Pretty interesting is the fact that Unwired Buyer and I assume Unwired Nation uses Asterisk and developed the external IVR app and released to to us.
Thanks, Steve Dean Collins wrote: > > Thought this email might interest some asterisk developers. > > Regards, > > Dean Collins > Cognation Pty Ltd > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>+1-212-203-4357 Ph > +61-2-9016-5642 (Sydney in-dial). > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > *From:* MediaPost Publications [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > *Sent:* Tuesday, 28 August 2007 1:50 PM > *To:* Dean Collins > *Subject:* Mobile Insider: Your Content Is Calling > > <http://mediapst.adbureau.net/adclick/acc_random=082881636/SITE=EMAIL/AREA=MOBILEINSIDER/AAMSZ=BANNER/GUID=082881636/QUAL=0> > > > > Your Content Is Calling > by Steve Smith, Tuesday, August 28, 2007 > > <http://mediapst.adbureau.net/adclick/acc_random=082881636/SITE=EMAIL/AREA=MOBILEINSIDER/AAMSZ=TOWER/GUID=082881636/QUAL=0>**IT > > GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT **the voice channel is the under-utilized and > under-appreciated piece of the mobile content and marketing puzzle. I > say that it goes without saying because so many companies have been > saying precisely that for a couple of years now. > > I have covered and tried a number of schemes: radio stations > rebroadcasting via voice, mobile podcasting, and even in-venue > programming like sending the live chatter between NASCAR drivers and > their pit crews to phones. I have no idea how many consumers may have > adopted any of these models in a habitual way. I know that I tend to > drop off from using them pretty quickly. Sometimes the initiation > procedure is awkward, or I just forget the service is available. There > is also the issue of content quality (usually grainy) and the > convenience factor. You have to hold the phone to your ear in most > cases to listen passively to a program, and have little control over > fast-forwarding or jumping through an index. From a publisher and > marketer’s perspective, voice may seem like an unexplored channel, but > from a user’s perspective (well, this user) voice-over-phone is not > ideal for content consumption. > > Unwired Nation <%20http://www.unwirednation.com>is an interesting > attempt to leverage voice. First, it is an ad-supported publishing > platform. The company announced deals with RSS feed aggregator Pheedo > and others to vocalize their content, shape it into interactive calls > to an opt-in user, and wrap it in ads that can contextually target the > user. In Pheedo’s case, its standard digest e-mails of a feed will be > turned into a narrated pre-scheduled call. A decision tree in the call > lets users select from the headlines they want to drill into for more > of the story. “You do it in the form of a content-based alert, so > every story might have a contextual promotion,” says Stacey Zuniga, > Unwired’s co-founder. About half a dozen publishers are integrating > the solution now for formal launches in coming weeks. Pricing is in > the $70 CPM range. > > In the demo I tried, the opt-in call had the advantage of being brief > and interactive. Rather than having to sit back and listen to radio on > your phone (which is a special kind of torture), you can punch a key > to get the full story or a deeper blurb after reading the concise > headlines. > > The ad spots are interesting, too, because they are relatively > non-interruptive. The very brief spot lets you hit a key to get more > information via email or SMS rather than hijacking the voice content. > Brevity seems to be a key to making voice content work, because having > to sit with the phone to your ear through content you don’t really > want is much like sitting through the Gatling gun prattle of a > telemarketer before you can step in and say “not interested.” Adding > options and interactivity to the voice flow seems to undercut the tedium. > > Unwired Nation is making available to a wider range of publishers and > advertisers a platform it has been deploying on eBay for years. EBay > bidders have the option to get phone alerts on their auction to > monitor and make final bids as the auction closes. Unwired calls > bidders about three-and-a-half minutes before the bidding closes, and > key presses let them enter final bids. > > Since the end of last year, Unwired Nation has been selling contextual > ads into this space, mainly to other eBay Power Sellers who can target > categories of interest with additional sale offers. The 8- to > 10-second ads run in the beginning of the call while the bidding > information is being retrieved. Zuniga claims a click-through rate of > up to 14% on these spots. For eBay, Unwired Nation already does > between 600,000 and 1 million calls a month, he says. > > Of course the question becomes whether an opt-in voice content > platform works in the long run for a range of information. The success > of this approach at eBay may have a lot to do with the nature of the > content and the audience. For the rabid bidder, having real-time > access to the last moments of an auction is part of the eBay sport, > and getting called by your content is not an annoyance but a service > that enhances the drama. For a fantasy sports nut, getting voice > notifications of a player injury or trade may be appealing, although I > am not sure why a text message wouldn’t be better. For content that > invites high levels of involvement and passion, where we crave a sense > of closeness to a breaking event or moment, then voice content > delivery can be welcome. > > But that level of intimacy also makes voice a risky and unpredictable > channel for any kind of automated delivery. For an RSS feed? Well, I > don’t know if I want my headlines calling me. Just as consumers loathe > the idea of telemarketers accessing them in the special private zone > of a cell phone, I am not so sure I will want a daily call from my > news alerts service, even if I did opt into it. Any channel that a > consumer also uses for high-value, highly personal relationships holds > tremendous promise and danger for a publisher or marketer. In order to > get into that zone, you need to have a service that is of real value > and importance to the user. I think voice alerts are different from > SMS or email messages. It is a channel that could and should be used, > but I suspect it will require careful programming. > > After all, if I wanted to tap my foot impatiently while waiting for a > voice on the other end of the line to get to the point, well, I would > just call my mom. > > > > > > > Post your response to the public Mobile Insider blog. > <http://blogs.mediapost.com/mobile_insider/?p=110#comments> > > See what others are saying on the Mobile Insider blog. > <http://blogs.mediapost.com/mobile_insider/> > > //Contributing writer Steve Smith is a longtime new-media consultant > and columnist, and current editor of Digital Media Report for > MinOnline.com and Mobile Media Report for TelecomWeb.com Contact him > at [EMAIL PROTECTED] // > > > <http://mediapst.adbureau.net/adclick/acc_random=082881636/SITE=EMAIL/AREA=MOBILEINSIDER/AAMSZ=SPEEDBUMP/GUID=082881636/QUAL=0> > > > > > Mobile Insider for Tuesday, August 28, 2007: > http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticle&art_send_date=2007-8-28&art_type=38 > > <http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticle&art_send_date=2007-8-28&art_type=38> > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > <http://www.mediapost.com/>You are receiving this newsletter at > [EMAIL PROTECTED] as part of your membership with MediaPost. > If this issue was forwarded to you and you would like to begin > receiving a copy of your own, please visit our site - > www.mediapost.com <http://www.mediapost.com/> - and become a > complimentary member. > For advertising opportunities see our online media kit > <http://publications.mediapost.com/mediakit/>. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > If you'd rather not receive this newsletter in the future let us know > <http://www.mediapost.com/unsubscribe.cfm?n=38&i=%26%22230Q%2ASW%0A&end>. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > We welcome and appreciate forwarding of our newsletters in their > entirety or in part with proper attribution. > (c) 2007 MediaPost Communications, 1140 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, > NY 10001 > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > --Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com-- > > asterisk-biz mailing list > To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: > http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-biz > --===============132859772191192122 > > _______________________________________________ --Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com-- asterisk-biz mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-biz
