Mobile media consumption skyrockets
To effectively develop a mobile strategy organizations should seek to understand mobility as a behavior and lifestyle. Ask, what role does mobile play in our organization? Understanding mobility is more significant that mobile itself. Establish a center of excellence for mobile and invest in making your digital ecosystem more mobile-friendly.
It is shocking that more individuals have access to mobile phones than clean water. More than six billion mobile subscriptions provide mobile access to more than three-quarters (75%) of the world’s inhabitants (World Bank).
As of 2012 developing countries accounted for 77% of worldwide mobile subscriptions. The proportion of mobile-only users is even higher in developing countries. Countries like Egypt (70%), India (59%), South Africa (57%), Ghana (55%), Kenya (54%), Nigeria (50%), Indonesia (44%), Thailand (32%), China (30%) and Russia (19%).
Effective Measure sampled 12,754 internet users in the Middle East and North Africa and found that 45% access the internet on mobile phones. About 10% looked for a job on their mobile phones. A few Arab countries like Djibouti and Iraq have more Facebook users than Internet users, which means that many Facebook users in these countries rely on mobile access.
“The mobile revolution is right at the start of its growth curve: mobile devices are becoming cheaper and more powerful while networks are doubling in bandwidth roughly every 18 months and expanding into rural areas”. ~ Tim Kelly, lead ICT policy specialist at the World Bank
The evolving golden age of mobile means greater diversity, quality, innovation, experimentation and cultural influence on society.
“Imagine a world in the next 2-3 years, where smart phones are in the hands of every consumer and tablet sales will exceed PCs. It will be a world where global internet users will double, led by mobile usage. At that time, mobile will no longer be a support medium, it will be THE medium…. At this point, not having a mobile strategy and roadmap in place for your brand is a recipe for disruption. The golden age of mobile is here and will be here for years.” ~ Ting, 2012
Eight percent of all digital traffic comes from smartphones and tablets and most mobile phones in America will be smartphones by the end of 2012. China is the world’s dominant smartphone market and has over one billion subscribers and about 400 million mobile web users. By 2014 over 76 billion mobile apps will result in an app economy worth an estimated thirty five billion for that year.
“Mobility means information, convenience, and social all served up on the go, across a variety of screen sizes and devices…. The difference between mobility and mobile is like the difference between hardware and software…. mobility changes with context: cultures incorporate mobile technologies differently…. Mobile itself is the nuts, bolts, and infrastructure, while mobility is the context which determines if it all works together or doesn’t.” ~ Armano
The World Bank highlights the role of governments in facilitating mobile application development. The World Bank also explores how mobile innovation labs, shared spaces for training developers and incubating start-ups, can help bring new apps to market.
Check out infoDev’s, in collaboration with the Government of Finland and Nokia, five regional mobile innovation labs (mLabs) in Armenia, Kenya, Pakistan, South Africa, and Vietnam. infoDev is also using mobile social networking to bring grassroots entrepreneurs together with other stakeholders in mobile hubs (mHubs).
Know Social Media 