I have been following Mozes for a year now. Ever since getting my first demonstration of the product by one of Mozes’ originators Aaron Clark last Match 2006 my face has yet to have calm down from its look of amazement. It was IMMEDIATELY apparent that the company was onto something and that they where on the track of doing that something right. For those of you that do not know Mozes, a Palo Alto company, a startup out of Palo Alto, allows anyone to create and manage interactive, text message-based mobile campaigns and promotions with an easy mobile sms to web interface. Think of it as interactive ubiquitous bookmarking. You text message the keyword of your favorite band, product, whatever and send it to the shortcode 66937. Then, when you go to Mozes.com and sign into your Mozes account any information pertaining to the Mozes keyword that you texted will be right there waiting. Who determines that information? Thats the other great part, the bands themselves do. You can to if you like. Try it yourself… text “mopocket” to 66937 or text “joberman” to 66937. Sign on. Check out the information and then create your own keyword information.

So, it was really cool yesterday to hear that its taking off when Mozes a strategic relationship with Universal Motown Records Group (UMRG). Using Mozes, over 60 artists will communicate with their fans instantaneously via the mobile phone, including some of today’s biggest artists like Akon, Blue October, Hinder, Godsmack and Mya.

“I’m extremely excited to have found a fun and interactive way to communicate in real-time with my fans. I can send them anything from information on music releases, backstage pass opportunities and interactive exchange of texts and photos,” expressed Universal Republic recording artist Baby Boy Da Prince, who also preformed last night at the Mozes celebration bash at the Red Coconut Lounge at Universal City Walk.

UMRG will use Mozes to manage and execute a variety of programs and promotions including Hinder’s Door to Dorm tour this spring. Hinder will have a live contest each night of their tour where fans can text for a chance to win a backstage pass at the show. Everyone that interacts at the show gets a free mobile phone wallpaper and the ability to join Hinder’s fan list on Mozes. Fans that opt-in to Hinder’s list will be able to text with the band on an ongoing basis and receive exclusive mobile updates. Fans can also visit Hinder’s mobile card at Mozes.com and download special offers from the band and communicate with other fans.

“In our search to find the most compelling way for our artists to connect with their fans, Mozes emerged as the clear choice. The fact that Mozes is already working with so many other great artists in the industry means that we can engage a wider audience in our own mobile programs,” said Mel Lewinter, Chairman UMRG.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Universal Motown Records Group as we open our service to general availability and leave beta,” said Dorrian Porter, CEO of Mozes (which I guess makes him G-D). “Being able to interact with your favorite artist in real-time on the mobile phone is a powerful and personal connection. Our role is to support the most effective way for mobile publishers like Universal artists to reach, grow and connect with their audience.”

In fact, Mozes’ music cliental has become so substantial that I actually used the service the other day when I noticed that my iPod needed updating and I needed to learn about new musicians. It was a great way to explore.

Anyways, news of this announcement also comes which an “official” launch of the service which I guess has been in beta testing for the last year now. For those of you already familiar with the service you will notice an entirely new web interface with new advanced features allowing you to things like text pictures and advanced mob sharing. A mobile web version is also hinted at.

Also apparent is that Mozes is peaking outside the music industry for their product. An obvious idea. I was first introduced to Mozes at a politics and technology conference. But it also appears that they are going after the college market telling student leaders that they can easily create text groups and also, possibly, win 2000 in doing so.

I have believed in Mozes’ mission for some time now and great to see this company grow successfully.

Mozes also help product demonstrations at the Billboard Mobile Entertainment Live! Event

I want to give a little shout out to MTV and their new mobile service.

We have all seen the stats; in the US Hispanics are strong mobile phone users. Research shows that ethnic groups are leading the digital media revolution, even more so than the general teen population, particularly when it comes to embracing new technologies.. According to MTV research, 63 percent of Latinos own a media-capable mobile phone, compared to 46 percent of non-Latinos; Latinos are also 23 percent more likely to use their phones to watch video content.

Responding to this data, MTV has launched the first cross-carrier, bilingual, mobile channel targeted to Latino youth. The new mobile channel, MTV Tr3s Mobile, is music focused and features the same artists as on the TV channels playlist including popular American artists such as Nelly Furtado, Akon and Fall Out Boy, and Latino artists such as Luis Fonsi and Paulina Rubio. There are also ringtones and mobile content from hit MTV Tr3s shows such as:

• Artist interviews from Mi TRL
• Descubre & Download - Video and artist interviews of designated MTV Tr3s up-and-coming artists
• Dance Life “Dance Adictos” - Clips of on-air show and Latin dance instructionals available on mobile.
• Wrestling Society X - Extra scenes, matches and rants available on mobile that are not seen on-air. In addition, there are demonstration clips available for each wrestler’s signature move.
• Road to Menudo - Casting try-out clips of both the really good and really bad available on mobile. There are plans for more mobile-centric content to roll-out as the show progresses

While MTV has hit the nail on the head by providing desired targeted content to large groups of mobile users, I still wonder if the MTV experience will translate through to a mobile phone effectively. Many of the mobile features are video related, and I’m sure we can all imagine the load times… Which begs the question, “Why use mobile over the Internet for video?”

I would really like to mash this data up with Internet use and accessibility by ethnic groups. (If you have that research, please pass it along).

Source: Hispanic PR Wire

Update: According to the PEW Hispanic Center/PEW Internet and American Life Study:

*       56% of Latinos in the U.S. (about 43 million) use the Internet.

