Early this week Time Warner's Cartoon Network announced that they will use the voices and personalities of their cartoon characters to alert mobile phone users to events – phone ringing, new message, etc.

It's not for everyone as my colleague David Card is quoted as saying in the article, but it's certainly something I can see using. It's amusing.

I've used voices before as ring tones, but only briefly. They scare me more often than not. I'm home alone and all of a sudden I'm hearing voices … or my purse will start "talking to me." My phone as a can of beer opening as it's text alert.

I'll be writing a piece of research later this spring on next generation personalization. If you have a company with a new idea, I'd like to hear from you.