Tell Yahoo! OneSearch what to look for... literally

Just when you thought Google had all but Microsoft-ed and Apple-ed the search market an old dog comes back with a new digital bone. Yahoo! has officially launched their innovative OneSearch service allowing for mobile internet (that’s internet on the mobile as opposed to the dongles) users to verbally input search criteria for Yahoo! to seek out for you. Excellent stuff! I saw a demo of it in action (after an annoying load of hunting down the app link that’s not yet made... take note Yahoo! You have a good product here, don’t let it be ignored by lack of ease to obtain it!), and it’s impressive to say the least!

The potential for Yahoo! Search to become the mobile users personal “default” search engine through this is tremendous, and with it the potential to claw back lost usage from Google. Its apparent to me that four of the most widely known and used brands in modern media technology seems to be focussing in much clearer directions. Google are mapping the next universe faster than J.J. Abrams can produce good prequels, Microsoft have been slaving at Windows 7 (awesome by the way... well done) and its mobile OS, while Apple continue to cleverly harness the iPod brand revolution to wrestle Windows market share, and finally Yahoo! have hit back with OneSearch.

My interest and belief in apps, gadgets and widgets as the future of digital media consumption, advertising and brand interaction won’t be anything new to those of you who have done me the honour of regularly reading my posts. If Yahoo! have indeed spotted that the iPhone has created a tidal wave of mobile phone users who are using applications to integrate their lives via their phone, and that there is a huge open plain for them to early settle into with their services, then I think Microsoft may have to re-evaluate its purchasing decisions...

Now perhaps I’m jumping the gun and this is a one hit wonder, but I think this is a fantastic progression for mobile web. WAP was rubbish, and it flopped with no surprises from me. Did someone REALLY think we would pay for JUST B/W web, if you can even call it that!? About as clever as the bendy bus in London if you ask me... however current mobile web services are excellent. I often spend many a bored moment waiting for a bus or friend on my mobile web, in fact I noticed that I tend to read online news near enough exclusively on my mobile these days. Slap a clever Cola logo on my screen and watch me think of ‘The real thing’ while swiping my oyster. But seriously, this application of voice recognition technology to internet search on a mobile phone is a logical yet unexplored innovation up until now and for this I think Yahoo! deserves recognition.

I think this is one of the best examples of a company previously at the top and being overtaken by a newcomer due to lack of foresight into the developing technology market and consumer needs reassessing itself, its services and getting back into the game with a bold new innovation – kudos to you Yahoo! I use Google on my PC and mobile but OneSearch may sway me over for my mobile searching... maybe. Can you see this being integrated into future cars that have live internet connectivity? I know I would prefer this to the click wheel solutions currently doing the round of car cockpits – perhaps I shall hold off upgrading my car for now then.

Twitterfone UK

Since its launch in the US in 2006, Twitter quickly gained media attention and Twitter-ers in and around America. Twitter is a quasi micro-blogging social networking tool for those that have been watching dancing bananas. It allows Twitter-ers to Twit (update) their feed as and when they wanted - sound like a status update on a recently face lifted book anyone?

At first I was sceptical; I thought ‘why would I Twitter when I was updating my Facebook status with titbits of my life and thoughts already?’ In the US Twitter allowed users to Twitter via mobiles, allowing for short and punchy updates to be made conveniently without having to go online and login anywhere, however this functionality was not yet enabled in the UK. Last night Twitter launched a partnership service with Vodafone UK allowing Vodafone users to send free SMS updates to their Twitter feeds. Mobile Twitter had arrived in the Kingdom of the United.

At the moment I think Twitter is at risk of becoming (if not already) the ultimate mass opt-in spam marketing service. On my Twitter, I seldom receive the personalised updates that I was expecting. The ratio of personal Twits compared to marketing Twits on my feed is about 1:100 – not an exaggeration nor inspirational as a user. I am sure many a marketer is in the mind frame that if they harness Twitter for their brand, they are instantly riding the peak of an innovation wave in marketing communication, however I beg to suggest otherwise. Direct emails are largely looked at as Spam, and I believe that unless marketers tailor their Twitter marketing to become effective and likeable updates, they will drown in a riptide of hostility. Perhaps the introduction of media features to Twitter will help them out? I shall observe will much interest as always. Tools such as Twilert are very interesting; a progressive Twitter marketing tool that I believe will help everyone toward a balance between the social and marketing aspects of Twitter for marketers and end-users alike.

On a personal note, I updated my Twitter for the first time via mobile yesterday evening as soon as I heard about the new service. Let’s see if I become a regular mobile Twitter-er. Are you going to twitter via mobile SMS?