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 Spotted for you this week: Swiss pandas that help people connect online, branded snow tagging in London, a Madrid restaurant chain that lets customers book specific tables, and more. Our next edition is due on 11 February 2009. In the meantime, check out our daily postings on www.springwise.com, send us your tips, and please don't forget to tell your friends and colleagues about us. Much appreciated! |
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Many sports injuries do not actually require hands-on treatment by a professional; instead, patients can often self-manage their recovery with the help of some expert advice. That's the working premise behind Physiobench, a new physiotherapy practice that focuses purely on dispensing self-help guidance online. Established in 2008, UK-based Physiobench calls itself the first private practice in which physios provide personalised treatment exclusively online. After checking out the wide assortment of articles on the site addressing numerous injury types, patients seeking personalized help begin by completing a 10-minute online assessment. Once complete, that tool connects them with Physiobench's chartered physiotherapists, who together cover a range of specialties. Patients can choose which physiotherapist they'd like to treat them, and a response is guaranteed within three working days. Pricing for a personalised advice and exercise programme—including a follow-up later on—is GBP 28. There are few things consumers appreciate more than solutions that save them time, money and bother, and Physiobench promises to deliver all three. One to emulate in other specialties, or other parts of the world? (Related: Doctor 2.0 uses IM & sticks to house calls — A simpler way to make a doctor's appointment.) Website: www.physiobench.com |
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On Monday we featured Curb, a media agency that specializes in low-impact advertising with natural materials, including cutting logos into turf and building branded sand sculptures. Yesterday, Curb called to let us know that they’d added another novel medium to their offerings: snow tagging. The Curb team went out into central London—which has been unusually wintry these past few days—to deliver a quick-hit campaign for sports channel and lifestyle brand Extreme. Over 3,500 imprints were placed on parked cars, post boxes, walls and other snow-covered surfaces. The company used a laser-cut stencil to leave sharp imprints. Great detail from an entrepreneurial point of view: this wasn’t a planned campaign, at least not by Extreme. Curb realized they could do a smart burst of branding for Extreme if it would snow. So they prepared the stamps ahead of time, and called Extreme when it started snowing. The brand—clearly not constrained by slow-moving approval processes—seized the opportunity, gave an immediate go-ahead and is happy with the outcome. One for brands and agencies to learn from ;-) Website: www.mindthecurb.com |
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All restaurant tables are not created equal, as seasoned diners well know. One of the first we've seen to recognize that fact explicitly, however, is Wagaboo, which now lets consumers reserve a specific table online. Prospective visitors to Wagaboo's restaurants in Madrid and Barcelona (another is coming soon to Lisbon) simply enter into Wagaboo's online form the restaurant, date and time they're interested in, along with their smoking preferences and the number of people in their party. They can then view a seating map of the appropriate section (smoking or non) of the restaurant they've chosen. Wagaboo automatically suggests a table based on the number in the party, indicating its selection with a red dot. Patrons are free to choose another from those still available, however, with free ones indicated in green. After making their selection, consumers then confirm their reservation with their name and contact details. Whereas restaurant table assignment typically depends on a combination of availability at the moment, staff workloads and restaurant discretion—with the best tables often given to the best customers—Wagaboo's system democratizes and adds new transparency to the process. What happens when a party's reservation comes to an end isn't entirely clear, but one can't help wondering about the implications for patrons who like to linger. It's a system that won't work for every type of establishment, but in difficult economic times, it could be an extra method of attracting customers, and rising to the expectations that other industries have created—in this case, airlines, theatres and other events venues. (Related: Table snagging service.) Website: www.wagaboo.es |
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Technology makes the world move ever faster, and a British startup aims to bring that velocity to the world of financing: Wonga offers tiny, instant loans through online-only applications. The service makes loans of GBP 50 to GBP 200, all to be repaid within a month. Consumers can choose exactly how much to borrow for how long, using a simple slider tool to gain an instant understanding of how much the loan will cost them in total. Successful applicants see the money in their account less than 60 minutes after applying. To encourage quick repayment, Wonga wields an eBay-style carrot rather than the bailiff-shaped stick: good borrowers get good ratings and are rewarded with increased flexibility on subsequent applications, while Wonga presumably reduces its costs for debt reclamation. Though there's no need to point out that taking and providing easy credit is a slippery slope, small loans do offer consumers an alternative to credit card debt and bank overdrafts. And Wonga's focus on convenience and speed is something most banks could learn from. (Related: Quick loans by text message — An online pawnbroker for consumers in a pinch.) Website: www.wonga.com Spotted by: Ozgur Alaz |
