Ok, this is a challenge to Zynga and MapItApps or even Raytheon. I have laid out the concept of the Bounty Hunter Mobile Application or BMHA, and all of these companies are the ones who could actually give life to it.
You might have heard about the first company, through their very famous website games like Mafia Wars or Farmville. (man, do you guys like playing those games, cause I am always getting some message about one or the other on Facebook) They are called Zynga, and they have the capability to do some very interesting things. My idea with the BHMA. is to use a game to promote the application and the act of finding things or people. Imagine if there was a Bounty Hunter game, and every widget posted to a Facebook or Myspace page, had a link to the BHMA? Imagine if the faces or things were intermixed within the fabric of the game, thus reinforcing the visual memory of these things and people. Instead of using some digital cartoon to represent something in the game, you actually use a picture of a most wanted individual. You get the idea, but the main goal of this game, is marketing. You could do something similar with games like Call of Duty or Rainbow Six, and just make the various bad guys in the games, real.
It is all about marketing the BHMA and it’s parent website, and connecting people who want to find stuff, with those who are looking for stuff. You could even put ads on the parent website to take advantage of the huge volume of traffic, if you further want to monetize the thing. But the main point of the game itself, is to provide some architecture to the brand called Bounty Hunter Mobile Applications. That is the first step.
The second company I wanted to promote, was MapItApps. These guys are cool, and they are definitely the ones that could provide the rest of the crucial architecture of the brand called Bounty Hunter Mobile Applications. They have already produced several interactive maps/tools, and it would not be hard for them to produce a BHMA. Just check out their EMS or H1N1 mobile application, and you will understand exactly what I am talking about.
I also believe that once all the pieces are put together, and the machine is ready to go, we will also see some positive buzz from the technology world and from the trend spotting world. The first ever successful bounty hunt produced from this concept, would also help to promote what it is capable of. I think media giants like America’s Most Wanted or Crime Stoppers would totally jump on this, as well as the Rewards For Justice program. The reason being, is that it is just taking what they are already advertising, and making it fun and easy for people to participate in the program.
Strategically speaking, this concept is all about making it fun to find people and things, and entice those people with the possibility of reward and notoriety. The BHMA also puts the power of choice within the hands of the user, and assists that user in finding things if they want to. They can turn it on, or turn it off at their convenience. They can choose only to go after the really basic stuff, like missing dogs or wallets, or the really adventurous types could go after the bigger fish.
The folks that are looking for stuff or people, increase the odds of finding those people and things, by increasing the reward, pertinent information about the target, and the last known location of the target. If they want success, then they need to help along the process by updating their side of the deal.
Another way to look at this, is BHMA turns every user into a node for anyone that wants to find something and are willing to pay a price. What this is, is basically crowd sourcing the world in order to find criminals, terrorists, or just puppies. lol
Now of course there will need to be moderators and some kind of hub to keep track of everything, and to make sure everything is legal and above board. The users can contribute to the policing of the BHMA as well, much like we see with other popular social based networks.
Obviously, this could be a huge money maker, and that money earned from this venture should be focused on insuring a quality product. If you are selling millions of apps on iTunes at .99 cents a piece, or just handing them out for free, and then selling the pro-BHMA for a price, then you could see the potential. You could also integrate ads, and sell that kind of ad space for a premium. Remember, you are reaching millions of fans of the BHMA and you are already giving them a tool that could easily make them money if they get a reward off of a bounty hunt. You could also sell versions in different languages, or military versions, or police based versions, or whatever. The imagination is your limit.
Kaizen must be applied to BHMA, and newer and better versions should continue to pop up. This is pretty typical of mobile applications, and this is nothing new. The website for Bounty Hunter should have a blog and a forum, so that it’s users can interact with the hub or ‘dispatch’ center, or whatever you want to call the central location of the app. That feed back on what is good or bad about the application, is gold, and it would be wise to pay attention to what users have to say. Hell, just check out Zynga’s site, and you will see exactly the model for how to best control and manage the BHMA franchise.
