“Mashups,” Web2.0 lingo for “remix,” have give come to define tech creativity and the exponential possibilities afforded by open APIs and too much free time. It’s a loose term, and can mean anything from Twittervision to We Feel Fine, from Girl Talk to Gossip Girl. What they all have in common is a recombination of some sort.
Brands are big fans of the mash-up. They can give young people “branded” content, say Gucci handbags or virtual Skittles, to use for their creative digital endeavors. Conde Nast’s Flip tried it in their Flipbooks as has Stardoll through their Monthly Gift Club and other tween avatar-based worlds.
It’s only natural that they’d make the leap to mobile, and we’re seeing more and more mashups hitting the handset. South Korea’s So-Net Entertainment recently launched a mobile-based site called “Hair Style” that allows users to virtually try on new hairstyles and then locate a salon near to create a similar haircut. While this technology is being used online–take Instyle.com’s hair makeover tool—the mobile version can be done anytime, anywhere, even in the stylist’s chair.
In the future, we’ll see more entertainment marketers using mashups on mobile. For example, advergame (or ad-supported games) could use mobile mashups to let you customize a game for free. Clip mashups, think JibJab.com’s Put Yourself in this Movie, could insert you right into a scene from The Hills, and make that your personal video ringer.
Bravo! (“Project Runway,” “Top Chef,” “Top Design” “Make Me a SuperModel,”) has been a leader in mobile thus far and is positioned best to use mobile mashups. We can just imagine ourselves—or at least our heads on model bodies—strutting down the catwalk in an original “Project Runway” creation. Taking this idea beyond entertainement to fashion and retail, what company wouldn’t want to help customers “see themselves” in that dress (and show their friends), then direct them to the nearest store?
Mobile mashups hold a lot of promise from a developer standpoint as well. Mobile services with open APIs like Google Maps, WHERE, Socialight, and Locamoda will encourage iPhone and Android apps with location and socialization layers, or digital out-of-home extensions. Recombinatory culture is fueling the future, and mobile will just take this to the next level of innovation.