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The International CES trade show is always good for a peek at consumer technologies to come, and this year's was no exception. Such innovations are rarely short on press coverage, but one we couldn't resist mentioning anyway is a new, touch-screen vending machine from Samsung. Developed in conjunction with Sapient, Samsung's uVending touch-screen technology brings a whole new level of consumer interaction to automatic vending. The technology uses animation and an interactive menu on its 46-inch display to advertise the product choices within the machine and guide users to make their selection. Demonstrated as part of a multimedia vending machine for Coca-Cola, the technology is also equipped with Wifi for automatic refill ordering and content updates, along with motion sensors and a built-in camera to document attempts at vandalism, according to PSFK. The new machines will appear soon in the US in the Simon mall chain, with a UK debut planned for sometime in 2010, PSFK reported. A short video demonstrates the technology at work. What's better than technology that sells a product? Why, technology that also features ads and an interactive experience. Those behind all the vending machines we've covered for pizza, postcards, sneakers, prescription drugs and bicycle parts (among others): this one's for you! ;-) Website: www.samsung.com Spotted by: Rogier van Wagtendonk via PSFK |
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Launched in November 2008 by two British radio presenters, Fauxshow creates personalized radio shows that put a recipient in the spotlight. Designed as an unusual gift experience, Fauxshows are most frequently produced for weddings and birthdays, although any request will be catered to. Customers pick a recipient's favourite music tracks and submit anecdotes for the presenters to read out in the show. Arrangements are then made for friends and family to call in to Fauxshow and record messages about or for the recipient. Jingles and effects are added in the final stage of recording to make the show sound as authentic as possible. Around three weeks after ordering, the show arrives on CD, ready to surprise and delight. Fauxshow is still a tiny start-up, and the presenters welcome calls from customers to discuss ideas. Pricing is GBP 200 for a 5-song, 5-message show, or GBP 250 for 8 songs and 8 messages. Other options are available on request. There's no stopping the personalization avalanche! And as Fauxshow demonstrates, you don't have to be a major player to get in on the game. (Related: Customized love songs.) Website: www.fauxshow.co.uk Spotted by: Jonathan Fletcher |
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Realising that green concerns are here to stay, British media agency Curb offers nothing but low-impact advertising. Its clean advertising service (similar to Street Advertising Services and GreenGraffiti, which we featured earlier) uses rainwater to clean logos into grubby pavements, and has been joined by a four other services that are both novel and easy on the environment. Curb creates sand sculptures of all sizes; burns patterns and logos into wood using magnifying glasses; and offers a ‘logrow’ service to cut logos as big as 30m wide into turf. Although each service is handcrafted, the agency is adamant that images are produced exactly as created digitally. Last but not least, graphics can be projected on falling sheets of water to create a memorable display. Household names have already used Curb’s services: Adidas was immortalised in grass, Volkswagen commissioned a sand sculpture and Barack Obama’s face was etched into wood. We’re happy to see that ‘cleanvertising’ has been expanded into an entire portfolio of green(er) advertising options. Curb claim to be the world’s first and only media agency to be doing this exclusively. Which indicates that there’s space for others in different regions. Start blasting, sculpting, cutting and burning! Website: www.mindthecurb.com Spotted by: Paul Tsannos |
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Pandas, bees, aliens and voodoo skeletons aren't the first things to spring to mind when you consider social networking. Unless you have a poken: a plastic creature that exchanges social networking details via RFID. After meeting and greeting in the real world, users who want to connect online can whip out their poken keyrings and 'high five' them. Details are transferred between the RFID chips, ready to be uploaded to a user's profile when the poken is plugged into a USB port. The data is transferred to a personal poken database, which isn't yet another social network. Instead, it gathers and distributes details of new-found friends to existing networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Since users might want to connect with someone without immediately sharing their entire social identity, they can switch to 'ghost mode' by clicking a button on the poken. This allows them to reveal a limited amount of personal details before making a full connection online. Each poken can store up to 64 new contacts and warns its owners when it's nearly full. Retailers sell individual pokens for around EUR 15, and Poken—a Swiss venture—encourages friends to pool together to buy a pack of 12 (from EUR 120 including shipping) directly from the company, aiming to achieve the critical mass required for the concept to be a real hit. It's a great example of online interactions fusing with the offline world, as described in the 'warm bodies' section of our sister site's briefing about OFF=ON. There's plenty of mileage in this idea, including bringing it to other audiences. Unless we're wrong of course, and professionals do want to high-five their pandas after a meeting... ;-) (Related: Connecting online and off with RFID for the masses — RFID collar tag helps dog owners meet new friends.) Website: www.doyoupoken.com Spotted by: Jochem de Swart |