Now I put this post in PMC 2.0, because this is the kind of idea that Raytheon, or whomever could really get into if they wanted. You don’t have to call it Bounty Hunter Mobile Applications either. You could call it Lost Puppies. You could call it Where’s My Keys? How about Marco Polo? Call it something that would give it a very bland and neutral name, just so the name doesn’t spark up controversy. (Xe is already taken-lol) But by all means, you should definitely look hard at the idea, and throw it out there for those hungry smart phones that all the kids have these days. By the way gang, I have already sent out the letters to these companies, and we will see if they jump up on this. –Matt
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Zynga is the #1 social gaming company on the web. Zynga was founded specifically to add a social element to casual online games because we love games, and we love them most when we’re playing with friends! Social games provide a more fun, competitive and contagious experience. Zynga delivers on the promise of social networks, making it easy to connect with old friends and make new ones (no download required!). Zynga has something for everyone: casino games, word games, board games, role playing games and party games which can be found on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Friendster, and Hi5.
Zynga Hits 100 Million Unique Visitors Per Month
By Lisa Chan
Nov 23, 2009
Company Launches FarmVille.com One Million Users Purchase Virtual Goods Monthly
SAN FRANCISCO – Nov. 23, 2009 – Zynga (www.zynga.com), the largest developer of social games, today announced that more than 100 million unique users play its games every month, making it the largest online game destination. The company has 200 million monthly active users across all games, with one million users purchasing virtual goods per month. Zynga’s newest games, Café World and FishVille, have contributed to the company’s growth. Café World, launched in September, has surpassed 9 million daily active users, while FishVille has crossed 6 million daily active users since its launch earlier this month. Zynga’s popular game FarmVille is the largest social game with over 65 million virtual farmers, 26 million of which play the game every day. These farmers recently contributed more than $700,000 for the welfare of children in Haiti. The company also launched FarmVille.com a new web site that uses Facebook Connect integration to bring the popular game to a standalone portal. The new site enhances the game play experience for current FarmVille players who can tend to their same Facebook farms and introduces new players to the most popular social game online. FarmVille players add to their farms by gaining game points and purchasing virtual goods. Every month, more than one million users purchase virtual goods in Zynga’s games, from tractors and pets to café decorations and lobster tanks. Direct user purchases account for approximately 90 percent of Zynga’s revenues. “Our games continue to delight and connect players as they immerse themselves in their worlds of farming, fishing or running a restaurant,” said Mark Pincus, CEO and founder of Zynga. “With the popularity of virtual goods today, we are in the early stages of a new economy that could grow and shape the future of the Web.”
Website for Zynga here.
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About MapItApps
Core Lines of Business
MapItApps obsesses to bring you the best Map and Map-Related products rich with unique and fused data not readily available from Apple or Google.
We pride ourselves on bringing you streamlined mapping applications that enable users access to repetitive or time sensitive data in 1 to 2 Clicks.
Staff
We are a Veteran Owned Small Business operating from Northern Virginia.
MapItApps is a brand of SAKE Applications LLC.
We are extremely fortunate to have built such a great team; however, we are always excited to meet talented new iPhone developers, graphic artists and advertising professionals. Feel free to send your resume and portfolio to HR@MapItApps.com
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H1N1 Map —
Outbreaks Near You
We’ve purchased nearly 30,000 H1N1 records world wide and integrated them with google maps to crisply and efficiently display Outbreaks Near You and your loved ones:
– Media or User Reported Outbreaks appear in Red Pins
– Fatal Outbreak appear in Purple Pins
– All addresses in your contacts appear in Green Pins
– Your “comfort zone” is displayed with a red ellipse
Media Data is compiled hourly and updated daily, while user submitted data updates instantly
If a user defines a “Comfort Zone” we’ll notify them of newly reported outbreaks each time they launch the H1N1 Map. Comfort Zones are user defined locations with a scalable perimeter from 0.2 – 20 mile in diameter.
User can submit their own outbreaks in case we missed it
Works on iPhone and iPod Touch
Website here.