The Mobile Web

Welcome to 2009, I think that it is fair to say that the Mobile Web is pretty much upon us. So how does this affect you?

I suspect that the question should be how will this effect you, the answer is in a major way. There seems to be three types of Mobile Web out there:

1. Smart Mobile Phones, like the iPhone, G1 and latest Nokias, these are starting to enter the main stream and have full access to the Internet, and Mobile Phone companies are giving away Internet Access making this a very populare way to access the internet.
2. Standard Mobile phones, most now have at least some access to Internet, but the screens are generally very small and proper website access remains difficult.
3. Mini PC – these are gaining in popularity and are generally small laptops, be aware though as costs come down and people just want something to access the internet with, these will rise in popularity and most PC manufactures are betting their chips on Mini Laptops.

What can you do to prepare for this. The key here is the sheer numbers of forecasted users around the world. There are some 800 million computers knocjking around, but experts say that around 4 billion Mobile phones are currently in use. This means that chances are more than half of all internet access will be through the Mobile Phone and not as currently through the PC.

If this is hard to believe just gauge the reactions of friends who have iPhones.

The options are as follows:

1. Do nothing – this remains a key option as mobile phones improve their browsers it should mean people can access normal webistes through their phones without too much difficulty. but you need to factor in a huge chunk of people who will pass you by. No longer can you assum that having a website means a 100% global coverage.
2. Make a specific website for Mobiles – this is more realistic than it sounds, the limitations are simple which broswer system will you support and today currently you’d probably need two or three websites to cover all the angles. This would eb expensive, but you could turn it to your advantage and actually you could reall sieze the moment and push your services and products through your Mobile.
3. Produce a low cost scaled down version of your website. Again this is realistic. You can make three or four pages highlighting the main aspects of your service and these will be available on Mobiles, they’ll work with older handsets and look great in new ones. It could be a necessary fix to an increasing problem.

So right now – you needn’t do anything, but this is a space that you need to watch. the current and dreadful statistic at the moment is 80% of all website traffic visits only 20 websites. Amazon, eBay BBC and so on. This does not bode well for individuals trying to get Business from the Web, on the other hand the Mobile market is starting to show signs of real opportunity.

Some History

The Mobile Web revolution is all about controlling users and there is a real point to be made here. When Tim Burners Lee realised the Internet he saw it as an opportunity to share information over a network of computers for Free. He saw no need for any interferance from outside commercial or governmental interferance, in fact the opposite was true, the Internet was a way to avoid outside influences and to allow true free speech.

Well ever since that day companies have been bending over backwards trying to make a fast buck out of the hundreds of thousands of people trying to share ideas… A whole Open Source community has been created based on opposition to dominance by companies like Microsoft. the Internet has been twisted and controlled by Governments and Companies in a huge multple of ways from silencing opposition in Tibet by China, to exasperating the problems for bank in the UK. From SPAM to Virus the internet is under constant attack. But it has always managed to hold its own, especially in countries like the Great Britian.

The Mobile Revolution however is different and much more dangerous, if a country like China can prevent its users from accessing the BBC’s website that is 100% proof that any government can prevent access to any website at any time, the technology is there already and they use it all the time. In Italy for example all gambling websites are blocked.

So controlling our internet usage is key, but how is this done, the answer lies with our IPS, these are the companies that provide the phyiscal connection from our computer to the Internet. They hold all the cards and have the technology to block anything they like. and they do, most mobiles cannot access YouTube for example.

So the fight for control is now with the IPS’s, but the IPS have all become broadcasters and in particluar this is true of the Mobile Phone Companies. Take Virgin, they had Virgin Mobile first, then Virgin Internet and then Virgin Media… O2 hav done the same, as have Vodaphone, for years you could not get anything other than the Vodaphone website on their Mobile phones. They want your business and they are prepared to give it away.

In the days of dial-up, BT, NTL, Freeserve competed for our business, but there was no point in offering TV, Movies, Phone lines along side the Internet, but this has all changed with services like BT Vision which do everything all for a fixed monthly fee.

The point is this. Mobile Phone companies saw the great cash cow of combining their Media Broadcasting with the Internet and the Mobile, they saw this could be done and ever since then they have campaigned to an extrodinary length to get the Internet onto a Mobile Phone. it is looking like, now with the iPhone and G1 they have succeeded. Now we have a two tier Internet, one for stardard people accessing standard websites able to share and distrubute their own ‘free speech’ via PCs and one where everything is controlled by your Mobile Phone company and based around your spending power, you demographics and your location.

Why is all this so dangerous, because now the Internet is controlled by Corporates – you cannot and never will be able to amble along to your mobile phone and build a website, the most exciting thing you’ll be able to do will be to sell something on eBay. The ability to publish content your way is going and will be gone forever within another decade or so. Over reacting am I? just think about this.

It used to take a couple of weeks to build a webiste, now a couple of months is frequent. The software to build a webiste came FREE with Netscape – now Adobe charge hundred if not thousands of punds to buy the bits you need. You used to be able to host websites for free virtually anywhere, including your ISP – now try doing it, you’ll end up with a bug infested advert ridden mess. You used to be able to publish anything you like, now if you want your website seen it has to meet all the right guideline, both governmental and also corporate (for example to be viewed on an iPhone).

The future is bleaker, not it is not all bad, the open community are fighting back in a big way, technology is progressing faster than ever and everytime the corporate structure blocks free speech in some way, the Open community get around it, but you can be sure of one thing. There is a War going on and we have been forced to accept the Mobile Revolution.