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When we wrote last year about the FirstLook mapping tool for new-energy entrepreneurs, it covered only the United States. Just the other day, however, the maker of the tool announced that its wind-mapping service has expanded to cover the whole world. FirstLook now provides free access to average wind speed ranges anywhere in the world through a dynamic 5 km resolution map. Once they have zeroed in on a promising location, renewable-energy entrepreneurs can augment that initial wind assessment by purchasing a detailed report from 3TIER, the Seattle-based company behind the service. Such reports provide a more in-depth estimate of wind resources at a specific location, including average annual, monthly and hourly wind speeds and daily wind speed patterns. FirstLook Assessment Reports are currently available only for the United States, Canada and Mexico, but reports for additional regions will be made available throughout the year. Alternative energy really is the modern-day equivalent of the gold rush, as we noted in our previous story. Those who support the prospectors might just strike it rich themselves! ;-) Website: firstlook.3tier.com |
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Finding an ATM in an unfamiliar city or neighbourhood can be a real hassle. So it's no surprise that various applications have been developed for the iPhone and other mobile devices, that use built-in GPS to map the nearest cash machines. ING Wegwijzer, a new application built for the T-Mobile G1 (Google) phone, takes the concept a step further. The G1 phone has a built-in compass, which means that it can not only determine where users are, but also which direction they're facing. Which gets interesting when combined with the phone's camera, which is what the Dutch bank's new tool does. How that works? A cash-seeking user opens Wegwijzer, selects the camera mode, and holds the phone as though to take a picture. Layered over the live image of what's in front of him, is a label showing where the nearest ATM is, literally pointing to the building that houses the machine. Which, for most people, is a far more intuitive way to find an object than by looking at a map; it's the phone equivalent of asking a human and having them point to what you're looking for. Another application that uses augmented reality in a similar way is the Wikitude AR Travel Guide, which taps into location-based Wikipedia content to give travellers details on landmarks they view through their Google phone. ING Wegwijzer was launched today and is available for free through Android Market, the Google equivalent of Apple's iPhone App Store. As mobile devices become increasingly well-equipped, opportunities abound for brands and entrepreneurs that can help consumers find whatever it is they're looking for. Time to start brainstorming and hiring developers! :-) (Related: Entertainment mapping tool uses compass and GPS — Using pictures to give directions — Mapmania.) Website: wegwijzer.ing.nl P.S. ING developed Wegwijzer with Mobilizy (of Wikitude) and SPRXmobile. More/better images of the app in action can be found in Maarten Lens-Fitzgerald's Flickr set.
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Urban bike-sharing is coming to North America in the form of Bixi, the new high-tech public bike system developed for the city of Montreal. Bixi follows the standard bike sharing principles: users take a bike from a stand, ride it to where they want to go, and drop it at another stand when they're done. To make the concept even more attractive to users, bikes will be equipped with RFID tags so that users can track availability online; real-time information is beamed to the web from the system's solar-powered bike stands. Users will pay a membership fee of CDN 78 for one year, CDN 24 for one month or CDN 5 for one day. The first half hour of every trip is free, rising to CDN 12 per hour for extended periods of use. The aim is to encourage short trips, and fees compare favorably with the price of a monthly bus pass (CDN 66.25). One reason for the system's low cost is the long-lasting bikes, which were designed by Michel Dallaire and are expected to provide 75,000-100,000 km of travel. Bixi's full launch is scheduled for April 2009, when 3,000 bikes will be installed in 300 locations across the city. Taking Montreal's fierce winters into account, Bixi will operate from April to November. If it all goes according to plan, the city will end up with a financially independent yet affordable scheme that will keep its residents fit and safe and its environment clean and open. (Related: City bike schemes — Bank-sponsored bike sharing.) Spotted by: Roberta Steinberg |
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Feeling there were limitations of working with a conventional label, British beat duo Groove Armada left Sony BMG and teamed up with Bacardi in April of last year to offer fans music in a new way. Rather than restrict song sharing in order to sell more tracks, the band offers incentives to those who spread their music the furthest. Six weeks before Groove Armada will be releasing their new EP through traditional download stores, the first track appeared Bacardi B-Live, where registered users can download it for free. They can access the second track as soon once they've shared the first with 20 friends. The third MP3 can be heard when the first has been shared 200 times, and the fourth when 2,000 'friends' have hear the first track. Sharing is made easy by supplying users with widgets for their websites and Facebook profiles. The sharing application was launched last week and will be available until 2 March 2009. Bacardi also funded the creation of Groove Armada's latest release, scoring the rights to use the music in advertising and other promotions. B-Live also hosts and streams live music events around the world. Groove Armada claims to be pleased with the arrangement because it lets them give away their work and build a dialogue with fans. "It encourages people to interact with the music in a slightly deeper way than just nicking and downloading it," says Tom Findlay, one half of the duo, in a BBC interview. It's not just distribution that's been upended by the internet: band funding, management and festivals are also evolving. There's still a huge potential to rethink business models in this industry. Time to get creative! Website: www.bliveshare.com Spotted by: Susanna Haynie |
