First, an update on MSG. The site has been down over the last days due to some server problems that also kept me from posting yesterday, but Paul Nash and the team at fifty50 have it under control. We’ve decided to move the site to a new server tomorrow in preparation for MSG expansion and a few surprises.
In the meantime, I’m catching up on my reading and planning coverage/features/podcasts for the next weeks. Top of the list is the Carnival of Mobilists (CoM), which is on this week at Xen Mendelsohn’s Xellular Identity. It’s a great line-up as always, but a few really merit a closer look.
My favorite (and Xen’s as well since it was her pick for the best post of the week) is a deep-dive from mobile consultant, author and esteemed colleague Tomi Ahonen. He expertly and eloquently outlines the advantages of mobile as a mass media (the 7th Mass Media channel) and provides examples that make me wonder (as he does) why we don’t “think mobile” when we develop mobile content/apps/ads/etc…
To drive home this point he describes MTV, a content creator that truly “gets” it. When MTV shoots Jackass, for example, they do it with two separate camera crews. One focuses on producing a show for the TV screen, and the other films it for display and enjoyment on the mobile phone. Both crews shoot the same action, but they do it with the media in mind. Tomi’s conclusion: “This is the level of thinking we need. Don’t copy. Develop expressly for the 7th Mass Media.”
In-Brief: On the heels of wins with T-Mobile USA and India’s Tata Teleservices, MSG gets the inside track on Juice Wireless, the company behind the mobile social networking app JuiceCaster, from the source. Nick Desai, Juice Wireless CEO, updates us on Mobile Video Search (MVS), the free search app that may pay dividends.
Will the usual suspects (Google Yahoo, Microsoft, Ask) dominate mobile search? This summary post from AltSearchEngines (and the rousing success of its AltSearch Day) tells us it’s by no means a shoo-in. The site counts 227 alternative search engines in the online space. Sure, they may only have 1.7 percent market share, but the fact that there are so many of them speaks volumes about our increasing need for vertical search engines. (And then there is the novel idea of building a single federated search for alternative search that would most definitely give Google & Co a run for their money.)
A Long Tail of search engines is flourishing in the online space - will it be the same in mobile? And more importantly when can we expect it?
Common sense tells us the personal nature of the device and the variety of content types available create the perfect Petri dish for vertical mobile search. (Consider mobile music and mobile games search - two content-specific search services we can look for this year.) In line with MSG’s brief to track and analyze all the flavors of mobile search coming online, I have set up briefings with the vertical search companies I’m sure we’ll see more of soon. I also have an exciting mix of multimodal (visual/voice) search providers in the pipeline - so please check back regularly.
One company on my radar is Juice Wireless, which earlier this year took the wraps off its Mobile Video Search (MVS) service. As the video below shows, this free and first-of-its kind service allows anyone with a mobile phone (capable of viewing video) to search for videos (user-created content as well as professionally produced videos from brands and media companies) by texting keywords to the shortcode 84462 (in the U.S.). The search tool sends the user a reply with links to the requested content.
The MVS announcement got some media attention, but I missed a closer look at Juice Wireless strategy and some straight answers to some nuts and bolts questions. For example, what is the connection between mobile search and JuiceCaster - the company’s hugely successful social networking app/subscription service lets users upload/share pictures and videos directly from their camera phones to more than 20 online social networking and blogging sites (including MySpace, Facebook and Twitter)? More importantly, why does it make business/commercial sense?
I caught up with Nick, who was fortunately forthcoming with answers, stats and a status report on his wider plans to partner with media companies/brands and let them reserve keywords in a “Google AdWords-like model.”
In-brief: A mix of metrics MSG reports as a matter of record. Companies mentioned: AdMob, Bango, MLiven, Hitwise, Yahoo, Nielsen Mobile, Medio Systems & abphone.
ADMOB: Regular readers will recall that MSG has consistently presented AdMob metrics and analysis. To create maximum value and benefit for the vibrant and growing MSG community, Jason Spero, AdMob VP Marketing, and I have agreed to work together to create a “briefing room”, offering readers a knowledge resource where they can view AdMob mobile advertising metrics as well as research exclusive to MSG. I am very excited about what our companies can co-create and thank AdMob for its generous support. As Jason put it, AdMob looks to MSG to supply quality analysis and answer the all-important “why” question behind breaking news. I am honored that MSG is that destination and pledge to maintain our high standard of quality for a long time to come. (MSG is just getting started!) Other companies interested in creating a “briefing room” with MSG should contact me directly - our ad sales team comes on board on May 1.)
