Toluu

Brad Bostic's Mobile Search and Technology Blog

Mobile phones are becoming much more than social devices. People today often turn to their phones to find information and to be entertained. This blog tracks mobile innovation. (It's also where I carry on about ChaCha.)

The Future of Directory Assistance Discussed at PelorusSeptember 30

Yesterday I gave the keynote presentation at the Pelorus directory information services conference in Savannah, GA. This conference is focused on wire line and mobile directory assistance in the US but since my blog primarily focuses on mobile I am writing this from a mobile industry perspective (although anywhere you see "mobile" you could substitute with "telco" or other term that encapsulates both mobile and wire line and likely get an accurate read).

The US paid directory assistance market is being eroded by alternative information services - ranging from 800-Free411 to various mobile search options. Interestingly, although the average price per call for paid 411 is more than $1.70, most people who are DA users don't have any idea how much they are paying. Also, the demographic of those who use paid 411 skews older and the pool of people who continue turning to this service is diminishing. Those that use paid 411 do so on average less than once per month but at $1.70+ a pop the US spend still amounts to more than $5 billion (and shrinking).

So the big questions the attendees at Pelorus (largely executives from the large carriers - AT&T, Verizon, etc... - along with a multitude of vendors) are trying to answer are 1) how can I get more call volume on my paid 411 service and 2) what can I do to position well for the future and capture a new base users with an accompanying revenue stream?

Android vs. iPhone = Will open or controlled win?September 26

Android, which was recently launched on a T-Mobile handset, is positioned as a completely open environment for developers who want to build mobile apps. The Android approach is positioned to follow the open source software movement and the advent of communities of developers that help increase the value of the system at a rate that can't be matched by a company operating in a traditional closed environment. Salesforce.com's AppXchange is a great example of a company that has built a vibrant community of developers who are committed to building cool new apps that ultimately make Salesforce.com much more useful to customers.

Conversely, Apple is following its traditional proprietary path in the name of creating the best and easiest user experience. Today, the iPhone clearly has the most traction - both in terms of actual mobile phones in the marketplace and the activity in their app marketplace. However, at least a handful of developers are shifting to Android as their apps have been rejected by Apple.

The question will be how popular Android-based phones will be with consumers compared to their hip iPhone rival. I definitely expect the Android - iPhone battle to be every bit as interesting as the early days of Microsoft - Apple war. It will take time to determine whi

Do Yahoogle and Android Set the Stage for Anti-Competitive Practices?September 22

Monopoly. When you read that word, what businesses come to mind? I am no mind-reader, but I suspect that if you are tuned into technology, Microsoft is the first name that popped into your head.

That may be changing soon. Google has some major initiatives - namely the debut of Android and the launch of its mega-ad deal with Yahoo - that have propelled it onto center-stage with the Justice Department.

Through the ad deal with Yahoo (known in some circles as "Yahoogle") Google will control 80% of the paid search advertising market. Wow! This would seem to make it awfully tough for competitive players to enter the market and for advertisers be assured a fair price on the ads they place.

Google asserts that the auction-style advertising process eliminates any concern over undue pricing control or manipulation. Others argue that Google sets the minimum bid price and the "black box" approach to serving their ads gives Google 100% control over what runs and when it runs - so their favorite advertisers would get top billing while others may be downgraded simply at Google's whim for any reason whatsoever.

On the Android front, Google is rolling out the first phone using the operating system with T-Mobile on the 23rd. The monopoly argument on

CNN Story - People vs. ComputersSeptember 18

Today, Jacque Wilson posted an article titled "Who gives better answers, people or computers? Ask ChaCha". Thanks for the coverage, Jacque! It is a nice piece and I wanted to comment on a few things in the article...

The title of the article, although catchy, does not correctly characterize what ChaCha does exactly (nor should it necessarily...). What do I mean? I mean we are actually allowing ChaCha's users to get the best possible computer intelligence by leveraging human intelligence. Our software actually learns from our more than 35,000 Guides which allows for a smarter and better experience. So with ChaCha you aren't choosing between humans OR computers - you are getting human intelligence AND computer intelligence perfectly coordinated to provide the answer you need, when you need it, without requiring you to jump through any hoops. With that said, a huge component of the ChaCha magic that keeps our average user coming back about one time every single day comes from our amazing base of knowledgeable Guides.

The interview for this article occurred more than a month ago - an eternity in ChaCha time - so some of the numbers Jacque cites are a bit dated. The release I posted yesterday conveys the momentum we have at ChaC

Nielsen Mobile Says ChaCha is the Fastest Growing in Mobile SearchSeptember 17

ChaCha issued a press release today announcing that we won the top product innovation award from Frost & Sullivan and that we are the fastest growing mobile search company - growing faster than Google or Yahoo! - according to Nielsen Mobile.

Here is the release -

Media Contact:

Lisa Kennedy

(415) 618-8726

lkennedy@citigatecunningham.com

Award-Winning ChaCha is Fastest Growing

Mobile Search Service

The human-powered mobile answers service quickly captured

seven percent of the mobile text search market