Google TV Apps Are Coming!!!

I hope Google gets it right. I’m at work right now and can’t watch any of the YouTube demos so I can only imagine what Google TV is all about from what I’m reading.

I imagine Google TV will expose an API with with developers can overlay text/images/animations on top of the playing video. The API will also allow read/write of metadata associated with the playing video.

What could a developer build with these capabilities?

Well imagine I’m videotaping a scene where some people with Android phones (GPS-enabled) happen to appear in the video. I upload the video and say someone named John is watching it on his Google TV. The video metadata reveals that several people had their Android phones and thus their GPS info was captured. John sees some text bubbles appear over these people. He clicks on any of them to reveal some shareable profile info about each person in the video. He decides to send a text message to one of them, without ever knowing that person’s true phone number. I can see why law enforcement would be very interested in an application like this.

All this is possible because the GPS of the video location and the GPS of the Android phones were in close vicinity at that time and place. Plus all this data is maintained and managed by Google.

Will Google OS Do This?

With all the recent hype about the Google OS news, I got to thinking about what a current OS is and does and what a Google OS might be able to do. There is a whole lot of talk about the competitive landscape this new OS will compete against. There are also discussions about its predicted efficiency and small footprint, and lots of comparisons against Windows.

My angle on this is a bit different than most. I am concerned about the ramifications of a completely new OS built from the ground-up and potentially being web-based. What would this mean to developers? What new types of applications might we see? What new OS features would this implement?

I recall a few years ago about a new directory structure Microsoft was working on (for their Longhorn project) that was based not on today’s flat file structure but rather on a relational database model. This got me thinking about how Google OS might implement the directory structure. I assume a directory structure will still be needed for downloading files and saving them somewhere. The OS of course would need to manage this directory structure, but does Google OS be able to resurrect and implement a relational database model? What does it mean to download and “save”?  Would “saving” be to the “cloud” or to the local client?

Let’s assume Google OS will indeed manage files but will do so in a “cloud”. So anytime a file is saved or retrieved the OS would be doing so from and to the cloud. On the backend, how could Google manage all this information? I think that would mean Google would need to allocate a relational database to this massive effort. In so doing the new Google OS, on any client machine, would in effect manage a directory structure based on relational database technology. The end user could therefore be able to transparently perform all sorts of queries against his data using a new interface, a super cousin of today’s windows explorer.

I haven’t revisited all the discussions that occurred when Microsoft first proposed this approach years ago, and I imagine there could be some incredible things that were mentioned and that can now be more easily implemented by the Google OS. Whenever I get a chance I will review some of these and add some more to the discussion.

[At this time I don't have time to carry this discussion into the ramifications to developers and applications but I hope to return to this soon.]

I am no expert in OS technology, never having even enrolled in an OS course, so I invite someone out there to continue this discussion. Perhaps there is already a discussion about this somewhere, so please put a link in a comment here.

Ecommerce for Crowdsourced Products

I recently posted a comment on the article The 3 Stages of Ecommerce Tools that made me start thinking about this particular need I have. I am reposting that comment here and expanding it a bit. It will probably help you to read mentioned article prior to reading the rest of this post to give you the context of what I am talking about.

The above article mentions Etsy, which is a website of crowdsourced products for sale by micro-retailers (individuals). In my estimation, we should be seeing many more of these types of websites. Some may sell digital goods like music and graphics, while others may sell clothing designed and produced by individuals, like t-shirts, dresses, etc.

My question is, could Magento or another ecommerce solution be used to create an Etsy-like website? I’ve played around with Magento and I’ve realized that all the product details, like pics and attributes, must be entered by an admin(s). It does not lend itself to allowing its members to self-maintain their own set of products. “Members” in the Magento sense, are just shoppers and they can contribute reviews, ratings, etc. However, Magento “members” cannot upload their own products, not even as provisional products which would later be approved (moderated) by the admin.

