Mobile Web Pronounced Dead Again!
If we only look at the last year, mobile web has died many deaths, if we look back to 2000 it has probably died more than Kenny from South Park. Here lies WAP (WAP is dead), and here’s mobile web killed with the iPhone, oh, and here is when mobile applications died a couple of months ago, and here’s someone writing that those deaths should make way for RIA on mobile . And here it is again,the CEO of Mowser says it’s over via ReadWriteWeb.
It’s really easy to say anything mobile is dead. Philosophically, anything that is ad-supported does not exist until you can hear the sound of more than one media buyer clicking. Jermaine from Flight of the Conchords might say “Be more constructive with your feedback.” The iPhone’s Safari browser is here, but the mobile web still exists in a better form then it did previously. For some reason bloggers see the need to mark each evolution in mobile web as a death. Looked at from a blogger’s perspective, mobile web is a cat that dies as each markup language ceases to be the bleeding edge - wml, chtml, xhtml, etc.
So do we listen to the CEO of Mowser say that the Mobile Web is a black hole that we need to escape from? Before we do that, for one moment let us honor John Wheeler today by correctly characterizing the properties of a black hole. Is it also true that there’s no value in mobile as a channel for distributing music? That’s what I’d think if I believed the following a recent study covered on MocoNews. After reading this I imagined a fake steve jobs post where Will Ferrell’s Mugatu from Zoolander is saying ‘I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!’ as he downloads ‘Relax’ onto his iPhone and browses for piano-key neckties to cool himself down. I think what’s important here is to balance the volume of opportunities when discussing mobile content and mobile marketing then just to marvel at the crashing sound when MVNOs or other mobile focused-businesses fall into the seeming black abyss. If your content cannot escape or exist outside the mobile phone, then it is not the fault of the marketing channels like the mobile web or mobile homescreen. Mobile has channels (text, email, web, homescreen) and those channels are opportunities and should not be attributed to the cause of death of a business.
Here’s the company line: in 2008 it’s still about no mobile phone left behind. Us cool cats with iPhones can lead the charge into deeper content discovery on mobile phones but we are not the only people who carry phones, and increasingly we are not the only ones who access the browser. And all this talk of no activity on the mobile web–just as the greatest mobile web revolution is beginning.
Crisp Voices
April 15th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Been reading for a while now. Just wanted to say good job.
Chris Tackett
April 15th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Wow - one guy decides that startup life isn’t for him and this is supposed to throw a whole shadow over the industry…..hmmm I don’t think so.
I like Russell, I’ve been a long time reader of his blog and an occasional user of his Mowser application.
I think the key point here is that….”Mowser was filling a temporary problem”, with the release of the iPhone and the imminent massive model variants of the Android OS on the Horizon and the sure but steady improvements in the Windows Mobile 6 OS I think Russell is throwing in the towel as handsets are getting “good enough to no longer need Mowser”.
Now do I think he threw it in too early with only 12 months operation - sure but thats because I’m a serial startup entrepreneur with 2 listed companies under my belt.
As an employee of http://www.Amethon.com one of the worlds first mobile browser specific analytics applications just for mobile content, I for one, am seeing huge growth in mobile content.
Amethon’s clients are seeing traffic build month on month, and yes I think a lot of that has to do with better quality handsets and better quality browsers and most importantly higher data speeds with somewhat more reasonable flat rate unlimited data plans.
With a better user experience more people are finding the convenience of accessing content on the move …..or standing still but getting it right where they are standing with a mobile device never far from their hand ….
The best part about this mobile content is the volume of advertising coming into the space is funding a better user experience, and with tools like Amethon Mobile Analytics users analytics information and a solid roi can be demonstrated against this advertising spend.
Am I sad to see Mowser go, yes - Will Russell bounce, for sure - one of the smartest pioneers in the mobile business, Do I think USA consumers are a little behind eastern consumer patterns in mobile content consumption - YES but that has more to do with carriers and handsets than personal desires and usage patterns.
The mobile space is just taking off, with all the fallouts and successes that there was in the desktop browser wars in the 1990’s.
Watch this space and get in early……your customers are waiting.
Regards,
Dean Collins
http://www.Amethon.com
April 16th, 2008 at 9:57 am
You’re absolutely right about the recurring death announcements. It’s getting a little tiresome!
Perhaps MVNOs aren’t truly dead yet, and they can make a comeback!
I also agree with your assessment on Twitter’s affect on the mobile landscape, and making it more “personal”
Nice post!
April 24th, 2008 at 7:18 am
[...] (here) to saying the mobile web is misunderstood, complete disagreement (here, here , here and here) and a lot of conversation about how the iPhone has/will change everything (including [...]