MegaPhone brings a new kind of connectivity to digital signage

I meant to blog about this months ago, but kept forgetting. Thankfully, Nate Nead picked it up,reminding me in the process :) MegaPhone is essentially a middleware platform that uses regular phone touch tones instead of SMS messages to allow users to interact with some kind of application over the Internet. Check out this demo:

In my mind, there are a few key advantages of this kind of tech over SMS-based applications. Among the most notable are:

• Once you've dialed into the system, your interactions are near real-time and are immediately reflected on the application screen
• Many different actions can be handled simply with different keypresses instead of having to type different shortcodes or SMS messages
• Because it's a voice call, it works with any phone, including regular old landlines
• Because it's a voice call, you could also have an IVR or even a live operator assist the user or help him to navigate through various options

Granted, connecting an Internet-based interactive application with a touch-tone phone system is nothing new (our IP PBX system has had similar capabilities for years), but having a company dedicated to providing this middleware for digital out-of-home projects is pretty cool. While the company has spent most of its time in large audience venues like arenas, I'd expect to see their stuff rolled out to other social environments sooner rather than later, especially if their cost structure is reasonable.


Tags: digital signage, megaphone, digital out-of-home