MSearchGroove

Is mobile search broken? Let’s just say the experience leaves a lot to be desired.

A major obstacle is usability. Inputting search terms on a mobile device is tedious, but the more words in the query the more accurate the result set is likely to be. You’re sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place, which is why query completion and/or multi-modal technology (voice) have a top-notch spot in many mobile search strategies.

But input is just part of the equation. Another important issue is context/personalization, and the requirement for mobile search services to “learn” with the user to understand that when they type in “bond” they want financial news (stocks and bonds) and not entertainment (James Bond).

Many tools and technologies are coming online to tackle these issues, but kannuu, a newcomer that broke on the scene with its patented technology in 2007, has the capabilities mix to address several key issues at once. In fact, I have had kannuu high on my radar since the start of the year when I was requested to judge the 2008 Meffy Mobile Entertainment awards in the mobile Search and Discovery category for the second consecutive year. (BTW: The awards provide an excellent snapshot of cutting-edge technology and business models, and are presented by the Mobile Entertainment Forum, the global infotainment industry association. In the end, kannuu made the shortlist, along with some other companies you can read about here.)

I was initially impressed by the company’s approach to usability. But a recent briefing with Sean-Michael Daley, kannuu CEO, has made it clear that kannuu has its eye on a much bigger prize: Applying its self-learning algorithms and key IP in indexing to improve mobile search and enable new monetization schemes that go far beyond Google AdWords. (Thanks again to Sarah Duckett, kannuu VP Communications, for arranging the briefing and providing me with first-rate background materials such as the video below.)

Sean-Michael tells me that recent usability tests estimate kannuu’s technology “generally delivers a 3x improvement in the speed at which users can find something.” But it’s not just about speeding up mobile search. The pay-off is in fine-tuning mobile search to enable transactions and commerce on the fly. (Sean-Michael’s remarks remind me of a recent panel on mobile search trends in Japan that MSG covered here. The bottom line: Commerce, not search advertising, will be the way content owners and brands make their money.)

Sean-Michael tells me that mobile commerce pilots are already underway. “That’s where there is a really good return on investment…We can improve the quality of the experience people go through and [enable them to] actually complete transactions. Because of the volume there you only need to increase that by a fraction of a percent and our technology is well and truly paying for itself.”

Listen to the podcast here. [11:30]

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• Multimodal Search, Personalization, Usability, Mobile Search, Mobile Advertising, Content Discovery, Local Search, Podcasts

As MSG reported earlier this week, Taptu is fine-tuning its “socially-assisted” mobile search service to suggest stuff we’re bound to like and related searches we’re likely to appreciate and explore during the dull moments of our daily routine (while we’re waiting around or just in search of a way to pass the time - no pun intended!).

The enhancements are the logical next step in the company’s ongoing strategy to place human interaction and judgment at the center of the mobile search experience.

As Steve Ives, Taptu CEO, put it in a recent interview with MSG, search is social. Users are not content to search for information in isolation and they want to communicate what they find. “When you’re on a mobile device, most [of what you do] has some kind of social context….You don’t finish the process as a user until you’ve interacted with somebody. So we think that finding the search results is not the end of the process; sharing the search result with somebody [marks] the end of the process, and that has to be designed into the system.”

To this end Taptu has launched 1-Tap, a feature of its mobile search service that - true to its name - lets users share their mobile search results (including cool mobile content) in one click. To save users from typing in their friends’ details, 1-Tap can also tap into other services such as Web-based email and Twitter.

But sharing is just the first step in Taptu’s ambitious strategy to give users more of a say in their mobile search results. Look for the company to innovate in the area of enabling “human-assisted results” (tools and technologies that allow people to edit their search results) and indexing social information (such as the social graph) moving forward.

Might Taptu be on to something bigger than pure PageRank?

Steve walked me through social search, search advertising and his pick of trends in this recent podcast.

His views are as impactful today as they were then - one reason why I have chosen to feature this podcast here and on ReadWriteTalk, the podcast series broadcast on ReadWriteWeb (RWW) and across its network of sites. Regular readers will recall that MSG has a close partnership with AltSearchEngines - a RWW destination dubbed “THE voice of alternative search.”

Listen to the podcast here [12:55]

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• Mobile Search, Mobile Social Networking, Mobile Advertising, Local Search, Content Discovery, Podcasts

Seems like local mobile search is the topic this week. I have some good notes and great briefings to share from Navigation & Location Europe 2008. Andrew Grill, a location-based services pundit and frequent contributor to MSG, will be back this week with his take on the cool mobile social networking companies and apps on the marketplace.

