The digital divide has plagued Web 2.0 from the start. Web 2.0 is only possible with two elements: a relatively powerful computer and consistent broadband Internet access. Both cost money, quite a bit for someone struggling to get by and in many cases broadband access may not even be available.
So when the digerati trade pictures on Flickr or log onto Facebook and MySpace to share with friends, they are doing something that entire segments of the population can’t. This gets worse as you move out of the US, where people not only can’t afford a computer, but don’t have an easy way to access the online world.
These populations do, however, have cell phones. Not fancy cell phones with Web access and email, but simple phones that may or may not have a camera, but can certainly handle text messaging.
Which is why I was heartened by companies like SCVNGR and Assured Labor, which focus on delivering information to these devices as well. In fact, Assured Labor CEO David Reich said that the company is specifically aimed at reaching out to people who do not have access to the fixed Web. In a sense, text messaging technology is the key to crossing the digital divide.
Experts predict that even with the current market conditions, smartphone sales will continue to increase this year, as those with the means will make picking up an iPhone or a BlackBerry Storm a necessity.
However, sales of traditional handsets are expected to fall. And it’s not because smart phone sales will cannibalize cheaper handset sales, but because many will simply put off upgrading their phones. In a way this will exacerbate the digital divide, with the “haves” gaining access to the mobile Web while the “have nots” will only have text messaging and maybe some limited, and expensive, browsing.
That’s why I’m heartened to see so many companies including the text-only capabilities as part of their growth strategies.
We all remember the days of measuring column inches and multiplying it by the advertising rates to determine the return on investment of an earned-media placement. "But it is not an apples-to-apples comparison because no one looks at the ads," the PR team would say in justifying why we needed to use a multiplier to determine the real value.
We also remember the days when a story appearing online was consider a second-class piece of coverage, with PR people consumed with making it "in print." Boy have times changed.
Today, click throughs and site referrals are king and are making the job of PR measurement much, much easier. But the question still remains, is online king? When it comes to measurement, absolutely.
Take for instance, an Early Show segment that appeared yesterday for our client RetailMeNot. The TV segment mentions the site as a great resource for online coupons and discount codes No doubt some viewers will go to their computer and either insert the address or Google the name. We can likely measure some of the impact in terms of how much traffic increases and the changes in the percentages in terms of traffic sources, especially since the accompanying story on the site doesn't directly link either. Even for coverage that doesn't link, you can make some pretty healthy assumptions about the impact.
But for sites that directly link, measurement is pretty accurate and can result in your PR team being much smarter and more strategic about the universe of blogs, social media campaigns and online sites they target/execute in their day-to-day jobs. It also can correct some assumptions about the overstated prowess of an outlet that seems to be the favorite of a board member or an executive. It also doesn't remove the need for more analysis, such as to what extent a site is sending qualified traffic. One site may send 1000 visitors and not result in as much business as another that refers only 100.
This also doesn't just apply to consumer sites that promise to be hot this season like the aforementioned RetailMeNot, BeatMyPrice,Liftopia or MyGroceryDeals. It can apply to any company that is great at converting online leads to sales, subscriptions or downloads, including application development companies, open source, software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies or solar integrators.
The other point is that clients should share their analytics with their PR teams to help them become more scientific in terms of how they measure the impact of onlines, blogs, Facebook Groups, Twitter and other emerging social media. Knowing the impact is half of the battle when justifying PR budget.
The five star system will indicate how much energy a charger uses if it remains plugged-in once charging is complete – a problem that currently accounts for about two thirds of the energy used by mobile devices.
The move is indicative of a wider focus on the environmental impact of the telecoms industry, with the GSMA – the organisers of Mobile World Congress (MWC) – leading the way.
The GSMA's Global Mobile Awards, which culminate at a gala dinner during MWC, are also embracing this commitment to sustainability, introducing two new Green Mobile Awards – one for CEOs and one for enterprises who are working to promote "low carbon economies, industry and lifestyles".
If the event's Pacific cousin – the Asia Mobile Awards, which were announced in Macau this week – are anything to go by, then the Global Mobile Awards are set to be a varied showcase of green mobile initiatives.
The Philippines' Powercity Corporation and Indonesia's AXIS both entered renewable power solutions, while Lebanon's MIC 2 and New Zealand's Vodafone offered up recycling initiatives for pre-pay scratch cards and mobile handsets, respectively.
