Straight from the Labs: Motorola Personalization & Socialization

Shaking up the mobile media industry are the growing demands for greater personalization and socialization around our content. Hear what our engineers think from this question and answer session with Paola Hobson, manager of the personalization and knowledge lab, Motorola Applications Research and Venu Vasudevan, director of pervasive platforms & architecture, Motorola Applications Research.

PERSONALIZATION

As communication and computing technologies converge and the digitization of content grows, users are facing a future of unlimited, unbridled access to entertainment and information. Here, Paola talks about how Motorola is developing technologies that will allow users to find the content that interests them and enjoy it whenever and wherever they choose.

Question: What do we mean by personalization?

Answer: Content personalization means being able to provide the most relevant, most interesting and most important content to users whether they are at home, at work or on the move. It requires technologies that are adaptive and dynamic so that day after day, devices can learn what type of content users like to receive and how they like to receive and interact with it. So over time, devices become easier to use because they present the user with options that are most likely needed to achieve the user’s goals.

Question: How is the personalized content selected for the user?

Answer: There are two main mechanisms for delivering personalized content, which can work independently or in combination. Content can be filtered based on known user interests and it can be recommended based on clustering of related content or related preferences from other, similar users. Content filtering is achieved by selecting the desired content from a source that is familiar to the user, such as an electronic program guide or listing from a server. Users can inform the system of their interests and preferences via simple check boxes or by specifying keywords of topics or names. The system also builds up a user history to dynamically infer user preferences. Unwanted topics are filtered out. New content discovery is realized via recommendations, which can be based on what other people with similar tastes and interests are consuming, and associated content from other media such as offering breaking news about a sports player that the user has just watched in a football match.

Question: What are the user benefits?

Answer: We have found that users are generally more satisfied with personalized content recommendations than random or mainstream-only content offerings, as they more readily find items that interest or entertain them. Personalization makes it easier for them to find specific versions of content, which is most appropriate to their needs. Users also save time and increase their experiences with personalized content over having to navigate long lists of available content items, as we see with 100+ cable channels. Instead of a user continually surfing, personalization technology can pick out shows and events that would interest the user over all the channels and times. The user can then determine if they want to watch or record that show.

Question: What’s in it for the content and service providers?

Answer: Content owners will get higher satisfaction and more repeat purchases from customers who receive content that targets their interests. Motorola user studies have confirmed that personalization of news headlines leads up to 33% more selections of the full story, compared to random headline offerings. There are also opportunities for sales of related merchandise such as movie soundtracks, as well as films and TV shows of similar genres, since the user is already clearly interested in the topic.

Question: What is Motorola doing?

Answer: Motorola is developing technologies which invisibly gather, sort and compile information on a user’s content and service consumption, along with other information like locations, behavior patterns and situational contexts. The technology is then able to accurately show and recommend content that fits the time, place and context that the user is interacting on. Motorola is also developing technologies that will enable this personalized content to be played on different devices in and around a user’s home and car, as well as on their mobile.

SOCIALIZATION

The next wave of social networking will move beyond the realm of simply connecting to web-based social networks. Rather it will allow users, in real-time, to connect and interact with friends, relatives and other like minded individuals. Venu talks about what’s coming and the future of real-time mobile social connections.

Question: How does mobile social networking differ from mobile access to existing social networks?

Answer: Mobile social networking is about affinity and proximity meeting availability. With mobile social networking, individuals can deepen existing relationships by being in continual contact and sharing experiences with friends and family. For example, users can know what music their friends are listening to or what kind of mood they are in, in real time. It also allows for mobile users to meet new individuals that are within the same vicinity, which can allow for an expanded social network and for the serendipitous discovery of new content. In this case, someone at the airport can find others who are listening to music that is of common interest and choose to share songs.

Question: What are the killer applications for MoSoSo (mobile social software)?

Answer: Applications that provide social connectedness through ambient communication will give people a new way and new reason to communicate. By seeing what your friends are listening to, knowing what they are doing, how they feel or where the are will bring new, deeper dimensions to relationships. As well, applications which lead to the discovery of new content or the discovery of new people will enable the absolute massive amount of new content being created every day to be seen and be sold.

Question: Is there really a demand for this?

Answer: Media and music presence-based applications are viewed as interesting and attractive. People like hearing what their friends are watching or listening to and being able to share that and talk about it. The growth of Twitter.com and other similar sites are also examples of the strong demand of applications that allow people to see what others are doing during their day.

Question: What are the technology challenges?

Answer: Ambient interfaces are needed that will not confuse or encumber users. Zero-click technologies are needed to enable operability and encourage use. Scalability and power efficient distribution of media is also needed. Mobile devices are still primarily used for making phone calls. Degradation of a devices talk time can significantly impair marketability of the device. As well, situational intelligence is needed to connect users with others of similar interests. People are turned off from devices that are broadcasting content and reaching other users indiscriminately. They want devices that will send and receive information that is pertinent to them. And finally, commerce enablers are required for media purchases, superdistribution and viral advertising, such as showing a user an advertisement while a song is being transferred or downloaded.

Question: What are the incumbent and emerging business models?

Answer: Through the creation of a new experience, people will pay to join or will be more loyal to that service provider, device manufacturer and application developer. Advertising and superdistribution, such as www.passalong.com, are already attracting customers on the web. The next evolutionary step is the migration to mobile, where deeper relationships will provide more opportunities for content distribution and discovery.