I'm three sips committed to a double shot of espresso at a hip, tech-savvy cafe in San Francisco's Mission district, when a catchy tune comes up on the stereo system. I access the cafe's neighbor-net, which identifies the song from the playlist, referring me to Amazon or iTunes for a purchase.
Everyone wins, as the affiliate program fee covers the cafe's wireless access, providing incentive for high music quality to boot. Recognizing the song, a girl a few tables over posts a message to the cafe Wiki, listing her own Amazon cross-sells and also taking advantage of a referral bonus while plugging a similar band playing a local venue later that week.
Let's extend this idea to the "neighborprise". If I'm taking the sun on the beach at nearby pet-friendly Dolores Park, I might want to advertise my dog-walking service, encouraging people to stop by ("look for the guy with the yellow balloon") and talk to me in person to determine my level of trustworthiness. On a hot day, the corner cafe could post a bulletin declaring a lemonade happy hour to quench our thirsts. Anyone want to toss around a Frisbee?
Our just-in-time neighborhood Wiki is a transient workspace,
discoverable only within a fixed proximity. Information exchange is highly
targeted, and thus relevant to the users' physical context. One might access resources like (don't click on this) www.neighborhoodwiki
- a high level url to access the web site
- a GPS coordinate or other location key (The Corner Cafe) to provide spatial context
- an optional key to discourage outside access if desired (perhaps a randomly generated number exposed on the wall)
Localized mobile markets emerge as individuals monetize their insight into their immediate surroundings. The content pusher is the new day trader.
Don't come around here no more?
Posted by: Tom Petty | April 06, 2006 at 01:02 AM