Which ecommerce players do you think are leaning towards providing the solution for making these types of websites? I foresee, entrepreneurs like myself, wanting to build their own Etsy-like websites, but presently I do not find the solutions for these types of websites.

For now all they can do is to try to mesh social network software with ecommerce solutions in order to provide the ability for members to upload and sell their own products. Keep in mind a product’s details can include text, pics, audio and video, in addition to tags, reviews, ratings, etc. Social network solutions, like Dolphin, provide some of these features, while ecommerce solutions like Magento provide the other half of the puzzle, which includes such things as inventory management, shipping estimates, cross-selling etc.

I know there is a Drupal extension for Magento, but I don’t know enough about Drupal to know for sure if this is what I need. It would be interesting to hear from anyone with any thoughts on using this Drupal extension for Magento.

As I write this posting, I just realized I should google “Etsy clone” or something of that nature (such as Zazzle) to location software I can try. I hope I find something soon because I urgently need to get my project going soon. By the way, Rob from Foodzie.com has kindly offered to give me some leads. Thank you! Please check out their wonderful site Foodzie.com. It looks like they may have explored this same need and implemented a solution.

I just found the blog post The elusive Opensource E-Commerce Holy Grail: Multi-Site, Multi-Store with many comments that could be useful to uncover the mystery.

What If Obopay Cannot Provide An API?

In my previous post Obopay For Businesses I talk about why online merchants need an API to interface with Obopay. In Why Micro-Retailers Need Mobile Payment Systems I also talk about why I believe mobile payment systems are going to flourish on a global scale.

My question now is what if I cannot get the help from Obopay that I seek? Will I turn to another mobile payment system? Well, I am fond of Obopay. I like their website. I have seen a video interview of CEO Carol Realini and she is very likeable. It seems they have a very noble motivation for providing this service, to reach the unbanked and enable them to participate in the global online economy. Whatever reason for not being able to help me, I do not think they willfully want to burst my bubble. They may be too busy or focused on another aspect on which they forecast the most growth.

Anyway, if I stuck with this provider for mobile payments, what could I do to automate the payment process so that I would not need to manually login to Obopay or manually send out text messages? The answer is a GSM modem attached to my server.

A GSM modem uses a SIM card and a real cellular service provider tied to the SIM card. It can function like a normal cellphone but in addition can be automated, since it is hooked up to a server running custom software. In my case I am interested in automating the text messaging to and from Obopay.

So here is the scenario. A buyer sends an Obopay payment to the cellphone number associated with my GSM modem. Obopay sends a notice (in the form of a text message) of the payment to my GSM modem. My GSM modem forwards this information to my custom software for recording and order fulfillment.

When a buyer receives the goods, the buyer notifies my system to release the funds to the seller. My custom software then uses the GSM modem to send an Obopay pament (in the form of a text message) to the seller. This completes the loop from buyer to seller.

Now my problem is finding the right GSM modem and getting someone to program the custom software. The other problem I might face is ascertaining Obopay will allow this commercial use of their system. I am confident they would because I would be promoting the use of their system. I would publicly promote Obopay on my website as a way to build user trust in my preferred payment system.

Why Micro-Retailers Need Mobile Payment Systems

A micro-retailer is an individual who intends to sell goods directly to consumers with few or no middlemen. A typical micro-retailer uses a third party website to host the catalog of his goods, such as eBay, Etsy, CafePress, Zazzle, etc. Many typical micro-retailers are based in low-income countries where the actual manufacturing of the goods happens. These micro-retailers therefore have access to many products at wholesale prices. Some of them even have the skills and materials to produce the products themselves. Fast Company wrote an excellent story about micro-retailers.

It is interesting to note many of these countries have poor banking systems and many people do not have bank accounts. So this begs the question, how can more individuals in these countries participate in micro-retailing when they do not have an account from which to deposit or withdraw money?