Mobile social networks also figure prominently in the monetization models that will drive usage of directory services and mobile local search. That’s the view of Mike Short, who heads R&D at O2 UK. This week Mike is the keynote speaker at European Directory Marketplace 2008. The industry event, organized by Whitaker Associates and sponsored by MSG, takes a hard look at local search on mobile and the monetization models that can make it happen sooner than later.

What role will advertising play? What content will fly? And will operators continue to have a top-notch role in the value chain? These are few questions I put to Mike before he gave his speech.

Listen to the podcast here. [7:50]

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• Mobile Social Networking, Location-based services, Mobile Search, Mobile Advertising, Local Search, Podcasts

In-Brief: FoneStarz, a leading provider of licensing, hosting and management of image content for mobile is on a roll, It counts 130 major content brands (Disney, Turner, Warner Bros.) and major mobile operators (Vodafone, T-Mobile, 3) among its clients, and recently launched a D2C destination called kazzip. However, with strong IP in both search and recommendation engines, FoneStarz also covers the bases to cross over into some exciting new territory. Will the company “plug in” with search giants? Dave Moreau, FoneStarz CEO, gives us his perspective on the content space and where his company fits it.

From our first meeting at a mobile content panel I chaired I recognized Dave was more than an industry practitioner with valuable industry insights to share; he is a fair critic with firm views we should consider carefully. With this in mind I contacted Dave for a podcast to discuss the current state of the content industry, the content-selling value chain, mobile search and (in his own words) the “cut throat old business using Google AdWords to try and get people onto your site.”

In addition, Dave let me in on his own mobile search ambitions and impressive results since creating and implementing his own recommendation engine. A simple content-to-content recommender added a whopping 12 percent to sales (!) (Suggesting content based on peer preferences is a way away for FoneStarz, but this “simple and remarkably effective feature” has more than paid off.)

Listen to the podcast here. [11:00]

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• Recommendation, Mobile Research, Personalization, Mobile Search, Content Discovery, Mobile Advertising, Podcasts

In-Brief: On the heels of wins with T-Mobile USA and India’s Tata Teleservices, MSG gets the inside track on Juice Wireless, the company behind the mobile social networking app JuiceCaster, from the source. Nick Desai, Juice Wireless CEO, updates us on Mobile Video Search (MVS), the free search app that may pay dividends.

Will the usual suspects (Google Yahoo, Microsoft, Ask) dominate mobile search? This summary post from AltSearchEngines (and the rousing success of its AltSearch Day) tells us it’s by no means a shoe-in. The site counts 227 alternative search engines in the online space. Sure, they may only have 1.7 percent market share, but the fact that there are so many of them speaks volumes about our increasing need for vertical search engines. (And then there is the novel idea of building a single federated search for alternative search that would most definitely give Google & Co a run for their money.)

A Long Tail of search engines is flourishing in the online space - will it be the same in mobile? And more importantly when can we expect it?

Common sense tells us the personal nature of the device and the variety of content types available create the perfect Petri dish for vertical mobile search. (Consider mobile music and mobile games search - two content-specific search services we can look for this year.) In line with MSG’s brief to track and analyze all the flavors of mobile search coming online, I have set up briefings with the vertical search companies I’m sure we’ll see more of soon. I also have an exciting mix of multimodal (visual/voice) search providers in the pipeline - so please check back regularly.

One company on my radar is Juice Wireless, which earlier this year took the wraps off its Mobile Video Search (MVS) service. As the video below shows, this free and first-of-its kind service allows anyone with a mobile phone (capable of viewing video) to search for videos (user-created content as well as professionally produced videos from brands and media companies) by texting keywords to the shortcode 84462 (in the U.S.). The search tool sends the user a reply with links to the requested content.

The MVS announcement got some media attention, but I missed a closer look at Juice Wireless strategy and some straight answers to some nuts and bolts questions. For example, what is the connection between mobile search and JuiceCaster - the company’s hugely successful social networking app/subscription service lets users upload/share pictures and videos directly from their camera phones to more than 20 online social networking and blogging sites (including MySpace, Facebook and Twitter)? More importantly, why does it make business/commercial sense?

I caught up with Nick, who was fortunately forthcoming with answers, stats and a status report on his wider plans to partner with media companies/brands and let them reserve keywords in a “Google AdWords-like model.”

Listen to the podcast. [11:37]

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• Mobile Social Networking, Mobile Search, Mobile Content, Mobile Advertising, Podcasts

In-Brief: A detailed look at Mobicious, a nimble newcomer that has quietly signed a slew of deals with content retailers and fine-tuned its own proprietary crawling technology to create a place where users can find everything for their mobile phone. David Chang, Mobicious co-founder and VP of Marketing, talks about the company’s focus on discovery, plans for expansion outside the U.S. and hints at the pivotal role of social media. Shortly after the audio interview Mobicious took the wraps off of SnapMyLife, a mobile photo sharing and social media site. In March 2008, over 500,000 unique visitors from over 180 countries visited the site, which served over 4 million page views. Since then Mobicious reports over 1,000 people are joining the made-for-mobile community site (which has also appeared in the top ten social networking apps for the Apple iPhone). Could mobile advertising be far off? Read on!

