Mobile is the future of the Web and news

Posted on February 15, 2008 by pat

The Internet and the Web are here to stay, but how we connect with both will be changing.

The personal computer isn’t going anywhere, but people are increasingly accessing the Internet and the Web via mobile devices like smartphones. The iPhone in particular was a watershed moment for the mobile Web because of the power and grace of its user interface and how easy the phone makes using the Web.

Unlike virtually every other mobile device, the iPhone has a full Web browser, Safari 3. It can display Web content like it was meant to be displayed. Despite lacking 3G support (a much faster data network than what the iPhone uses — EDGE), the iPhone’s Web browser is used a lot more than the browser on the typical smartphone.

In fact Google says it gets 50 times more search requests from iPhones than from any other mobile handset. Vic Gundotra, head of Google’s mobile operations, told the Financial Times that mobile Internet searches may overtake fixed Internet searches within the next few years. People want access to information from anywhere, not just when they are seated at a desk.

Apple has caused other manufactures to step up their game in order to compete with the iPhone. Samsung has several phones that will operate on their new TouchWiz UI. The interface looks quite similar to the iPhones, and many other handset markers are looking to mimic Apple’s groundbreaking touchscreen UI.

Mozilla announced late last year that a mobile version of Firefox is in development. A mobile version of Firefox, with its strong standards support and extensibility, might be another watershed moment for the mobile Web. Imagine having access to a full version of the best Web browser available wherever you go.
Te iPhone should improve considerably this year when Apple releases its second-generation iPhone with 3G. The EDGE network that the iPhone connects to is alright for surfing Web pages, reading news, checking mail, etc, but it’s not very good for consuming rich multimedia content. 3G isn’t as fast as the broadband that many people enjoy at home, but it still has a good deal of bandwidth (and other data networks will overtake 3G within the coming years).

That’s bandwidth that can support streaming video, audio slideshows and other bandwidth-intensive task. This is the kind of content that newspapers should already have on their Web sites. All those newspapers struggling to get the Web, are really positioning themselves to fall further and further behind.

And, frankly, many of those papers will probably die within the next 5-10 years. I’m continually amazed by how many newspapers have bad Web products that are merely poorly recreated versions of their print products. A lot of publishers, editors and journalists are saying that they finally get the Web and why it’s important for the future for journalism.

The time for getting the Web was 10 years ago. Now you need to get the Web and the mobile Web. People want to consume content on the go.

Why do I need to be by a computer to get access to the information I want? I shouldn’t, and I no longer have to be tethered to a computer to have access to the Web.

Waiting to meet someone at Starbucks? Why not surf over to NYTimes.com and read a few stories? (NYTimes.com looks great on the iPhone by the way. Many Web sites do not because they were not properly coded using Web standards) Maybe you’ve been out all day, away from your computer and you want to be updated with the latest going on in the world.

That’s the power of the mobile Web. A lot of journalists will say, “why would I need the Web when I’m away from my computer?” These are the same kinds of people who have willfully kept newspapers in the dark ages and have allowed for the catastrophic erosion of a cherished institution.

If you don’t get the Web, you sure as hell won’t get the mobile Web. But then again, the kinds of people who don’t get the Web and why it should be our focus are the kinds of people who should be unemployed.

We have to go where consumers are going. They are going mobile.

I’ll meet you there.

This entry was posted in Mainstream Media, mobile Web, multimedia journalism, new media journalism, newspapers, State of journalism, Web development. Bookmark the permalink.
  • http://www.blog-o-blog.com Zac Echola

    I think mobile is good. I use mobile versions of sites all the time (netflix for movies, twitter/facebook, allrecipes when I’m shopping, and google for everything else). But I’m also on the bleeding edge of technology. Many people with smart phones don’t use them for much more than email, SMS and voice.

    The mobile Web is only a fragment of the overall revenue pie. You still have to start “getting” video, search optimization, etc. In fact I think that’s where the focus should be if you’re strapped. If you don’t have a strategy in those areas, get there before thinking mobile.

    If anything else, your sites should be able to detect mobile browsers and AT THE VERY LEAST allow you to read text only articles.

    This isn’t going to earn most papers a lot of money. Not yet. Probably not even for a long time. The point is market share. Own local search terms. Dominate that market now and add features later. Because you’ll have much more catching up to do if you fall behind.

  • http://wackyap.com/ Dan

    I whole heartedly agree and my LG Voyager has only fortified my doctrines in the matter of mobile journalism. Although, I am finding that I have to schedule in periods of lull as there is seemingly less time for self-reflection in respect to everything I read through out my voracious consumption of information these days.

