Mobile Internet Users to Outnumber Wireline Users by 2015

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According to a new study by IDC, mobile internet access via smartphones and tablets will soon outpace wireline access via PCs and other fixed position devices. Mobile device use is growing rapidly and wireline use is expected to level off and then decline.

This is expected to alter the very nature of how the internet is used. Consider some characteristics of mobile devices that will contribute to this change:

  • Location sensing.
  • Touch screen.
  • Device mobility.
  • Always on status.
  • App centric user interface.

It looks like the shift from fixed to mobile devices may be every bit as significant as the historic shift from mainframes to PCs.

The Software Revolution

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As software transforms industry after industry, it's becoming apparent that the world is transitioning to a software driven paradigm that won't be denied.

Manufacturing, entertainment, journalism, music ... they are just a few of the business domains that have been dramatically altered by the power of software.

Software often gives an order of magnitude or two advantage to the new businesses that fully leverage its capabilities.

Some of the effects on society are profound:

  • Radical lowering of costs.
  • Shifting of the demands of labor from the physical to the intellectual.
  • Increasing the rate of change.

What are some takeaways for businesses large and small?

  • Embrace the change ... don't fight it.
  • Try to get ahead of the curve instead of playing catch-up.
  • Develop an understanding of the latest new technologies, which are, today, things like smartphones, cloud computing and tablet computing.
  • Don't rely on yesterday's technology to carry the day. Witness the speed with which tablet computing is replacing PCs.
  • Give some of the latest technologies a try. Test them. See what they can do for you.

 

 

Marketing and Technology ... Not So Far Apart Any More

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Certainly traditional media such as newspapers, TV, radio and magazines are still very important to marketing products and services. But the newer, high tech, internet driven media and tools are playing an ever increasing role. Consider:

And the list goes on. Some long for the 'good old days' as portrayed in the popular TV series Mad Men. Come up with a great angle on a product, buy a lot of space in paper media and watch the sales roll in. Technology was left up to the back room gnomes who would calculate results and play with budgets.

Today, technology is center stage in most marketing campaigns. There are, of course, challenges in the marriage of the two domains. Consider this list:

  • Finding the right balance between the new and the traditional.
  • Knowing how far to go with technology. Just like traditional media, it can get expensive.
  • Getting the traditional media folks to interact with the new media folks.
  • Not forgetting the importance of branding, positioning, images and other 'soft' elements when dealing with 'hard' technology.

So, how to deal with all this? Some thoughts:

  • Technology can be applied incrementally. Small scale at first to judge results, then a broader roll out.
  • Technology can provide a lot of detail about results and how it is working. It can be much more transparent than traditional media if reported correctly.
  • Technology can provide two way dialogues with the audience. This can be informative and allow adjustments as time passes.

A good example showing that today's audiences want both old and new media is the YouTube phenomenon. People like watching moving images. It's been around for 100 years. YouTube provides audiences a new element of control and interaction that enhances their experience.

Find ways to marry the two like that, and you're on your way to success. 

A New Paradigm in Public Relations

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Just as it has in a growing number of industries, the Internet is transforming the field of public relations.

Here is some of what's happening:

  • The dividing line between marketing and PR is disappearing.
  • PR is providing more useful information for consumers.
  • New Internet focused PR companies are greatly lowering the cost of PR campaigns.
  • Internet based tools are making PR campaigns easier to develop and manage.
  • PR content is interacting with and feeding off of other content such as blogs, video, images, web sites and e-books.
  • It is becoming cost effective to focus PR campaigns on smaller, niche markets as well as big, broad markets.
  • Internet based PR is becoming a critical element in gaining search engine placement.

In short, an Internet based PR campaign is becoming an essential and growing part of selling products and services.  

Re-tooling for the Information Age

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The internet, web sites, smartphones, tablets, social networking, cloud computing ... the Information Age is getting into full swing. Just as the U.S. transitioned completely to the Industrial Age in the 1930's, we are now completing our move into the Information Age.
 
 
Whether as an individual or business, it will become increasingly difficult to compete without using Information Age tools and processes. Emerging markets, with their lower cost base, will take most of the remaining Industrial Age jobs and opportunities. Manufacturing in the U.S. won't disappear, but it too will have to adopt Information Age ways.
 
Some, often those of older generations, regret the popularity of new, fast paced tools such as social networking. It would be more productive to give them a try and leverage their value.
 
The rapid spread of smartphones is accelerating  the use of tools such as social networking. They offer a great way to take the plunge into a new world.

Smartphone App User Interface - Lessons from Websites

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Apps are relatively new compared to websites.  There's a lot of hard earned knowledge about website user interfaces. It might be useful to take some lessons from websites and apply them to apps. Here are a few starters:
 
At a glance understanding.
People skim computer based interfaces, they don't read them like you would a book. It's important to get people's attention and convey meaning quickly. Use elements such as images and symbols in addition to text.
 
Obvious navigation.  
People want to know where they are as they pass through an application. Give them hints about where they are and how to move around easily.
 
Appealing graphic design (colors, placement, font,...).  
People have visceral reactions to the look and feel of what they see on a screen. You may not be able to judge a book by it's cover, but if the cover isn't appealing, the content may never be seen.
 
Important elements above the fold.  
Don't make people scroll to see critical information. Put the important elements on the first part of the screen to appear.
 
Importance of names, symbols, etc.

Naming and creating symbols for your app, tabs, sections is important as an aid in remembering where users have been and where they want to go.

 

Eye Tracking and Heat Maps

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Eye tracking has become a hot topic in the last few years. Eye tracking devices are used to create heat maps showing where attention is focused on display pages. A sample heat map of a Google search results is shown below:

A dominant pattern for search engine results is the "F" pattern showing the eye being drawn to the upper left and then moving down and across from there. There are, however, factors (such as the inclusion of images, graphics, and additional columns) that can significantly alter this pattern. This is shown in the sample YouTube pages below:

You can do a Google Images search of "eye tracking" to see sample heat maps. Having a basic understanding of how people focus their attention on internet sites is important for improving traffic and conversions. Heat maps of specific sites can help to further improve results.

Basic Usability Testing

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Doing basic testing for website usability can often be simplified down to a series of sessions with users who spend an hour or so each being observed carrying out specific website tasks. Usability testing is often put off or ignored resulting in websites which are difficult to use and have low conversion rates. Sometimes simple fixes can have big results.

 Click here to see a video on a sample usability testing session.