The Digital Lookout

The success of the iPhone and Blackberry storm with their full Internet browsing capability could signify a new future for mobile Internet.  The ability to view full web pages and navigate with all the ease of a desktop browser, along with the added zoom functionality that makes them readable on a small handset really does give their users full Internet capabilities in a mobile (and an 8GB iPod too in the case of the iPhone 3g!).  But what does this mean to the world of mobile Internet and mobile advertising?  And does it mean the end of WAP sites and mobile specific channels?  After all, as more and more people use handsets with this functionality where is the need for a WAP site?

In the past I have been an advocate of having a WAP site built with clear navigation and easy path to mobile based conversion.  Simplifying the user journey is such a way made mobile Internet consumption a much more pleasant experience and from a business perspective would encourage conversion also.  But since getting my iPhone and realising how usable the Internet can be made on a mobile device I am starting to think we may have seen the end of WAP sites.

Apart from some initial SEO misgivings (Mobile SEO - Stuck in the Past!) I can’t see many reasons why a business would now choose to invest in a WAP site when the future is quite clearly full browser capabilities through mobile handsets.  There is still half an argument for building a specific WAP site based around commonly used mobile functions (such as a simplified interface for balance checking on a bank site for example) but I’m sure there is a simpler way of achieving this than building and maintaining a seperate WAP site.

And its not just WAP sites we are talking here, any technology built specifically for WAP ca[abilities is at risk, including the advertising channels.  There is little or no need for a seperate channel for mobile advertising when users are consuming standard Internet through their handsets.  The wise thing for publishers and networks is to follow Google’s lead and allow advertisers to opt in and out fo mobile traffic, but continue to use the same ads and format.

It may be too soon to say for sure if this is the way things are going to go, but I know id be sweating if I owned a mobile advertising business.  I’d be looking for a way to earn my crust in the new, and much improved, future of mobile Internet.

Strongbow are launching a mobile marketing campaign involving promoting a shortcode for users to text in to in order to receive a promotional text entitling them to a free pint in their local.  The offer will be promoting “Bowtime” which will run from 5pm-7pm on Tuesdays for a four week period.  This is imaginative use of mobile and I applaud strongbow for this.  Too many companies discount mobile as not fitting their industry or product but in coming up with this plan Strongbow have found a way of overcoming this.  They are obviously also attempting to try and generate a social/viral element by coming up with Bowtime in the hope people adopt this moving forward.  Also the chances of one pint becoming two, three, four are pretty high (I know from experience!) so they will still make their money on the resulting session.  The Strongbow statement claimed they were “seeking to engage with Strongbow customers in a relevant and long term way”.  I doubt this is the actual aim, I am guessing it is in response to the boom in the last two years of other cider brands (magners and bulmers in particular) as a way of reclaiming some ground.  I can also imagine the people texting in the shortcode will then be the target of further offers to keep promoting Bowtime and continue its impact beyond the four week period.  Ill certainly be tempted by a swift pint if I can get hold of the shortcode but am a little unconvinced Bowtime will become  a regular in my weekly calendar.  Full article here

In a discussion a few days ago regarding mobile search marketing the stats were presented to me again about the top search phrases in mobile Internet I have mentioned in a previous post (when will mobile Internet take off?).  This obviously wasn’t news to me and I have documented my thoughts on it in the past but it did get me thinking, what is driving such a surge in people searching for porn on the mobile Internet?  What is motivating these people to search out explicit content on their 2”x3” mobile screen and are they liking what they find?

Is it simply that the mobile allows an element of privacy not necessarily afforded by the home PC? Are people using their mobiles to bypass any firewalls or tracking software which could uncover their dirty little secrets? I can’t imagine (and obviously wouldn’t know!) that the mobile device, no matter how advanced, is the best for digesting this content.  Is it just people experimenting to see whether the content is available on mobiles or are these people actually consuming large amounts of content via their mobile phones?

One thing which could be linked to the volumes of searches for adult content is the trend in mobile Internet usage by time of day.  Some of the busiest times in the week are Thursday, Friday, Saturday evenings, post pub/night out.  It would be interesting to see if the searches for “sex” and “porn” which appear at the top of the most searched keywords list coincide with the activity at these times.  Intoxicated people either succumbing to their primal instincts or merry males having a joke whilst sat in the pub.  The digging I have done on this topic hasn’t managed to bring up any usage or sign up stats from the porn industry but it would be very interesting to see if these searches are resulting in business for the industry.

Yahoo! are taking Universal Search mobile through their beta application Yahoo! One Search.  The mobile search application which must be downloaded to a compatible handset “practically reads your mind!” according to the pages on the Yahoo! mobile site.  Providing results from all Yahoo! properties including, answers, Yahoo Finance, Flickr along with Wikipedia and various news sources the application brings Universal Search to your mobile for the first time.  The categories are grouped and presented in a manageable format to make them easy to use.  I cant help but think that maybe they should concentrate on getting Universal Search right on the mainstream Internet before attempting it with mobile but I suppose maybe the simpler platform makes it easier to pull off and also the less sophisticated search terms being used means that the technology deciding what should be displayed also needs to be less intelligent.  in its present form with the need for download its usage will be limited, but I suppose it is still in beta anyway.  The main take up will come as Yahoo! starts to do deals with the networks to provide handsets with the application already built in which I’m sure will be their plan once it is out of beta and they are confident of its stability.

There were a couple of developments yesterday in the world of mobile marketing which could be seen as pretty significant. Firstly came the use that T-mobile had awarded its mobile search contract to Yahoo! following their heavy investment in mobile technology. This further adds to Yahoo!s weight in the mobile sector as they already power the search for 3 and have mobile advertising available through the Vodafone live network. Yahoo! have obviously bought in heavily to mobile marketing and are pushing hard to make it work. They possibly see it as one area where they can get one up on Google away from the search arena. 2008 could be a big year for mobile and as always, the early bird will catch the worm and if Yahoo! can become the front runner in this field they could reap the rewards.

On the same day it was announced that five of the big mobile operators are joining forces to create a measurement system for mobile advertising. Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile, Orange and 3 have formed a working group aimed at “helping ensure that mobile advertising realises its potential for the benefit of all the players involved”. What exactly this means I am not sure but Im guessing they are plannign at setting some industry standards for advertising models and options but more importantly the technology behind it. Obviously each will have their way of implementing the models and will keep some of their ideas and technologies to themselves but from an advertisers point of view it can only be a good thing as it should speed up the developments in mobile and help it actually become the viable advertising channel it has been threatening to become for the last couple of years.