When it comes to mobile content, offering more is good. But offering it all is best. This is the thinking at Mobicious, a Boston-based start-up that has made it its mission to become a kind of mobile content/services/apps emporium. The company, which built a “discovery engine”, has partnerships with around 10 major retailers including Jamster and Thumbplay - alliances that have laid the groundwork for an impressive and comprehensive catalog of 400,000+ premium and free content items.

More importantly, Mobicious has developed the IP to spider mobile content sites (as well as user-generated content destinations) and pull in a steady feed of fresh content from the legendary Long Tail…This has allowed the company to launch 100+ content “channels” where users can browse content according to topic and explore related content. (Mobicious aims to improve its Amazon-like approach to content recommendation - but that’s coming a little later in the roadmap.)

One part iTunes, one part Google (as the company has been described) Mobicious is more than a single destination for users to discover all things digital for their mobile phone. The company also reports high conversion rates for its content partners - generally over 20 percent conversion - and has plans in the pipeline to bring the same positive benefits to mobile carriers who tie-up with the company to boost their off-portal traffic and mobile commerce.

As David put it: Mobicious is in discussions with U.S. carriers about “augmenting their current on-deck content with all of the off-deck content.” How would it work in practice? “If you’re a subscriber, you’ll see not only your own service provider’s content; you’ll see all the off-deck content ‘merged’ into one place.” The result is a “one-stop discovery engine for everything that’s out there.” Unlike a Google or other portal/search provider that would no doubt prefer to take center stage as a content super-store in their own right, Mobicious would “forward the consumer off to complete the purchase at the specific site - whether it’s the carrier’s site itself or a third-party provider….We let the consumer complete [the purchase] using the existing distribution mechanism.

Listen to the podcast here. [14.00]

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• Recommendation, Mobile Social Networking, Web 2.0, Personalization, Mobile Search, Content Discovery, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Content, Podcasts

In-Brief: SpinVox reveals its vision for mobile search and mobile advertising services that will harness its voice-to-text technology to pick up on clues in voicemail exchanges to deliver users relevant results in an unobtrusive way. It’s not here yet, but you can bet on some deployments this year as mobile search providers and operators take notice.

Talk about timing! I first met SpinVox co-founder Daniel Doulton last summer at the company headquarters in the U.K., a mind-meld during which we discussed the progress the company had made (its voice-to-screen technology now lets users post to their Facebook, Twitter and Jaiku sites by simply speaking into their mobile handset) and the potential for the same technology to supercharge mobile search and enable the delivery targeted mobile advertising. It was an invigorating exchange and I put in my request for a podcast when the time was right.

I got my wish this week and had an exclusive interview with Daniel just a few days before the news broke that SpinVox has raised more than $100 million in funding from a Goldman Sachs Group unit and other institutional investors. The cash allows the company to expand its presence in North America and introduce voice-to-text services in more languages. (The company has deals with 12 mobile operators and plans to double that number this year. It is negotiating with all the top U.S. network operators and expects to announce two deals in the next quarter.)

I’ll bet SpinVox also uses the investment to move its strategy of enabling what Daniel calls “implicit mobile search” a quantum leap forward.

The scenario: An exchange between friends looking for a suitable restaurant to meet might trigger the service to suggest a few nearby restaurants, complete with a link to a local map or even driving directions. “It’s a fascinating ability that we now have in the actual voice message conversion system, which obviously has a semantic ability. And by that I mean; it can actually link together intelligently, keywords and messages that would make up an intelligent request or a search query.”

Listen to the podcast here. [10:56]

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• Multimodal Search, Mobile Social Networking, Web 2.0, Mobile Search, Mobile Advertising, Content Discovery, Local Search, Podcasts

In-Brief: A look at Aggregate Knowledge, a content discovery/recommendation company that drives highly targeted and relevant content and product placements to consumers based on real-time buzz and collective buying behavior which it monitors across its network of 100+ media and retail websites. The newcomer is gearing up to make its mark on mobile. With one trial in progress (no word on whether it’s with a mobile operator or a content company) and others in the pipeline, it merits a closer look. Paul Martino, Aggregate Knowledge CEO and co-founder, talks about his company and the mobile trends on his radar. Best to listen. Paul is a serial entrepreneur whose social networking company Tribe Network was recently acquired by Cisco.

