Mobile World Congress is in the midst of its third day. Is the Ericsson party tonight? What deal had that guy from Newbay say he had done last night in the bar? Is there a place to get foot massage nearby? I am sure the questions are many as the mega-over-the-top-exhibition-fatigue sets in.
In that environment it might get even tougher for some of the newcomers to the show. The media execs. Well, some have probably been there at least once. But for most media companies the mobile channel is virgin territory. This will change. Is changing. Has already changed. There are more than anectdotal evidence for this. Which media outlet with some self-respect has not a twitter account today? By the way you find my tweets here. Yes twitter is a hybrid web and mobile service, but very much a mobile service. Twitter also makes it possible to be a one man news agency/editorial crew. One example being Thomas Crampton with his blog, mobile videos and tweets.
But beyond that? What else? Since the mobile phone is the item that stays with us for most of the day it is _the_ screen to be at. It starts with the wakeup call, most likley coming from the mobile phone alarm. Then checking what texts, tweets and news have come in during the night. On to the day with phone calls, picture taking, texts, surfing and some tweets. It continues like that until we go to bed.
In a recent report from Strand Reports there are some interesting facts. This should make good reading and solid base information for some important decisions at the media commpanies. Even though the time spent for media consumption on the phone is still measured in minutes versus TV-consumption in hours, the growth is in mobile. If we include social interaction when we talk with our friends about media and entertainment, the mobile becomes even more important already today.
Mobile also opens up for co-creation, dialogue and participation. All magic keywords for creating strong loyalty. After some experiences are gained I am sure we will see entirely new production methods and shorter cycles for some media properties.
The key here is to strike the right balance between mobiel add-ons and create for mobile from the ground up. And manage to do that in a multi-channels scenario covering for instance TV, radio, event, web and mobile to take a fairly common set of channels that one media commpany might use.
There are very cool ideas and facts coming out of some of the experienced players like Tomi Ahonen and Alan Moore running Communities Dominate Brands blog. They are on top of the pyramid perhaps, but the pyramid is growing, the base is widening and there are new great talents added to the mobile media scene every day now. One proof of this is that the mobile content hall at MWC09 has grown substantially this year. And the porn companies are in minority. There’s hard work ahead but we _are_ on the fast track to become part of mainstream media. Oh happy days!
Dear Big Media Exec, did you get all that down with your Mont Blanc pen in your paper notepad?











Wow! Thanks for the flattering reference.
I think the big media execs have an extremely difficult time digesting concepts that overturn their centuries old business model.
Sad for them, but it does open a wide space for new entrants.
Well, I mean it since your coverage on twitter and blog really adds value to my day. Keep up the good work!