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Almost a year ago we wrote about BlakeMakes.com, a blog that helps food manufacturers distribute samples of their products to bloggers with influential voices. Working on much the same theme, WIN it gIRL is a new site gearing up for launch this spring that aims to connect consumers and brands. WIN it gIRL will be a free, monthly e-mail newsletter and blog that features articles and reviews about the latest topics in style, wellness, living, technology and travel. Partner manufacturers will send samples of their latest products to WIN it gIRL, who will review them on her blog. Readers will then be directed to participating blog sites for details about exclusive monthly contests, through which they have a chance to win said products. Those who win will then be given the option to keep their prizes, or to donate them to their favourite charity. The website explains: "WIN it gIRL is more of a social experiment than a typical promotions company, in that it is free to its readers and its partners. A scrappy and money-conscious consumer, WIN it gIRL created her website to not only benefit from the featured products and services, but to allow other women and organizations to do the same. As an added value, WIN it gIRL allows brands to reach their target market in an effective and cost-saving manner." Indeed, traditional advertising is struggling, to put it mildly. Provide a good alternative, and you'll create benefits for brands, consumers—and you! WIN it gIRL currently seeks partner blogs and brands for its upcoming launch. One to get in on early....? Website: www.winitgirl.com |
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Last week we wrote about MealBaby, a site that helps friends take care of each other in times of need. Then one of our spotters alerted us to FriendlyFavor, a start-up that helps people ask directly for things that could help them out. Launched just last week, FriendlyFavor is an all-purpose request tool developed to complement social networks such as Facebook and MySpace by enabling users to leverage their trusted networks of friends, family and colleagues for help with referrals, recommendations, advice and other favours or requests. People seeking a babysitter, job referral or help moving a couch, to name just a few examples, can all use FriendlyFavor for free to ask for help online—sending their request only to the contacts they trust—as can people with favours to offer, such as extra tickets or leftover moving supplies. The platform was designed to eliminate the hassle, wasted time and confusion that can accompany traditional favour requests, providing instead a one-stop site for managing everything from the initial request to the thank-you once a favour has been granted. For thank-yous, FriendlyFavor provides options through several channels, including gift cards from leading retailers such as Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Nordstrom and REI; charitable gift cards via TisBest; as well as cash, "good karma" or "Swap Shop" options, enabling users to offer goods or services in exchange. Optimized for Facebook Connect, FriendlyFavor's platform can be easily licensed for corporate networking and intranets, online communities, and alumni or nonprofit groups, the company says. Seattle-based FriendlyFavor generates revenue from technology licensing, targeted online advertising, affiliate marketing and sponsorships. In the coming months the company plans to add new features including the ability to save and name custom contact lists as well as Open Social and mobile integration. One to partner with—or emulate—in your neck of the friendly woods....? Website: www.friendlyfavor.com |
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With a few exceptions, few restaurants go out of their way to publish the nutritional information about their food, at least not in any obvious way offline. Much the way D+caf Test Strips have blown the proverbial lid open on caffeine content, however, Fatburgr is a new site that puts together in one place the nutritional facts about a variety of fast-food restaurants and chains. Some 20 restaurants are currently listed on Fatburgr—including McDonald's, Subway and Chili's, for example—and more are being added every day, the company says. For each of them the site lists the calories, fat, carbs and fibre content for each menu item, and users can sort the list by any of those criteria. Listings can also be searched by food type, and all data is available by iPhone for those needing to make ordering decisions on the go. Fatburgr is free to use. Besides equipping consumers with information that can help them stay healthier, of course, Fatburgr is also a nice example of what our sister site trendwatching.com would call transparency tyranny, leaving companies with nowhere to hide the facts they might prefer not be known. On that note, Fatburgr has even set up a "wall of shame"—though it's still empty—for restaurants that won't fork over their nutritional information. Restaurants around the world: Be prepared to open up the truth about your food, or this could happen to you! ;-) Website: www.fatburgr.com |
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