From: Adrian Tymes (wingcat@pacbell.net)
Date: Wed Jun 04 2003 - 15:56:24 MDT
--- Rafal Smigrodzki <rafal@smigrodzki.org> wrote:
> Adrian wrote:
> > In short: find a way to beat the massive downside
> of
> > the network effect, or your attempt to realize
> this
> > idea will fizzle, just like everyone else's
> > attempts.(Unfortunately, said downside is so
> massive
> > that you
> > might have trouble giving these things away - to
> > merchants, medics, and customers - even ignoring
> > concerns about how to make a profit without
> selling
> > any devices.)
>
> ### How about piggybacking on an existing network?
Certainly a valid way around this in and of itself,
but...
> Set up accounts and
> profiles with your cell phone provider, with
> continuous matching of profiles
> based on their spatial proximity - as soon as you
> get within range of a
> specified type of person or location tagged by the
> system, your cell phone
> rings with an automatically generated message (or
> gets an email).
...this requires cell phones to be upgraded to know
your location even when you are not making a call.
Major privacy implications, and corresponding
resistance from customers - especially given the
cell phone companies' public intentions to use such
services for spam. (Say, give you a ring if you get
within 100 feet of a pizza parlor advertising with the
network. Perhaps not too bad if you like pizza, but
few people are in the mood for pizza 24*7, and what if
you're waiting for a date outside said parlor but said
date is likely to get a busy signal because the cell
phone detects you're near but not yet inside and keeps
reminding you it's nearby? Plus, given the history of
such spam, customers have every reason to suspect it
won't be limited to just those who indicate interest,
but instead be applied to everyone the cell phone
companies can get a signal to.)
OTOH, if the cell phone companies would instead
promote the kind of use suggested here - dating,
merchants, medics, et cetera - they could possibly
slip in the "real" (by their perceptions, possibly
true, possibly false) revenue generator of advertising
behind it.
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