Apps or Browsers? Speak Out On The Touch Web; Contribute To Our Collective Vision
Reams have been written about the impact of the Apple iPhone on content production and content creation. Yes, we should be excited about the avalanche of apps and content, but we must also cope with the hard reality that one Web presence may not be enough. In fact, it may be that we are witnessing the emergence of a new Internet – one focused on delivering us an awesome experience across a plethora of touchscreen devices from dozens of handset makers.
Indeed, the outcome of recent platform and device innovation is what Forrester’s Josh Bernoff calls the “Splinternet” (with a well-meant nod to Doc Searls and Rich Tehrani). As Bernoff points out in his blog: “The whole framework of the Web (and Web marketing) is based around the idea that everything is in a compatible format. Any browser, any computer, any connection, you see pretty much the same thing. Now with iPhones, Androids, Kindles, Tablets, and TVs connecting to the Web, that’s not true.”
Put another way, the age of divergence is upon us. Sure, the Internet used to be the one place that connected everything and where all things digital were findable, consumable and accessible. Not anymore.
Now we have fixed, mobile and touchscreen Internets – to name a few.
To complicate matters, each new device comes with its own business ecosystem. Touchscreen devices, in particular, have their own formats, technology and – more importantly – advertising networks.
This could be one reason why Google has tied up with AdMob, a company that can place advertising where Google can’t, namely in apps and across mobile websites. Against this backdrop, Google’s purchase of AdMob for $750 million in stock in November 2009 can be read as a confirmation that the touchscreen device Internet is much different from the rest. Not to be outdone, JumpTap also announced its intention to be an advertising platform for the iPad. (Specifically, Jumptap’s new integrated mobile ad solution will support Apple tablet-compatible ad units by the end of this month.)
MOBILE TOUCH WEB
Taptu — a mobile search company — has tracked this development from the start, becoming the only search company focused on indexing what it call the emerging Mobile Touch Web.
Taptu recently released a report documenting this new Web and the “2nd wave of content” coming online specifically designed for mobile touchscreen devices. Unlike other mobile Web content, this content stands out through finger-friendly layouts and light-weight pages that are faster to load over cellular networks.
The company – which began crawling and indexing the Mobile Touch Web in May 2009 – scans more than 100 million websites each month using specialized software that detects whether a site is a website or one specifically designed for the Mobile Touch Web. It counts a whopping 326,600 Mobile Touch Web sites, a number that far exceeds the 119,047 apps in the Apple App Store and 22,000 applications in the Android Market.
By the end of 2010, Taptu forecasts that the Mobile Touch Web will have grown to more than 500,000 sites, and exceed 1 million sites by the end of 2011.
Taptu’s research also suggests the Mobile Touch Web is entering the mainstream, and will evolve to deliver consumers the same excellent quality user experience they currently get with apps. (Expect to see this accelerate as industry efforts such as the Bondi Initiative provide developers access to deeper device functions such as geo-location and presence.)
IS IT APPS OR BROWSERS?
This worthwhile post from ReadWriteWeb analyzes the Taptu report findings and comments on the split between browser-based sites (social and shopping, for example) and apps (games and entertainment, for example).
My take: The choice (apps or browser) depends on your business model. As Taptu points out: “Many [Commerce] products and services do not really fit into Apple’s iTunes content-oriented billing system.” Thus, social and shopping services/experiences are a better fit with the mobile Web. At the other end of the spectrum, gaming and entertainment content is perhaps better delivered as an app, “since apps deliver a much richer, more interactive gaming experience than the casual games available on the Mobile Web.”
The good news: it’s getting easier for publishers to create rich touchscreen users experiences in the browser without having to create platform specific applications. Even better: for many types of apps (commerce, for example), the economics of software development and publishing favors the Web development route.
The challenge: the Mobile Touch Web, though growing vigorously as Taptu shows, is not the only game in town. Thus, the pressure is on companies everywhere in the ecosystem (content owners, developers, publishers, advertisers) to re-think their strategies and adopt their business models to the existence of the Splinternet. This means creating a balance of touch-friendly content for touchscreen devices and the emerging Mobile Touch Web, while not losing site of the opportunities offered by the other Internets.
We face tough choices, but hoping for the Internet to become a unified place where everything is accessible and connected (again) is not an option.
YOUR VOICE/VISION REQUIRED (!)
Taptu recently joined MSG’s roster of partners and supporters, a relationship that will see MSG host an open discussion of the Mobile Touch Web via a Taptu microsite on MSG.
In the meantime, I am pleased to formally announce my collaboration with Taptu to identify and amplify voices/visions that best describe the impact this new Mobile Touch Web will have on our daily lives.
To this end I have spent the last weeks connecting with mobilists/futurists/experts to get their pick of the three ways the Mobile Touch Web changes all the rules. The result is a path-breaking presentation that illustrates how touch potentially changes information access, super-charges advertising/marketing and revolutionizes content creation, SEO and user experience. (By way of background, the inspiration for this project is Mobile Trends 2020, the phenomenal presentation created and curated by Rudy de Waele at m-trends that was viewed over 46,000 (!) times.)
