But with stiff competition from the other big companies who've entered the cloud music locker space lately, can Best Buy offer something that will make customers use its service? Based on what's available today, the answer is "probably not."

The Music Cloud software will scan your iTunes folder (and yes, that's where your music has to reside for the app to work) and then upload files to the cloud. That's a different process - and pretty cumbersome one at that - than the matching service that Apple's soon-to-be released iCloud will provide. As with Apple's new iCloud service, however, you will be able to store some music files locally, so that you don't have to pay a data penalty for music you want to access frequently.

There are two pricing tiers for the Best Buy service: free and premium. The latter will cost you $3.99 per month. The latter, which the website calls "web+limited only" won't let you stream music to mobile devices. But even more frustrating (and inexplicable, really): with the free service you can only listen to 30 seconds of the songs you have uploaded.

There aren't a lot of other details about the service. No word on storage caps, for example.

Perhaps when this officially launches, Best Buy will have more information and a more polished app. As it stands right now, particularly with the other major players out there also building online music lockers, Best Buy's cloud service just won't fly.

How Tecca Works

To use the newly available smartphone applications, you just aim the phone's camera at a barcode and scan, or you can search or browse through product selections instead. Once you have a particular product pulled up, you can delve further into detailed descriptions, read reviews and view user ratings. You can also access a slide show of product photos, find out what's included in the box, read product specs, add items to a wishlist or even buy directly from within the app itself.

But perhaps the app's most important feature is price comparisons. According to the app's description in iTunes, Tecca will compare prices between "top-rated online retailers." Obviously, one of the retailers consistently listed throughout the app is Best Buy. On some occasions, for example, within the laptops section, we found that Best Buy was the only retailer listed, or was only one of two. It's hard to say if that's just because the app's pricing database is still in the process of being built or if the app is designed to promote Best Buy and its exclusive deals more than its competition.

That said, assuming you are shopping at Best Buy, as many do when looking for electronics, the app would definitely come in handy, especially since blue-shirted staff members are almost always busy when you need them, but are never busy when you just want to quietly browse alone. Tecca would at least let you get some of your basic questions answered without a salesperson's help as you're struggling with your shopping decisions.

The app itself is well-designed - navigation is simple and straightforward, fonts are large and easy-to-read and there are useful filters and sorting mechanisms tucked away that let you quickly and easily refine your results.

Tecca's Competition

Tecca goes up against a number of other barcode-scanning and price comparison engines, including Microsoft's Bing app, Amazon.com's mobile app, RedLaser and ShopSavvy to name a few, the latter which helps you compare prices both online and locally. But Tecca's limited focus, design, ease of use and feature set make it worth the download for serious shoppers. It may not always find you the best deal, but for general fact-finding purposes, it does quite well.

Now Best Buy has launched a new ad campaign designed by shock-dork-marketers Crispin, Porter + Bogusky (Subservient Chicken) called "Phone Shame Eliminator." The campaign tells people too poor or otherwise disinclined to have smart phones that they are sexually unattractive, going nowhere at work and not very bright. Some of the ads are also funny, even if they are classist, tasteless, obnoxious and cruel. They are not nearly as funny as the cartoon the Best Buy employee got fired for making.

Mobile phones have long been status-symbols, in addition to being a force for empowerment of poor people around the world. Why use shame to try to push people to buy your phones? It's just the kind of pseudo-edgy condescending humor that box store marketing insiders are likely to approve. If these people could make six figures giving nerds wedgies, they likely would. But now it's the cool kids with highly functional mobile devices! (And the pricey, multi-year contracts.)

Anyway, the videos in this campaign are much funnier than the little songs that visitors are encouraged to email to their mobile-Neanderthal friends. Compare the two videos below and ask yourself which example of cruel mocking humor deserves a multi-million dollar contract and which deserves a firing from a sales job? (Note that the cartoon one has dirty words in it and will burn the ears of children.)

Then go visit the Best Buy microsite and email a link to a single mom you know, stuck in a dead end job, about how dumb her phone is. Good times! Go BestBuy!

This is not just an academic exercise for Best Buy. As we will see, semantic technology has already led to increased traffic and better service to its customers. We spoke to Jay Myers, Lead Web Development Engineer at BestBuy.com, to find out how.