*       Latinos are less likely than non-Hispanics to have an Internet connection at home.

 Slow or not, it looks like mobile might be the best option.

It’s a very common misconception that annoys me every time I get on a flight…. “Please turn off and stow all electronic devices during take off an landing… the use of all cellular equipment including, but not limited to, cellular radios and cellular phones will not be permitted at any time during this flight as they may interfere with the plane’s mechanical equipment.” The ban of mobile phones during flight has nothing to do with the plane, but rather the cellular towers below.

As many of you know, the FCC was considering allowing airline passengers the use of their mobile phones, but as the NY Times explains, they believe cellphone use on airplanes could cause telecommunication network congestion:

The system is designed for phones to communicate with a single cell tower at a time. But a cellphone that is several miles in the air can contact many towers at once, tying up circuits in all of them.

At the cellular industry’s trade association, the CTIA, Joseph E. Farren, a spokesman, said, “When I’m walking down Pennsylvania Avenue and I make a call, it’s a lot different than placing a call 20,000 feet in the air going 500 miles an hour.”

So until our technology advances… you are just going to have to wait until the cabin door is open. But if i may make a suggestion, I would like to ask that the flight attendants stop telling us it is because of the plane’s mechanical equipment. I am pretty sure we can handle the truth.

I know 15 cents is not a lot of money, but when you are trying to convince your 60 year old father to send texts, 15 cents is a big hurdle. He can’t fathom why on earth he would pay anything for a short message that is difficult for him to type, when he can pick up the phone and call me for free. I am not sure if it’s a generational thing or if it is really a cost thing, but.nevertheless, t-mobile is not going to make this adoption fight any easier.

First it was Sprint Nextel who raised their SMS rates, then Cingular Wireless and then at that point how could Verizon resist. T-Mobile has now joined the pack by raising individual SMS prices from 10 cents to 15 cents, effective June 1.

On the positive side, for all of you camera phone addict out there, unlike t-mobile’s predecessors, they actually will be decreasing the cost of MMS from 25 cents to 15.

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CBS News and Fox News announced partnerships with social networking solutions developer Neighborhood America to enable citizen journalists to upload their user-generated video news reports for possible network broadcast. Fox News’ UR Report service debuted Monday and will enable viewers to submit video clips from their mobile handsets and PCs to the network’s website–according to Neighborhood America, Fox News programs including “The O’Reilly Factor,” “Hannity & Colmes” and “On the Record with Greta van Susteren” will each air user-generated content on a daily basis.

For CBS News, Neighborhood America developed CBS Springboard, bolstering the network’s existing citizen journalism service with mobile access via the company’s 2006 acquisition of wireless solutions provider Movo Mobile. Neighborhood America will also approve all videos uploaded to the CBS News website, further verifying mobile content to guarantee it originates from a local source.

Technorati Tags: cbs, fox, fox news, greta van susteren, hannity and colmes, movo mobile, neighborhood america, o’reilly

Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone (Important: you have to call their cell phone. Landlines do not work). Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. This saves someone from having to drive your keys to you (of course, somebody has to be home with the spares). Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other “remote” for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).

Someone who I trust in my office said he I tried this with both my Nextel and my Sprint phone, and it worked both times.

This is may or may NOT be the same rumor that ANY car equipped with a remote keyless entry system can be unlocked VIA cell phone which can be read about here. Apparently in that case keyless entry systems are not based on sound. They use RF. Something which is not effectively transmitted by phone.

Let the debate begin!

Technorati Tags: rf, key, car, lock, cell phone

TIM and Polymer Vision’s new Cellular-Book (mighty creative name) is a very interesting device: 5 inch foldout “newspaper” display, 4 GBs of storage, cellular connectivity, 10 day “usage time” and access to e-mail, RSS feeds, LBS, music downloads, audio books and more. Besides all that, upgrades are also on the way including a color screen and video capabilities. Faster connectivity and a better UI are probably also coming soon. If interested, I would read the full press release and check out this cool demo.

One of the interesting points to note about this product, however, is that it, along with the rest of the “e-paper” movement, is being largely shunned by the industry right now, yet there is a lot happening on form factor and screen utilization. As we all know, along with the iPhone came many questions, among them being How are we going to interact with our phones in the future and what sort of displays will they have? Apple’s take on this was a 3.5 inch multi-touch display, but there is no consensus in the industry that that is for sure the right approach. This TIM/Polymer Vision device can be taken as not only a reason to finally take your girlfriend to Venice but more so a reminder that there is still a lot of definition that must be done over what and how we interact with our mobile devices. That includes new and possibly even currently unconventional technologies such as a laser keyboard and camera movement detection for input. As for display, who knows. This sort of OLED and e-paper in general still has a long way to go by all means but it definitely has its chances. It works well in the sun, allows for long battery life and should not be discounted.

Cell phone mergers getting you down? Check out this ultra funny skit from the Late Night Players!

Technorati Tags: at&t, cingular, networks, operators, sprint, telecom, tmobile, verizon

A couple of months ago I attended and spoke at the Mobile Persuasion conference at Stanford University. I spoke on the topic of using mobile phones for political campaigns, non-profits and its power of political persuasion. On my way out I was stopped for an interview. Click here to check it out

via Jeff Schwartzand Disruptive Strategies and Information Colony Blog

Technorati Tags: justin oberman, mobile, mobile persuasion, mopocket, politics, sms, stanford