Amazon Granted Location Tracking Patent

bizwriter writes "A new patent for Amazon just put the company squarely in the location tracking controversy. It covers a system to not only track, through mobile devices, where individuals or aggregated users have been, but to determine where they're likely to go next to better target ads, coupons, or other messages that could appear on a mobile phone or on displays that individuals are likely to see in their travels. The system could also use someone's identity to further tailor the marketing according to demographic information."

Comments

Yet another stupid patent

[Anonymous Coward]

As this has been done before - see "scavenger hunts": http://www.cellphonesinlearning.com/2010/01/scvngr-cell-phone-scavenger-hunt.html

Re:As terrible as it sounds...

[Superken7]

What makes you think Amazon will not be suing others for ridiculous and non-innovative technology such as buying items with 1 click? Oh wait, they already did AFAIK :)

Still, I feel Apple is more of a patent troll and more of a control freak, so I kinda still agree that they are worse, but that doesn't mean its good, and comparing to Apple would be pointless.

Re:As terrible as it sounds...

[Trepidity]

I kinda hope they do in this case, and turn the whole user-tracking area into a patent minefield that companies are afraid to touch.

Good news

[Alain Williams]

If Amazon have a patent on it then no one else will be able to do it (ahem) and so our privacy will be better preserved

I wish ...

Re:We know

[somersault]

If you don't want your location being tracked, turn off location tracking in your browser or in your OS's location options. Simples.

This is not going to stop

[Zaldarr]

I'm an undergrad student getting a degree in Business, and I'm probably pointing out the obvious when I say that this will not stop because there is far too much money to be made out of it. The thing is about the micromarkets (i.e. selling directly to a consumer) is that it takes out all the guesswork involved in trying to appeal to a mass or niche market. No (expensive) market research needs to be done - other than having an algorithm sort through a bunch of information about yourself (provided most likely by Google or Facebook, whatever's your poison) and matching it with related products, and BAM. You're being advertised to right there, at (or near) the store, advertising to you about something that is probably relevant to you. The power of this is not to be underestimated, old media methods were like carpetbombing, just get the message out to everyone, and hope it hits; new media is now a surgical strike at your wallet via the phone in your pocket. Unless there is political control, public outrage or (heaven forbid) good corporate ethics, this is here to stay.

Re:This is not going to stop

[Archangel Michael]

Last time I tried to use the QR coded display at the store, it presented me with exactly the same information as the display, from the store's own website. That just Spells "I don't get it" IMHO. You're not helping anyone with that crap.

If I was a store manager, and someone clicked the QR code on the display, I'd offer them something, a discount, a addon, some promotional value if they presented that information at the time of purchase, within the next 30 minutes. Something along the line of "if you buy this product, you'll get $5 off" (or whatever).

In other words, give us a reason for using them.

Re:This is good news!

[Hentes]

Because nobody else is tracking you.

How does it further the technical arts?

[kawabago]

Patents are supposed to teach us something we didn't know but this patent is just shuffling data around. Once phones are location aware, it isn't an invention to look up what businesses are at that location and then what related businesses are in the direction of travel. This is an obvious application of the location aware phone invention.