I have been extremely interested in geo-spatial technologies, location aware devices and augmented reality for quite some time. Much of my interest in these topics has been purely theoretical. Everything is changing rather rapidly.
Thanks to the iPhone (and other location aware devices of course) and companies like Loopt, what is commonly known as "the conversation" by social media practitioners is beginning to come to the physical world. Through the marriage of location aware devices and geographic plugins to social software, the idea of social media has taken on new meaning. Implied data (based on location) is now being brought into things like the Facebook news feed.
Today Skyhook Wireless, maker of the Wi-Fi Positioning System and XPS 2.0, the hybrid positioning system announced that they would be integrating neighborhood boundary data from Urban Mapping, Inc., the leading provider of location-rich content for interactive applications.
I found this video on CNET that explains the basis behind Loki. The video is extremely dated, but it is very interesting to look back at what people were concepting in 2006, and how these concepts are coming to life today.
What does this mean for marketers?
These new technologies have implications on many areas of interactive marketing:
Many times have I said, "the conversation is going on about your brand with or without you". New location based technologies present new challenges for marketers trying to Join The Conversation.
It will be interesting to see how marketers deal with this new phenomenon.
Thanks to the iPhone (and other location aware devices of course) and companies like Loopt, what is commonly known as "the conversation" by social media practitioners is beginning to come to the physical world. Through the marriage of location aware devices and geographic plugins to social software, the idea of social media has taken on new meaning. Implied data (based on location) is now being brought into things like the Facebook news feed.
Today Skyhook Wireless, maker of the Wi-Fi Positioning System and XPS 2.0, the hybrid positioning system announced that they would be integrating neighborhood boundary data from Urban Mapping, Inc., the leading provider of location-rich content for interactive applications.
I found this video on CNET that explains the basis behind Loki. The video is extremely dated, but it is very interesting to look back at what people were concepting in 2006, and how these concepts are coming to life today.
What does this mean for marketers?
These new technologies have implications on many areas of interactive marketing:
- Search
- No longer does search marketing solely apply to optimizing data to be found online. Search marketers must begin to consider optimizing data for location seekers
- New search engines like Krillion are will be providing consumers with more locally based data
- Consumer Review and Social Networking
- Marketers should also be paying attention to companies like Whrrl, where consumers have the ability to share reviews in real time
Many times have I said, "the conversation is going on about your brand with or without you". New location based technologies present new challenges for marketers trying to Join The Conversation.
It will be interesting to see how marketers deal with this new phenomenon.