MobHappy

MMA Finally Condemns Bluespamming

Justin Pearce* writes in New Media Age about the UK's Mobile Marketing Association finally coming out against Bluespamming - 6 months after we wrote that it was illegal. I wonder what took them so long to decide that sending unsolicited messages was in clear breach of European privacy directives and meant to be against everything they stand for?

Filter, the main company behind these BlueSpam campaigns, have always argued that they are in compliance with the Directive, despite the fact that sending someone a message saying "Oi, can we send you a message please?" is just as much spam as as offering Viagra or Penis Enlargement advertisements. The fact that I may choose to have my Bluetooth settings on my phone as Discoverable is not consent to getting spam, anymore than owning a computer is indicating that I am happy to be sent unsolicited emails.

Better late than never, I guess - which might be a very nice motto for the MMA to adopt actually.

Meanwhile, in a similar vein, German Trend-following site, Trnd.com has been following our coverage of this and polled its readers.

Of the 708 people who responded 62% have a mobile with Bluetooth, 19% have it switched on, as a rule and visible whilst 54% have it switched off. Most interesting of all, 81% consider this form of advertising as "Bluespamming" which loosely coincides with the Coldplay numbers, we wrote about, where 85% of recipients rejected the "come on" message. Only 9% thought advertising this was was "gut" (not a typo - German for good!).

So if you are still tempted to use Bluespamming, either in flagrant breach of the law, or because it's legal in your country, my advice is don't. Pissing off 85% of recipients just doesn't make any sense.

* See Justin? I do link if there's something to link to :-)

Bluetooth File Sharing Tsunami

Last week, The Guardian covered a story that we've been banging on about for a few years now - that Bluetooth file sharing of music and ringtones is taking off.

In fact, it's reaching epidemic proportions and is one reason why the income yield per page for mobile content advertising is declining so rapidly. But it's equally easy to argue that Bluetooth file sharing really isn't an issue at all, as a Bluetooth file share episode is completely untraceable and untrackable.

I can tell you than I have plenty of anecdotal evidence from kids I talk to that if you ask how much they pay for ringtones, they look at you as if you're barking mad. Who pays for ringtones these days, apart from rich kids or those that don't know better?

The fact that these sharing episodes are untraceable raises a very interesting point for those in the music industry who want to try to stuff this particular cat back into the bag. Unlike mobile's online cousin, no ISP or operator can be bullied or sued to reveal culprits of this "crime". The fact is, no one knows.

The only way you might be able to find kids who have shared files in this way is to impound their mobile phone, physically examine the content and demand proof of purchase or right of ownership. This seems a little extreme, both logistically and legally. I'm not a lawyer, but I can't see the courts allowing the music industry to impound someone's phone on the mere suspicion (or less) that they might have done something like this. Plus it would surely be up to the prosecutor to prove that the defendant had downloaded something illegally, not that the defendant would have to prove their innocence.

This means that the music industry is going to be forced to confront its demons and work out how they can make money in an age when digital music must be free - no other outcome is possible here.

The first move will be to cling to the DRM life raft, in the hope that it'll keep them afloat in the sea of piracy. Unfortunately, DRM is fatally flawed and badly listing already. There never has been an uncrackable DRM system and there never will be, as no matter how foolproof any system purports to be, some geek somewhere will unlock it for fun. And once there's just one unlocked copy, that'll turn into two and four and....you get the picture. Just one geek is all it takes, every time.

Despite this clear and present danger, it's interesting to see that EMI, for one, have decided to dive straight into the Bluetooth channel, by teaming up with Nokia. The bFree service has launched in Finland, offering free (for the time being) downloads of digital content, such as ringtones, logos and wallpapers.

Is this a sign that the record industry is finally coming to terms with the new paradigms? Or another that they don't know what the hell they're doing?

What do you think?

Mobile Music's, Um, Big Competition

The battle to be the dominant music player isn't just between the iPod and the mobile phone. A BT analyst says that soon, well, within 15 years, women's breast implants will hold chips to play music. The article originated in The Sun, which isn't necessarily the most reputable source -- but I guess if there's one thing they are familiar with, it's breasts. As they put it, "One boob could hold an MP3 player and the other the woman’s entire music collection." It would then apparently transmit to headphones and be controlled over Bluetooth.

Bluetooth, huh? Sounds like it could start a "boobjacking" fad.

Bluetooth Messaging = Bluejacking on Steroids

It's been a while since we last looked at Bluejacking, but it's alive and well and seems to be going from strength to strength. At least, that's what I deduce from a look round BluejackQ, which is the spiritual home of the movement.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out my post in June 2004 for a definitive guide. But essentially, it involves ordinary mobile phone users (as opposed to commercial organisations) sending unsolicited messages (text and pics) by Bluetooth. The messages range from harmless and childish (in a good way) pranks - such as "your shoe lace is undone" - to perhaps initiating a friendly contact.

As Bluetooth messages aren't trackable, unlike say, an sms, no one can say how popular Bluejacking is. But anecdotally, I'd say it's big and getting bigger - perhaps even now crossing the chasm from early adoption into the early majority, if you know your Moore.

MobiLuck have clambered on board this bandwagon and just released version 3.5 of its short range, Bluetooth messaging system. This takes Bluejacking, which is actually rather a clumsy interface, involving using the entries in your phone's address book, and makes the whole thing that much slicker and easier to use.

It automatically searches for other Bluetooth devices and alerts you when they're found. This casting process is still quite a hassle using the normal method. It also has built-in virus protection, as playing around with Bluetooth messages from strangers' mobiles is the digital equivalent of unprotected and promiscuous sex.

The interface is a lot easier to manage as well.

The app costs Euro 14.95 ($17.96) a year and is currently only available on Nokia Series 60 phones, although you can send to any Bluetooth enabled phone, providing that Bluetooth is in discoverable mode, obviously.

Apart from Bluejacking, there are MoSoSo applications, to find other people you might want to meet or network with in the immediate vicinity.

But also if you study kids, you'll find that they quite often sms their mates who are in the same room - messaging is often a parallel communication channel, as opposed to an alternative one. For instance, they may want to take the piss out of someone else in the room, share a joke, communicate a private message or exchange those icky love notes that we've all sent back when we were teens ("i luv u" "i luv u more" "no u dont" "yes i do" kind of thing).

Of course, the great thing about Bluetooth is that it's also a completely free-to-use channel, so you can send as many messages as you like, without paying a penny to your operator or anyone else.