Enter modern mobile payment systems, such as MoneyExchange and Obopay, among many new ones popping up all the time. They offer services by which any seller or buyer can bypass the need for having a bank account. Here is what I understand about them.

An individual creates an online account at one of these services. Funds can be deposited to this account through normal means such as money transfers from banks, credit cards, etc. An individual without a bank account or credit card would pay for an ATM card at a local convenience store with cash. The ATM card is linked to this individual’s online account. Subsequently, the individual can deposit more money into the same ATM card. Money withdrawals happen at the ATM machines.

So the online account and the ATM card work hand-in-hand. When someone deposits or withdraws money to the online account, the same is reflected on the ATM card, and vice-versa.

Real transactions happen when one online account holder transfers money to another online account holder. In these mobile payment systems, these transactions are initiated on a mobile phone, typically via text messaging.

So why do micro-retailers need mobile payment systems? Because they typically live in countries with no banking systems. These are the micro-retailers who have been untapped. They have access to raw materials and manufactured goods at or below wholesale prices. I would love to buy more goods from these people because they could save me money. I don’t want to pay the middlemen any more than I need to.

The next question is: how does one tie their online catalogs with these new mobile payment systems? An online shopper would see the option to pay by mobile, during the checkout process. Perhaps at that point the shopper would be given a unique code and total amount to enter into the text messaging going to the payment system. The system would immediately respond with a confirmation payment code to enter into the website to complete the checkout process.

Do today’s mobile payment systems support this kind of interaction? I hope they do very soon because I have an immediate need for this to occur. I truly believe mobile payment systems are going to be popular on a global scale, especially because they bypass the limitations of today’s banking systems. I welcome your remarks on this very much.

Obopay For Businesses

I am thinking out loud about this right now so please correct me where I don’t make sense or have missed something important. I am thinking about how a business could use Obopay to promote peer-to-peer payments. This is very different from the normal usage of Obopay where a business takes direct payments through Obopay from its customers. Peer-to-peer payments are theoretically made directly from one customer to another.

In my scenario, I have a website that promotes peer-to-peer transactions for a product or service. The product or service is provided from one person to another. This follows a current trend called crowdsourcing and also social e-commerce (s-commerce) where individuals called micro-retailers are selling to other individuals.

My websites promotes these kinds of interactions by providing an escrow service which reinforces the trust between buyers and sellers. Like any other escrow service my site will hold the funds of the buyer until the goods or service is delivered to the buyer, subsequently releasing the funds to the seller.

For this kind of process to occur, a buyer would use Obopay to send me the funds. The buyer would not send the payment directly to the seller. My system would be alerted about the Obopay payment which would also contain some information about the purchase so I can reference the buyer, seller, and purchase details. The buyer would notify my system when the goods/service are delivered, then my system would make a payment to the seller using Obopay.

So where is the missing piece for all this to occur? Well, a buyer can easily send his payment to me using Obopay. I can also use Obopay to send the payment to the seller. What is mssing is the interaction between my system and Obopay so as to automate this processrather than rely on today’s manual process of logging into Obopay.

The automated piece would provide two pieces:

1. Obopay would alert my system, via an API, about a payment made to me. I would not need to login to Obopay to realize someone made a payment to me. The alert message would contain the minimum purchase information with which I can reference the rest of the purchase details, such as buyer and seller. Behind the scenes, my system would allocate this money for this purchase alone.

2. My system would automatically login to Obopay to make a payment to the seller. This would occur when the buyer notifies my system that the goods/service has been delivered. Presently, I would need to manually login to Obopay to forward the funds to the seller.

You may be thinking about how I would make money on all this. One possible way would be for me to take a small cut from the funds before forwarding the funds to the seller. I don’t really like this, personally, because I hate to cut into the profits of my users. Since Obopay is charging $0.25 per transaction, that would already amount to $0.50 for the funds to go from buyer to seller. Fortunately, there are other ways to make money.

