Denuo - denuology.com

After a nice long Memorial Day weekend ushered in the summer, students across the country are taking that last set of finals in hopes of maintaining good grades or bumping up those so-so grades. With the spirit of report cards in the air, I thought it was a good time to give out a report card of sorts to the latest social media/mobile/application craze, location-based apps.

In lieu of grades, I’m taking a more general approach of commenting on: The Good, The Bad, and My Wish. Now bring on the judgment.

You know those people who have a natural sense of direction? Who seem to just know how to navigate new neighborhoods, where to turn right or left? Who can give a map a once-over without furrowing their brow? I am not one of those people.

In fact, about a month ago, I got lost on my 0.1 mile walk to work off the Clark/Lake stop. I somehow managed to head west on Lake Street and walked in squares around Clark, LaSalle, and West Wacker. I even annoyed not one, but two, busy-looking people on the street by asking which way West Wacker was. At this point, it was 8:54am and I was getting dangerously close to being late, so I hailed a cab to work (I’m serious.) Quite possibly the most embarrassing $5 I ever spent.

It got me thinking: I am one of those people who should get a smartphone. I’m constantly looking up train schedules, walking directions, restaurant menus, movie times, concerts and events information. When I’m out with friends, I always have to ask two questions: 1) “Where are we going?” and 2) “Who has a smartphone?”

Last week, Denuologist Matt Story participated as a speaker at the 2010 Digital Hollywood Spring event in Santa Monica, CA. A collection of leaders from the media, creative, technology and entertainment industries gathered for this three-day event exploring topics ranging from smartphones to online video to music to Hollywood to videogames.

Matt’s panel focused on the strategies, market and rewards for games, music and content. It also specifically spoke to the rise of SmartPhones, iPads and digital tablets. Joining him on the panel was Stephen Jackson, President and CEO of Smashing Ideas; Jason Henderson, Games Product Manager at Verizon; Michael Schade, CEO and Co-Founder of Fishlabs; Daniele Calabrese, Founder and CEO of sountrckr; and Jennifer Cooper, Founder and Principal of Rocket Spark Media, who also participated as the panel moderator.

Issue #57 features Darth Vader’s best Jay-Z impression, how the film Alien would look were it cast with the Winnie the Pooh characters, the world’s first one-woman iPhone band, and digital Peeps. Plus, Matt Story shares a perspective on the opportunities and challenges of marketing via sports games.

Click above or HERE for the latest!

Courtney Acuff joined a handful of mobile experts last Thursday to discuss the state of the mobile industry and where it’s headed. This 75-minute panel, held at the downtown Hilton, was sponsored by the Chicago Interactive Marketing Association (CIMA) – the city’s only organization focused solely on interactive marketing. Topics ranged from scalable mobile tactics to accurate metrics/analytics and how the platform can be monetized and built to last.