Boopsie Gives Mobile Search a Speed Boost

from GigaOM by Om Malik

Mobile search, despite the presence of giants such as Google (GOOG), Yahoo (YHOO), Microsoft (MSFT) and AOL (TWX), is wide open. Any startup has as good a chance as any of the the big boys, just as long as they have cutting-edge technology and enough business acumen to capitalize on it. One such startup that is getting a lot of buzz is Boopsie -– yes, you read that right — Boopsie.

The company quietly launched at the recent Mobile 2.0 conference, but went largely unnoticed. And that's a shame, for I ended up downloading Boopsie's mobile search application to my Nokia N95, and I was impressed. The app supports all platforms, including the iPhone. After talking to the company — I am typing this while sitting in the airport in Las Vegas, waiting to get home — I like their approach. (It is not clear where the company is based, and their website offers no information.) They've basically created channels of content that might be useful.

The search query on Boopsie gets rolling with a "smart prefix" — which means that instead of typing out the whole word, you only need to type the word's first few letters. Start typing "Caltrain," for example, and you get a list of options to choose from, including the Caltrain schedule. I will get more details about Boopsie when I get back, but I am told that their technology has impressed many — Yahoo wanted to buy them, apparently — but right now the company is looking to raise Series A funding.

If the team is smart, they should try and position it as a solution for the wireless carriers, who I am sure aren't too thrilled about Google's mobile plans.

Folks if you try it out, please let me know what you think about this little mobile app.

Related:

• AOL launches Mobile Search
• Is Google flubbing mobile search?

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Missing Link Marketing™

Author: Dr. Augustine Fou, Marketing Science Consulting Group, Inc.

In the "age of too much information" marketers need to focus on the information that customers need to get from "considering to buy" to actually buying. These missing links force a re-focusing of marketing messages and methodologies from pushing a benefit message out to allowing the customer to pull the information they need during their own research process.

Missing Link Defined     

What's the missing link?

- works for any product or service - reveals consumers' actions during the purchase decision - deliver practical information efficiently - give consumers what they want rather than what advertisers want to give Assumption

- the next evolution of marketing exists in a landscape where users reach out when they need something and ignore EVERY SINGLE marketing message that is "shouted at them" through traditional one-way channels such as TV, print, and radio. Instead at the moment they want something, who can better and more efficiently deliver the exact info they need (and no more) to help fill that "missing link" that gets the customer to the purchase. How missing link marketing works

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Create an HTML Email Signature to Showcase Your Web Presence

from Digital Inspiration by Amit

MyBlogLog has just added a very convenient feature that allows members to create rich text HTML signatures for use in email programs like Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express.

If your web presence is spread across lot of sites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Digg, Del.icio.us and more, you can put links to all those social profiles in the email signature as in the sample below:

 

Visit your Personal Profile page on MyBlogLog and click the Edit Signature link to generate your custom email signature.

You also place this signature in Gmail and Yahoo! Mail using the simple drag-n-drop method described in a previous article - Add HTML Signatures with Images In Gmail.

Create MyBlogLog Signature (requires MyBlogLog account) Thanks Robyn

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SanDisk has begun shipping its 8GB microSDHC ... [Now Shipping]

from Gizmodo by Sean Fallon

SanDisk has begun shipping its 8GB microSDHC and M2 flash memory cards. The company hopes that they will find a market among users of memory-card-ready mobile phones. Available now for $140 and $150, respectively. [Electronista]

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Outspark Launch Adds Weight to Micro-Transactions Trend

from GigaOM by Jane Pinckard

Outspark, a San Francisco-based casual games publisher with offices in Seoul, South Korea, launched its North American games portal yesterday. Like Nexon's South Korean-developed MapleStory, Outspark games will be free to play — in addition to advertising built into the games and the portal, the company will rely on micro-transactions of virtual goods sales to generate revenue.

Their first game, Fiesta, published by OnsOn Soft in Asia, is an MMO currently in open beta. Outspark, which secured $4 million in funding earlier this spring from Altos Ventures and Doll Capital Management, plans to work with other developers to publish community-oriented multiplayer casual games as well.

I put a few questions to CEO Susan Choe and Chief Studio Officer Nick Foster yesterday to get a better sense of the company's plans.

The micro-transaction model has been shown to be very successful in South Korea, where Outspark also has experience, but has been slow to take off in North America. Why do you think that is and why do you think it's time to launch this revenue model here?

SUSAN: The micro-transaction model was slow to gain traction in North America due to a lack of payment solutions like those readily available in Asia. The response of North American gamers, however, to this type of game and item sales model has been tremendous and forms the basis of Outspark's initial releases. Our expertise in running global portals like Yahoo (YHOO) and leading game product management at companies including EA (ERTS), Nexon, Blizzard and NHN will help us continue to deliver great results.

What demographic do you see as your primary target and how will you reach it?

NICK: Outspark's initial target demographic is the youth market, specifically those between the ages of 13 and 24. Friendly, socially driven games appeal to all ages, however, and we're attracting a diverse community of people looking for a different style of play than can be found in conventional console or hardcore games.

Your competition, in my view, is not necessarily World of Warcraft but socially rich Web 2.0 apps like Facebook and YouTube (GOOG). How will your products compete — or integrate — in that space?

SUSAN: Outspark's goal is to provide a socially active virtual playground for online gamers. By providing games that players genuinely want to spend time in and building a community around that shared experience, Outspark can be a good partner for socially rich Web 2.0 companies by providing their communities with additional engaging activities.

You talked [in the release] about Outspark as a "platform." Can you tell us more about that?

NICK: Outspark understands online gaming and the human drivers that make game communities successful. We're combining our expertise in global entertainment with an understanding of virtual item sales and good game design. Outspark's goal is to find media partners and work with them to apply this holistic "platform" approach to help build additional channels for their IP, around which online communities can grow.

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