Shazam is a neat app for your mobile phone. Have you ever heard a song on the radio and wished you knew who the artist was, so you could buy the song? If you have Shazam downloaded on your phone, you just hit a button and Shazam listens to the song, then uploads the snippet and matches it to its vast database of music and artists. Information about the artist, album, genre, and even lyrics pops up on your screen.
So the other day I was watching TV and, during an ad for Turbo Tax software, saw a Shazam cue come up. I grabbed my phone and shazamed the commercial. (In other words, I hit the button as if I were listening to a song.) Sure enough, I was popped over to a cool mobile website for Turbo Tax. I thought, what a great idea!
It’s kind of like a QR code, except it’s not as ugly.
Studies show that very few people understand QR codes . I think they are very cool, but unless they really catch on with people, they will be useless.
Maybe Shazam has more of a chance to catch on, because a lot of people use Shazam or similar apps.
I Googled it, and sure enough, a lot of major brands are signing on: Starbucks, Honda, Progressive, etc.
Here’s a link to a press release from Shazam: http://www.shazam.com/music/web/pressrelease.html?nid=NEWS20110616131053
I predict the verb “to shazam” will enter our vernacular in the short term, if it hasn’t already. Get ready!
What do you think?
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