The overall winner was Nokia, however, for its Malaysian Integrated Nokia Kiosk (INK) program – a six-month pilot project that saw the roll-out of dual-purpose, automated stations at which customers could have their handsets serviced or recycled, with Nokia planting a tree via the WWF's NEWtrees Initiative for each one.
In fact, where green thinking is concerned, Nokia is a poster child for the mobile industry at large. The company took the overall "Grand Prix" prize at the Green Awards last week, with judges recognising the success of its "power of we" campaign to encourage employee engagement with sustainable initiatives.
Beyond operator and OEM projects focussed on energy consumption and recycling, there are a number of technology developers looking at the mobile device itself as a tool for reducing environmental impact.
At the inaugural Green IT Expo in London recently, Tracer Systems exhibited a GPS-enabled Web application that makes the process of tracking vehicle fleets paperless. Meanwhile, Acumen Insights demoed a real-time collaboration tool optimised for PDAs and smartphones, enabling employees to cut travel and work remotely on any device.
As handset features continue to advance and legislation makes businesses more accountable for their energy usage, we're set to see the mobile phone take on an intriguing role in green initiatives. Carbon Diem is already innovating in this space, offering a compelling mash up of enterprise mobility application and location-based service, designed to monitor carbon footprint.
The deadline for entries for the Global Mobile Awards is a little over a week away now – Friday, November 28. Despite the cost of entry, we hope to see some of these smaller players in the running for the Green Mobile Awards, since – aside from reducing the impact of its own operations – the telecoms industry also has the opportunity to leverage the ubiquity of the mobile handset to help other sectors cut theirs.
Last night, I went to the Mass Technology Leadership Council's "Tech Tuesday: Gadgets & Gathering" event. There were 30-40 people there, and what struck me the most was everyone's optimism.
I had great conversations with a number of entrepreneurs who were starting their own companies or looking to expand. The VC I met from WilmerHale was very bullish, particularly when it came to clean tech potential in Massachusetts. The healthcare IT company founders were identifying new needs and are getting a solid reception from hospital networks.
The talk wasn't about "surviving the downturn," layoffs or how tough it is. It was about opportunity, possibility and what is needed to go to the next level.
That's what I believe people need to keep in mind. There are growth opportunities in every market. Let others retrench--if you maintain your optimism, seek out new opportunities and aren't afraid to take risks, opportunities abound. Tech companies know this better than anyone. Don't take counsel of your fears. Be aware of them. Then step past them and move full speed ahead.
Last night I attended my first Mobile Monday. For the uninitiated, Mobile Mondays are held around the world and are opportunities for people working in the mobile industry in any given city to meet with peers, face-to-face. Last night’s meetup focused on showing 10 local startups.
I came away with two overall impressions:
There is a lot of optimism and hope in this industry. Yes, everyone is talking about the recession and tough times ahead, but they’re eagerly developing the next generation of technology.
Apparently the whole world uses the iPhone. Yeah, I know, it’s not true. But the iPhone App. Store has given developers an immediate outlet for their work. Several companies noted proudly that their core application was already being sold there, while it was still under development for other devices. BlackBerry will have an application store too, so hopefully that will help even things out.
The young engineers and business folks showing their best stuff have done some wonderful creative thinking with the existing and emerging mobile infrastructure.
Cadio, for example, is marrying location-based information with contextual targeting to create a solid understanding of movement patterns. The purpose is to create targeted ads that aren’t a nuisance, but actually fit in with people’s lives. Cadio took 2nd place in the mobile category in the MIT 100K Entrepreneurship Competition last year as Social Sense.
Pongr lets people take pictures of products in a store, then use that picture to find the same items around the web, do research and even find out if the price they’re getting is a good one. This potentially can put a lot of power into the hands of the shopper.
Drync also uses a camera phone, but then goes beyond giving wine enthusiasts a way to save their favorite wines, find out reviews and even buy them on the spot.
SCVNGR is among the most interesting companies I saw, giving companies an platform for developing scavenger hunts. The applications of this are pretty amazing. Colleges and universities area already using this as part of their orientation programs to help students learn their way around campus and to meet other people. Trade shows use it to move people around and drive traffic to certain booths, and the MFA used it for their Assyrian exhibit to engage younger visitors.
Assured Labor also uses location technology, but this matches workers with people who have work to give. What’s interesting here is that it’s based on text messaging, thereby targeting the non-tech savvy portion of the population who use cell phones but may not have PC or Mac-based Web access.
In all I left the meeting pumped and excited to see what other companies are coming down the road.
Yesterday and this morning the blogosphere and twitterverse have been in an uproar over the latest ad for Motrin that managed to offend its target audience (mothers). The New York Times has a good recap here.
