We're slowly beginning to see data collection based marketing emerge. It's my firm belief that these techniques harness the advertising potential of social networks and mobile phones best and most simply.

While something like Facebook's Beacon program did take advantage of the sheer data-collection power of a social network, Big-Brother creepiness impacted on the user more than anything else. No one wants to be an advertisement, and Beacon not only made users into advertisements, but also took away the mystique of what users were doing when not on Facebook. No one wants to admit that in their spare time, they're not out with friends, but signing up for Fantasy Football on ESPN.com; there's still a sense of stigma about the excessive hours we fritter away on the internet. Furthermore, the user didn't benefit from sharing details or personal brand preferences.

On the other hand, Akoo's m-venue application (http://www.akoo.com/) actually rewards users for providing input on the commercials and media that surround them in real life. It is also able to use this input to identify consumer choices through location-aware technology.

What happens to any smartphone when Akoo is turned on is that, basically, that phone becomes capable of interacting with a number of speakers and video screens around the USA, primarily in malls and fast food restaurants. When users are in an Akoo facility, they can send text messages requesting songs or videos that can be played either in the public A/V equipment or simply on their cell phone. When they hear Akoo-recommended music they like, they can tag it and store it for later retrieval and purchasing on iTunes or other programs.

Akoo is able to simultaneously gather information on the consumer's likes or dislikes and instantaneously respond to approval or disapproval from the consumer - taking an extra step towards complete customer satisfaction. It is also a completely optional program that is activated only if the user so desires.

These sorts of user input-reliant applications seem like the safest and easiest way to monetize applications for websites or phones, because they offer something to the customer quite directly: either the chance to win a reward for participating, or, as in this case, user-generated content in venues where content has traditionally been imposed from above.