But unlike desktop sig files, mobile sigs have emerged as a method to excuse and educate, rather than to provide a curriculum vitae. Mobile sigs report from the field, bringing information and apologies.
Here are a selection some I’ve saved over the last several months…
July 27, 2008, 11:35am
“Mobile is the Internet for an increasingly large and attractive consumer segment—an important distinction for marketers to keep in mind.”
— 1.2 Billion Mobile Subscribers! - eMarketer
June 27, 2008, 11:26pm
“It’s also an indication of how a more interactive, empowered online community, particularly in the Arab-Islamic world, may prove to be Al Qaeda’s Achilles’ heel. Anonymity and accessibility, the hallmarks of Web 1.0, provided an ideal platform for Al Qaeda’s radical demagoguery. Social networking, the emerging hallmark of Web 2.0, can unite a fragmented silent majority and help it to find its voice in the face of thuggish opponents, whether they are repressive rulers or extremist Islamic movements.”
June 26, 2008, 2:16pm
“The two images above are maps of the Internet, specifically the “routers” – equipment that passes data to its intended destination – and the paths between them. Think of it as the Internet’s highways and exit ramps. The maps were made by Lumeta, a tech-security company. The map on the left was made 10 years ago, and shows about 88,000 routers. The one on the right was made a couple of months ago. This time Lumeta mapped over 450,000 routers.”
June 10, 2008, 11:43am
Leigh Himel wrote a post today discussing Geoffrey Moore’s theory of “crossing the chasm,” an idea revolving around the sphere of early adopters and mainstream adaptation.
For some background on the idea, see below:
Moore’s key insight is that the groups adopt innovations for different reasons. Early adopters are technology enthusiasts looking for a radical shift, where the early majority want a “productivity improvement”. The latter group want a whole product, where the earlier group only needs the core product, and has the technical competence, and financial resources to make the rest themselves.
One of the more interesting questions Leigh raised was actually in the comments: “However, I guess the real question in my mind is, is it a marketing chasm (or awareness/usage chasm) or is it a technology adoption chasm.” Leigh elaborates: “If one can’t see technology, and if one doesn’t perceive new products/services as technology, then how does that change the model?”
My generation (bloggers like Corvida, Nick O’Neill and Caroline McCarthy, just to name a few) don’t see technology and therefore, I would argue, never experience this “chasm” that Moore once described. We live it everyday.
I saw trend adoption while in college, specifically in 2004 when Facebook launched. Friends got on it, shared information and talked online as a supplement to AIM. Instant messaging moved to content creation via blogs and blogs then moved to portability on a mobile device. My friends started carrying their digital lives with them, wherever they went.
Although I don’t have any statistical data (at least right now) to show that Generation Y has destroyed the “chasm,” it’s almost a sure bet that the term “early adopter” doesn’t truly exist for my friends. There is no adoption, rather adaptation to their needs.
What do you think?
May 06, 2008, 1:35pm
For some, it’s popularity but for others, it’s monetary life or death. What does the click mean to you?
As documented in a piece by Die Zeit, “Wie Zeitungsverlage ihr Heil im Internet suchen,” the click has radically transformed society since the inception of printing press. Analog has now moved to Digital. The television news quote, the radio interview and even the static, dull text of a press release has slowly faded away into the ether.
“Im Internet gilt nun eine neue, viel rasantere Erfolgswährung: Was dem werbefinanzierten Rundfunk die Quote, ist für Medien im Netz die Klickzahl, die Häufigkeit, mit der eine bestimmte Seite, ein bestimmter Beitrag aufgerufen, angeklickt wird.”
Even in its 15th year, the Internet is the destroyer of hopes for many businesses and catalyst of the unbelievable for the few.
Welcome to the war of clicks.
May 01, 2008, 4:50pm
Take a look at the picture below, courtesy of Threeminds.
As Bryan Fuhr states, “When did eating a hamburger become a digital experience? And when did Burger King become a place where I want to spend time online?”
I totally get his point. If you live in New York City, you’be probably noticed Burger Kings with Wi-Fi access points and signs like this out the door:
I think I’d pass on printing, listening, skype-ing, IMing or downloading while I eat my meal.
April 07, 2008, 3:29pm
“THE internet could soon be made obsolete.”
— Not cool…but then I read the rest of the lede: “The scientists who pioneered it have now built a lightning-fast replacement capable of downloading entire feature films within seconds.” Very cool :)
April 06, 2008, 10:03pm