In the March Metrics Report, we see several additions/improvements in AdMob’s network traffic classification, aimed at enabling advertisers to better target their audiences and plan campaigns. In line with the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) definition of four standard screen sizes, AdMob not only serves different banner sizes to each of the four standard screen sizes; it has also added MMA screen size to the monthly report, providing a breakdown (on an worldwide and per country basis) of the traffic share of each of the MMA screen sizes.
In-brief: As a matter of record, MSG reports the metrics that matter. However, this social media metrics post (via ReadWriteWeb) merits closer analysis. The same goes for Movial’s Social Communicator (from DEMO 08), a solution that could super-charge how we use social media across devices, platforms - the works! Look for more mobile metrics this week.
Yesterday, ReadWriteWeb (RWW), a must-read website written by Richard MacManus and a team of Internet thinkers/enthusiasts, turned five. The destination — one of the top 20 blogs in the world, btw — expertly and consistently delivers detailed coverage of technology, trends, and (my personal favorites) social media and search. (Charles Knight’s AltSearchEngine is an invaluable and essential read - I’m pleased to report our paths have crossed on this guest post, and I’m greatly looking forward to more of the same.)
But RWW’s fifth anniversary isn’t the only stat I wanted to highlight. RWW also brings us insightful social media metrics and analysis . Inspired by this post from Museum 2.0, RWW summarizes the dimensions of a social media scale and a new way of segmenting the real people who really participate in social media.
For example, the occasional user - the “participant” - generally fits 1-5 hours for social media activities into their weekly routine. Users at this lower end of the scale can juggle the tasks of setting up and maintaining pages and groups on MySpace and Facebook, running a Twitter feed, and uploading images to a site like Flickr. A far cry from all the cool stuff we’re supposed to be doing with the flood of social media tools/sites/services at our finger tips. So much social media - so little time…
Sarah Perez, who wrote the post at RWW, also treats us to the results of a “completely unscientific Twitter poll” that speaks volumes. Her conclusion (and the title of her post): Real people don’t have time for social media. Sure, respondents to her Twitter poll argue we will and must make time for what is important, and social media is an increasingly more important part of our lives. It makes sense that we’ll squeeze it in somehow. But I contend the breakthrough will come when social media is an integral part of our lives.
I’m sure many MSG readers are already familiar with the Carnival of Mobilists - but since I know many of my newest and most loyal readers are in Asia, allow me to formally introduce the Carnival and the excellent roster of authors involved. From mobile diva Darla Mack, to mobile pundits (Tomi Ahonen and Alan Moore) at Communities Dominate Brands, to mobile industry strategist Rudy De Waele, to Debi Jones, social media guru and practitioner (her video rocks!), the Carnival brings together the best posts of the week from bloggers who walk the talk. (CTIA allowed me to connect with many of the Mobilists personally. It was a high point of the event and I greatly look forward to continuing the dialogue and showcasing their excellent work/sites here…)
This week the Carnival is hosted by Debi Jones at MobileJones, who not only eloquently summarizes a long list of worthwhile posts, but also connects the dots to uncover a growing trend to mobile services mashups. Andrew Grill, a frequent contributor to MSG and a brave voice in the location-based services (LBS) debate, gives us his take on the mashup of Facebook and LBS, and Ajit Jaokar, a long-time MSG supporter and industry luminary over at Open Gardens, draws some surprising conclusions from his own mashup of Gmail and Blackberry. And speaking of surprises, I applaud the candor and common sense presented in this practical post (via Mobilestance.com) on the issue of mobile advertising glut and the approaches buyers and sellers can/should take.
Overall, great stuff - so check it out. Or - better yet - enter your post and join the conversation. (MSG was also in the line-up with my take on Qualcomm’s emerging services strategy, a popular post that got a lot of attention in the blogosphere and was picked up by MoCoNews, a must-read daily news site I am proud to say I was a part of for some 16 months before founding MSG.)
In-Brief: A detailed look at Mobicious, a nimble newcomer that has quietly signed a slew of deals with content retailers and fine-tuned its own proprietary crawling technology to create a place where users can find everything for their mobile phone. David Chang, Mobicious co-founder and VP of Marketing, talks about the company’s focus on discovery, plans for expansion outside the U.S. and hints at the pivotal role of social media. Shortly after the audio interview Mobicious took the wraps off of SnapMyLife, a mobile photo sharing and social media site. In March 2008, over 500,000 unique visitors from over 180 countries visited the site, which served over 4 million page views. Since then Mobicious reports over 1,000 people are joining the made-for-mobile community site (which has also appeared in the top ten social networking apps for the Apple iPhone). Could mobile advertising be far off? Read on!
