MSearchGroove

The Carnival of Mobilists (CoM) is on at Skydeck this week with a great line-up of posts from authors and pundits (many of whom are MSG authors and enthusiasts, I’m pleased to say).

Andrew Grill, whom I highly regard for his ability to zero in on the key components of successful location-based services, literally provides us with a blueprint for a new way to deliver mobile advertising to consumers based on aggregated information. As he points out: User data, segmented by characteristics such as calling patterns (where we call and how often we call), direct (permission based) user profiling, and cellular location are three inputs that will help drive user acceptance of mobile advertising.

Another post that stands out comes from Ajit Jaokar, who reviews Cincinnati Bell’s strategy under the leadership of Jack Cassidy. His post also happens to be a perfect complement to this Q&A, which takes a closer look at the carrier’s on-device portal (ODP) launch and commitment to being the on-ramp to the open mobile Web. And speaking of the open mobile Web, this post from John Puterbaugh expertly explains the role of widgets in the larger scheme of things.

But the post I’d like to highlight comes from Dennis at WAP Review. He walks us through the issues around transcoding (reformatting PC sites for display on mobile devices) and updates us on the tie-up between Openwave and Sprint to overcome the downside of transcoding (namely, poor usability, broken links and a disruption in downloads). There’s good news to report and Dennis commends OpenWave, Sprint and InfoGin for “recognizing the value of off portal mobile publishers and content vendors” by adopting Rules for Responsible Reformatting: A Developer Manifesto, a document called that offers suggestions on how content reforming could/should/must work.

Dennis also summarizes a webcast hosted by Sprint and Openwave to discuss Openwave’s OpenWeb roadmap and larger questions around transcoding. In July, Sprint, in partnership with Motricity, will launch Mobile Internet 2.0, a new mobile portal enabling users to “customize their portal view to include only the content they want and will also suggest content to users based on links they have clicked in the past.” Once again - more (choice) is better, but open is best.

• Posted in
• Web 2.0, Location-based services, Usability, Personalization, Mobile Advertising, On-Device Portals, Content Discovery

0 Comments

share

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

permalink

In-Brief: Cincinnati Bell Wireless (CBW) recently became the first U.S. carrier to launch an on-device portal (ODP) from SurfKitchen, a provider whose software has been deployed by mobile operators including Orange Group, Telefonica Moviles España, Telstra, Maxis, Etisalat and ALJAWAL (Saudi Telecom). Eric Schimpf, General Manager of Consumer Wireless for Cincinnati Bell, talks about the decision, the pivotal importance of an ODP platform and the carrier’s future roadmap. Another worthwhile post on CBW strategy comes from Ajit Jaokar via Open Gardens, who examines the merits of a bottom-up/super-local approach to telecoms services.

In case you missed the news in the CTIA shuffle, Cincinnati Bell Wireless (CBW) - a regional carrier that counts some 600,000 mobile subscribers in the Greater Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio areas — has tied up with SurfKitchen to become the ODP provider’s first North American customer.

I saw the news but held out for a briefing/Q&A with Eric Schimpf to connect the dots and confirm what I see is a trend to ODPs gathering serious momentum in the U.S. The wait was worth it - and my thanks to Eric and his team (as well as Barbara Bajkowski from Blanc & Otus Public Relations and Kate Nichols, SurfKitchen Marketing Communications Director) for making this happen.

By way of background: CBW’s new mobile data services portal, MyPhone, now uses SurfKitchen’s client on the handset to bubble up and promote key data services such as content downloads short code programs and email which CBW offers as part of its ZoomTown DSL email platform. The ODP delivers a fully branded user experience incorporating digital content, information services and native handset features on a single, intuitive and visually engaging interface. Eric tells me CBW is initially launching the service as a pre-installed application (as a main menu icon for easy discoverability) on four handset models. Plans are to have the client available on approximately 80 percent of the handsets by 4Q 2008. For the existing base, the client will also be available as an OTA download via a link on the WAP portal. This, he says, will help drive early adoption of the MyPhone experience
full story »

• Posted in
• Personalization, Usability, On-Device Portals, Mobile Search, Mobile Advertising, Content Discovery

1 Comment

share

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

permalink

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.)

• Posted in
• Web 2.0, Location-based services, Mobile Research, Usability, Mobile Social Networking, Mobile Content, Personalization, Mobile Advertising

0 Comments

share

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

permalink

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.

full story »

• Posted in
• Mobile Research, Web 2.0, Usability, Mobile Content, Mobile Advertising

0 Comments

share

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

permalink

In-Brief: The main points and key data from the VisionGain mobile search conference.

