Insight Community

LetsTalk's PhoneTalk blog wants to add new voices to its website, and they're posting regular issues here for the Techdirt Insight Community to add interesting new content to their site. The winning submissions for each challenge issue will be posted (perhaps with some editing) on the PhoneTalk blog -- with credits to the author. The following is LetsTalk's next assignment:

For music lovers, there are more and more ways to listen to tunes on the move. Recently, AT&T announced a partnership with Napster to offer over-the-air music downloads, but the service isn't exactly groundbreaking -- given that Verizon and Sprint also have similar products, as well as the multitude of other (cheaper and sometimes more convenient) ways that consumers can obtain portable music. So what is the future of mobile music applications for handsets? What mobile music application(s) or service(s) do you recommend for mobile phones? If you don't use your phone for music, what kind of service/application would win you over?

Note: The top insights for this issue will be selected as they are submitted. So there is no exact deadline for submissions, but the earlier you submit, the earlier LetsTalk can review your work. For example, it's possible that LetsTalk may select the first three entries. However, no submissions will be accepted after the expiration date.

LetsTalk's PhoneTalk blog wants to add new voices to its website, and they're posting regular issues here for the Techdirt Insight Community to add interesting new content to their site. The winning submissions for each challenge issue will be posted (perhaps with some editing) on the PhoneTalk blog -- with credits to the author. The following is LetsTalk's next assignment:

Personal Information Management (PIM) functionality is a cornerstone of smartphones, and the ability to sync with users' PCs is a key selling point. But users of lower-end handsets are also interested in PIM features like calendars and better phonebooks -- even if their devices' native applications are limited. What are the alternatives for PIM software for users of "lesser" handsets -- be it installed Java or BREW applications, or web-based services? What are some of the best apps for calendaring, or for contact sync, backup and management?

The Digital Entertainment industry can be characterized by the creation, distribution and monetization of digital content and devices intended to entertain end users through media consumption. Examples of players in
the industry are device manufacturers (Apple, Nokia), distribution networks (CBS, XM Satellite), network access providers (Comcast, AT&T), content producers (Electronic Arts, NBC Universal), web based content aggregators (Yahoo, Google, MySpace) & multi-business tech/media conglomerates (Sony, Microsoft).

Given the rapid pace of innovation and shifting power dynamics to date, what are the major trends that will shape the industry over the next 3-7 years? How would you respond to these trends if you were the CEO of any of the above firms? Specifically discuss the economic impact of each trend and show how it would affect the market valuations of the relevant companies.

A start-up digital content portal for publishers is interested in expanding its services beyond text (and images with metadata). To improve its offerings, this content distributor is looking for more robust indexing tools for audio, video, as well as images and text files, to provide search and recommendation capabilities.

So, specifically, we're looking for a succinct survey of the landscape for commercial (including open source) Digital Asset Management (DAM) tools that can handle indexing multimedia files. We are particularly interested in customizable tools that can be used along with home-grown development projects. We would like to know about tools in the same vein as ClearForest, Factiva, etc. -- but for applications beyond text.

Additionally, if you know of any firms that specialize in integrating DAM solutions, our client is interested in your recommendations.

Telephony service provider JAJAH has launched a new application called JAJAH Buttons which allows users to integrate the ability to make a phone call into emails, websites, blogs or social network profiles.


1) Suggest creative viral ways to promote this service. How can JAJAH Buttons be made most appealing and spread to its worldwide audience in a viral manner? JAJAH is looking for more than just "Target young users on Facebook" -- but for truly effective ways to increase the adoption of JAJAH Buttons and JAJAH's service in general, and maintain a steady flow of new users.

2) More long term, what else can JAJAH offer users to produce useful telephony tools and help users to use JAJAH frequently? JAJAH already offers conference call services, scheduled call meetings, and SMS messages from PCs to mobile phones. What are some strategic offerings that JAJAH can provide to users that might expand the scope of online telephony use?

In order to test the service, JAJAH will pre-fund your account with free credits. To do this you must first sign up as a JAJAH user at www.jajah.com. Then, to request funding for a trial account, please email Techdirt(-at-)jajahbuttons.com, and provide them with the email address that you used to create your JAJAH account.

This is how it works from a JAJAH Button owner's perspective:

Register or log on to your JAJAH account. Create your own JAJAH Button. Paste a snippet of HTML code or a URL onto your website, blog or email signature -- and your friends, colleagues or clients can call you without any cost or registration steps on their end.

This is how Buttons work from a caller's perspective:

Initiating a call through a JAJAH Button is as easy as entering your own phone number and clicking "Call." All at absolutely no cost to the caller, JAJAH Buttons link people globally phone-to-phone, without any download, headset or contract.

