It is with joy I see that one of my suggestions on multiple mobile web conferences is finally acted upon. I am not claiming any personal credit since I am sure many with me has added this request on the “What can we do to improve the conference next time?”. My suggestion has been to bring the kids up on stage. Let them tell us middle aged, largely male population what is important for them in their digital and increasingly mobile world.

So, FINALLY!, at the CTIA Wireless I.T. and Entertainment 2008 event in San Francisco they brought seven youths up on the stage. They are between the ages of 13 and 19 answered questions about their mobile digital lives. Some nice factoids from this panel and a survey made by CTIA together with Harris Interactive:

- 1/3 of teens now play mobile games or browse the mobile web

- 1/5 use the mobile for social networking.

- 47% think their social life would stop without mobile communications

- 1/3 said they’ve used their phones to help others in trouble.

- Most desired features include shock and water proofing (81 percent), endless power (80 percent), privacy screen (58 percent), flexible material that folds into different shapes and sizes (39 percent) and artificial intelligence (38 percent).

Read the entire story over at Fierce Wireless.

I am pleased to see this happening. We are lucky enough to have a vivid dialogue with users in our services through the feedback function directly in the mobile interface. We owe much to our users for many of the great features in services like Lifestylers. It is frustrating to feel that we sometimes can’t keep up with the users comments and feedback though. The pursuit of creating great services and experiences is a job that is never done. Kids are the best source of inspiration and requirements here. Talk to them, sit with them, learn from them!