As Stan Chesnais, Netsize CEO, points out in the chapter (aptly titled The Best Of Both Worlds): “It’s not just about linking the physical and virtual worlds; it’s about hyperlinking images and items to pave the way for a new breed of promotion services and shopping experiences, enabling consumers to make purchases or browse the Web by simply snapping a picture using their cameraphones.”

Indeed, the signs of this new convergence are everywhere. From visual search provided by companies including SnapNow, to 2D barcode schemes provided by companies including Scanbuy (the topic of the next in the MSG podcast series), to a new breed of extremely imaginative and interactive mobile advertising campaigns that harness augmented reality to encourage brand engagement, we can see how mobile is becoming the remote control for our daily lives, allowing us to connect, communicate, share knowledge and information, and interface with world(s) around us.

Take it a step further, and this new convergence will likely transform daily activities such as commerce (mobile, online, and the in-store experience), as well as marketing, promotion, advertising, and mobile CRM. Mizuko Ito, a cultural anthropologist at Keio University and the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Center for Communication, saw this coming some five years ago when she observed: “The connected state is the default, and the disconnected state is noted.” (Put another way, we alert others when we are not online – not when we are.)

Mobile changes all the rules, allowing us to live, work and play in a new collective state of hyper-connectedness. Add the ability of the mobile to blur the boundaries of the virtual and physical worlds – and we witness a shift that will affect every industry that relies on the Web for communications, business growth, and interactive marketing.

The connected state has become our collective default.

It’s a topic I explore in my interview with Tomi Ahonen, esteemed colleague, independent consultant and six-time author. We deep-dive into his new book, Mobile as 7th of the Mass Media: Cellphone, Cameraphone, iPhone, Smartphone (a must-read book that documents the pivotal importance of mobile as the 7th of the mass media, following print from the 1500s, recording from the 1900s, cinema from the 1910s, radio from the 1920s, TV from the 1950s, and Internet from the 1990s). We also discuss the many ways in which all forms of content are converging around the mobile phone. (On a personal note, Tomi and I are discussing columns, podcasts and other ways to showcase his ideas and projects on MSG, so please check back regularly.)

I should also note that the Netsize Guide will also be available for download via MSG after it launches. This year it will be accompanied by a new site, allowing readers to access and explore interviews around the book, including an in-depth interview with (authorized) mobile advertising activist Jonathan MacDonald. A lot has happened since our interview last October (referring here to the launch of Every Single One Of Us), so I’ll have him back (both on Netsize and here on MSG) for a deep-dive discussion into the roadmap following the big kick-off get together and Powwow in London on January 15^th. I’ll be there until the weekend, so please contact me directly if you want to meet up or catch up.

A lot is happening – and all of it’s good!

· 16 percent of users don’t have an email account

· 90 percent would increase mobile internet usage if they had a flat rate tariff, a quicker connection and a more capable device

· Average page views per day is 160

· On average 50 percent of users access itsmy.com more than 5 times per day

· Users send from 12 to 34 community messages per day

These results reinforce the widely held belief that the mobile device is the first and only, truly personal, mass media and also signal the decline of email as a communication channel. What is clear (given that some users are accessing their social networks in bed, first thing in the morning) is that any brand wishing to use this medium as an advertising channel cannot simply broadcast or spam in this personal space – it comes as no surprise that users are turning their backs on email given the prevalence of spam, junk and marketing sent over email.

In fact, engaging the user on their terms is really the only way to sustainably create brand equity on mobile. People are more media savvy than ever before and can spread bad brand experiences like virtual wildfire through social networks, twitter and blogs. Any interaction must be on ‘our’ terms – when we want it, where we want it and how we want it. It must not, it cannot invade our privacy otherwise we are ignoring the personal nature of the medium and killing this market before it has even got going. And it must also be based on our interests.

This is where itsmy.com have got it right. They consistently ask their users what they want, what they use itsmy.com for and are therefore able to leverage their single biggest asset – the users themselves. By asking users what they want/think/need, itsmy.com have placed user preference in its rightful place – firmly in the hands of the user. This avoids making usage based assumptions to produce a handful of user segments, and instead allows each user to exist in a segment of their very own. After all we are all individuals.

The survey was carried out from September to November 2008 with users of 30 different operators, across a full range of devices and aged between the age of 16 and 52.