LetsTalk's PhoneTalk blog wants to add new voices to its website, and they're posting regular issues here for the Techdirt Insight Community to add interesting new content to their site. The winning submissions for each challenge issue will be posted (perhaps with some editing) on the PhoneTalk blog -- with credits to the author. The following is LetsTalk's next assignment:

As mobile phone use in the US grows, so does consumer dissatisfaction with mobile operators and their business practices. Complaints about things like handset locking, long-term contracts with early termination fees (ETFs), poor customer service and billing practices abound. Some states have investigated trying to deal with this by enacting "Cell Phone User Bills of Rights" -- which attempt to enshrine certain consumer protections into law, while various pieces of federal legislation have also been proposed. Many of these proposals -- covering things like disclosing taxes and fees and listing clear contact information -- don't have a large overall impact on consumers, and the "Bills of Rights" are generally left looking like little more than attempts by politicians to curry favor with their constituents by appearing to tackle a problem, rather than making any meaningful changes. Meanwhile, other governmental actions -- such as the Librarian of Congress exempting handset unlocking from the DMCA, and the FCC's statement that it may re-investigate ETFs -- crack away at some of these practices.

Are these sorts of laws necessary, and why or why not? Are there more fundamental problems that these "Bills of Rights" don't, won't or can't address? What would be most beneficial for consumers here -- these sorts of laws, other rules from lawmakers and regulators, or some other type of action?

LetsTalk's PhoneTalk blog wants to add new voices to its website, and they're posting regular issues here for the Techdirt Insight Community to add interesting new content to their site. The winning submissions for each challenge issue will be posted (perhaps with some editing) on the PhoneTalk blog -- with credits to the author. The following is LetsTalk's next assignment:

More and more handsets are being released that include Wi-Fi functionality as well as cellular connectivity. In general, Wi-Fi offers faster data speeds than cellular networks, while it also lets users connect to free hotspots instead of paying their operator for data service -- which, of course, is part of the reason some operators have resisted launching it. Is Wi-Fi something consumers should be seeking in their next handset? Is it a useful feature for non-techie, non-enterprise, "normal" users? What are the benefits it offers, and what, if any, are the drawbacks? Please explain Wi-Fi enabled handsets to a general, consumer audience, and why or why not it's something that audience should care about, and what it can be used for.

LetsTalk's PhoneTalk blog wants to add new voices to its website, and they're going to start posting regular issues here for the Techdirt Insight Community to add interesting new content to their site. The winning submissions for each challenge issue will be posted (perhaps with some editing) on the PhoneTalk blog -- with credits to the author. The following is LetsTalk's first assignment:

RSS has become a mainstream application for web surfers of all levels, as they use it to keep up with their favorite sites and blogs. While mobile RSS is still a niche application, there are a wide range of standalone RSS applications and web services for mobile users. What's your favorite, and why? We're looking for a few reviews of your favorite mobile RSS application(s) or service(s) -- especially those that are particularly easy to use, or available on the widest range of handsets.

There are some eerie parallels to the dot com funding bubble of late 90's and the social networking funding bubble today. In the 90's it was about e-commerce. There were the Goliaths: eBay and Amazon who clearly dominated the market. However, there was a frenzy of investment in all kinds of vertical e-tailers, from Pets.com to eToys to completely niche-focused areas like "foreign foods." Then, there were companies that tried to piggyback on the success of the two big players with things like AuctionWatch and PayPal.

This time around, it's all about social networks, with MySpace and Facebook playing the role of the Goliaths. Recently, there's been tremendous investment in vertically focused social networks, for narrowly-defined demographics -- such as mothers or people who want to lose weight. There has also been tremendous interest in funding applications that piggyback on the success of MySpace and Facebook, with things like Slide, Photobucket and LendingClub.

Obviously, many of the bubble-era investments went bust, but there were some success stories, like PayPal and Zappos. What characteristics should an investor look for in figuring out which companies this time around will be the successes -- and how should we avoid the Pets.com of the social networking era? What criteria should we be focusing on and what hidden gems or opportunities are being ignored?

Google has received quite a bit of attention for the beginnings of its office productivity suite that can operate collaboratively online (as well as offline with Google Gears). But there are already several non-Microsoft office suites that are much more mature than Google's current office apps. However, by adding the weight of its brand to the Web2.0 productivity market, Google has apparently stolen the "thunder" of the upstarts who were pitching stones at Microsoft. As one of these alternative office suite developers,

1) What are the weaknesses of Google Docs & Spreadsheets?