If I think of how my life and mobile search have become intertwined over the last years, then it is quite fitting that I should mark my birthday today by addressing the VisionGain mobile search conference in London. Oddly enough, I attended a mobile search conference on this same date last year - when I learned that Steve Page, CEO of Mobile Commerce, and I share the same birthday. And wouldn’t you know it? We meet up again today at the Visiongain conference (he speaks tomorrow). So, Happy Birthday Steve! Wonder which search event it will be next year… Today’s session was chock-full of surprises that went well beyond my chance meeting with Steve.

For one, the discussion has moved from the merits of one-size-fits-all search to a clear recognition that Web search retrofitted for mobile phones won’t work. The mobile Web is not the Internet all over again - and approaches that assume this are doomed to failure. As Roger Davies, VP New Business Development, Medio Systems, put it: “Relevancy is very key to mobile search.” And this relevancy must carry over into advertising. To tailor the results - and thereby allow the mobile operator or publisher to deliver more useful results and targeted advertising - Medio focuses on understanding “clustomers”, or clusters of customers, to determine the style of behavior common to a group of users. It then uses this as a starting point to better understand the individual user and intuit what results/ advertising they would appreciate.

full story »

• Posted in
• Usability, Mobile Research, Personalization, On-Device Portals, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Search, Local Search

0 Comments

share

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

permalink

Fring, Phling, Pringo…you know the scene is really hotting up when you can list some mobile Web 2.0 companies and their offers rhyme! (If you’re confused, then watch this space for analysis and deep-dive podcasts from Peggy. It’s part of her brief to monitor social media companies above and under the radar, but she’s also passionate about her work, so we count on learning a lot over the coming weeks.)

In the meantime, here’s a quick run-down of five of the newest kids on the block (via Webware.com). Each is super-cool in their own way, but don’t expect more than buzz until they each tackle usability issues. That’s why I speak out for voice-enabled social networking (no pun intended).

BLUEPULSE: Mobile only site Bluepulse has messaging at its core with a single inbox showing status updates, messages, friend requests and all the usual offerings you would expect from a social networking site. Posting photos and videos from your phone is also on offer, but there are some usability issues that need ironing out. No drop down menus or predictive text to quickly choose from and the all important click-to-call feature is still being developed - surely voice must be as integral to mobile social networking as messaging.

TRUTAP: More usability issues are uncovered when we look at U.K. based Trutap. Available on AT&T in the U.S., users can chat with other Trutapers all they like (although the all-in-one IM service is limited to MSN, Yahoo, AIM and ICQ), but photos and posts are re-directed through partners such as Blooger and Flickr. (Peggy adds: Since meeting with David Whitewood, Co-Founder & Global VP Business Development, at a recent Mobile Monday I’ve got this one high on my radar…)

full story »

• Posted in
• Web 2.0, Usability, Mobile Social Networking, Multimodal Search, Mobile Search

11 Comments

share

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

permalink

MOBILE MUSIC: According to an article in BusinessWeek, Universal is planning a “Total Music” service that aims to knock the downloads out of Apple’s iTunes store. Universal plans to team up with other record companies (Sony BMG on board, Warner reportedly interested) and offer a subscription service to challenge Apple by going direct to consumer.

Although exact details and the intricacies of the offering are yet to be confirmed, this is a canny move by the music industry, particularly since it plans to build in wireless functionality to the service. Mobile music consumption is increasing all the time with the biggest barrier to uptake being price. This is about to change as Universal’s proposed business model is an all-you-can-eat music download service offered to consumers free of charge when buying (and for the life of) a music device, mobile phone included. This will leave a bit of negotiation to be done between device manufacturers and the record companies, but with the proposed trio controlling 75 percent of all music sold in the U.S. the mobile music market is set to hot up.

MORE MOBILE MUSIC: Digital radios will soon be able to offer music download and storage capabilities following an announcement this week from radio manufacturer Pure Digital at a conference in Melbourne, Australia. In a move that could potentially cut out expensive above-the-line music marketing campaigns, mobile digital radio broadcasts will offer users the ability to “buy now” songs that they are listening to on mobile digital radio stations. With a pricing structure similar to that of Apple’s iTunes, this offering will certainly be competitive. However, the ability to stream radio broadcasts with pictures will open the door to link their core services - live weather reports, traffic updates, music charts and news headlines - with targeted digital and mobile advertising. It seems there is still life in the original wireless.

SOCIAL NETWORKING: According to a report from independent research firm Datamonitor, social networking growth will plateau by 2012 and it predicts the market will undergo a period of consolidation. Although this report is not directly focused on the mobile market, we can get a feel from these numbers since Internet networks such as MySpace and Bebo are already well down the road of wireless enablement, following a slew of tie-ups with mobile operators. The report’s key figures are that the market will generate US$965 million from 230 million active social network memberships by the end of 2007 with a forecast of revenue growth up to US$2.4 billion by 2012.