For further analysis of itsmy.com, circle back here soon for Peggy’s in-depth look at the tie up between social search pioneers, Taptu and itsmy.com

But it was Jonathan’s presentation in London last week – like no other – that has strengthened my determination to create/cultivate the linkages/ exchanges that will allow us all (“every single one of us,” as Jonathan would say) to move the industry a giant step forward. One day after a speech to the 450+ attendees at Future of Mobile, where Jonathan launched into a harsh critique of the mobile advertising industry (in fact, the entire communications industry), he switched gears and replaced his entertaining rant with a realistic roadmap to change. I was fortunate to witness the birth of this powerful plan and overjoyed that I accidentally left my MP3 recorder running.

If you do nothing else today, listen to Jonathan’s speech here.

It outlines the seven steps that the industry can/should/must follow to get where it needs to be. Jonathan aptly titles this chapter of our great adventure No Way Back From Here. And the truth is. There isn’t.

By way of background, it all began with Vol. 1 of a book/concept Jonathan dubbed The Communication Ideal. (Many of you may not know the context – and therefore miss the pivotal importance of Vol. 2 ( No Way Back From Here). For this reason, Jonathan and I are developing a comprehensive yet highly accessible summary of key points to post on MSG to make sure we’re all on the same page. On December 8, Jonathan “will close the Communication Ideal Phase of the ‘Every Single One Of Us‘ movement.” December 9 marks the start of No Way Back From Here, a new venture and one that will be the most powerful ever because it combines pragmatism and passion. (Listen to the audio and you’ll understand…)

Cognitive dissonance (until now rampant in the mobile space) has been replaced by the recognition of a painful truth: Mobile advertising (and perhaps mobile as a whole, if we accept advertising is nothing more than a form of content) is broken. Now we (“every single one of us”) has to fix it. The good news: We are ready to seek solutions. The great news: It’s not just about Jonathan.

Granted, Jonathan is spearheading this re-think, but his outreach to stakeholders, shareholders and investors at all levels ensures this effort will deliver real value and tangible results. And if you think this has never been/can never be done, then think again. Mobile Advertising Netherlands, an effort involving the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and companies up and down the mobile advertising value chain, has recently produced research aimed at providing companies “insights in the possibilities and status of Mobile Advertising in the Netherlands.” Clearly, there is a blueprint here to follow – and Jonathan gets this better than most.

However, as I have I observed earlier, it’s not about Jonathan; it’s about every single one of us.

There is encouraging evidence that many of us see it this way. In fact, the need for new guidance and new approaches runs like a leit motif through my work and my encounters with execs over the last weeks/months. From briefings with brands such as Coca-Cola, to yesterday’s amazing exchange with Mauro Montanaro, Jamba CEO (soon to be branded Fox Mobile), the same message comes through loud and clear: Mobile is not about technology, it is about communication.

Insisting that mobile content/apps/advertising is about anything else is a flawed approach and “business as usual” is not an option.

The need for a re-think also echoed through many of the presentations during the Mobile Content conference and the invigorating discussions/exchanges that followed. You could sense this groundswell at Future of Mobile when six social media practitioners/industry bloggers – including Helen Keegan of Beep Marketing and James Whately of Whatelydude – took the stage to tell us where mobile has failed and why. (More on Helen’s take here.)

Take a wider view and you can pick up on similar messages and similar intensity across a wide range of sites and destinations, including London Calling (written by mobile advertising evangelist and esteemed colleague Andrew Grill), David Cushman’s FasterFuture and Tomi Ahonen’s Communities Dominate Brands – to name a few.

Connect the dots, as Tomi and I did, and change is underway – at all levels everywhere. (Tomi documented his moment of clarity in this eloquent must-read post.)

My take: If we accept that advertising is content (just today MoCoNews tells us Gap and Target have launched iPhone apps to spread brand love and boost their value-add) and we recognize the pivotal role of mobile and community in advertising (translated: mobile social networks, viral marketing and personal recommendation), then the only sustainable business model lies at the intersection of these new universal constants.

And, if you listen in on the audio, take special note of Tomi Ahonen’s introduction. Yes, there is a change in Jonathan’s thinking, but there is also a seismic shift in the mobile industry -and the epicenter for this is London!

(I am immediately reminded of The Medici Effect, a book by Frans Johansson that documents how, why and where diversity in ideas and experiences breeds breakthrough ideas/insights. They occur at intersections, and London is certainly the place where mobile and advertising meet. I’m going to read the book again, and suggest you also check it out…)

And before you dismiss the potential significance of London (and the U.K.) in the scheme of all things mobile, consider today’s stats from Nielsen and the story they tell (as reported by Brand Republic): Mobile Internet use has skyrocketed in the U.K. in 2008, growing eight times more than PC-based Internet.

