Max Tandefelt - Research & Content Manager, The Lounge Company
You might have heard yourself or someone else say that mobile is the future of the Internet. Well, the future is already here. More and more of us access Internet via mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers and the generation that only accessed Internet via a mobile device is already hatched and in its early teens.
Implications
So what are the implications for communicators as ‘anywhere-anytime’ access to Internet becomes the norm? Where and how can we start to embrace the mobile web? Well, first off – did you ever look at your organizations website via a mobile device? Would you describe that visit as a highly uplifting and pleasurable experience or maybe you’re more likely to describe it as a clunky, time consuming experience which left you slightly frustrated and feeling a bit older. If you are in the latter category, please keep on reading. If you are in the former category, kudos to you!
The mobile implications for communicators are not only about fitting existing websites into smaller screens though. We have to view mobile web as an all together new approach and channel to reach audiences. We need to understand the context – i.e. how, when, and why our audiences access the mobile web. What platforms are they using at what time of the day at what location, and for what reason?
Context
The implications of mobile web are many but I will mention only one in this post which in itself has a number of implications – context. With mobile web comes a flurry of user contexts which are different from the contexts of the regular desk top user.
So far, many organizations are happy either leaving their website as it is, or try to squeeze their existing website into smaller, more mobile friendly formats. Having a mobile web friendly version of your website can be important but as Brian Fling points out in his book (Mobile Design & Development):”Create a product, don’t re-imagine one for small screens. Great mobile products are created, never ported.” This point of view is echoed by Nielsen a.k.a. Über Web Usability Maestro. According to Nielsen, user performance declines significantly when people attempt to access a general-purpose, desktop-targeted website from a mobile device.
These voices come from the design and usability side of things but should make sense to communicators as well. In order to cater for a growing mobile audience with different user behaviours, expectations and needs, the mobile channel cannot be ignored.
A few years ago, Google analyzed its mobile user-base to determine development strategies for its mobile apps. Google segmented three different behavior groups – ‘repetitive now’, ‘bored now’, and ‘urgent now’. The repetitive now group are the ones that keep checking sport results, news and other real-time based information. The bored now group are the ones who turn to the mobile web while waiting for the bus, doctors appointment etc. The urgent now is the crowd running down the street trying to find a café, restaurant, or place of appointment for example. These behaviour groups are wildly different from any possible behaviour segmentation of desktop users.
Further, Luke W points out in his presentation (27 min into the presentation) that the typical mobile web usages are short, quick bursts throughout the day . Add to this, the fact that smartphone users carry their devices with them at all times. They are in their pockets throughout the whole day and at arm’s length during the night or even under the pillow – and never turned off.
To sum up
So, we know that the best received mobile sites are those that have been designed specifically for the mobile web. We know that Google has categorized mobile users as: repetitive now, bored now, and urgent now. We also know that mobile usage tends to be short, quick bursts throughout the whole day.
Ergo, when planning your mobile content, think of possible contexts your audience might find themselves in. What are their most basic needs? Does your mobile site really need a ‘terms of service’ page, sitemap, careers page etc. or will the audience be happy to only have a couple of your core services available and scaled down e.g. services, contacts, products etc.? Maybe you should create a new exclusive mobile service for your clients e.g. an exclusive how-to guide relevant to your services or interactive city guide relevant to your products? The options are many and as technology evolves, there will be even more. This shouldn’t scare you away from embarking onto that mobile road since at one point or another – you will have to – but more importantly, its inspiring and fun!
Things to bear in mind:
- There are more than 200 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices.
- People that use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice as active on Facebook than non-mobile users.
- During a typical day of smartphone usage 84% use these devices at home, 80% during miscellaneous times throughout the day, 74% in lines, and 64% at work.
- 45% of companies that participated in a recent Forrester research (later half of 2010) are beginning to work on a mobile strategy
- Mobile web will be bigger than desktop Internet in five years.
What are your thoughts on mobile web?
