Conversational mLearning Coupled with Traditional Learning

March 17, 2011 By

Because Kenneth Beare describes this better than we do, his recent post at http://englishfeed.com:

http://www.englishfeed.com/?p=134

Is a great introduction to our subsidiary ESLai.com platform and how it can be coupled with a Lesson Plan.  The use of a QR code is intended to add to the fun/mystery/intrigue of bridging from paper to mobile (but, Users can access the mobile web conversational simulations via typing in the URL or SMS as well).

The lesson demo can be downloaded from the EnglishFeed site and post.

As we see increased traffic on our ESLai site and the mobile web apps coming from school ISP’s, we’re excited to consider that the next step will be deeper integration with curriculum and existing learning tools, where the conversational simulations offer a unique space for User’s to practice their skills.

Oh, will QR Codes in the classroom and with kids work?  Here’s how it’s working already:

http://edte.ch/blog/2011/03/16/giant-qr-codes-in-the-classroom/

Filed Under: AI conversation, AI conversational network, Conversational AI, ESL, mobile english, QR TAgs Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Bridges to Mobile Converging – QR, 2D, Image Recognition, and more…

February 17, 2011 By

While we’re  mobile content folks, we always think about how Users get to the mobile experience from the real world.

There’s text messaging (keyword/shortcode), there are short URLs, but, there are the barcodes (competing formats), of QR, 2D, Tag, image recognition and proprietary formats such as JagTag that are readerless solutions.  NFC is on the way, big time.

This past week has seen a flurry of shuffling among some key barcode companies or designers who focus on barcodes:

1.  JAGTAG now offers a QR option for reader or readerless engagement:  LINK

2.  SCANLIFE now offer a readerless option (MMS, much like JagTag have offered in the past; and, I believe SPARQcode offered this first, last year):  LINK

3.  WARBASSE DESIGN, who’ve done really innovative designer QR work have partnered with an image recognition platform that also appears to grab Location Data in the process (very cool):  LINK

When you look at a product like GOOGLE’S “GOGGLES,” which has image recognition and QR reading built into a single application, what we see is the blurring of individual technologies (which have been battling for dominance based on their technology), who are now focusing on making it as easy as possible for the End User to bridge from the real-world to a mobile experience.

This is terrific to see, on all fronts.  These three companies, among others, are expanding the size of the “pie,” not just trying to protect their own niche.  Barcodes, Image Recognition and NFC will all be increasingly major factors in creating seamless and intuitive bridges to mobile engagement.

It’s great to see the focus on increasing the quality and quantity of User Engagements.

Filed Under: AI conversation, Brands and Mobile, Conversational AI, mobile marketing, QR TAgs, Virtual Agents, WAP Chat Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

New Year. . .New Features. . .Conversational Mobile Marketing Evolves

January 28, 2011 By

That was quite a lag in blog posts. The Holidays took over (after an exceptionally busy December, in part, due to the consumer-facing MySantaTalk app); then, CES (yes, lots of tablets and 3D TV, but, in general, not the most exciting CES; some work in mobile health felt pretty substantial and game changing).

What’s up here?

We’ve realized that the perception of our platform is more “how do we compare to apps?” than “how do we compare to text messaging?” — The inclusion of rich media elements in our content, really, remove us from the text-communication space, even though that is the core of our platform.

To that end, we are in the process of enhancing the overall design and user navigation of the mobile web interactive chat experience. Watch for updates throughout Q1.

In the interim, as MySantaTalk prepares to take a rest for the year — There’s a short, mobile web, demo that features our favorite fictional brand character: Capn’ Wag — As a demo of fun, intelligent packaging for kids, we hope you enjoy. Access is found on: http://contentai.com/demos/capnwag Or, just scan the QR code below:

Filed Under: AI conversation, Brands and Mobile, Conversational AI, Mobile, mobile marketing, QR TAgs, Virtual Agents, WAP Chat Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

MySantaTalk by the Numbers – Interactive Story and Chat Analytics + QR, Tag, SMS

December 19, 2010 By

My Santa Talk was released 30-days ago as both a B2B Holiday Greeting (from http://contentAI.com) as well as a trial consumer-facing mobile web application with a soft online promotion.

Part of the consumer-facing effort was to get an indication of how Users would find and engage in a conversational mobile web application.

The methods a User could access MySantaTalk from mobile include:

  • SMS Shortcode and Keyword
  • QR Code
  • Microsoft TAG
  • Direct (Link) or typing URL subdomain

The promotion has been exclusively on-line and mobile, without any print collateral.  Therefore, the ratio of Direct to QR/2D cannot be presumed to be indicative of a print campaign.