The Mobile Media View report found that from Q2 to Q3 2008, the number of people using the mobile internet increased by 25 percent from 5.8 million to 7.3 million . That’s compared to 35.5 million surfing the wired Internet, up only 3 percent from Q2 to Q3. The mobile audience is younger than its PC-based counterpart, and flocking to sites that provide immediate information/value. In fact, mobile Internet traffic also accounts for the lion’s share of visits to majority of page visits to sites like BBC Weather, Sky Sports and Gmail.

Finally, as I have twittered and told my closest associates, MSG will be a proactive part of what Jonathan is leading and what we are all building. The first efforts will center on #1 of the seven-step plan: Documenting/assessing the lay of the land through primary research, interviews and analysis.

Understanding how things are now is the first step to affecting significant future change.

And speaking of analysis, interviews with Coca-cola, Jamba (Fox Mobile) and some 25 other key execs/thinkers will be featured (in Q&A format) in the Netsize Guide 2009, a book whose unifying themes are empowerment, engagement and expansion. I am proud that Netsize has commissioned me to write the guide and pleased to collaborate with George Yaryura, Netsize Strategic Marketing Manager, who shares my enthusiasm about the project and excitement about its potential impact.

The next days are a string of interesting meet-ups (including Coca-Cola and SnapNow, a mobile marketing/visual search company).

The final item is a mobile SEO workshop tomorrow, which I am proud to chair. Steve Page, Mobile Commerce CEO, has told me that his workshop session will also feature stats and observations around the spread of mobile search queries he sees coming through his system and the quality of the results Google and Yahoo return. Knowing Steve as I do, it will be insightful, so look for more detail it in posts next week.

To all of you – thanks again for your patience. It has been an eventful conference as people who attended well know. We have witnessed a welcome and seismic shift in the industry agenda.

Disclaimer: Mobile Commerce is an MSG supporter.

Granted, the iPhone and G1 tackle a laundry list of usability issues. They have been instrumental in raising consumer awareness of the mobile Internet. But what about the vast majority of users on mid-range devices? Recent research from the Yankee Group reports that almost 70 percent of subscribers have either never used the mobile Web on their mobile phones or, only tried it once or twice.

The message is clear: We need solutions that can satisfy the mass market and drive adoption of mobile data. Retrofitting the PC experience for mobile is a patently flawed approach. Put another way, after almost a decade of pushing browser technology, the time has come to reassess the assumptions and use cases.

If we want to reach the 70+ percent on mid-range mobile phones with mobile data services, then we must implement technologies that deliver a genuinely useful mobile Internet experience. Even better if the experience is personal and relevant.

This is where mobile widgets come in. But to understand why mobile widgets are the answer, we need to better understand the two primary mobile data use cases driving their widespread adoption and phenomenal popularity.

Research tells us that consumers using laptops and high-end PDAs are more likely to settle down for longer sessions to consume content (to read emails or surf the Internet) . These sessions typically last 30 minutes to an hour.

Then there are the times that we want to be truly mobile and desire to interact with our pick of mobile data services on the fly. Examples include reviewing flight details on mid-range mobile devices while standing in the line at the airport check-in, nudging a friend on Facebook, or simply checking the latest sports scores. (Typically, these content ‘snacking’ sessions last no more than a few minutes and are done in one sitting.)

In my experience these scenarios are hardly a fit with the browser-centric approach which requires us to unlock the phone, fire up the browser, and find the desired destination. (A tall order if you forgot to bookmark the site in the first place.) Overall, the experience is far from ideal. It can be time-consuming and tedious, which is why – more times than not – the consumer simply gives up.

The mobile widget turns this on its head, empowering consumers to access whatever content and services they choose on their terms. In practical terms, consumers can pre-select the services they are interested in, and have these easily loaded and discoverable on their device. And the content is fresh, relevant and interesting because widgets can update themselves in the background or push notifications when new content is available.

Widgets are paving the way to a powerful new paradigm. Consumers are in control. They can simply select the widget they are interested in and interact with it (on their terms) on the move. This also fits with our habit of “snacking” data services. An interaction like the one I’m describing here typically lasts less than 30 seconds.

Effective widget technology must also fulfil some key criteria.

