSS feeds, allowing advertisers to create interactive, dynamic work using information sent by the consumers or sourced from the Internet. Currently transport authorities are nervous user-generated content offending and this functionality is rarely adopted. However, ‘Alive’ see this social interaction as an integral part of the future of ‘outdoor advertising’. Channelling conversations and interactions though the medium can provide a ’social glue’ to bind the campaign and the consumer together.