Here is a summary of the analytics:

1)                  USER ENGAGEMENT

a.       Short = 1 minute

b.      Long = 19 minutes

c.       Average = 4 minutes

2)                  GEOGRAPHY

a.       North America = 70%

b.      International (32 Countries) = 30%

3)                  BARCODE SCANS, SMS and DIRECT Access

a.       QR = 9%

b.      Microsoft TAG = 2%

c.       Shortcode/Keyword SMS = 2%

d.      Direct =  87%

4)                  QR SCAN BREAKDOWN (34 Device Types)

a.       iOS =  46.1%

b.      Android =  21.3%

c.       RIM = 18.2%

d.      Symbian = 3.4%

e.       Other = 3.4%

The analytics on the QR Scan are from http://percentmobile.com and their http://delivr.com code generator.  These were the most comprehensive analytics and provided extremely valuable data.  AdMob’s mobile analytics had too high a ratio of “unknowns,” however, provided engagement analytics for the WAP/HTML mobile site itself.

While the campaign has not concluded and there are some last-minute pre-Holiday week PR efforts that will broaden the consumer-facing traffic, we wanted to review the numbers to-date and get a feel for the end-to-end User experience.

What can we extrapolate from this? Some of this was obvious (in advance) and some was new to discover:

1)      Providing multiple touch-points to access a mobile web application is crucial.  Including direct Links that can be forwarded and shared by Users

2)      Mobile Web (WAP and HTML) doubles the reach of an iPhone App at a fraction of the cost.

3)      The percentage of iOS users was nearly 50%, however, we project that would have been reduced if this were consumer-facing only, and did not include the B2B corporate Holiday greeting to advertising agencies and mobile partners (where iOS skews very high)

4)      Despite the comparatively low percentage of QR scans to “direct,” the fact that 34 different devices used a QR reader indicates that QR has a significant consumer adoption level at this point (it is not an iPhone or Droid-only phenomena)

5)      SMS Keyword and Shortcode Access was not as significant as we had anticipated.  While there is a location-based test underway this week that may change this evaluation, frankly, we’d projected that SMS access would have equaled or exceeded the QR scans.

6)      The duration of the engagements has been exceptionally encouraging, both in terms of quantitative and qualitative data.  With an estimated average of 4 minutes per Session, on a mobile web site, that is higher than projected and indicates that contentAI’s  “conversational mobile engagement” format is deeply compelling for Users.

Noting, apx. :30 seconds of most engagement included viewing of a mobile video clip.  We’ve moved that clip so that the conversational flow can be more readily measured during the final week of the campaign.

In conclusion:

The traffic levels have increased on a steady curve throughout the 30-day period with a few minor spikes.  However, the content and experience is most applicable to the upcoming pre-Christmas week; and, with the B2B effort concluded, and SEARCH making up 70% of the traffic to the online site (site optimization has raised MY SANTA TALK to a few key first pages on GOOGLE), it’s possible that we’ll derive additional insight in the forthcoming week on the overall campaign and user experiences.

If you haven’t experienced the MYSANTATALK mobile web story and virtual chat, the mobile URL is:  http://m.MySantaTalk.com – Or, look for the QR, 2D code or Shortcode and keyword over on:  http://MySantaTalk.com/mobileaccess

Happy Holidays.


Filed Under: AI conversation, AI conversational network, Brands and Mobile, Conversational AI, holiday mobile marketing, mobile marketing, QR TAgs, sms, WAP Chat Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Our Conversational AI Holiday App Gets a Shoutout – My Santa Talk

December 12, 2010 By

We appreciate the post from @textually for our MY SANTA TALK property that’s in the public wild’s for the Holidays.  To clarify, only the URL is sent via SMS.  The interactive chat and story is mobile web only (so that it includes graphics and video)…

Here’s the Link and the write up:

Thanks Emily!

Filed Under: AI conversation, Brands and Mobile, Conversational AI, holiday mobile marketing, Mobile, mobile marketing, QR TAgs, WAP Chat Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Near Field Communication (NFC) – Google Rolls into Portland for Retail

December 10, 2010 By

These are the days when being a mobile content technology and service are terrific.

Near Field Communication, which has languished and been plagued by security issues, is taking one giant step forward today with Google’s announcement of rolling out a limited program in Portland, Oregon at the retail level:

http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2010/12/cross-posted-and-excerpted-from-hotpot.html

Does this sound competitive to QR, 2D and Location Based (GPS) apps?

It is.

Will brands and advertising agencies be attracted to this?

It’s about the User Experience.