    I’m actually surprised no one has jumped on the idea of an exclusive and independent mobile media outlet. Something that is specifically designed for mobile phones. CNN and and the NYT render just fine but they have a ways to go for ease of use on a phone.

  • http://www.patthorntonfiles.com pat

    Zac,

    I would say that much of what applies to the Web also applies to the mobile Web. SEO is a perfect example of that. Good video works well in both formats. The iPhone is one of the first smartphones to really do video well, and in the coming years we’ll see more and more smartphones with big, bright screens.

    The point I’m trying to make is that it’s even more important now to make a strong push onto the Web, because people are using the Web even more now that the mobile Web is maturing. Good Web products will work well in both formats.

    Papers that have strong Web products will be able to transition over to mobile Web products much more seamlessly. Yes, it makes sense to have a mobile version of your Web site available if people prefer a simpler version for mobile viewing, but strong Web content will still look good on new smartphones with full Web browsers.

    The mobile Web is part of that market share, and newspapers really need to be going where users are going. But if a paper hasn’t remotely understood the Web yet, it is really is positioning itself poorly for the mobile Web. The advent of the mobile Web should be the ultimate wake up call for newspapers to start making a strong push onto the Web.

    The mobile Web is still very young. Good news outlets can get out in front of it.

  • http://www.magnetbox.com/?p=2824 Magnetbox – links for 2008-02-16

    [...] Mobile is the future of the Web and news The mobile Web is still very young. Good news outlets can get out in front of it. (tags: web news phone future) [...]

  • http://david-black.org/2008/02/18/links-for-2008-02-18/ links for 2008-02-18 « David Black

    [...] Mobile is the future of the Web and news – The Journalism Iconoclast “The time for getting the Web was 10 years ago. Now you need to get the Web and the mobile Web. People want to consume content on the go.” (tags: internet newspapers newspapersites journalism news audience consumption trends mobile) [...]

  • Mary

    Is this global, US, biggest cities in the world? Please comment on where you see this occurring. Thanks.

  • http://www.patthorntonfiles.com pat

    Mary,

    The Mobile Web is already huge in many other areas of the world that have far greater wireless broadband penetration like parts of Western Europe and countries like Japan and Korea.

    The U.S. is sadly behind those places when it comes to broadband and wireless broadband, but we’re making strides nonetheless.

    AT&T announced that it is greatly expanding it’s 3G network to more cities and markets. Verizon already has a huge 3G infrastructure that will probably continue to grow. Plus, wireless carriers will begin to roll out 4G networks in the coming years, which will be much faster.

    Plus, we can’t forget about the 700mhz wireless spectrum that Google, Verizon and others are bidding on. It will probably be used to roll out wireless broadband all over the U.S. There is also the prospect of WiMax.

    So, to make a long story short, I envision this happening in most of the U.S. There will always be issues with getting rural areas covered in the U.S., but that goes for broadband as well. Major markets overseas are already going to the mobile Web anyway, and more densely populated areas will be getting more and more wireless data connectivity.

    The data networks, however, have existed for a few years now, but the biggest change has been in devices. The iPhone harnesses the power of the mobile Web much better than other smartphones. Look for more devices to mimic the iPhone in the coming years.

  • http://www.Amethon.com Dean Collins

    Great post Pat,

    It’s good to see people are finally starting to pay attention to Mobile Web content.

    For too long it’s been an ’also ran’ repurposing of desktop content that content providers threw up at the last minute without even bothering to monitor traffic (didn’t matter most of the time as the content was static and unchanging anyway).

    I’ve said for a long time, if someone visits your mobile site and you dont have any analytics and dont know anything about them or their visit…..does it count (as a homage to the saying “if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear”).

    If you run a mobile web site check out Amethon’s Mobile Analytics from http://www.Amethon.com

    One of the worlds first analytics applications specifically built for mobile browsers.
    With no page tagging, artifacts or javascript we offer a real time analytics solution with no overhead or lag.

    You can finally see what your mobile web visitors are trying to tell you about your mobile content…….good or otherwise. At least then you will be able to move forward offering dynamic mobile web content that interests your visitors.

    Cheers,
    Dean Collins
    http://www.Amethon.com

  • http://Capecodengineering.com Bob Perry

    A solid summary of what should be obvious and certainly will be with more of this concise, effective blog coming down the pike. You go girl!

  • don

    when we develop websites for our clients, we use a handset detection service which identifies when someone is viewing the site from a non traditional device. With that real time information, we can then display an appropriate view of the site to match the device. We use handsetdetection.com to do this, or you can use an opensource database and build your own if you have the time.

    With all the new phones, ultramobile computers, net books and pdas being released in the next year or so, we are going to see a massive increase in web browsing from mobile devices.

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