1. It's All Semantics: Open Data, Linked Data & The Semantic Web
2. The State of Linked Data in 2010
3. Top 10 Semantic Web Products of 2009
4. ReadWriteWeb Interview With Tim Berners-Lee
5. Semantic Web Patterns: A Guide to Semantic Technologies

Myers told us that the primary goal of using semantic technologies was to increase the visibility of its products and services. And with data such as store name, address, store hours and GEO data being marked up using RDFa, search engines are now able to identify each of those data components more easily and put them into context.

A quick refresher on the terminology: just as the lingua franca of the Web is HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), RDF (Resource Description Framework) is commonly thought of as the primary language of the Semantic Web. RDFa is a kind of 'lite' version of RDF, which adds metadata to HTML (or XHTML) webpages.

The process of adding RDFa to Best Buy's webpages began two years ago, when the company began to look for ways to get more visibility to its stores on the Web. "At that time," said Myers, "it was difficult for users to find basic store information like store location and hours."

To solve this dilemma, Best Buy gave each store its own blog.

Best Buy employees entered information into the blogs every day, using online forms that output RDFa. Myers told us that the use of RDFa makes "human input from our store employees more visible on the Web."

Best Buy is using Good Relations, a Semantic Web vocabulary for e-commerce that describes product, price, and company data.

Myers remarked that "there isn't a noticeable difference" to the users of Best Buy's website, however all of the RDFa data is very visible to humans via search engine results and its store locator tool. The RDFa data is "also great for machines," said Myers, which has resulted in "a definite up tick in the amount of search traffic to these pages." At last week's SemTech conference, Myers said that it had resulted in a 30% increase in search traffic. He noted that Best Buy hadn't expected to see an SEO benefit, but it's been a boon to them since the company is "very reliant on search engines" for product discovery and store locations.

With Jay Myers at the development wheel, Best Buy's web presence will continue to be enhanced by the Semantic Web. RDFa can ultimately create rich relationships between products, which will in turn "create a deeper visibility to additional products" when a customer is shopping.

That seems like a distinct competitive advantage for Best Buy.

The main takeaway from the conversation was the rapid adoption of RDFa, by big commercial companies such as Facebook and Best Buy. It's come as a "very pleasant surprise" to Ivan Herman.

RDFa is a simpler version of the primary language of the Semantic Web: RDF (Resource Description Framework). RDF is a complex and production-heavy language, so it has struggled to gain adoption over the past decade. The main purpose of RDFa is to add metadata to existing HTML or XHTML webpages, so it is easier to deploy than RDF.

I opened by saying that at last year's SemTech event, adoption of Open Data was the big theme. This year, adoption of RDFa seemed to attract the most chatter in the hallways.

Ivan Herman agreed, saying that it was a "very pleasant surprise [that] there is a buzz around RDFa." Herman remarked that "RDFa is suddenly picking up and it may become the single biggest source of RDF data, aside from relational databases." He added that RDFa is "easy to add and when you see Facebook or others adding RDFa data it's really exciting."

How Facebook is Using RDFa

Indeed, Facebook's adoption of RDFa is exciting. However it should be noted that Facebook is not using pure RDFa; and this is where a new standard called RIF comes in.

At SemTech, W3C announced RIF: Rule Interchange Format. According to Ivan Herman, it is "two standards in one." Firstly, it's a format for exchanging rules between one rules system and another. For example a set of email spam rules that can be exported for another person to use. Secondly, RIF defines a rule language for semantic web data - similar to what can be done with ontologies. Herman said that it enables "simpler things than major ontologies."

Simplicity is a key attribute in the adoption of RDFa. It's also something that Facebook emphasizes (which we will explore more in a follow-up post based on interviews with Facebook people).

According to Sandro Hawke from W3C, Facebook's Open Graph platform uses RDFa "in an abbreviated, not really good modeling way." He said it's because "they [Facebook] need to make it simple enough that everyone can use it." He thinks though that Facebook made the right choice. Hawke explained that RIF "is a way to bridge from that [Open Graph markup] to the more standard modeling that we see in the rest of the Semantic Web."

Hawke sees Facebook's Open Graph as "the real killer app for RIF right now."

