Going Mobile
Want to know where the future of the Internet is? It’s likely in your pocket. Mobile web browsing is picking up steam—fast. Not sure this is where the future lies? Just look at the numbers:
- A year ago, the number of people using mobile devices to access news and information on the Internet more than doubled compared to the previous 12 months, according to comScore. The dominant demo was 18- to 34-year-old males, who made up more than half of the audience.
- 63.2 million people used mobile devices to get news and other information from the Internet in January 2009. More than 22 million (35 percent) in 2009 did so daily—more than double the size of the audience of 2008.
- There was a 427 percent increase in social media and blogging activities—from 1.7 million to 9.2 million—for the months of January 2008 and 2009 respectively.
- Facebook and Twitter Access via Mobile Browser Grew by Triple-Digits in the Past Year
- 30.8 percent of smart phone users accessed social networking sites via their mobile browser in January 2010, up 8.3 points from 22.5 percent.
What does it mean though? It’s no longer enough to have a site that simply renders in a mobile browser; it’s about ensuring you are maximizing the functionality of mobile browsing and minimizing the deficits. If ever the idea of “platform agnostic” were to be tossed into the trash bin, it’s with mobile.
Some of it is in the potential of location-based applications like Foursquare that allow users to deepen their engagements not only with their networks of friends and families, but also with the brands they patronize. My colleague Tom Bennett (by way of Peter Shankman) sees the ability to enhance relevance through the data-gathering ability of near-field RFID devices. Yes, imagine a world in which this firehouse of data were prioritized based on how important the source is to you and your life. Yeah, that would be awesome.
Comments
Post new comment