What’s the opposite of “jumping the shark?”
“Taking the leap,” maybe?
Whatever it is, that’s what’s mobile just did. After years of false starts and lofty predictions that didn’t come true, mobile is clearly here and now.
The iPhone and other smartphones (or “App Phones,” as David Pogue calls them) have certainly driven this shift, but a very interesting trend is quickly taking shape in the less glitzy realm of “dumb” phones.
The New York Times recently covered a group of entrepreneurs and investors focused on bringing the fun and utility of apps to the 83% of consumers that rely on “limited function phones.”
One of our favorite start-ups, Tapioca Mobile, is similarly focused on the non-smartphone market, with a technology solution that brings full motion video to older handsets.
In other words, you don’t need an iPhone or a Nexus One to get in on this.
When you see mobile making big advances not just at the upper end of the market, but also at the mass and even lower-end of the price and functionality spectrum, you know that this time, it really is the year of mobile.
Really.
Adam Cahill’s entire career has been spent leading digital marketing efforts for some of the world’s most respected brands, spanning back to the days when “interactive” meant CD-ROMs, not the web. 
[...] I was thinking what would be the equivalent for the mobile web? With many proclaiming the mobile year or decade upon us (including me), as well as contributing factors like falling costs, better [...]
On a recent foray into my social media “life” I happened on a linkedin forum of considerable interest. Someone posted a simple inquiry. It asked: ”Has anyone ever read anything worth reading on Twitter? Seriously?” I thought that the question had to have been asked tongue and cheek. Maybe not.
The responses ranged from admonishment to curious offerings of who to follow and why. Of course, I chimed in. I wrote: “The utilization of twitter’s platform by the Iranian protestors was and is PARAMOUNT to everything else. Coverage of a pop-star’s death pales in comparison.” I threw the last bit in because the person preceeding me had mentioned that the coverage of Michael Jackson’s death was equally important. Massive social upheaval in a nuclear Middle Eastern rogue state versus the death of the creator of Thriller? Such is the democratic leavening that is Twitter.
I was reminded of this exchange while reading the Economist’s Special Report on Emerging Markets published in the 17 April copy. Growth strategies in Emerging Markets, coined “frugal innovation” are aimed at the mid-bottom of the income pyramid-where huge, untapped and often tough market opportunities exist. Currently the biggest inroads has been made by mobile technologies. EM based countries have developed everything from monsoon-equipped handsets to mini tower systems for the Taureg tribe in Africa and helped to open up the markets to greater product innovation, and consequently more communication. Duh.
Which is funny, really. Several years ago, the US was abuzz with talk of a imminent advent to “mobile dominance”. I was in the thick of it working for a Norwegian mobile gaming plaform, so I remember this noise well. Of course, none of this materialized.
Of the 22.4 billion dollars spent on online advertising, mobile shores up a paltry 1.6million, barely 1/16 of the former. Barriers to entry? Some say that is because the FCC agressively guards the mobile arena from the intrusion of certain kinds of publishers, read: porn. Others say that the OEM’s are notoriously tough to do business with-(they are) either way mobile dominance has not happened from a revenue perspective-here or elsewhere.
Most everyone is aware that a strong growth movement is stirring up in India and China-but how it will reverberate through global social media? I was struck by the very real possibility of the same sort of ripple effect that “frugal innovation” will have. When we witnessed the power of twitter last year, digital democracy demonstrated itself to be a real thing-the use of Twitter by the Iranian people being a critical example of the power of new immediacy and rapid message proliferation. Imagine the same power in the hands of say, Indian bystanders who are witnessing so-called honour-killings? The ability to transmit the horrific practice the world could one day save lives. In the same way Nike designed a all-enveloping aerodynamic tracksuit for female muslim athletes-the market and it’s progenitors have an uncanny way of penetrating even the most rural or protected of markets. With that comes the very real potential for civil havoc, as the technology empowers groups and people to communicate about their lives with the rest of us. The market does this by addressing issues of accessibility and user-ability. And this will all happens where? Twitter-that media you are not so sure about right now.
In emerging markets-the boom is notable and remarkable. How social media and digital media figure into this is a fascinating topic. I’d like to know what that might look like. What are your thoughts on marketing services to these groups and the penetration of digital media in the “3rd world”?