Others Adopting RDFa

Another example of RDFa adoption is Best Buy adding RDFa to their entire product catalog, which has resulted in benefits in SEO and cost savings. We will write more about this in a follow-up post.

UK retailer Tesco is doing the same as Best Buy. Drupal 7 is also adding significant support for RDFa. It's the next version of Drupal, a publishing system used by websites like the White House and World Heath Organization. So if you're the manager of a site that runs on Drupal 7, you won't have to do anything - data will automatically be in RDFa format. Other adopters of RDFa include the Library of Congress and eGovernment.

W3C started a new RDFa working group at the end of January, to make a 1.1 version of RDFa. The main goal is to simplify the job of authoring RDFa within HTML. Also, an API for RDFa will be defined.

So overall, the W3C is very pleased with RDFa adoption - although Herman added with smile that "we are never pleased enough."

Image credit: Semantic Web Rubik's Cube, dullhunk

Mobile phone backup services are par for the course these days. Several vendors offer their own version: for example, Apple has MobileMe, Microsoft has My Phone and Nokia has Ovi. Despite this fact, a lot of users aren't taking advantage of these solutions for one of two reasons: either their phone isn't supported or they simply don't want to pay for the service. Case in point, Apple's MobileMe starts at a hefty $99 per year. After already blowing hundreds on the handset alone, that extra fee often proves to be too much for some users.

That's why Best Buy mIQ has appeal. Although the service maxes out at 1 GB of storage, it's enough for the average mobile phone user to backup everything on their phone with room to spare (well, except for iPhone users, but they're not supported at this time. Guess they have to pony up the $99 after all). 

In addition to providing online storage, the new service also provides a web site where users can access their online account, even reading and responding to incoming SMS messages from their PC. From the website, mIQ users can share photos and videos to popular social networks, too, including Facebook, Flickr, FriendFeed and Twitter. And all changes made from the web instantly sync back to the mobile phone and vice versa.

Officially launching on Monday October 12th, mIQ will be pre-installed on any supported phone sold at Best Buy. In addition, other users, even those who bought their phone elsewhere, can sign up to use the service too from miqlive.com. Currently the system, built by Seattle-based Dashwire, supports smartphones running BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 operating systems like the BlackBerry 9700, Bold, Tour, Nokia E71 and N97, HTC Pro 2, Samsung Omnia II and T-Mobile Dash 3G.

But you don't have to wait until Monday to sign up. The site is accepting registrations as of now.

What's the Catch? Why is mIQ Free?

If you're wondering why Best Buy would offer a valuable backup service like this for free when so many others force you to pay, it's because the company is busy rebranding themselves as more than just a place to buy phones and accessories. They want to be an end-to-end mobile solutions provider - a place where you can shop for phones from multiple carriers, get advice, and receive support for your handset throughout the life of the phone.

To accomplish this goal, the company has been busy ramping up new offerings like a dedicated Best Buy Mobile site, a revamped Facebook page with new applications, and of course, a partnership with Google for exclusive Best Buy apps, including some designed just for Android phones. ]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/best_buy_announces_mobileme_competitor_miq.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/best_buy_announces_mobileme_competitor_miq.php Mobile Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:16:36 -0800 Sarah Perez Yesterday major electronics retailer Best Buy and internet powerhouse Google announced a partnership designed to help the retailer compete in the mobile sales arena. In addition to other Best Buy strategies for ramping up their mobile division, one key aspect to their multiphase plan involves collaborating with Google on a series of exclusive mobile applications, the first one being a shopping app that helps customers find the item they're looking for within their nearest Best Buy store.

According to Best Buy chief marketing officer Barry Judge, the new applications, which also include several Facebook apps that will appear on the company's branded page, take advantage of the company's "Remix API," (application programming interface). This allows third-party developers to access Best Buy's inventory data, pricing, and product images for use in their web or mobile applications.

Next month, the first of several Google-created Best Buy applications will launch. The new app will allow consumers to do product searches and then will provide them with the location and directions to their nearest Best Buy store. It will even direct the user to the exact location of the product within the store itself. Phones sold in Best Buy will include the app pre-loaded onto the handsets prior to purchase. Also coming are applications designed specifically for Android, Google's mobile operating system, but there's no word yet as to what those apps will be. Best Buy currently carries two models of Android phones, the G1 and the myTouch 3G.

