Case Study: iBrussels,Organizing the community around mobile services

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What is iBrussels ?

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Goals

Stimulate economy Community interaction

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Stimulate economy

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Mobile promotions Bring people together Sell online

Mobile promotions• Location based coupon• Depends on profile• Opt-in push model• Low cost: DIY website

• Option: loyalty card• Option: instant auction

(reverse auction)

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Bring people together• Friends are defined in

your social network• “Lifestream” of users is

on mobile phone• Platform adds:– Where are my friends?

(shown on a map)– What is around me?

(resto, tourist, ATM)– What is happening?

(events, shows, meeting)

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Sell online• Merchant can create

virtual shop• Users can add items to

whishlist, give presents• Transaction is always

cleared in the real world(collect & pay in store)

• Combines benefits of: online shop with retail

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Community interaction: the old way

• Social organisations like churches group people together• Community leaders like priests ensure involvement

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Community interaction: the new way

• People gather in online communities

• Brands are the new priests

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Local community ?

The local community

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Local businesses, organisations, governements and people need to interact through community sites

Real world Virtual world

Economy & local community

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• Multinationals: can create their own communities

• Local merchants: need tools to interact with existing communities

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iBrussels community website & mobileRequirements:

– Works offline:

permanent presence on the user’s phone

– Automatic update of content through

web services, both secured and open

– Easy distribution

(SMS “ibrussel” to 3236)

– Community site integration (Facebook)

– Works on 80% of mobile phones

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Content• User creates content

• Moderation only to settle disputes, no censor

• No content is paid for

• Local blogs are automatically syndicated

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What is GLOWE ?

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Define in XML description, run on multiple platforms

Solution software: Glowe explained

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XlHH0SJjv8

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Evolution of the internet

web portal mashup

One way Two Ways

Limited Contents Unlimited ContentS

Centralized Distributed

Closed Open

Provider Centric User Centric

fixed internet mobile internetsearch is key context is key

finding being found

email VoIP & IM

the world is outside the world is around me

web surfing web services

PC & laptop many devices

Mobile makes the long tail longer

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Future: mobile centric internet

API

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Where is the money ?

The user pays

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ATTENTION

Attention brokering

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broker

“Testdrive the new Dodge Viper”my preferences

What is attention management ?

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• Lots of parties want our attention (classical = advertsing)• What do we “pay” when we pay attention ?• Attention management is about

• tracking the things you pay attention to (or ignore)• mining and storing that data• putting it to good use (optimize service)

Mobile context adds value for advertisers

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pay for the result

pay for being found

pay for being seen

pay for space

Mobile advertising

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1 to 50 € per filled in form

Mash-up business model

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Lessons learned

The mobile web will be• not about the web• not about the device

• It’s about services– That live in the net– Are available on multiple

devices– Can interact to become

better

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Challenges / lessons learnedThings to do

• Make mock-ups FIRST– Mobile apps have no set expectation– You can’t predict what will work– Do extensive user testing– Be prepared to change your concept– Technical POC alone is not enough

• Use the internet & its protocols– A mobile does not live in your network– VPN’s are a thing of the past– SOAP is nice when critical, XML is easier– Use the universal firewall bypass port (80)

• Think Multi-platform– 1 platform only is not realistic– When you can: move up an abstraction layer

or two (but web browser might be too thin)

Things to avoid

• Stay out-of-control– With mobile, the user is in control– You can’t manage his device. Forget it.– Give users tools so they can DIY.

• Avoid the bigger picture– Focus on a concrete function with an

immediate value add for the user– Trying to change work processes,

integrate with business intelligence, cover a larger scope: it will all fail

– Mobile is new: create demand first– When it’s time for the bigger picture,

current technology will be obsolete

• Translate the web to mobile– In some cases, mobile websites are OK– But: don’t just convert existing web tools– Mobile has a different usage model then

fixed (“browsing” is done on a desk)

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