Location-aware mobile web browsing
As I was reading one of my favorite Apple blogs, I read an article mentioning iPhone’s upcoming ability (via OS 3.0) to be location-aware in the browser. While some readers commented on the triviality (or privacy dangers) of this capability, it struck me as extremely noteworthy for a number of reasons.
Before getting to that, though, I needed to answer a fundamental question: is this feature unique to the iPhone or do other mobile web browsers have this capability already within their systems?
The answer — Two others provide it at the device level:
(please correct me if I’m wrong here)
Noticably absent are two of the world’s largest manufacturers: RIM & Nokia (collectively 62% of worldwide smartphone marketshare and no, Nokia, having the world’s first compass phone doesn’t count.) From the research I performed, I imagine that they are hard at work to update their proprietary mobile web browsers, because for them to be location-aware in the browser like the iPhone, G1 and Pre, their browsers need to be webkit or HTML5 compatible — or that they are working to enable their platforms to allow individual users to download a mobile web browser of their choice that will be webkit or HTML5 compatible. I truly hope that happens.
So why is all this noteworthy? Why do I hope RIM & Nokia get on board?
- Devices like the iPhone & G1 are showing a meteoric rise of mobile web browser usage when the browsing is a good experience
- Google recently made public commitment to develop web-based applications using the HTML5 standard, thereby enabling any smartphone user with a webkit enabled browser to utilize their (increasing number of) apps without needing special software on each device
- Less special software means less expense to website developers, less complicated code for hardware manufacturers and more ‘eyeballs’ for marketers when consumers are in more of a mindset for decision-making and…
- (the clencher) GPS-enabled mobile web devices can tell marketers if a person is in-store doing research on their phone and is a the last stage of the consideration process
Forrester projects that mobile marketing spending will grow from $361mm in 2009 to $950mm in 3 years. If the mobile browsing experience improves and marketers add unique content relevant to web browsers that they can identify are in-store, I think it might grow faster.. especially as bigger providers upgrade their mobile browsing experience and consumers are pleasantly surprised by marketers who utilize the capability well. I also believe that more of the mobile marketing dollars could be spent towards a more useful web experience rather than in-game ads or sms shortcodes that might be less effective at-the-counter.
Implications for Consumers & Marketers
I see a lengthy number of scenarios for location-aware mobile web-browsing… Just a few off the top of my head:
- Imagine visiting your local big-box hardware store to search for a boot-tray. The first staff you approach doesn’t know exactly where they are, so while he goes off to find someone who can help, you pull up bigbox.com on your mobile device and instead of getting the generic site, you’re taken to a location-aware site that features a store map & product search by aisle. Problem solved.
- You arrive at the airport 2 hrs ahead of schedule for your flight. Some airlines offer mobile sites where you can view your reservation and change a flight, but a location-aware site could also direct you to an attendant at the gate nearest your current location for assistance. Or how about a layout of the entire airport you’re visiting?
- You’re staying at a hotel on the coast for a quick vacation weekend. In-room messaging could direct guests to the location’s website which could provide a map of restaurants in the area, or links to the websites of recreational activities nearby.
What scenarios do you see?
Like many bloggers out there, I’ve gone through the various stages of getting this whole thing up and running. In my career, doing a blog was easier because I didn’t write it and because we scheduled articles (and wrote them in advance) so that they hit a regular cadence.
I haven’t been so diligent for “brand me.” Much of the reason has been my reluctance to join the fold of navel-gazing digerati as we speculate what’s good, what’s sub-par and what’s interesting. To me, that field is full-up and played-out. But it also kept me from contributing anything.
So as I endeavor to write because I do feel I have a place, I’m committing myself to a few certain criteria. They are (in no particular order):
- To utilize some form of measurable fact in each article
- To keep it in the realm of digital marketing & advertising (my world for almost a decade)
- To allow myself the latitude to try out ideas, opinions and occasionally off-the-wall anecdotes without fear
- To end it when “it” becomes more work than leisure
I enjoy contributing, even if some of it might be considered noise, because I enjoy this digital world we’re experimenting with. And I’m constantly investigating new technologies, marketing approaches, digital mediums, networks and smart people. Raise your hand if you agree.
A list of major holding companies and the agencies within each
I’ll start by saying that while I’ve been on Twitter for over a year, I’ve only really become active since I found myself with more free time in the past two months or so. In that time, I’ve been reading, studying, and learning about many of the subjects I had a base understanding of - but hadn’t dug deep into. Twitter is a perfect example.
For those that are on Twitter, the uses & values of tweeting are clear. For others, it seems a big waste of time, or simply a venue to place ads on. I fall in the former category and see the value of being an active participant. As I searched for Twitter profiles in the advertising, PR and media community though, I found a general lack of understanding for what it is and why it is worth doing. In fact, there’s a lack of many companies in this industry even experimenting.
But nowhere in my search did I find a comprehensive list of who’s doing it and more importantly, what their Twitter names are. So I created one.
I uploaded this extensive list of the primary advertising agencies, media & pr firms and digital companies on Twitter. I’ve based the initial list on Advertising Age’s 2008 Family Tree and even included an initial list of independent firms. Because many agencies are joining every day (some in the past few weeks), I figured a wiki was the best place to put it so that anyone like you could come along and contribute. That’s the nature of the new web, right?
Check it out, see if other agencies & firms in your global holding company are active, and update if you want. In my next post, I’ll share some insights I learned pulling together the list that agencies can use to better their presence on Twitter. And I’ll welcome your comments on the matter.
- Josh
