UNTETHER.tv - Mobile strategy and tactics (video) | Pervasive Computing | Internet of things

I'm old enough to remember Marathon - one of the first (and best) multiplayer shoot 'em up games for the Mac back in the 90's. The company I was a partner at would stay late after work and even show up on weekends to play against each other. This left a lasting impression on me as I set out from that company and it is a premise that our guest, Alan Price, used as the basis for his new company, Fuel.

Fuel helps bring the multiplayer to games because, as I found out all those years ago and countless new generation of gamers find out every single day, playing games together is more fun than playing them alone. This goes for console games, computer games and mobile games. In fact, as we discuss in this episode, it may be the one thing that brings longevity to games that otherwise would fade away much faster.

Mobile gaming is a tough business because it is so competitive which makes engagement one of the - if not THE - single most important aspects of the game. It brings people back more often, keeps them in the game longer and makes the viral opportunity more realistic. Don't take my word for it, take it from the guy that helped EA build some of their greatest franchises based on this very concept.

Full show notes can be found here.

Beacons have emerged as the hope of retailers across the land but the true mark of a lasting technology is how quickly it morphs and adapts to new industry. Chuck features the work of a beacon startup, Gelo, and how they are using beacons to help their clients in the industrial commercial markets. From trucking and bus transportation to museum tours - beacons are taking on new roles and proving to be tremendously useful beyond retail.

Welcome to episode #220. On the show: Indoo.rs partners with KLM; Factual and Metadata partner; Capital Radio + Outdoor Plus bring music to billboards in real time; Alibaba tests drone delivery; Wheely's Cafe sells modern coffee carts; Carlsberg BarBandit tap lottery; Starbucks + Match.com = Valentine's date; Sportsman Tracker is funded; Yahoo! + Flickr = Wetter; TripAdvisor buys ZeTrip; PayPal invests in Pulsate. Special guest Loren Hillberg of Thinknear on their latest Location Score Index results.

Full show notes can be found here.

Don't get confused by the title here. We still love mobile. We still think it has changed the world we live in more than many of us realize yet. We still think we are in the soft foam of the real mobile wave that is yet to come. BUT what has happened in the last 18 months is that mobile has gotten more complex as more and more people make it a central part of their business.

The reality is that doing mobile properly today is very difficult. We have systems that have been in place inside of companies for years - things like CRM - and systems that are new to this world because of mobile that are trying to somehow talk with those older legacy systems. This causes friction, tension and a whole lot of duplicate data.

So what do we do? That's what we talk about in this episode. Don't give up, just adjust what you are trying to do. Don't stop, just start at the right place that will have the most impact on your business with the least complexity. The one thing that is true, the longer you wait, the longer you analyze, the longer you spend deciding your strategy, the more fuel you are adding to your competitor's fire. Stoke your own. It's damn hard but so is the regret you'll have if you don't start now.

There is a goal of good advertising: To reach the right consumer at the right time to drive action. This really hasn't changed much since the first ad was created, it has just gotten a whole lot more complex. The technology, the screens, the sheer volume of miles we travel, the options and, of course, the tools consumers use to decide and sellers use to broadcast on. Welcome to an ecosystem of choice, confusion and massive opportunity.

Mobile has introduced us to interactive, contextual advertising and, for most of its life, has been limited to the small screen we carry around. These days big data, digital screens and beacons married with good CRM software leads to a wealth of online AND offline abilities - exactly where Michael Provenzano and his company Vistar Media call home.

Vistar Media is an advertising platform that enables brands to reach consumers in the real-world. They take data collected throughout our day from carriers, crunch it through their software and produce actionable outcomes for their advertisers and that is what we discuss in this episode. Understanding the impact of this type of business is important and Michael fills us in on how consumers, advertisers and businesses will benefit from cross-screen strategies.

Full show notes can be found here.

Beacons have spent their short existence in the push business. They are installed on walls, API'd in apps and notifications start rolling out. Could those same beacons be used to help understand our needs more ahead of time and be triggered just when the thing we REALLY want is within reach? One company, Taonii, things so. Here's their story on how they are turning the beacon into a personal concierge.

Welcome to episode #219. On the show: Samsung moves into mobile payments; Adobe's Target and Campaign services; Geolocation Privacy and Surveillance Act; Drones for Good; Maponics Communities; Unacast & TCS partner; Merrell moves into virtual reality; American Express + HUSH; Facebook Place Tips; Dallas Mavericks partner with Tixsee + Adarsh Pallian of Trippeo

Full show notes can be found here.

Over 4 years have passed since Adarsh Pallian did his first episode on UNTETHER.tv. At that point, in December of 2010, he was six months into his first startup Geotoko. By the fall of 2011 he had sold his company to another startup - Hootsuite - and settled in for a couple of years of one of the wildest startup rides you can experience in Canada. Oh, by the way, he basically sold his company by text message.

Today Adarsh is embarking on his latest startup, Trippeo - an automated travel expense service with a heavy mobile component. He has raised a small angel round from some of the silicon valley elite and recently launched version 1 of his product. This episode covers the 4 years since we last spoke including the reasons why he sold Geotoko, why he started Trippeo, how he raised his angel round, what challenges he faced building out the product, how he priced his service and where he wants to take Trippeo as a business.

Full show notes can be found here.

There are now 3 ways to interact with beacons today: Passive, active and requested. Chuck gives us some examples of each and helps us understand the difference between them all.

Welcome to episode #218. On the show: Microsoft HoloLens and Inconspicuous Mode; ShopX gives away 1 million beacons for free; SpaceBillboard; Bud Light's beer delivery app; Google Translate in real time; Sense360 launches and raises $2.5 million; Bluebite partners with Lamar to make LaBite; Skin & Bones from the Smithsonian; Is Google buying SoftCard?; Shazam can beacon now. Our special guest is Eli Portnoy of Sense360.

Full show notes can be found here.