2) How does a smaller office software firm promote itself with two giants in the same arena?

Mashups have been an integral aspect of web 2.0, since the concept started to emerge, but they've been somewhat limited. For one thing, mashups have typically required some technical knowledge, which cuts off most users. Also, many of them are formulaic, e.g. Craiglist + Flickr or Google Maps plus a list of Starbucks locations. The upshot is that for the typical user, there's been very little ability to develop mashups of one's own liking.

But now a number of companies, both startups and established internet vendors, are trying to expand this area. Yahoo has its Pipes service, and Microsoft has released a similar service, dubbed PopFly. Google is also testing its Google Mashup Editor. Then there are a number of startups focusing on this space specifically, such as Teqlo and Coghead. Former Microsoft exec Charles Simonyi is also working on something in this area, although so far it's been pretty quiet.

Looking down the road, how is this space likely to play out? What can we realistically expect a non-technical amateur to be capable of? What needs to happen, from a technological perspective, before non-technical users are able to create robust software? Or are non-technical users consigned to being only capable of simple, pre-designed mashups? At what point does the emergence of these DIY applications start to have an impact in both the enterprise and on traditional software vendors. If this is going to have an impact on software vendors, what can they do to facilitate and profit from this trend? Don't limit your responses to these questions. Support your predictions with quantitative data, if applicable.

As a Fortune 500 company considering a consumer-focused branding campaign that incorporates user-generated content, we are an office equipment and services provider looking to maximize the benefits of an online video campaign using YouTube and other online video communities. Obviously, we are aiming for a fresh and vibrant (and perhaps viral) response, but we also realize there may be somewhat negative portrayals of our brand.

1) Given our broad audience of consumers, how can we best encourage positive entries and on-message responses? Suggest online venues where the prevailing tone is upbeat -- or virtual locations that should be avoided if they are known to be too crass. How can these characterizations be determined?

2) Suggest creative ways to promote the collected video materials, after the submission period is officially over, that leverage online communities.

3) Other than ignoring or deleting content that may be negative, how should we handle submissions that are not entirely favorable to our brand?

From the point-of-view of a startup music recommendation service, we're considering expanding beyond music recommendations into other fields, as well as more geographic regions.

1) How should a mobile recommendation service best target the North American market? The European market? The Asian market?
2) What do you think the top 3 mobile recommendations services will be (other than music)?

There's been a lot of talk about the governance, risk and compliance (GRC) market lately, with companies like SAP making a big push into the space. When talking about GRC people often fall back on talking about Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, as that's been a key part of it. Certain compliance deadlines have been pushed back for smaller companies, but small-cap companies may wish to anticipate GRC issues before they hit with full force. How do you see the market for GRC solutions changing for small-cap companies over the next 3 to 5 years?

Flurry.com would like some blogger perspectives on mobile RSS feeds. Flurry offers a free mobile RSS reader (non-WAP) and is looking for feedback to improve its service.

1) Describe your view of the mobile RSS market. Who do you see as the leader in mobile RSS readers? Why?

Please check out Flurry.com (and try out the mobile RSS widget, if you like).
2) As a blogger, what would motivate you to include Flurry's RSS Widget on your blog?
3) What are Flurry's strengths/weaknesses, and how can they best promote/address them?

eBay is known as one of, if not the, largest advertisers on Google. After the recent squabble between the companies, eBay briefly removed all its ads from Google. If this continues (or happens again in the future), it could significantly impact both companies' bottom line. Presumably, eBay would get less traffic, and Google would lose one of its major advertisers. How much do you think it would impact each companies' bottom line and how would each respond to try to either repair/restore the relationships -- or replace the revenue from other sources?

With the launch of the Facebook platform, a number of startups are developing apps with the Facebook API, rather than on general websites. This can obviously make sense for some products, especially ones that want to leverage immediate network effects of a large social network. However, as a web 2.0 applications startup trying to determine a development path, what key points should we consider before jumping on the Facebook bandwagon? We have a recommendation-based service that will be initially ad-supported and then offer premium subscription services. (Think evite on steriods.)

As more and more devices add GPS capabilities, what features will really differentiate personal navigation devices (PNDs)? What location based services will be most valuable to drivers? To pedestrians? What will GPS devices look like in 5 years?

Several video-on-demand services are ramping up, allowing users to download TV shows and movies onto a variety of devices. From the perspective of a traditional content producer, which video-on-demand services will attract the largest viewership in the next year? How will TV studios need to change what they do as these services grow?

If you were advising a private equity group that had an interest in consumer telecommunication services, where would you invest in the next 6 months? What areas have at least double-digit growth potential? Restrict your responses to North America.