First, widgets must be easily accessible. This requires excellent usability, but rapid start-up on the device is also essential. Second, they must be easily discoverable. One-click from the idle screen to the widget environment is ideal, which is why so many services choose this as their starting point. Finally, widgets must be flexible and allow consumers to personalize their individual experiences. In other words, users must be empowered to change their widget selection as frequently as they change their tastes, interests and information requirements.

On the technology side of the equation, other measures are essential to deliver a good mobile data experience to the 80+ percent of users who don’t have high-end devices. First and foremost, the mobile industry must ensure that the widget environment operates on a large range of handsets. A key requirement here is openness. Put simply, the widget environment has to be open to a broad range of developers so that users can enjoy the largest possible choice of widgets.

But don’t think it’s enough to simply have a great widget environment on a wide range of devices, with lots of widgets available – or that having a great widget environment somehow negates the role of device OEMs and mobile operators. To the contrary, they have a pivotal role to play in this.

Device OEM’s must enable widget frameworks access to the idle screen, to enable zero-click access to content and applications and to enable a kind of two-way communication between the individual user and the widgets they choose and change to match their preferences.

Apps stores and widget distribution platforms may appear to by-pass the mobile operator, but nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, operators have a crucial part to play. They must ensure that the widget framework comes properly pre-installed on the user’s device, they must manage a broad services catalogue and a selection of pricing to match (including subscription, advertising and event-based pricing), and they must come up with all-you-can-eat tariffs to increase usage and encourage consumers to explore the wealth of mobile apps and content at their finger tips.

Importantly, mobile operators enjoy consumers’ trust. Users still rely on operators to deliver quality mobile experiences. Operators are the first point of contact if users have billing queries or a question regarding services. Importantly, it’s the operators that provide users with the confidence to become familiar with mobile data services and can inspire consumers to use widgets on a daily basis.

What can we expect when widgets are widely available to consumers and consumers have the confidence to customize them and use them frequently?

For one, consumers will finally and fully take control of their content experiences, personalizing their widgets to pick up on what interests them most in their information universe. I want to keep up with my friends on the fly? It’s simple because I have a widget for this very purpose that seeks out updates and events happening in my social network and pro-actively bubbles them up to my device’s idle screen where I can read and enjoy them. I want to keep up with breaking news about the economy? A personalized widget can update me on the developments that matter – as they happen.

Widgets enable a brave new world of interaction.

They are the key to unlocking mobile data service usage and to encouraging content discovery. More importantly, widgets allow us all – not just those of us that own iPhones and high-end devices – the freedom and flexibility to choose and customize our mobile data experiences. With widgets, I can make the mobile Internet my mobile Internet – and access what I want because I want to.

Dave Evans is CTO at SurfKitchen, responsible for the strategic direction and development of SurfKitchen’s Mobile Internet Platform. He leads development of their widget framework enabling mobile operators and their partners to deliver the optimum user experience for mobile Internet and content services.

But the real news is the traction MCN has built up outside Japan, where the company has quietly launched mobile search and “search merchandizing” with eight major off-portal sites and picked up another 50+ content providers for its allwords offer.

By way of background, MCN’s approach to what it calls “search merchandizing” combines MCN’s federated search (delivered via MobileSearch.net, MCN’s white-label search platform) and vertical paid search (delivered through allwords, MCN’s own PPC mobile content promotion program). The aim is to make it easy for users to find content from any source by providing a vertical paid search program that effectively connects users directly with the content item.

Avea is MCN’s first official search+allwords launch outside Japan, soon to be followed by a string of deals that will peg the needle. In fact, MCN CEO Marc Bookman, whom I interviewed during CTIA Wireless, has since revealed to me that the company has several Tier-1 operator deals under its belt (signed but not yet announced), including an impressive win in Europe.

Fortunately, the Avea announcement dovetails well with my meet-up with Marc at Mobile Content in London next week. He and Stephen Burke, MCN SVP Marketing, have agreed to walk me through the company’s recent deals and their future roadmap.

Connect the dots, as I have, and 2008 was the year MCN tripled (!) the number of distribution partnerships outside Japan, adding operators and service providers including Tele2 in Sweden, Smart Communications in the Philippines and BuzzCity, a global mobile social network that implemented MCN in Thailand. I look forward to getting the inside track on this and more during our meeting Wednesday and will circle back with what the company is prepared to reveal on-the-record.

Today’s announcement from MCN comes in just as MSG is launching its video jukebox feature together with bnetTV, the leading destination for news, analysis and buzz around must-attend trade shows and events including Mobile Internet World, Mobile Marketing Forum, Mobile World Congress and CTIA.

