Using the Location of those you Call for Fun and Profit

Frog Design’s Nick de la Mare thinks about how ringbacks (the tones you hear while waiting for someone to pick up the phone) could be location-based.

Imagine mapping hot spots like movie theaters or classrooms as do-not-interrupt locations, or tying specific ring tones to places, like hearing the sound of Mickey Mouse when you call someone visiting Disneyland. By tying together GPS with the flexibility of customized ringbacks, one could introduce new conversation paradigms around physical location and context.

My first reactions: Who would pay for the service? The user visiting Disney? Disney itself? What about privacy, this would have to be “opt in.” Fascinating idea, however, that might yields LBS ads to those calling. For example, when you call you friend who is visiting Disney you might get an ad like “Your contact is visiting Disney! Today visitors will see fireworks, a show featuring Snow White and .... Why don’t you come visit?”
- Creativity Online

LBS Ads Explain in Part Why Zillow Isn’t Dead

Webware‘s Rafe Needlemen interviews Zillow CEO Rich Barton and confirms much of the excitement around Zillow is “real estate porn” - that is looking at the properties and thinking about purchases. (For those who don’t hear the term used in non-adult contexts, I hear about bike porn quite a bit, looking at pictures of bikes one will never ride…) Still, the bottom line is being supported by ads - geotargeted ads.

But listing homes in foreclosure on Zillow is a growth business. “They advertise!” Barton says.
So he’s selling his advertisements, including new geographically targeted home sale listings on the site’s front page as well as featured homes on the maps. He’s also got bank ads on the mortgage part of the site. “Those are $4 clicks,” he says.