Note: ‘The Integration of the Day’ is where I take two or more web services and create a HYPOTHETICAL integration. This is not an announcement or breaking news, just the thoughts of a fellow entrepreneur. I’d like to thank Charlie O’Donnell for the idea.

I wanted to start ‘The Integration of the Day’ off with New York startup Hot Potato. Hot Potato is a mobile application that allows users to post comments about and photos from an event. As an event-based conversation platform that integrates with Facebook and Twitter, Hot Potato is a great place for musicians to reach engaged fans whether they’re at a concert or following it at home. While displaying fan messages on the stage is fun and increases engagement, how can you monetize that engagement? That’s where Amazon comes in.

User Experience: I’m at a concert posting and following the conversation on Hot Potato. At the top of the screen is the name of the artist and the song that they’re playing with a link to purchase and download in the Amazon Music Store. I can even buy tracks recorded at the concert, downloading once its mixed. I can browse tracks and artist merchandise through an Amazon concert storefront, sharing my purchases on Twitter and Facebook.

Monetization: The monetization here is simple. Hot Potato, Amazon, and the artist all take a cut of each sale. By making it easy for fans to buy music they’re listening to at that moment will increase impulse purchases. Impulse purchases of other merchandise will also increase if fans can skip the lines and enjoy the concert. Hot Potato enables bands to monetize concert audio by selling it to people following from home.  The integration also allows artists to leverage the networks of Hot Potato users.  As people see the purchases of their friends on Facebook and Twitter, they can follow an easy link to the Amazon storefront.

I hope you all enjoyed my first ‘Integration of the Day’. If you have any ideas for integrations, send me an email at integrationoftheday@gmail.com.