Local-Based Services: LBS = O2O + Maps

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LBS stands for Local-Based Services. It covers all that is related to local marketing and mobile. More than a trend, it is the logical consequence, a synthesis of the evolution in the digital industry: social, mobile, real-time, hyperlocal and search converge in LBS. Two components illustrate this emerging marketing culture: the maps and the strong bonds between on- and off-line.

The battle for maps is going on. Between Apple and Google of course but not only. In China alone, a dozen map companies fight for market share: among them, Baidu Maps develops many LBS. Maps are at the center of many services : local listings, street view, traffic, indoor location, public transportation schedules, etc.
Checking in, introduced first by social networks (Facebook, Foursquare, etc.), is now a sign of the times. Location is by default with smartphones ("xyz would like to use your current location") and most of the apps ask à la Facebook "where are you? (often you sign in for these apps with Facebook, your location is shared on your timeline).
All analytics produced by smartphones include geographic data, leaving most traditional off-line media in the dark, without precise geomarketing. To say "a store or a theater near you" is no longer enough.

Online to Offline (O2O) redimensions the hyperlocal and enriches it with mobile marketing using local discounts, vouchers, indoor maps, daily deals, mobile payment, group buying, loyalty cards... and drive. Recent examples:

• From app to an event for which the app sells tickets or distributes coupons (cf. IUV.NY)
• From crowdsourcing to mobile social networks (Weibo) to recommendations for restaurants (a new startup, HaoYouMeiShi in Beijing). 
• With recently launched Evzdrop - what a name! - a place goes social ("listening to places through people"), targeting people who are in a store or who have already been there (retargeting).
• The Tencent group is launching a new mobile platform in China which will incorporate maps, street views (SoSO, 搜搜), messaging (Weixin, 微信), mobile payment, LBS and mobile advertising.

iTunes: from Ping to Facebook

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Share with iOS 6: Facebook,
Twitter and Chinese Weibo ( 新浪微博)

Ping, the social network launched by Apple two years ago, closes at the end of September. It "will no longer be available" as the euphemization goes (cf. infra). As a social network for music, all kinds of music, Ping should have succeeded. On paper it was very promising. But it proved disappointing, despite the strong support of iTunes and its million users and music fans.
Why? Probably because of Facebook. Facebook,- more than YouTube, which seems to become more and more a place for broadcast, like radio or TV. For most people, Facebook is the natural place for sharing music with friends. Music is what we share with friends. Music is social, it is often the basic cement of friendship, a first step in sharing feelings and love.

Apple has drawn the conclusion from the Ping experience and will now collaborate with Facebook. Facebook and Twitter (already in iOS 5) will both be fully integrated. From iTunes, you can now share and like directly on Twitter or Facebook. In iOS 6, by the way, the YouTube app is no longer installed by default. All of this sounds like a major ongoing battle, Google (YouTube and Google +) on the one hand, Facebook and Apple on the other.

Why Facebook? Metcalfe's law, the network effect, incites merging,... The barrier to entry for new social networks is now very high. The only place left is for specialized social networks: music, sport, photos, health, wine, cooking, video games... and professional sites  (including LinkedIn, Viadeo, ...). And, except for professional reasons (or hobbies), you probably only use one single network. Facebook is becoming a total, one-stop networking experience: localization (check in), friending, communication, shopping...
N.B. It should be noted that, in Russia, Rutube, the so-called Russian YouTube, links up with Facebook.

Specialized social networks for musicians are plenty. Most of them are like marketplaces where people look for jobs and promotion in the music industry. Examples include: Fandalism ("Use Fandalism to show your playing and meet other musicians"); Dilettante, a social network for classical music, did not last long (January 2008 - December 2010); Pitchfolio, "the Worldwide Contact Point and Job Noticeboard for the Classical Music Profession"; Socialnetworkformusicians ("Assert your presence on social networking sites to generate sales AND expand your fanbase!"), etc. These specialized social networks all refer back to Facebook as a meta social network.

There are obviously two kinds, two levels, of social networking: those which strive to be universal and those which are specialized. In the long run, which category will Pinterest, FourSquare, Instagram, Yelp, etc. belong to?

Sceenshot of iTunes (September 2012)

Le monde selon Apple

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En mettant sur le marché une nouvelle version de son OS Mountain Lion (0S X 10.8), Apple expose en actes sa vision du monde, actuel et à venir. Au-delà des deux centaines de nouvelles fonctionnalités, améliorations, quelles tendances se dégagent ? Nous en isolerons quatre.

• L'interface vocale. Présence de la voix, première dans l'histoire des médias, déjà présente avec Siri. On peut désormais tout dicter, partout où l'on peut utiliser un clavier. Presque toute la bureautique est concernée.

• Le "cloud" partout. Avec iCloud, la sauvegarde est continue et la synchronisation entre appareils est constante (ordinateurs, tablettes, smartphones). 

• Tout est prévu pour l'adaptation et l'intégration au monde sinisé. La relation aux principaux acteurs du web chinois chinois (navigateur, réseaux sociaux, vidéo) : Weibo ( 新浪微博), Baidu (百度), Tudou (土豆网), Youku (优酷网). Enfin, on sort de l'univers alphabétique ou du moins, Apple prend en compte un monde non alphabétique (caractères, pinyin, etc.). Décentrement salvateur dans notre univers tellement occidental et réducteur. 

• La relation aux réseaux sociaux est intégrée : Facebook, Twitter, Weibo, Vimeo. Ils font désormais partie de la panoplie bureautique de base des internautes.

Dans cette évolution logicielle se perçoit l'affrontement mondial pour la confection et le déploiement des outillages conceptuels et communicationnels formateurs des modes de pensée fondamentaux. Dans ce domaine, l'Europe semble avoir déjà perdu la guerre, même si, parfois, ici ou là, une de ses régions gagne une bataille.