Press Release: Put a Pumpkin in Your Passbook

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Text “pumpkin” to 77948 from your iPhone, or type “pumpkinpass” into your browser to get a PumpkinPass

 Halloween shopping and fun, no app required

PumpkinPass is a Halloween shopping and fun pass .  Download it into your Passbook^®, then use it to search for other Halloween-themed discount coupons and fun events. 

No app required…just enter “pumpkinpass” directly into your iPhone browser or text the code “pumpkin” to 77948.  (You must have iOS6 and Passbook installed).

PumpkinPass is lists other Halloween coupons and ideas on it’s back page, updated daily by the ghouls and monsters at PumpkinPass headquarters.

Created by group of hackers and students

Pumpkinpass was created by a group of Passbook hackers and students, to demonstrate how easy and fun it is to use Passbook.  “Right now you have to download apps to get passes for your Passbook,” said Jim Bonner, founder of the group, “and that is just way too much work. Downloading passes directly from a webpage takes just a few seconds.”

In addition to Pumpkinpass, the group is launching passes for Thansgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Birthdays. 

Website:  www.pumpkinpass.com

Status:  in Beta test

Powered by:  PumpkinPass is powered by the Passjoy engine, a server technology that links Apple Passbook to e-commerce, marketing, and advertising.

About Passbook:  Passbook is a registered trademark of Apple Computers Inc.  PumpkinPass is in no way affiliated with Apple Computers, Inc.

Contact:  Jim Bonner, Passbook Hackathon Group, jim.bonner@ioptimal.com (650) 539-8950

Passbook Hackathon's First Venture! Whoo!

PressPumpkinPass is a Halloween shopping and fun pass, no app required

PumpkinPass is a fun Halloween shopping and fun pass.  Download it into your Passbook, then use it to search for other Halloween-themed discount coupons and fun events. 

“PumkinPass was created by our hackathon members a little for fun, and a little out of frustration” said Jim Bonner, co-founder of the group.  “Till now only way you can get passes is to sign up for a bunch of vendor-specific apps, but we found people overwhelmingly preferred to use passes directly.  PumpkinPass is a demonstration of how easy this is.  Instead of 5 minutes registering an app, we’re talking 10 seconds to download a pass and start using it.“

Halloween theme pass that finds other passes for you

Pumpkin pass is a theme pass, in this case for Halloween.  It lists other Halloween discount passes and event coupons on it’s back page.  “it’s like a portal to other passes in the same theme” said one hacker. 

No app required…just enter “pumpkinpass” directly into your iPhone browser or text the code “pumpkin” to 77948.  (You must have Passbook installed

First of “hopefully several” concepts to be launched by group

The Passbook hackathon group started testing Passbook immediately after the beta announcement, holding a series of on-site test runs, in Silicon Valley locations, which where aimed at understanding the underlying architecture and use cases of Passbook.  “There was no substitute for getting passes into our own day-to-day lives.  It really showed us where Passbook is going to shine and have the biggest impact.  It’s such a lightweight format…but you can build it into a lasting customer relationship on that powerful mobile platform” said Bonner. 

  

In addition to Pumpkinpass and the Passjoy engine, the group is launching passes for Thansgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Birthdays.

Powered by Passbook marketing and commerce engine

Pumpkinpass is powered by the Passjoy passbook marketing and commerce engine.  This engine allows the creation and large-scale distribution of customer-personalized ecommerce, shopping, and co-branding passes. 

Contact: 

Jim Bonner, Passbook Hackathon, jim.bonner@ioptimal.com (650) 539-8950

Video Demo of Passbook Changes to Mobile Payment World

This video demos Apple's new Passbook tool, used to "simulate" the functions of a mobile payment app.

It shows that a Pass takes 15 seconds to download and start using, while a mobile payment app (looks like Square) takes almost 5 minutes.

That's 300/15 seconds = 20X easier for Passbook.  OK, it has about 60% the functionality.  So 20 X .6 = 12X easier.

Passbook is 12X easier, and in my experience, customer adoption is based on the square or the cube of ease of use.

And the mobile payments industry has been facing stubborn resistance from US consumers.

My view is, we'd better figure out how to integrate Passbook into the mobile payments industry.  Quick.

