Politics
Use cameraphones to help protect the vote [Smart Mobs]
Citizen Journalism site The UpTake and the “Video the Vote” coalition are urging voters to live stream from their video-enabled phones on Election Day to report instances of voter intimidation and disenfranchisement.
Campaigns
Fashion house Chloé goes mobile [Mobile Marketer]
Luxury fashion design company Chloé has launched an iPhone application and mobile Web site catering to the tech-savvy fashionista. The app and Web site allow users to watch runway shows featuring Chloé fashions, browse the latest collections and search the Chloé Boutiques network using GPS to find the closest Chloé retailer.
Samsung Unboxing Video [Trend Central]
While there is no reliable recipe for viral success, it can’t hurt to tap in to a trend. To launch the new Omnia, Samsung created a spoof video mimicking the popular “unboxing” videos on Youtube (i.e., the striptease of gadget porn). So far, over two million people have viewed the clip on YouTube.
Youth
Younger Viewers Transforming TV Watching [TVWeek]
Nothing earth-shattering here: A new report had 39% of millennials (13-29) reporting that they DVR and watch TV outside the home at least once a week, compared with only 11% of young baby boomers. But a solid takeaway: “The more flexibility that media companies offer consumers for watching on their own terms, in their ‘personal prime time,’ the more viewing hours they will capture.”
Generation Y’s ‘Green’ Cred Takes Tumble [TheStreet via YPulse]
TheStreet gets way harsh on Gen Y, implying they just play lip service to caring about the environment. “Perhaps as these young adults mature, they’ll text and twitter less and read more, so they can be as informed as they are idealistic when it comes to being eco-conscious workers and shoppers.” Ouch.
Stats
India to have half a billion mobile subscriptions in 2010 [IntoMobile]
India’s mobile growth keeps soaring. The mobile subscriber market is expected to double in just 30 months due in large part to low tariffs, affordable handsets and an increase in competition amongst mobile service providers.
Applications
Google Earth brings virtual tourism to iPhone [CNET]
Young and restless, but too broke to jetset? Don’t worry. Google Earth will take you everywhere you want to go via your iPhone.
The Joy of JOYity: Bringing? Massive Multiplayer Trans-Reality? Games To Android Phones [TechCrunch]
JOYity uses GPS in the Android-powered G1 phone to let you play games based on your real-world location. It comes with three–YouCatch, Roads of San Francisco, City Race Munich–but you can also design your own.
Music
Mobile Music Key for Advertisers [MobileContentToday]
“Connecting with fans through cell phones and mobile campaigns can mean the difference between consumers getting lost or sticking around,” said panelists on the “Re-Mix: Dialing up a Music Model” panel at OMMA Mobile. We couldn’t agree more: It’s all about tapping youth passion points, and music is at the top of the list.
MTV Decides to Launch Its Own Music Site [GeekSugar]
MTV Music, though not revolutionary, is definitely comprehensive. The pay site is a virtual catalogue of thousands of music videos from the past to preset, with the ability to embed content in blogs and other social sites.
Emerging Technology
The possibilities of a ‘portable eye’ [Boston Sunday Globe]
New mobile phone software developed by futurist/inventor Ray Kurzweil translates high-res digital photos into text, creating a “reading machine” for the blind. Next up: a “snap and translate” setup that translates photographed text from 7 different languages into English.
Health
Texts Tackle HIV in South Africa [Textually]
Project Masilukeke in South Africa is using SMS to raise AIDS awareness. The goal is to send one million free texts daily to encourage South Africans to be tested and treated for the HIV virus.