Social networking is a phenomenon that is changing the way we communicate and consolidation will certainly bring with it scalability. But what exactly is it that draws users to these social networking sites? The sense of community that reflect users interests, no matter how niche, is the very essence of social networking and this point must not be missed by the market, particularly when the advertising industry finally works out the true value of small-scale, highly targeted mobile advertising. I somewhat question the conclusion that sustainability in this market can be achieved by a consolidated, one-size-fits-all approach.

USABILITY: The launch of the new Moto Z8 points to an awareness from Motorola that the user must be given the choice and opportunity to communicate on their own terms and personalise their mobile space. The extremely cool Z8 is packed with multimedia applications from partners such as Actimagine, CNN Mobile, DataViz, Podcast.com, ShoZu, weComm and Yahoo, and can capture and playback crystal clear video at 30 frames per second with 4GB external memory that can increase to a whopping 32GB once the larger capacity cards come to market. The device enables the user to access TV, video, podcasts and music on the move in one place, has browsing and search capabilities, Microsoft Office compatibility as well as social networking functionality and a wide range of widgets for the user to personalise to their hearts content. Looks like the Z8 will give Nokia some serious competition as Motorola bids to become a serious multimedia device provider.

• Posted in
• Usability, Mobile Social Networking, Mobile Music, Mobile Advertising

12 Comments

share

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

permalink

The end-game is all about providing mobile users choice and plenty of it. Symbian “gets it”, which is why the new features which it unveiled at the Symbian show are perfectly aligned with what the mobile Web is all about. Take the news that Google have developed and made available a free native Symbian C++ version of Google Maps for smartphones. This move gives us further proof that mapping and location are key components of our mobile experiences.

The Symbian C++ incarnation of Google Maps will enable a rich user experience while giving application providers the room to weave in their own services. The client is available for download for Nokia’s S60 3.0 platform on Symbian OS-based phones and was demonstrated this week at the Symbian Smartphone show in London. Nokia owns a more than 50 percent stake in Symbian.

full story »

• Posted in
• Usability, Mobile Search, Mobile Music, Mobile Content, Local Search

0 Comments

share

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

permalink

That’s the verdict of a study released by mPortico, a mobile media company that has recently examined how many clicks users must endure to find, purchase and download mobile content across a mix of eight on-portal and off-portal destinations.

The good news: the industry has made some progress since I conducted benchmarking research, together with Informa Telecoms & Media, to show just how much money mobile operators and content companies leave on the table. (We concluded that burying their offers deep in confusing – often times counter-intuitive - hierarchical menus, positioned too many clicks from the portal home page is costing them a bundle. More accurate, improved discovery techniques would increase mobile operator revenues by around $10 billion cumulatively in Europe and just over $4 billion in North America by 2010. More in this white paper.)

To recap, we found users typically have to click through 10-40 screens to download some of the most popular ringtones or games. This is unacceptable – particularly since the mobile industry agrees the optimal mobile search experience must deliver content within 2-3 clicks.

On a sweep of five major off-deck portals, mPortico found that the whole process required an average of 12 clicks and 4 minutes. The four leading mobile operator portals performed slightly better: they required an average of 10 clicks and 2.5 minutes.
full story »

• Posted in
• Usability, On-Device Portals, Mobile Search, Mobile Content, Content Discovery

0 Comments

share

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

permalink

These were just a few of the topics that dominated discussion and debate at Location Based Services in Madrid this week. The breadth of topics at the four-day conference, which I attended, prove LBS is moving up the must-have functionality checklist to sit at the center of a growing range of services ranging from mobile search to mobile advertising – and a couple of surprises in between. But that’s the point really. After a couple of false starts the industry understands location is a feature of services, not a stand-alone service. (I wonder how long before social networking services understand that connecting with friends will have to go the same way…)

Back to conference, which was packed with worthwhile contributions from the likes of Orange FT Group, 3, Telefonica, Qualcomm, Toshiba, Garmin and Autodesk. Predictably, the Nokia-Navteq deal was a footnote to every discussion and providers, who will now have to buy maps from competitors Nokia or TomTom, were visibly concerned that the tie-up could make life difficult. But there was also optimism about the chances now for smaller players, particularly if they mobilize their assets to focus on the long tail of personalized navigation content and services.

Context is the new buzzword. But it’s not hype; some very real business opportunities are ripe for the picking. Mark Slade, Managing Director for 4th Screen Advertising, a mobile advertising agency that brokers advertising and sponsorship contracts between brands, media buyers and mobile operators, revealed he’s seeing huge interest from the automotive industry in location-enabled mobile advertising. In his view they are poised and ready to snap up ad-inventory with a location element the moment it comes onto the market.

full story »

• Posted in
• Usability, Local Search

0 Comments

share

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

permalink