Forget NFC or lack thereof.  Focus on the immediate term...Passbook enabled offerings are going to be rolling up the customers faster and easier than anybody else, while the standard mobile payment apps are going to grind to a halt.

Is this guaranteed?  No.  This is just a first stab at the problem, done on a limited budget.

But never mind...the stakes are far too high and the potential for Passbook to disrupt the nascent mobile payment industry are too obvious.   Even if this video is half-right, it's still huge.

Here is an earlier video.

Patent Strategy Mandatory for Mobile Wallet/Shopping

Anybody who wants to play in the mobile wallet shopping market may be forced to make patents an integral part of their strategy.

Yes it sucks.  But we have to get over it.  Internet developers and software developers are accustomed to a world in which patents are not key to strategy and not a place to invest time or energy early in the game. The net result of this has been, the person who benefits most is not those who first think of an idea, but those  who best implements an idea, perhaps years later.

However mobile wallet shopping is a new game with new rules. It's a big mashup of mobile wallets, loyalty, discount cards, movie tickets, and e-commerce. Add e-mail marketing and display advertising to hundreds of millions of consumers. The numbers are big, and this new game  will be centered around mobile wallets like Passbook and mobile payments/wallets from Google Square and others.

In this game the rules of already been established,and patents are important, perhaps pivotal.

Consider:

• Apple has already been sued and the lawsuit may extend to the larger ecosystem.

• Apple and other vendors are already in massive litigation.  The legal system is fully engaged.

• Apple and other big vendors been awarded patents covering much of the possible shopping/wallet behavior. Note that these patents cover business methods, not just technology.

• Mobile payment/Passbook-based shopping systems are by nature server and algorithm-intensive and therefore are more likely to be patented.

Add this up:  patents are going to be integral to the industry.  Again we might argue against this, but our job as developer is to play the game with whatever rules we're handed.

What does this mean specifically?

• More value will be accorded to early players, less to followers

• Not just tool providers, but even third-party players (the people using Passbook to market their products) will be affected

• Defensive patents will be a growth industry

Passbook Hackathon Part II

Update...here are the video links:  

Hackathon Part I video
Hackathon Part II video 

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Background

Over the past month many of us have been experimenting with Passbook and begun to see it as a massive enablement/disruption of the mobile loyalty, discounts, payments, and advertising space -- and, by extension -- an enablement/disruption of Facebook, Google, Apple, the credit card companies, and so many oother large players who are chasing mobile as their future revenue stream.

Opportunity

To say that mobile payments/loyalty is *big* is the understatement of history.  Passbook, because it bypasses most of the obstructions currently limiting the app-centric model of mobile payments, is likely to be a key pivot for the mobile payments space.  Passbook is so new that few players understand it's potential to elevate the entire concept of mobile payments.

Thus, the opportunity for a few small players -- us -- to participate in history.  What fun.

Plan

For our first pre-test, we already have the Passbook Mobile App builder, our little tool that allows us to mash Passbook specific functions into prototype mobile apps.  See our first test video.

We'll be adding Facebook API, Salesforce API, and any other mashup candidates -- Square, Paypal, Yelp, Visa, Mastercard, Eventbrite, etc -- that we think can be thrown in the pot.  

The entire 15 years of web-based and mobile-based commerce ecosystem can be refactored to Passes, and in one weekend we want to try to do it.

Date

Mountain View Aug 17-18

Deliverables

1.  Prototype a Passbook Commerce Network -- we hope -- an early leap towards passes as integral to retail commerce of modern society.  Yes, many other players have pioneered this trail before us...but we're going to throw Passbook on top.

2.  Create a half-dozen business and technology ideas we can play with in the coming months

3.  Document the relevant IP

4.  Test and extend the Passbook app builder and the Pass Marketing Engine.

iPad as a Tectonic Shift

Great article talks about how the iPad is being used by Apple to improve their efficiency and operations.

Apple's iPad hasn't just dominated consumer technology lately, it has also helped lead a fundamental shift in the way small- and midsize-business owners do their jobs.

Read more: http://www.portfolio.com/business-news/2011/04/28/ipad-use-leads-to-technology-shift-by-small-business-owners#ixzz1L73wINN8

CustomShow: Presentation for iPad

Smooth looking new presentation product for the iPad. We haven't tested it yet...but it's top of the agenda.