The Top 10 Things to Know in 2006 in Interactive Advertising

Overview
Since last year's list proved to be quite the hit (who'da thunk we'd hit 9 for 10?), I decided to put together another list of the things you'll need to know in this upcoming year.

Mind you, there's every chance you won't be personally involved in a project using any of the items on the list below, but you sure will hear about them. So read on, and become familiar with the terms you're going to hear a whole lot of over the next 10 months.

Without further ado, the top 10 things you’ll need to know in 2006:

It looks like a box, but it feels like a screaming, self-aware sneaker!

10. RFID
Radio Frequency Identification should probably be listed not as the tenth, but the first thing you'll need to know this year. The thing is, almost everybody with a "C" in their three-letter title is fighting against it, and it's a losing battle. That someone can put a sticker on a product, and treat it like a person, is mind-blowing. RFID applies to toilet brushes, cell phones, video games, cars, airplanes, people, cows, and SO MUCH MORE! Every day it becomes cheaper to label something at the end of the production line, and follow it until it's put in the trash by the consumer.

9. Mixcast / iMix
Remember the days of the "mix tape," when folks would send tapes of music to their friends and loved ones to customize music experience? Well, they're back, only this time, they're text files. That's right, Mixcasts are lists of songs that friends can send to each other as content. No worries about copyright infringements. No worries about theft. I simply send you a list of 15 songs, with title, artist, and recording information, and you can find them and make your own CD/playlist. Think of it as a way of being a disc jockey, only by telling others what to play.

8. BD-R (Blu-Ray)
These are compact discs that use compression and burn technologies that allow for much greater storage capability. Current Bluray specs estimate about 27 gigabytes per disc. In addition to higher levels of storage, bluray discs offer more scratch resistance, and the potential to achieve 100-200 GB storage levels in the very near future. This means that folks won't be sweating HD television, and will be looking forward to burning entire hard drives on one simple laser disc again.

News-specific sites regulate our news reading.

7. News Blogs
We've seen the rise of blogs, and we've seen the rise of online news sites being the first point of contact for people. This year is all about people looking to news blogging sites for first-hand information on stuff. Whether it is Major League Baseball trade rumors and information, or people feeding weather information from home, news blogs will find a real home this year.

6. KevPix
We all love family web sites. We all love photographs. We all love web sites featuring photographs of events, family, and more. But we don't have a simple online way to replicate the slideshow of previous years. Enter KevPix, the practice of displaying images online while timed to a multimedia slideshow. The technology isn't anything new, but the practice will explode, what with most people having a digital camera, and no simple way to share it outside of holding up a phone to a friend's face. The concept is named after Kevin Glennon, the esteemed namesake of this web site.

5. Mobile Short Codes (and the "Great Land Grab")
Though short codes are nothing new, they're a finite sum, and going. A short code is that five-digit number (at least in the US) you dial into your mobile phone for special promotions. These numbers are established for specific campaigns, but can be extended if a campaign series is expected. Basically, Pepsi could buy PEPSI (73774) and Coke could buy 4COKE (42653). The problem is that short codes, like domain names, will continue to be gobbled up by entrepreneurs. This year, every advertising agency is going to be dealing with mobile phones, and should be thinking strategically about their clients' short codes long before they find they're already gone.

One little device, but SO much music!

4. iPod DJ-ing
2006 will continue to be owned by bars and taverns that play their music from an iPod. When you walk into an Irish Pub in Chicago, you'll hear music that will NO DOUBT be coming from an iPod. What's growing in popularity is that pubs and bars offer patrons the chance to "DJ" for 15 minutes or so, meaning they bring up their own iPods, plug in, and play their own tunes for the establishment. If you have never seen this, you either live in the sticks, or clearly don't get out to places that rightfully call themselves "bars" or "pubs."

3. Digital Radio
My underdog pick for growing in popularity this year, digital radio is going to happen at some point. Maybe in June, or maybe in 2008, but it's going to happen. Basically, digital radio is when regular radio stations have multiple channels per station. For example, "regular" rock on FM 101.1, "digital" rock on FM 101.1b, "special offers" on FM 101.1c, and "event listings" on FM 101.1d. It's still rather flexible what stations will do, but there are MANY resources out there that can get you up to speed, and fast. Digital radio will offer limited, but relevant, ways for broadcasters to interact and take purchase orders from listeners.

2. WiMAX
Take wireless Internet connectivity, and spread it across a radius of many miles, and you have WiMAX. We've already got WiFi connections in coffee shops and sections of your office, but WiMAX is when you have Internet connectivity, say, in the five miles surrounding Boston. This is an important term to know because it's already reality, and will be launching in metro region after region seemingly every day this year.

1. Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC)
FMC is the seamless transition from traditional wired (landline) providers to wireless (cellular/mobile) providers (and possibibly from wireless to wireless carriers). At its most basic, FMC would allow the user to take a call in her office, and walk out the door to the car without losing service. Expansions upon the idea would include one's ability to go from network to network, and tower to tower, without losing a connection. Because FMC will dramatically influence the way business is done, it will have not trickle down, but deluge-down ramifications on everybody in the B2B marketplace. For example, losing contact wouldn't be an issue for streaming video, teleconferences, and more.

In Conclusion
If you learned anything by this, it's that you need to call Kevin Glennon. Yes, he's a flirt and yes he loves new discussions, but if you want to talk about something avant garde and over the top, you need to speak with him now, and in your words. Call him.

(617) 413-1124.

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