It was at CTIA that I joined the team to conduct interviews and produce a string of videos focusing on mobile search, mobile advertising, content adaptation and mobile social networking. The team is professional (and great fun to work with!), and I am 100-percent on board to conduct interviews at MWC and all other events we attend together. Special thanks to Michelle Sklar, Tony Sklar, Nicole Scott for arranging the streaming video jukebox and to Curtis Schmigelsky for designing the widget.

I invite you to listen into the MCN video and explore the other interviews in the jukebox. During CTIA I connected with 25+ companies including Infogin, JumpTap, Millennial Media, Snaptell, Seeqpod, Nuance, Spinvox, BuzzCity, The Hyperfactory, DeviceAnywhere, Bytemobile, Motricity, Medio Systems, Novarra, Movial, SinglePoint, and JYGY. (Not in any special order.) Explore and enjoy!

Disclaimer: JumpTap and MCN are MSG supporters.

Had the credit card company entered into a simple SMS based dialogue with Russell, the onus would be on him – the customer – to highlight any unusual activity. Russell gets a good user experience, the credit card brand is enhanced through a service, not advertising, and everyone is happy.

And this is the real point – one which brands, operators and anyone involved in the mobile marketing and advertising industry should take note. The mobile device is first and foremost a communication tool, not a broadcast channel. If you enable communication and dialogue, then users will tell brands what they want, when they want it and also when they don’t, which in turn creates a scenario where marketing becomes a user controlled service.

Our needs, interests and moods today – as users, consumers and people – will be different tomorrow and different from yesterday. Broadcast advertising by its very nature cannot deliver a message that changes with us, but it can form part of an integrated campaign that invites dialogue and communication.

Other key contributions at what was an exceptionally enjoyable MoMo included Mike Short, VP of R&D at O2, Madhuban Kumar who consults start-ups on growth strategies and funding routes, the omni-disruptive and straight talking Bill Thompson from the BBC and a live recording from the Mobile Industry Review crew.

I caught up with Nadir after I returned from my whirlwind line-up of meetings and briefings in London last week, to get the inside track on where Nadir got his information and what we can expect. In a nutshell: Nadir’s source is a high placed exec in his own company. Yahoo contacted the publisher with the news so the company could gear up for the launch and move forward buying sponsored links on search results and bidding for a top-notch spot in paid search results.

What is the likely impact on Medio, T-Mobile on-portal mobile search provider? I have an email out asking for comment. It’s Columbus Day, so I don’t expect an immediate response.

We know what this customer win means for Yahoo (another key client and another channel to deliver search results and search advertising), and we can imagine that one-button access to Yahoo mobile search will go a long way toward educating the consumer about mobile search.

What is the impact on content publishers? The jury is out, but Nadir is particularly upbeat. As he points out, Yahoo oneSearch will allow T-Mobile USA customers to search for a mix of on- and off-portal content. As Nadir puts it: “Mobile publishers should notice more traffic on their sites.” T-Mobile has over 30 million subscribers, and any search scheme that can expose that content through a single search box at the top of the operator homepage is good news.

My take: Branded or not, the real issue is mobile search usability. It’s all about easy access (translated: a single search box) and quality results.

Ironically, this is precisely the topic Brian Lent, Medio Systems CEO, addressed in this exclusive bnetTV video interview. (Brian also gives us the inside track on uSearch, a single search box solution (not yet formally released) built to expose content “whether it is on-deck, off-deck, on the web or on the handset.” Medio gets it – and Peggy Albright and I look forward to road testing the service as part of our series of mobile search performance reports soon.

***
And in case you missed it (I know I did), Nadir’s recent post on Google mobile search reveals a major rehaul of the search giant’s mobile Web index – and good news for content companies and SEOs alike. Nadir and MSG have ranted often about the poor quality and relevancy of Google’s mobile Web search results, and now it appears that Google has made a concentrated effort to improve the experience. As Nadir observes: “Google includes regular PC sites in its Mobile Web index, but these sites actually have mobile versions, so when users click on it from Google Mobile, they’ll be redirected to a mobile friendly page. So if you do SEO for your PC site, and automatically redirect users to the mobile version of your site when they visit it from a mobile phone, you have some good chances of being included in Google’s Mobile Web Index.” The sites that Nadir oversees have achieved better rankings – and it will be interesting to see the development (and the impact) over time.