Anyway, my proposition to Obopay still stands. Please provide an API, but not just for my sake, in the case of my wanting to build my own escrow system. An API would also benefit the common online merchant who wants to take payments via Obopay and wants to automate the process as opposed to manually logging in to view the incoming purchases.

I hope some of this make sense to someone. I hope someone at Obopay is paying attention. Thank you!

A Proposition For Obopay or MoneyExchange

If you have read some of my previous posts you may already know about my need for an escrow service to support the growing number of micro-retailers who are selling to other individuals worldwide. Fast Company did an excellent story discussing this trend among Chinese micro-retailers.

It seems to me one of the primary concerns about building such an escrow system is the overhead for customer service and also in the event of arbitration between the parties. I can see how this could get expensive to support. An ideal escrow service would need to keep a record of all the communication between the buyers and sellers and handle all the necessary automatic notifications to either party for a smooth transfer of goods and services.

So now my thinking is to handle all the customer service and partner with a service who can simply “park” the money in an escrow without having to handle the communication between sellers and buyers. This partner would provide to me the developer’s API so that I can tie the alerts and notifications to my system. These would include such information as money received, amount received, to and from accounts, etc.

One such partner I am considering is Obopay.com. They can handle the transfer of money for 10 cents a transaction. That is cheap and very attractive for global micro-retailers. The idea would be for buyers to use Obopay to send my system the purchase amount. My system would receive a notification from Obopay containing all the transaction information. My system would then alert the seller that the funds were received for this purchase so he can go ahead and fullfill the order. When the buyer receives the goods, he notifies my system. My system then uses Obopay to send the funds to the seller.

If there is any arbitration needed between the parties, my customer service would take care of that. Obopay would therefore not need to get into the business of building an entire escrow system. If any buyer needs a refund then I can use Obopay to send back the funds to the buyer. From Obopay’s viewpoint, they would not need to change their business model.

There are therefore two missing pieces for this partnership to occur. First, an API from Obopay. Second, international support. I am especially targeting the United States and China. I read some good news Obopay is expanding into India. However, to really explode this kind of service, Obopay needs to be available worldwide and provide third party sites with an API.

I truly hope Obopay can foresee the potential in catering to micro-retailers. I am building a site where micro-retailers can sell their goods. I just need the right kind of payment system that does not add so much overhead costs and works internationally (or at least the major countries). Other services I am considering are mCheck.com, CitiMobile and Revolution Money Exchange.

Revisit My Previous iPhone Needs

With the introduction of the iPhone 2.0 I think it is now time to review my previous iPhone ideas and needs. They may already be done by someone or they can easily be implemented with the new SDK. What do you think? Do you think you can give these ideas a shot or have you already seen them live somewhere?

http://www.cambrianhouse.com/member/fidoogle/

A Business Model for Open Social Networks

Lately I have been very much interested in Lovdbyless and Insoshi for developing my own social network because they are based on Ruby on Rails, which make them super easy to extend and modify. However, there is one missing feature which I truly need. I need an integrated escrow service, as I explained in my previous posts. By exposing my need, I may be introducing a possible business model for these open social networks and I will briefly describe what I mean.

Based on current trends, we will be seeing many more new vertical social networks that revolve around a single topic, product, or service. We will also be seeing many more crowdsourcing sites. It is therefore easy to conclude that we will be seeing more crowdsoucing, vertical social networks. It is also to be expected that people will want to conduct shopping at these new sites. Some are coining these new types of sites “s-commerce” sites.

From an entreprenuer’s point of view, I would like an open social network to provide me an integrate escrow service that would appear seamless to my buyers and sellers. I would also like for the cost of the service to be under a dollar. The ultimate cost of the service is payed by the buyers, and I want this cost to be minimal to encourage a greater exchange of goods at my site. I would not mind this fixed fee, and perhaps a low percentage-based fee would be okay as well.

