Mobile Web 2.0 June 18, 2008
Posted by wirelessinformatics in Mobile Operator, User Experience.trackback
Is Mobile Web 2.0 a reality? At last week’s Mobile Web 2.0 Summit in London the slightly ironic answer was that most had trouble even believing in the term as a ‘concept’.
The event was designed to explore the meaning of Mobile Web 2.0 and discuss appropriate business models and key revenue drivers of the technology. Of all the industry specialists attending, most admitted that their applications were not generating any significant revenue. The reality is that most mobile web applications do not yet have a business model in place to determine how revenue will be generated outside of advertising.
Web 2.0 is an established evolution of the Internet and refers to the progression of web-services from static, one-way instances to platforms for user interaction, personalisation and user generated content. Although mobile devices now allow access and interaction with social networking sites, RSS feeds and podcasting etc, the general consensus was that these technologies are as yet to be used effectively within the Web 2.0 ecosystem.
Certainly, the mobile device’s inherent portability and multimedia feature-set make it more than just an access channel. But until more services start to be made for mobile’, the handset will struggle to deliver value outside of being just another pipe into existing online services.
The mobile device must find its own home in the world of Web 2.0. Consumers use their devices in different environments and circumstances than they do a PC. Mobile Web 2.0 must start to leverage this, building services from the ‘outside in’ rather than shoehorning existing web-services onto the mobile platform.
I agree, most mobile sites do not yet have a business model in place for generating revenue. Most mobile websites at this time are either a support mechanism for an existing business, or are earning money from mobile advertisements.
Web 2.0 for mobile, however, in my opinion, will blossom when it becomes an interactive experience for the people who use the sites, like microblogging with twitter, for example, which allows people to follow each other in a social networking context.
The most recent iPhone price point and carriers’ unlimited data plans will bring more users to the mobile internet in the United States, a market which, until now, did not even know it was possible to reach the internet via phone. In other countries, like the U.K. for example, price is still the main consideration when looking for sites that will resolve on mobile devices.
We have a bit of education to do to bring end users to the mobile internet, don’t we?