How simple and intuitive is the experience?

Being a Portland company, we’ll be trying this out and updating this post.  But, every indication is that NFC could be the next ‘really big thing” with mainstream mobile adoption.  RIM, Apple, Android, Nokia along with the major US carriers have all made announcements in the past month about their commitment to NFC at the OS, device and carrier level.

Filed Under: Brands and Mobile, Friendly machines, Mobile, mobile marketing, QR TAgs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

QR and 2D Mobile Early Adopters? Start @ Age 5. Target’s Holiday Campaign

November 3, 2010 By

This was a fascinating post in Barcode.com:

http://www.barcode.com/QR-codes-and-2D/how-target-is-making-history-with-toys-and-qr-codes.html

With regard to TARGET’S Christmas catalog and a 5-year old’s quick and easy engagement via QR codes.

The article is correct that this concept should “go further.”  It’s right in line with our interactive story and character engagement platform, where we have always seen kids as being a group who would take to mobile conversational stories readily.  So, hopefully, next year, these kind of campaigns will include the child being able to “talk to the toy,” or to a doll, via mobile, as well as find hidden videos and images.  Creating a more personal engagement (that is still private and secure) will add real value to the “play” experience associated with the toys.

Filed Under: Brands and Mobile, Conversational AI, Friendly machines, Mobile, QR TAgs, WAP Chat Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

SMS to WAP – An Alternative to QR and 2D

October 27, 2010 By

While QR and 2D adoption rises, it’s frustrating to see that some Users find the process “less than intuitive.” That will change over time — Particularly, once it becomes common to keep a Reader App easily accessible, since it will become used daily (maybe?).

In the interim, or just because it’s a nice idea, we are adding SMS access to our WAP sites. It’s quick, it’s easy. Everyone knows what to do.

For the Retail Demo, you can now access it via:

Text SHOPGIRL to 41411

This opens up unlimited messaging (with no per message cost) via WAP, from a single SMS.

Nice?  Sorry, this is U.S. only for the time being; but, we will expand this for commercial applications.

Filed Under: Brands and Mobile, Conversational AI, holiday mobile marketing, Mobile, mobile marketing, QR TAgs, sms, WAP Chat Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mobile, QR, Conversational Marketing – Stars are Aligning

October 26, 2010 By

Today was one of those days when the news and perspectives offered in mobile marketing blogs all lined up to participate in telling a wonderful story.

Each of these separately are terrific, combined, is where a bigger picture emerges.  For contentAI studios, this is the kind of affirmation that when we decided, a year ago, to focus on mobile, it was the right decision.

From the NY Times, referencing how QR Codes lead to interactive experiences:

“this is the holy grail of advertising — interactive media in public places,”

NY Times http://nyti.ms/aiXUXb

Related, in what is our favorite QR/content and “location aware” campaign we’ve seen:

From TDA_Boulder Agency for 1st Bank: http://bit.ly/cLStOF

Why is it brilliant?  I read the sub-text here as “we understand you.”   The ad “understands” that the User is sitting around waiting and they offer them some fun diversion.

Finally, kudos to the Microsoft Tag team for their claim to the current thrown of QR/2D world and to bringing wider adoption of scan-to-mobile experiences to the Masses.

Their press release is here:  http://goo.gl/Z03i

How does this all point to virtual characters, agents and interactive stories in the Wilds of Mobile?

Give us a call or drop us a line to discuss how we can create engaging and valuable experiences.

Filed Under: AI conversation, AI conversational network, Brands and Mobile, Conversational AI, holiday mobile marketing, Mobile, mobile marketing, QR TAgs, Virtual Agents, WAP Chat Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

QR and 2D Codes — Real Numbers (Finally) — Ready for Primetime?

October 13, 2010 By

It was great to see some real campaign numbers released on a QR or 2D campaign today.  The more we see like this, the more it’s clear that QR and 2D in the U.S. is about to shift from “early adopter” to “mainstream.”

http://www.gomonews.com/mobile-barcodes-allure-results-from-microsoft-tag-725k-give-away/

That can be combined with Scanbuy’s “general” numbers that were released last week here:

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://blog.scanlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/ScanLife-Mobile-Barcode-Trend-Report_9.10.pdf

It’s still about “what does the QR/2D lead to?”  Is it valuable and intuitive for the User’s mobile experience?

But, as a legitimate new mobile marketing and content distribution channel?

It’s arrived.


Filed Under: AI conversation, Brands and Mobile, Conversational AI, holiday mobile marketing, Mobile, mobile marketing, QR TAgs, Virtual Agents, WAP Chat Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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