Localized Radio Ads

We all have seen and experienced localized TV ads. Depending on your location (which your TV cable/satellite provider knows based on your set-top box), they stream area specific ads to you. The ads on TV can be very very precise, as they know too much about you. They know your exact home location, they TV channels you watch, the exact TV shows you watch and more specifically which TV shows you do not watch. They can (and are already) target the ad that will interested you more. Its gonna get crazier with time.

Similar with online ads. The website are smart enough to target ads based on which website you are looking at, your IP address, and in turn your location. Everyone knows about infamous Google 'reading' your Gmail and targeting specific ads based on what you are emailing about.

Surprisingly nothing much has been done with targeting Radio ads to the listener. Most of the Ads are region specific, as the radio station is usually only broadcasted for a small area (relatively speaking). But that is too generic to the area. There is no consumer or location target ads.

Here is what needs to happen. Almost all new cars these days are fitted with navigation devices. based on your GPS location, as you are driving - localized ads can be played out to you. E.g. if I am driving close to a restaurant that is doing a lunch special, that particular ad should play on my radio. If I am driving by a bowling alley, and they are doing a Tuesday night special on bowling - that ad needs to be played. And so on... you get the idea.

You could even take it further - depending on what kind of music I listen to (the radio station that is playing), ads can be targeted to specific listeners based on if they are listening to 'classics' or 'rock/metal' or 'hip-hop' or 'blues' or NPR....

I think there a product in the making that will bring GPS manufacturers and radio stations together for localized and targeted radio ads.

Three-seater two-wheelers?

Random thought today - How come there are 4 seater, 5 seater, 7 seater, 8 seater cars (and the count goes on and on just by increasing the 'length' of a four-wheeler), but no more than two-seater two-wheelers.

We have seen 1 seater and 2 seater two wheelers being used (in India) for years with more riders than the designed seats. I grew up riding on a gas tank of a Royal Enfield Bullet - So its not that people cannot drive a 2-wheeler with more than 2 people on board, nor I think its an issue of balancing a 2 wheeler with more than 1 pillion rider.

I can understand 'safety' being a concern; but how come in places like India (where it is totally legal to drive with spouse + 2 kids on board) - we haven't  yet seen a 2-wheeler maker venture into a three-seater two-wheeler market?

I think it will be a big hit! Specially a two-wheeler with a child-safety-seat!

Display Name on Phone Contacts

Almost everyone I know stores atleast a few contacts on their phones by the relation or the nickname of the contact. E.g. Dad, Mom, Sweet Sis, Robbie or something like 'DoNOTAnswer'.

So howcome a simple field like that is not available in Phone Contact apps?

I would really like to see a 'Display Name' field different than a 'First Name' and 'Last Name' field - so that people do not have to write relations in the 'First Name' field. Even though some contact apps have an 'Alias' field or a 'nickname' field, its only the 'First Name'+'Last Name' that is displayed when the other person calls. The phone should display the 'Display Name' if filled, if not then default to 'First Name'+'Last Name'.

Simple idea, but I am sure will be very useful.

Also related, this is my first blog from a mobile device - iPad. :)

eBook Signatures

Dear Diary,
Dear Blog,
I know I have missed you you have missed me. I have been really bad at thinking about ideas. Running has occupied every corner of my brain - so much so that everything I eat or drink, everything I schedule is around running. I will have to make room in my brain to think about new ideas.

Anyhooo.... this idea also actually came to me because of running. I bought an ebook (kindle version) called 'Eat & Run'.The author, a very famous name in Ultrarunning, Scott Jurek is coming to San Francisco for a lecture on ultrarunning. Ruchi and I are toying with the idea of going to the lecture. The event also has free book signing by Scott. I was feeling kinda left behind, as technically I have already bought his book, but he would not be able to sign it. He could 'technically' sign my kindle, but thats not the same as having an autographed book from the author.

So, my idea was - eSignatures for ebooks where author can sign his ebook on a touchscreen device. Once signed, as he is the author of the book, he can 'lock' the signature as text on the book - so that you can't really erase it - like an real ink signature on paper.

After doing some basic googling, turns out someone as a patent-pending on this idea. bummer. There is no product though for kindle (or other eBook formats) for eBook Signature yet.

Darwin, Evolution and other Species.

We have all, more or less, read the evolution theory. And how the Survival of the Fittest helps evolve a particular species over generations.

What I would like to know is how come humans evolved at such a rapid pace than any other species. The counter argument might be how do we know that all species started at the same 'level' before evolving over years and years.

Well, I base my question purely based on a non-religious origin of mankind. I base it on the big bang theory and the fact that all species essentially originated from algae.

So my question is why are humans like a 10 on an evolution scale of 1-10, and other species are no where close to maybe even a 3 or 4 out of 10.

Contact Search on mobile phones.

Maybe its just the makes and model of mobile phones I have used, but 'contact search' has really be awful on the iPhone, Blackberry, Palm phones that I have used in the last 8 odd years of smartphones.

A contact these days is more than just a name and a phone number or an email. It has an address, notes, organization name, notes and much more...

Why cant I search a contact by just how I remember a contact. e.g. I sometimes remember people by their organization or by where they live, and I know I have stored that info in my contacts. If mobile phones (e.g. iPhone) can index all your emails and let you search that, why not index everything in a contact and search by anything or everything.

e.g. I wanted to find out a contact, and I knew the phone number started with area code (916). Why cant I just start typing 916... in my contact search, and it starts shortlisting people.

Again, simple, but still missing.

Adjustable toilet seat (height from the floor).

We as humans have customized car seats but one-size-fits-all toilet seats; even though we have been pooping way longer than we have been driving cars.

Its sometimes too low for tall people and too high for short people. Unless you are the average height human, its not as comfortable to attend nature's second most frequent call as it should be.

And I think, the solution is very simple. What I would really like to have have 2-3 toilet seat lids. If a tall person needs to adjust the height and make it (the seat) higher than the floor, they can put all the 3 lids down on the seat and make it higher. On the other hand a short person can put down just 1 lid on the seat to keep it lower. These lids can be of varying thickness too.

That would really allow the seat height to be customize-able without much investment. Also in a house, where people are very nit picky about cleanliness, you can have different lids for different people.

You KNOW its Friday, when I come up with totally weird ideas... :D