We now ask how an open social network could benefit by meeting this need. First, these types of sites can appeal to a global audience. Depending on the product to be sold (and crowdsourced), there is the possibility of a huge international exchange of goods between individual buyers and sellers. Read my earlier short story about this that points you to a story about the growing number of individual Chinese sellers. We therefore could be talking about billions of transactions.

Second, each transaction would be dependent on the escrow service for fulfillment, for both the buyer and the seller. If the escrow service collects even just a few cents for each transaction, the revenue would be tremendous. One possible service which may be seeing the potential in providing an escrow service is Alipay, which is providing such a service to the China market.

Here are some things which would make me choose to use your escrow service over another:

1. The escrow service is integrated seamlessly into my social network. This provides a tight coupling with all the stored private messaging occurring on the site. It is during these conversations that the order details are ironed out and will serve as evidence of what was agreed upon in case of arbitration.
2. It gives me a share of the escrow service fees so that I can profit, as the owner of the site. This would give me a very big incentive to keep the site running and to keep promoting it.
3. The escrow service fees are below $1 to encourage more s-commerce on the site and a greater variety of products. Some products have very low margins and adding a very big fee for the escrow would not be good. A fee based on a percentage of the product price would also be okay, and this would encourage the sellers to keep the price down on their products.

Please let me know if you find this service for me or if you plan to develop one yourself and what is your expected date of availability. I am so eager to start using it because I may have the right product for it.

Vertical Social Networks and Escrow Services

This post continues my thoughts on my previous post Social Network Escrow Service. I had started to talk about the importance of escrow services in relation to some Web 2.0 trends and I would like to expound a little on that here.

One trend we are reading about today is what is coined as “vertical social networks”. Some examples of these are Etsy and Threadless and all the sub-sites at Ning. It is turning out that these kinds of social networks are getting more popular and that they are going to increase in number.

Vertical social networks, by their nature, focus on one topic in a web 2.0 social way. Instead of  discussing general topics, as do the social networks at MySpace and Facebook, these vertical networks circle around a particular subject.

One particular subject the above mentioned sites focus on is “user-produced products”. Threadless focuses on t-shirts and Etsy focuses on a variety of user-produced products. This is another trend we are seeing and is being coined “crowdsourcing”.

When we combine these two trends, we begin to see what other services are needed in order to support this combination of trends. In a nutshell, we get a vertical social network of people who are producing their own products that want to sell them to others. The need, therefore, is a way to get the sellers and buyers to exchange the products and the money.

The need is no longer fulfilled by today’s present shopping carts because there is something very unique about these crowdsourced sites. The problem is the products are often not produced until someone buys them and the buyer does not want to pay for something which does not exist.

An escrow service would fill this need. It would alleviate the seller’s concerns because he will know someone has already allocated money to buy his product, once he produces it. It would help the buyer know the seller is obligated to produce the product in order to get paid, otherwise the buyer could get a refund.

The other thing today’s shopping carts do not fulfill is the issue with the inventory. Today’s shopping cart software keeps track of all the inventory. But in a vertical social network, the inventory tracking of the products should be maintained by each seller, especially because some or all of the products for sale have not even been produced yet.

The nice thing about the social network aspect is that it permits the necessary conversations between buyers and sellers to be carried out before the order is placed, that is to say before the funds are put in the escrow. In these conversations, the products details are discussed, including final pricing, expected delivery date, and shipping information.

One final thing. Today’s shopping carts can also calculate shipping charges. However, they do not work well for international shipping. Sellers are more informed about their own local shipping costs and therefore it is best to permit sellers to calculate their own shipping charges and relate this info to the buyer during the conversations.

I hope you can begin to understand the need for inexpensive escrow services to support the coming ecommerce vertical social networks which some are coining “s-commerce”. Please let me know if you know of any escrow service I can integrate into my social network. Thank you and good luck if you happen to be developing this kind of service yourself.