Fun Stuff: Because, of course

The Mobile World Congress 2014 was not necessarily all work, all the time.

At the big stand representing exhibitors from Ireland (of course) was one that stood out among the rest – for serving beer.  Beer, you say?  Yes, there’s an app for that:  Well, it’s an iOS app and microbrewing system known collectively as Brewbot.

Because the art of brewing one’s own beer is a project of precise temperatures and measurements, it’s tricky to get every single step right.  This is where the Brewbot iOS app comes in.  It tracks exactly what’s happening inside the contraption, letting the brewer know what ingredients to add and when exactly to add them. Temperature is monitored to the degree, fluctuating to create the ideal environment for delectable fermentation to take place.  Independent folks and small businesses love tinkering with the finer details of the brewing process. Brewbot offers a platform to augment that experience while eliminating the tedium.

And speaking of beer – even the event organizers got into the game by offering free beer to random attendees who tapped their NFC-enabled phone and won.   (I did.)

I thought it was funny that some enterprising person thought he could take advantage of the attention this was getting and affixed his own NFC tag (the green sticker) next to the “No Luck” section of the poster.   It makes me wonder how many people he tricked to get to click on his site.

Also adding levity to the Congress were the Intel Android mascots running around in different outfits throughout the venue and across the 4 days of the conference.

Finally, one other piece of technology I found interesting and fun was facial recognition software that was intended to support geo-location and targeted mobile marketing.  With this technology, not only does the marketer have information on your location in the store, but to provide additional context for their offers – they now get the target’s emotional state as well (Angry, Happy, Sad, Surprised).  I played with the contraption by adjusting my facial expressions – and uncannily enough, the software did get it right!

So that’s it for my recap of MWC14.  Until next year, Barcelona.  Ciao.

For more on Jose’s adventures in Barcelona, check out Part 1 and 2 of his Mobile World Congress series. Or download a copy of The New Communications Standard and find out why email alone is no longer enough!