My sincere thanks for inputs/insights to Hugh Griffiths, Saverio Romeo (Frost & Sullivan), Tomi Ahonen (author), Mike Short (Telefónica Europe), Jonathan MacDonald (JME.net/ Fluid), Dave Moreau (Fonestarz), Mark Curtis (Flirtomatic), Neil MacDonald (Nuance), Dennis Bournique (WAP REVIEW), Carl Uminski (Somo), Daniel Appelquist (Vodafone), and Alfred De Rose (Tego Interactive) for input and insights! I also look forward to input from Russell Buckley (AdMob) and Peter Vesterbacka.
Now I am opening up the project to EVERYONE EVERYWHERE.
I invite YOU to submit your ideas for consideration. The most visionary/thought-provoking views will be included in a collaborative vision of the Mobile Touch Web. DEADLINE: end-FRIDAY (February 26).
I hope you will submit three bullet points/observations that sum up how the Mobile Touch Web will likely impact our lives/lifestyles/experiences/ecosystems/businesses – the works!
Here’s a Taptu presentation to get you started – and you can download the full report here...
Knowledge is most valuable and impactful when we share it – so I hope YOU will get involved! Email your views/vision to peggy@msearchgroove.com.
Disclaimer: Taptu is an MSG supporter.
Tags: AdMob, app store, Apple, Flirtomatics, Google, JumpTap, Mobile Advertising, mobile analytics, Mobile Internet, Mobile Marketing, Mobile SEO, Nuance, Somo, Splinternet, Taptu, Tomi Ahonen, Vodafone, WAP Review
February 22nd, 2010 at 9:50 pm
[...] vs Web Over at msearchgroove the discussion on Apps vs Web is raging. My [...]
February 23rd, 2010 at 9:58 am
[...] participate, go to Peggy’s post and send her an email as described in the bottom of the article. Share and [...]
February 23rd, 2010 at 11:32 am
Hi Peggy,
Are we really getting different Internets? I would say the opposite. What was before called the mobile Internet consisted of a number of specially designed sites in formats such as WAP. The mobile now access ordinary Internet sites but with the issue that they are not really suitable for the mobile format with or without touch screens. Nevertheless, the mobile is growing in importance as an additional window to view and engage with Internet content. The TV is next in line. For each new digital media/channel the same phases are seen. In a first step enthusiastic engineers show what is possible to do. In the next phase the user is looked into a closed environment, but guaranteed that what is delivered really works. And in the last phase the content is decoupled for the hardware and access and the end user is in control. We did see this development for the PC, we have now seen it in the mobile area and we will eventually see it for the TV. However, in each case the content have to be adjusted to the possibilities and limitations of the specific media. It’s still the same Internet and we should not expect that the end user will be satisfied with less than reaching all of Internet independently of media. We are also in a tricky situation regarding how all these different versions of formats and apps drive cost. Is this really sustainable? If the additional costs will limit the expansion to include the whole Internet I would question the long term success. 500,000 touch screen sites may sound like a lot but compared with the total number of Internet sites it’s still quite a low number. Apps or browser based services? The apps presently secures a good user experience but are a closed environment and as browser based services increase in quality this ought to be a winner offering a much more cost efficient solution capable of offering the full long-tail of content. For more views on this and related issue please visit http://universalmobileinterface.wordpress.com/.
Regards,
Martin
February 23rd, 2010 at 11:41 am
[...] a similar vein, Apps vs Browsers – Peggy Salz is looking for your opinion. Will the mobile web splinter between touch [...]
February 24th, 2010 at 8:59 am
Cool stuff from Taptu but, as mentioned above, the Internet numbers should be considered. The total growth of Internet domains are growing far more rapidly than the conversion to apps or Mobile Touch sites. https://www.isc.org/solutions/survey. If we calculate positive about 0,01 % (less than 1 out of 10.000 sites) of the Internet services are suited for mobile use and the numbers are still falling. Perhaps this is fine if you can access Google, Facebook and Twitter? But then again – the user will have a poor user experience when they click on shared Internet content. Another reason to emphasize this broader picture is that within the mobile context The Reversed Long Tail is the key to the success. Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/ceymus
February 25th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Peggy,
I would question a definition of the touchscreen as a ‘new’ Internet. Touch is an interface, increasingly being deployed to a new range of high end mobile devices. That said a touch interface will have wide ranging implications for many services. Three thoughts:
A future mobile environment will be user controlled – Consumers will define what content and features they want and how they want it. Touchscreen will make this easier. Mobile services will be increasingly lifestyle orientated –
news, events, information etc… consumers will be able to filter content based on defined preferences, interests and context.
Services will dynamically combine content and features from multiple sources -Services will evolve based on ‘Puddles’ or ‘Hubs’ of information, dynamically manipulating and pulling feed-like content and features from different sources based on the user preferences and context. Nested service discovery will become key.
Concept of advertising will change to one of ‘Attention’ – Advertising will become integral to services and woven in as content, people will pay with their attention and ultimate actions. There will be skill and understanding required to deliver.
Regards,
Martin
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:54 pm
I might be missing something here (and excuse my shortsightedness if that’s the case), but I cannot see how your mobile touch web it’s different from content / device adaptation, apart from the fact that it’s a narrower concept since it refers only to a subset of devices.
March 29th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
[...] mobile and touchscreen Internets – to name a few. (At this juncture, I should mention that I am collaborating with Taptu to connect with executives and influencers to map out the real impact of touchscreen devices on [...]