When it comes to mobile content, offering more is good. But offering it all is best. This is the thinking at Mobicious, a Boston-based start-up that has made it its mission to become a kind of mobile content/services/apps emporium. The company, which built a “discovery engine”, has partnerships with around 10 major retailers including Jamster and Thumbplay - alliances that have laid the groundwork for an impressive and comprehensive catalog of 400,000+ premium and free content items.
More importantly, Mobicious has developed the IP to spider mobile content sites (as well as user-generated content destinations) and pull in a steady feed of fresh content from the legendary Long Tail…This has allowed the company to launch 100+ content “channels” where users can browse content according to topic and explore related content. (Mobicious aims to improve its Amazon-like approach to content recommendation - but that’s coming a little later in the roadmap.)
One part iTunes, one part Google (as the company has been described) Mobicious is more than a single destination for users to discover all things digital for their mobile phone. The company also reports high conversion rates for its content partners - generally over 20 percent conversion - and has plans in the pipeline to bring the same positive benefits to mobile carriers who tie-up with the company to boost their off-portal traffic and mobile commerce.
As David put it: Mobicious is in discussions with U.S. carriers about “augmenting their current on-deck content with all of the off-deck content.” How would it work in practice? “If you’re a subscriber, you’ll see not only your own service provider’s content; you’ll see all the off-deck content ‘merged’ into one place.” The result is a “one-stop discovery engine for everything that’s out there.” Unlike a Google or other portal/search provider that would no doubt prefer to take center stage as a content super-store in their own right, Mobicious would “forward the consumer off to complete the purchase at the specific site - whether it’s the carrier’s site itself or a third-party provider….We let the consumer complete [the purchase] using the existing distribution mechanism.
In-Brief: A follow-up interview with Herbert Vanhove, Vice President & General Manager, Qualcomm Internet Services, Europe, which connects the dots in the company’s roadmap and puts the purchase of Xiam Technologies into perspective. Capturing a rich user profile could offer the foundation for scores of services we haven’t thought of yet…Herbert and I offer our pick. What services are on your radar?
When I reported in March that Qualcomm had snapped up Xiam Technologies — an Irish provider of targeted advertising, content discovery, and recommendations solutions for clients including Vodafone, Orange UK and O2 - I knew there was more to it. In my mind, the move clearly cemented the foundation of a new kind of Qualcomm, a company firmly focused on services and personalization - and not limited to the BREW value prop.
Without a doubt, Qualcomm has the corporate DNA for a full-force push into the delivery of targeted (dynamically personalized) content, apps and advertising. Consider the assets it accumulated when it acquired Trigenix back in late 2004. That IP became the basis for uiOne and has since evolved into a product portfolio combining a store-front, a home-screen replacement, and a skinning application that has been deeply integrated within Qualcomm’s BREW platform. Add Xiam, and Qualcomm has the bases covered to make its mark in mobile personalization, recommendation and targeting solutions. Xiam’s MPOS (My Personal Offers System) is software that enables operators to deliver targeted advertising/content to users.
In-Brief: An in-depth look at GET, a mobile search service (in beta in the U.S.) that allows users to find and purchase ringtones, games, videos and wallpapers from their mobile phone. Are Traasdahl, CEO and founder of leading mobile content destination Thumbplay, connects the dots in Thumbplay’s big-picture strategy to build added value around mobile search and - ultimately - advertising.
Special thanks (and kudos) to David Berkowitz, marketing strategist/blogger and Director of Emerging Media & Client Strategy at 360i, a full-service digital agency. He caught the news that Thumbplay had entered the mobile search space and then expertly integrated it into his regular column (via MediaPost).
His segmentation of mobile search is on the mark and points the way to an interesting trend: the emergence of hybrid mobile search models. Fortunately, he also passed my details to Chaim Haas, who manages PR for Thumbplay, along with the information that mobile search is both my expertise and passion.
The result is an exclusive briefing with Are Trassdahl and a preview of cool things yet to come.
