In the past couple of weeks, there's been a lot of activity around broadband mobile that suggests strongly that mobile broadband will be integrating with Web 2.0 apps. This week I will be attending the eComm 2008 Conference (March 12-14, 2008) in Mountain View and will report on this blog about the developments.
I can't help but think of the changes that we have been seeing in the online advertising market, as the economics of 'search' transforms and there is a tacit recognition that the simple 'clicks' model is one of the past. Instead, we are today moving in the direction of profiling and all of the privacy baggage that comes with it such as what unleashed a backlash to Facebook's Beacon. This is underscored by the recent New York Times article (March 10, 2008) on this topic; write The Times: "The rich troves of data at the fingertips of the biggest Internet companies are also creating a new kind of digital divide within the industry. Traditional media companies, which collect far less data about visitors to their sites, are increasingly at a disadvantage when they compete for ad dollars."
I can't help but wonder if this point is one that should be on the minds of the Web 2.0 leaders with respect to mobile broadband versus traditional Web 2.0 access via less mobile devices and uses -- including 'mobile' laptops that are really about connecting while sitting at a cafe or other non-mobile environment. That is, it becomes increasingly important to start 'thinking mobile' in order to grasp the significance of the mobile technology revolution and its connection to Web 2.0.
The real change comes when the daily practices of mobile users -- truly mobile in the sense that these users are in motion, and their location and change in location over time becomes critical to the use of the connections, communities, and similar 'real time' activities over time and space. This change is a fundamental shift that should not be underestimated in terms of its significance. Instead of simply communicating with each other, members of a 'mobile community' now have the ability to assemble rapidly based on an event, a common spacial area that is occupied at the same time, or a set of transactions that can be conducted at a particular place and time.
This could be anything from the political revolutionary use of mobile technology that is discussed by those like Manuel Castells (Mobile Communication and Society) to the less political form of group formations discussed by Howard Rheingold in Smart Mobs that is in fact happening as we speak. Such spontaneous formations are harbingers of both organized and spontaneous assemblies of people with common goals or with interests or with transactional needs. The examples currently are crude and somewhat few -- for example, a group of students whom I know of from a recent speaker at USC actually contact each other via text messaging whenever one of the twelve leaves a parking space at the university parking lot -- and waits until one of the members comes by to fill the spot -- to park there.
Some of the companies, apps, and initiatives in mobile broadband that are worth noting:
Obopay: Obopay is the PayPal of mobile technology and is being used by Citibank, Verizon, and others to enable transactions from your mobile phone. Such a transactional system is critical to everything from paying for a load of groceries that are pre-ordered (via mobile or the web) and picked up in the back and paid for with a simple 'zap.'
Yahoo! onePlace: Based on a robust profile, the user is able to connect to local points of interest and commerce sites based on the profile. This could be the beginning too of a way to connect with others on the basis of the profile -- especially as these integrate with social network sites.
Yahoo! oneConnect: This is the first step for Yahoo in terms of the latter above, connecting people with people based on mobile device connections.
Ribbit/Amphibian: This company and app claims that it is a mobile-based web 2.0 company. Basically, this company takes the Skype concept further by integrating all voice services into a web interface. This allows for cell calls to come in on a web site, or for land line phone calls to operate side-by-side with a collaborative, web site for voice and data collaboration.
Additionally, in the past weeks, Apple has opened up its SDK or software developer's kit for the creation of customized apps for the iPhone, and Google has announced a mobile version of its off-line productivity tool relating to its suite of tools in Google Apps (Google Gears for Mobile) to complement its open SDK for broadband mobile code named Android.
No comments:
Post a Comment