A quick search on Google and I noticed that they had a partnerships with Qualcomm, as an early user of an open source project called AllJoyn, which seems to power some of the wifi and Bluetooth side of the technology behind Lokast.  What the hell does Alljoyn do, well I can’t tell you in any great detail for sure, since I opted not to spend 2 hours reading through all the documentation and SDKs, but per their FAQs it’s “peer-to-peer technology that enables ad hoc, proximity-based, device-to-device communication without the use of an intermediary server…  that will enhance the user experience by simplifying how devices interact with one another.” And “AllJoyn was developed to solve many of the problems that exist in enabling peer-to-peer communication such as simple discovery, pairing, message routing, security, transport independence etc.”

So the takeaway from my non techie little brain is: 1. it’s location specific, 2. it’s an easy way to connect between devices, and 3. you can share stuff.

So while the use case that they seem to be pushing for AllJoyn is around gaming, and Lokast is taking it in the social direction. I think the big retailers like a Best Buy or Home Depot should have a look, not necessarily to allow me to connect to the other customers in the store at the time, but to use it as a way to provide better service to me and connect me with the store just for the time I am in there.  I am thinking of it less as true random, out in the wild peer to peer network, but more as a one super peer “authority” device (the store)  that will always be present in a store creating the foundation for a quick and easy ad hoc communication system  between a store and its patrons.

How would I like to be “connected” to the store while I am there?  Well some stuff is simple, like notifying the store that I want someone to come help me, or leaving feedback like the fact that salesman Bob really knows his cameras.  If there is some promotion happening in the store like 20% off DVDs, it would be good to know that as I make a bee line for the computer section on the opposite side of the store.

Then you could really start to get fancy, by say loading up a ton of product information and demos, so when customers want to do a little in store research of a product they’re considering buying they can get at it quickly and easily, without having to resort to a search of the entire web of data on the subject via Google.  Customers could sample clips of songs or movies in the DVDs section before buying, or peruse curated content of peer reviews of dishwashers or toys before buying. Not to mention that all the in store mobile search query data would be a massive goldmine for ad retargeting ala someone like Magnetic, Akamai/Acerno or Channel Intelligence.

I think if any of these in store retail plays like the area that Shopkick is going after will ever be successful, they’ll need to forget about the silly point schemes and game mechanics and trying to develop a one size fits all mobile app solution from their HQ in California.  I think the more successful route would be to build a simple platform that allows each retailers to take control, and build from the ground up, specifically around the needs of their store and communicating directly there locally with their customers.  Not to say that a lot of the content, like product reviews, couldn’t be one size fits all, but the implementation and people running the system need to be there locally in the store.

It seems to me something like AllJoyn could be pretty easily modified to do all this.

As cool as FourSquare is, why stop there… Mr. Best Buy CMO, if you’re listening here is what I think would be a more comprehensive way to use mobile and location data in your business:

First and foremost be sure people can find your stores when they’re looking for them… call Universal Business Listing and Localezeto make sure your complete list of stores and as much information about those stores is correctly propogated out to all the players in the geoweb… oh year and be sure to claim all of your Local Business Listings on Google. 

Want to pull more customers into your physical stores from the web and mobile web? Check out folks like milo.com, where customers can search for items carried in your store on the web and then find the closest nearby store where they can walk in and purchase it then and there… or hire some clever local SEO experts and associated content to create massive amounts of web content around all of your most popular products and tie them back to the location of each of your stores… that way digital searches for “Garmin Nuvi Detroit” lead folks to your brick and mortar stores.  

Want to better understand the people that already come into your stores why not ask someone like Sense Networks if they can drill down around your stores to see how far folks that are coming to your store are traveling to get there, where they go before and after going to your store, or if there is a nearby roadway that could should be driving more traffic but is not… it may be time to buy a new billboard on that nearby superhighway.

Want to help your suppliers and store management better understand what is selling and why? Why not talk with the folks over at Awhere.com to take a deeper dive into the demographics, weather and a variety of other geographically specific factors occurring in the areas around each store that may be having an impact. Not selling many GPS dog trackers at store #2718?  Maybe its because pet ownership in a 50 mile radius of that store only indexes as 28 versus the national average.

Once you’ve got customers in your store why not provide better in store service and create a little mobile store portal to help customers do things like find their way around (Blue Umbrella Indoor Navigation), look up consumer reviews on the items you carry and do price comparisons on items for sale, look at what you have in inventory, and leave feedback for a manager, etc.

In fact, why not just sell virtual digital goods right there in the store through the phone while you’re at it. Why not give Apple a call and remind them about that nifty digital meets physical affiliate marketing patent they filed, and see if you can put it to use by marketing music through listening stations in the store where consumers can download directly to their iPhones while providing Best Buy with a nice high margin affiliate fee for driving the download.

I am sure there is more, but that should be enough to get the ball rolling in 2010.