But first some basics that may have got lost in the CTIA shuffle and flood of other press/product releases. GET is Thumbplay’s SMS mobile search service - based entirely on the company’s own IP - that literally lets users “get” mobile content by texting the word “Get” plus any artist or song name to 48000. The user receives a WAP link that they can click to land at a large menu of relevant content in Thumbplay’s catalog, which currently includes more than 80,000 pieces of licensed audio, video and gaming content from many major music labels, artists and game publishers, as well as media and entertainment companies. There the user can browse the results and then purchase and download. As Are put it in a statement: “GET streamlines the way consumers can search for, browse and download mobile entertainment content from their cell phones.”
The concept is hardly revolutionary; there are other SMS mobile search services on the market. (In fact, I picked up on a huge interest in SMS search schemes among Asian operators who attended MSEGIII (Mobile Search Expert Group) last month. But this time it’s a brand that has harnessed keyword mobile search to boost sales and stake out a booming vertical: downloadable mobile content. Hmmmm. I remember that was Google’s goal last year (before it got side-tracked/focussed on Android, spectrum etc…). Will Thumbplay eat Google’s lunch?
In-Brief: A summary report from IIR’s recent Mobile Internet Conference held in Berlin yields important insights into how the market is likely to shape up (and shake-out) as users flock to take advantage of new flat rate data packages. Some stats to consider: TeliaSonera reports a whopping 700 percent (!) increase in data revenue growth in 2007 with mobile content accounting for roughly one-third of the total. Meanwhile, Bouygues Telecom reveals flat rate data tariffs translate into a higher number of active Internet users and 3.5 times as much traffic. BTW, slides from the event can be purchased from IIR for GBP399. For more information call customer services on +44 (0)20 7017 7483, quote the event code CG2447MSG and then download them from www.iir-conferences.com/mobileinternet.
I’m back in the blogosphere after four days in Berlin, where I was engrossed in discussions, debates and dialogues around the state of the mobile Internet at the aptly titled IIR Mobile Internet Conference (which I also helped organize). The message that linked the presentations, panel discussions and afternoon round tables: Flat rate data packages are the key driver of Internet use. But this is more than a hunch; executives from TeliaSonera and Bouygues Telecom shared some insightful stats to back it up.
Indra Asander, Senior VP of Content, TeliaSonera, gave us the inside track on SurfOpen across Scandinavia and the Baltic region. The textbook model operator-branded portal that breaks the usability barrier by presenting users with a uniform toolbar across the portal (a unique approach Peggy reported here last month). Predictably, the impact of this approach on Internet usage and behaviour is profound. Indra reports 4-11 sessions per user - ranging from 30-72 page views per session and totalling up to 17MB of data. Overall, some 40 percent of users are online for more than 15 minutes, although it’s also necessary to point out that the same proportion of users spends less than 5 minutes per session.
In-Brief: Some highlights from discussions and demos during CTIA with Kimia, Medio Systems, Slifter & Yahoo.
Today I wrap up an exciting week of briefings, meetings and mind-melds with a broad range of companies that have earned a prime slot on MSG. No doubt the news today was Yahoo’s 2.0 approach to mobile search. Rather than report the news we all know, look for MSG to have the inside track from Lee Ott, who heads up mobile search. We’re working out whether to do a Q&A or a podcast - but either way you can look forward to worthwhile and in-depth analysis here soon.
Another great find is Slifter, a vertical mobile search engine focused on connecting bargain hunters in buy-mode with good deals. Expect a podcast soon and an exclusive on the company’s roadmap direct from Alex Muller, Slifter CEO. Speaking of podcasts, I recorded two with John du Pre Gauntt, Senior Wireless Analyst, eMarketer, deep-diving into his recent mobile advertising report findings and discussing the recent shifts in the mobile search landscape.
Other highlights included an in-depth briefing with Jai Jaisimha, AOL VP, Mobile Products & Technology Development. Despite the late hour (10:00 pm) he took the time to connect the dots in AOL’s comprehensive strategy to cultivate a new-order mobile ecosystem and improve mobile search. A real surprise is the tie-up with Obopay which signifies a giant leap toward allowing publishers and developers to freely monetize their content/apps. Thanks again to Farhan Memom, AOL Search Product Manger, for the private demo of AOL search optimized for iPhone (they told me it would knock my socks off and it did). And a special thanks to Jaymelina Esmele for setting all this up in the first place.
Speaking of freeing content and unleashing the legendary Long Tail, I finally had the pleasure of meeting with Kimia, a company that is high on my radar.
