Archive for the ‘Mobile’ Category

If you’re in the entertainment industry, you know that you’re not always in front of your computer, but you DO always need to get new business leads and clients.  And you know that I always like to supply all the readers of this blog with helpful tools and services.  With that in mind I was excited to hear that Salesgenie.com, my favorite provider of online solutions for sales effectiveness management announced that subscribers can now access Salesgenie.com via their internet-enabled mobile phones. With the new mobile site, Salesgenie Mobile, sales professionals can now access their existing leads or even search for new prospects at any time, in any place via their Blackberry, iPhone, Palm Treo, or other web-enabled mobile device.

Salesgenie.com empowers sales professionals to spend more time with customers and less time in the office by providing a vast source of high quality sales lead information for business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) sales. Now this information is accessible through Salesgenie Mobile for lead profiling and contact management, enabling sales prospecting any time, any where. These mobile-enabled features allow the user to access either existing targeted leads or identify new opportunities on the spot when traveling or working in an area.

“Most sales professionals today carry an internet-enabled mobile phone,” said Mark Israelsen, President of Salesgenie.com. “And most sales professionals want to maximize their time in front of customers. By powering up their mobile phone to become a lead management and prospecting tool, we are helping them increase their efficiency and time in the field. More time in the field with high quality sales lead data can only lead to better results.”

Current Salesgenie.com subscribers can utilize this effective prospecting solution on their internet-enabled mobile phone by logging in at m.salesgenie.com. Salesgenie.com subscribers will be able to immediately take advantage of several features they are already familiar with on the standard Salesgenie.com web site. The mobile enabled features include full access to the Contact Manager, providing access to targeted sales lead data including business and consumer sales lead profiles.

For quick prospecting on-the-go, the mobile features include the ability to search for and profile business and consumer prospects on location. Business profiles include information such as a management directory, revenue, credit information, line of business and more. Consumer profiles include estimated income, home value, years in home, and more. Also available on the road is the Followups listing, assisting users to keep up on key activities.

All phone number information in Salesgenie.com Mobile is embedded in click-to-call links, enabling rapid dialing of customer contacts. All mobile features are designed to be convenient and readily accessible on the mobile device to ensure productivity with the solution.

Salesgenie Mobile is available now to subscribers of Salesgenie.com. Salesgenie Lite users can upgrade to Salesgenie.com for access to Salesgenie Mobile as well as other sales efficiency tools such as Salesgenie New Lead Alerts. Sales professionals interested in additional information on how to increase their sales efficiency, at any time, in any place, can learn more by signing up for 100 free sales leads at Salesgenie.com.

IMDB.com announced last week that users can now watch over 6,000 full-length feature films and TV episodes for free on their website.  This news made me think of two things, first, Why did it take them so long to do this?  And second, Why don’t more websites do this?

IMDB did not go out and spend a lot of money to create this service on their site, in fact, practically anyone with a basic knowledge of social media can do what they’ve done.

You can allow your site visitors to watch hit shows like:

• “24”
• “Big Brother”
• “CSI”
• “Family Guy”
• “Heroes”
• “House M.D.”
• “The Office”
• “The Simpsons”

And TV classics, such as:

• “Beverly Hills, 90210”
• “Bewitched”
• “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”
• “Charlie’s Angels”
• “Star Trek”

They can also watch full length feature films films, including:

• “Fever Pitch”
• “Fiddler on the Roof”
• “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”
• “Hoop Dreams”
• “Raising Arizona”
• “Some Like It Hot”

And because of what sites like Hulu and CBS are providing, your site visitors will also be able to watch, for free, the first episodes of new and returning shows before their airdate. These shows include:

• “Knight Rider” (Sept. 24)
• “Lipstick Jungle” (Sept. 24)
• “Chuck” (Sept. 29)
• “Life” (Sept. 29)
• “30 Rock” (Oct. 23)

So how can this be possible?  Previous to this year, you would have had to pay tens of millions of dollars in licensing fees to accomplish what can be done for free now.  However since sites like Hulu.com allow you to embed videos, it is quick and easy.  For a great example, feel free to watch a full episode of my favorite TV show, 24:

You can quickly create an entire video section on your site by embedding your favorite TV and film titles to your site.  By offering this to your audience, you are giving a value added service that will keep visitors on your site longer along with attracting new users.  So have fun!

I remember when entertainment used to consist of what was on TV, radio and movie theaters.  However it seems like everyday there is a new announcement of how entertainment companies are finding innovative methods to distribute content digitally.  So it didn’t surprise me this past week when Virgin Mobile and buzzd announced a partnership that will bring the buzzd service to all Virgin Mobile USA handsets via the no-annual contract carrier’s WAP deck giving Virgin Mobile subscribers an interactive, real-time local mobile service.

The companies are also partnering to provide Virgin Mobile USA customers with a mobile-enabled location-sensitive city guide and social network. “buzzd on Virgin Mobile” is a unique new service that allows local entertainment information to be broadcast and shared among Virgin Mobile USA customers based on their location.

Accessible on all Virgin Mobile USA devices via the carrier’s WAP deck “buzzd on Virgin Mobile” delivers editorially driven event and venue information, along with up-to-the-minute reviews and ratings from friends and other members of the community. The mobile entertainment service currently lists events and venues across all major cities in the United States, Europe and India and is powered by New York-based buzzd.

The service is more than just local entertainment listings and reviews, however: it also allows its subscribers to instantly find, connect with and reach out to friends with easy-to-use SMS and messaging features. Users can also browse and search continuously updated event feeds, which include pricing, location and event details, as well as firsthand ratings and reviews posted from the event by other members directly via the mobile platform. Events and venues are aggregated first through multiple content partnerships such as Flavorpill, TimeOut, Zagat and many more. User-generated feedback for ‘real-time’ activity about venues and events is also layered at the top of event listings throughout the platform.

“Our community has a healthy appetite for entertainment, fun and what’s happening around them,” stated Ron Faris, Director of Brand Development and Partnerships for Virgin Mobile USA. “buzzd on Virgin Mobile is a free and open service that gives our members timely content from the likes of Time Out Magazine while, as usual for Virgin Mobile, respects their privacy with opt-in location.”

“We trust that buzzd on Virgin Mobile will turn the cell phone into a remote control that accesses the best a city has to offer,” said Nihal Mehta, CEO of buzzd. “We’re pleased that Virgin Mobile customers now have easy access to finding out the most timely information on their local bars, clubs, restaurants, events and more.”