I first met with Aggregate Knowledge during RecSys 2007, a super-cool conference focused on recommendation engines and technologies. I felt it was a great opportunity to meet with companies sure to make a mark on mobile - and I was right. Aggregate Knowledge has since entered into its first mobile trials, and Paul tells me that other companies in the space are lining up. Why? Because mobile search is great if users know what they want, but most times they don’t. And even if they do, inputting their request on a mobile device can be a pain. That’s where discovery and recommendation come in. (Why I’ve consistently come out for tie-ups between companies in the two spaces - and why we’ve seen a string of M&A aimed to accomplish just that…)

I did the interview a few weeks back, but had to hold off on final production because industry conferences and speaking engagements kept me on the road and away from my studio. But sometimes being a little late is a good thing. Case in point: yesterday’s news that BusinessWeek has chosen Aggregate Knowledge to deliver “user-driven content recommendations” on BusinessWeek.com. How will it work? When a reader clicks on a breaking news story on the BusinessWeek site, Aggregate Knowledge will automatically provide user-driven content suggestions in the form of “More from BusinessWeek.” These suggestions are based on what visitors are actually reading across BusinessWeek.com.

Clearly, recommendation - not search - will transform how users find and buy content. The tie-up with BusinessWeek confirms that this is going to be a big thing in the online. I look for it to be huge in mobile - soon.

After all, the personal nature of device and the emergence of social networking are key factors that play in favor of any scheme that harnesses community buzz to bubble up cool content. (In a nutshell, this is what Aggregate Knowledge does and I encourage you to read my recent column for background on the company’s Pique Discovery Network, an offering that - true to the name - is designed from the ground up to pique the consumer’s interest in targeted content they will most likely find useful and most definitely would not have known otherwise existed.) As Paul puts it: “We think that discovery is going to be a line item on the marketer’s budget the way search is. And it’s not that discovery will cannibalize search or search will cannibalize discovery. It’s much more that there are two ways in which people find content.”

Listen to the podcast here. [10:13]

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• Recommendation, Mobile Social Networking, Web 2.0, Personalization, Mobile Search, Content Discovery, Mobile Advertising, Podcasts

In-Brief: Chetan Sharma, independent consultant, mobile luminary and a co-author of the just released book, Mobile Advertising: Supercharge Your Brand in the Exploding Wireless Market, urges mobile operators to start acting like media companies, and gives them 2-3 years to get their act together before the Googles, Yahoos, Microsofts and Nokias of the world change the rules of the game - forever.

Of all the podcasts I’ve produced to date, this has been the toughest. The material was just too good to cut - but I had to in order to deliver the length you have told me you prefer. So, I do have a podcast of less than 15 minutes. Fortunately, Chetan understands my dilemma and is intrigued by the idea of coming back to MSG for a series of podcasts to deep-dive into the exciting mobile advertising case studies he has collected and elaborate on the do’s & don’ts of targeting. It’s safe to say Chetan will be back - and so should you!

One comment that struck me: Chetan is firm but fair in his plea to operators to focus on cultivating an ecosystem rather than compete with other mobile operators. But not all mobile operators are “thinking in their own little universe.” He gives high marks to Vodafone and Reliance for having a radical and refreshing view of the marketplace.

Listen to the podcast here. [10:55]

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• On-Device Portals, Personalization, Location-based services, Mobile Search, Mobile Advertising, Content Discovery, Local Search, Podcasts

In-Brief: MSG speaks with Kate Edwards, CEO of Jentro Technologies, a German-based provider of mobility solutions, about ambitious plans to facilitate the development and delivery of location-based services, social networking and vertical content mini-apps (including search). Is it just another platform - or will it give Google & Co a run for their money?

A few months ago I would have shrugged my shoulders, but that indifference has turned to interest since I heard the inside track on Ö-NAVI, a world-first completely ad-funded navigation services scheme (based on Jentro’s white-label solution) deployed by DasÖrtliche, a top German directory service and local search provider. DasÖrtliche wanted to boost brand awareness, add more value to its local search service and drive incremental revenue - a checklist Dirk Schulte, a DasÖrtliche spokesman, assured me the company has completed.

In fact, the service has significantly expanded its portfolio of services and advertisers to include Volvo, the FAZ (a major German daily newspaper), and a partnership with Clever-Tanken.de which lets users find the nearest and cheapest gas stations.

As you can see for yourself, these stats from a Jentro presentation I caught during a recent and worthwhile Wireless World Forum mobile search & advertising event in London (reported here), show companies can adopt a mini-Google strategy and drive positive results.

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• Mobile Social Networking, Web 2.0, Location-based services, Personalization, Mobile Search, Local Search, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Content, Podcasts