If I had to draw three lessons from what has been going on as of now, they would be:
1) Engage your audience ahead of time and plan for every contingency - I can't believe McNeil/Pfizer didn't do focus groups or market research before launching the Motrin ad, but either the groups were off base or the negative comments were washed out. An editor friend of mine once told me she operated under the principle - if I can think of a way for people to be offended by what I write or my graphic, I know thousands will be offended. Companies need to weigh this and if they decide to move ahead, prepare a response for the negative reactions.
2) Constant monitoring is no longer an option - I remember the Compuserve .Gif tax controversy and thought that spread like wildfire. This puts that to shame. Social media monitoring and engagement is not a 9 to 5 job. Motrin reacted properly, but it gave the zeitgeist time to build and this became a bigger story over the weekend. Companies and public relations professionals need to monitor their brand all the time. The next issue could arise at any time. We had this happen recently when a false rumor about one of my clients started to spread on Twitter. I checked it out, called my client and within 10 minutes of the first Tweet, we had responded to the people and killed the meme before it could gather legs.
3) React quickly and publicly - McNeil is responding publicly, and the Motrin site is down. I applaud them for making the move. Now the question is did they react quickly enough. My gut call is they gave the controversy a day or two of extra legs, but because they did react it will pass in the next few days.
A recession may be the time we start to see some true innovation in the New England mobile world, if you believe the panelists at the recent New England Mobile Summit.
I attended the summit this past month during Mobile Internet World in Boston. The event was organized by Mark Lowenstein, managing director of Mobile Ecosystem, a former Yankee Group vice president and analyst, and previously vice president of Strategy at Verizon Wireless.
It was interesting to view the mobile marketplace from a regional perspective, and the panelists shared plenty of good news. The New England business ecosystem that supports mobile companies is strong. According to Mark, the region supports about 150 companies in wireless and 170 in related areas, and VCs put more than $1B into Massachusetts companies since 2002.
Plenty of M&A activity has taken place with companies like Nuance making acquisitions. Also, big players like Microsoft, Google and Nokia have opened Boston area offices. Not to mention the successful companies that have spawned startups, like the former Comverse employees who started JumpTap and Airwide Solutions.
That's the history, but what about looking ahead? I was struck by the optimism of the panelists. If you believe them, a recession is the right time to innovate and start a new venture. Randy Battat commented that Airvana was founded and funded during the high tech recession of 2001. Gennady Sirota noted that Starent was formed in the summer of 2001. Large carriers bet on startups during that recession and invested in innovation. Today Airvana generates more than $200M in revenues and Starent employs about 700 people.
The megatrends that speakers pointed to included:
A sea change in the ability to deliver applications and services for mobile phones-The mobile web is growing 500% per month as devices become more capable and carrier plans become more flexible. Devices like the Apple iPhone and Google Android are providing the full web experience. Meanwhile, open source development for mobile handsets will deliver a better end user experience.
Access to faster Internet and video-Seventy percent of consumers don't have access to 3G video connections and the vast majority gain access to the web from simple, low-cost devices. According to CEO Jim Ricotta of Azuki Systems, content providers need to repurpose "glanceable" content that works on low and high quality phones.
Architecture Changes-4G doesn't just mean faster, better and stronger. It also means that the architecture and economics are changing.
FemToCells are hot-Randy Battat commented that data traffic over cellular networks is growing 60-100% per year, in a trend that should continue strongly through the recession. Tatara Systems Chairman E.Y Snowden described FemToCells as "game changing" in their ability to broadly deliver bandwidth to homes, where 70% of mobile services are consumed.
Untapped opportunities? Panelists cited the ability to access contact databases and location
information from mobile web applications. Another opportunity: cloud services like Google Maps that bridge the desktop and mobile worlds.
A few other interesting insights: One panelist cited TeleAtlas as an example of a company that invites consumer feedback to keep its street atlas information up to date. There were also interesting conversations about global differences. For instance, in India, carriers are sharing their networks to reduce costs in a region where $4/month is the typical mobile phone bill. Getting into regional markets requires adapting business and pricing models.
Who will suffer in the recession? With global carrier consolidation, the infrastructure companies are under enormous pressure in spite of $50B in carrier spending. Nortel and Samsung are showing signs of the strain while Erickson, Nokia and Siemens remain stable. Look to see the infrastructure provider landscape redrawn in coming months.
To see some of the interesting comments by panelists during New England Mobile Summit, check out this video on bnetTV.com.