Other Plans: Websites, Gadget Deals, and Facebook Apps

In addition, the company is launching a dedicated website for Best Buy Mobile in October, is lining up exclusive deals to sell highly anticipated gadgets like Nokia's first netbook, the Booklet 3G, and is launching a series of Facebook applications.

The revamped Facebook page, which the company said will attract anywhere from 3 to 4 million fans, will offer several apps designed to help holiday shoppers find gifts. One, the "Hint Hacker," allows visitors to send gift hints to their family and friends about what products they're interested in. Another, called the "Holiday Morning Simulator," is a goofy Christmas card where Best Buy Blue Shirt employees sing holiday tunes, also addresses gift-purchasing questions. A third is a Facebook Secret Santa app. These, too, will be revealed in the coming weeks.

At 5pm PST the new Napster will launch with a $5 monthly subscription plan (down from the old $15 plan) and what you get for that price looks quite good. 5 MP3 downloads per month (screenshot shows free credits for an initial 35 MP3s too), free on-demand streaming of more than 7 million songs and additional download purchases for between 69 cents and $1.29. There's a screenshot of the new interface below and our thoughts on where this new version still falls short.

New Interface

That interface looks like what iTunes would have looked like if it was a native Windows app.

The company says it is still working on making mobile a more compelling experience, something we expected to be a big part of the plan when the acquisition happened.

So how does this compare to other music solutions? Here at RWW we use Pandora, Lala and Amazon MP3. Obviously playing particular songs on demand is something Pandora doesn't do, but Pandora nails discovery and the iPhone. It's also free and very easy to use. Lala has a much nicer interface than Napster, it's less expensive but it's also a little confusing. Lala does, however, allow you to listen to new albums all the way through one time for free. Amazon MP3 is just a store, but works well when used in conjunction with Pandora or Lala.

This new Napster seems like a compelling offer but remains an incremental change from everything else the industry offers. Give me a $5 monthly subscription that combines Napster's streaming options with an entire album's worth of monthly MP3 files (5 songs is half an album), the full album previews of Lala, the recommendation and iPhone awesomeness of Pandora and the artist profile quality of Last.fm - and then we're really talking. Though for now, the new Napster seems like a pretty good deal.

When movies came to the online world, I always had hopes of rekindling that magic virtually, but more often than not, I wound up checking out the wrong video. Now, a new service proposes to change that, by bringing the video clerks back into the mix. Meet Clerk Dogs.

Users enter their favorite movie titles and receive a selection of recommended movies. But if users want to get more specific, they can opt to use the "mash it" feature. Mash it allows the user to work with a sliding scale of movie attributes like violence, character depth, suspense, offbeat, and action.

This allows users to select movies that are similar to original selection, but not exactly the same. Maybe they're looking for something with less violence, more character development, and a little bit offbeat. Clerk Dogs starts providing recommendations.

Where do the clerks come in? According to Clerk Dogs, "former clerks, who understand why customers like movies, have analyzed all the characteristics of movies to create a database that is much richer and deeper than the collaborative filtering engines." The underlying data for Clerk Dogs is provided by the Muze database.

Does Clerk Dogs have a chance? It might. The founder knows a thing or two about movies and movie database services. Clerk Dogs is the brainchild of serial entrepreneur Stuart Skorman, who also founded Reel.com, a movie site from the dotcom era - which always seemed to be running neck and neck with IMDB - that was acquired by Hollywood Entertainment in the late 90s.

Does it work? It has potential. I spent a few minutes testing the system and came away with some incredibly interesting recommendations. Some that, like the tapes the video clerks used to plop in front of me, I'd be willing to try.

Of course, if I want to see them, I'll have to go to Netflix or some other service to rent them. There's no rental service at Clerk Dogs. That's a bit of an extra step. But if it's a step that means I'll get a movie that I actually like, I'd be willing to do that.

Clerk Dogs is currently in beta. As such, its selections are constrained to crime and suspense genres, with other genres being added in the coming months. To test drive the selection process for yourself, visit Clerk Dogs and start testing it against some of your favorite movies.