So talk about timing! I finish the column and then Eran Wyler, InfoGin CEO, pre-briefs me on the news that Telefonica in Spain, a mobile operator with around 20 million subscribers, has officially deployed InfoGin’s solution.

In fact, Telefonica deployed the solution few months ago and already shows a significant increase in mobile data services. According to a press statement, the solution fits with the operator’s overall strategy to facilitate access to mobile content and deliver services to its subscribers “giving an optimized access to Web sites that aren’t mobile compliant.”By way of background, the prime contractor in the deal, ATOS Origin – an international IT services company – was responsible for overall integration of InfoGin’s Intelligent Mobile Platform, a patented approach that lets users access any Internet website from their mobile, independent of the device capabilities. It’s a feature Eran tells me has allowed InfoGin’s mobile operator customers to chalk up “20 percent [growth in mobile data usage] every month, and sometimes much more than that.”

Another stat that speaks volumes refers to what users are accessing.
Absolutely – made-for-mobile websites have their place in the scheme of things. However, Eran reports that a whopping 70 percent of requests his system sees (across the Far East, The U.S., and Europe) is for Internet sites. “There is huge demand for Internet content and less demand for mobile content. However, the most important thing is to enable the user unlimited choice and that means access to both.”

Here is an excerpt of the interview:

MOBILE SEARCH: It was during CTIA that InfoGin announced a strategic agreement with Microsoft to adapt Web sites for Microsoft’s Live Search Mobile service. InfoGin offers similar services – through similar deals – to companies including AOL and Motricity, a company that offers federated mobile search as a managed service. (And let’s not forget the ties between Yahoo and its partner Novarra.) So why the increased interest by mobile search companies in content adaptation? As Eran sees it, it’s the logical next step. Devices such as the iPhone and smartphones turn the pressure up on the industry to deliver a better user experience, and mobile search companies are no exception. They must be able to display results from the Internet that work on mobile, Eran says. “When Microsoft presents the results from the Web and the user clicks on the link, they will be directed to the real Internet site from [their] mobile device.”

iPHONE & GOOGLE: Neither negates the need for content adaptation solutions. In the case of the iPhone, issues with Flash and Javascript create even more of a demand for InfoGin. “Surfing the Internet on the iPhone today is not without its shortcomings….And it’s not only with the iPhone. New devices from Samsung and LG [for example] are also facing the same issues.” At the other end of the spectrum, Eran says Google’s Android creates more challenges for everyone – and more opportunities for InfoGin. “The market becomes much more complex with the new players entering the market….So it’s surely to become more fragmented.”

MOBILE ADVERTISING: This is the one to watch over the next weeks (and I will). Eran would not disclose details at this time, but he did hint at plans to integrate mobile advertising into the equation by providing content companies (“like AOL, MapQuest and others”) tools to build campaigns for mobile. “We are also talking to the advertisers to show them that they can reach any mobile device with the mobile campaigns, and build campaigns for mobile easy and fast.”

My take: InfoGin has been high on my radar for several years now. However, the advance of the mobile Web – catapulted onto center stage by the iPhone and other schemes that encourage users to explore Internet websites and apps on their mobile devices – plays overwhelmingly in the company’s favor. Consider the recent news that InfoGin has raised more than $10 million in a third round of funding from Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Coral Capital Management.

Connect the dots and it’s clear a comprehensive mobile service must present results and destinations that have been optimized for viewing on a mobile device. Squeezing a Web page on to a mobile phone display or retro-fitting content (such as a banner ad from the fixed Internet), are flawed approaches that can alienate users and ultimately reduce content purchases. Smartphones and the iPhone raise the bar – and they do not remove the requirement for content adaptation solutions. To the contrary, these devices have whet users’ appetites for a real Internet browsing experience on mobile – and they will likely vote with their feet if they are offered anything less.

I am on board to do close-ups and deep-dive interviews with a host of mobile search and advertising companies that peg the needle, and I am delighted at the opportunity to connect with such high caliber companies and execs.Just doing the scheduling today – and it is getting a bit tight, so I encourage you to pitch your companies soonest – I see that I have blocks of interviews (each approx. 15 minutes) that run for hours. Infogin, Medio Systems, Motricity, MCN, JumpTap, V-Enable, BuzzCity, Nuance, Spinvox, DeviceAnywhere, Millennial Media, JYGY, The Hyperfactory, Acision, NewBay, Movial, Amdocs, Novarra, Transpera, — and the list goes on.

So much for the daytime. In the evenings, bnetTV traditionally catches up with cool companies at Showstoppers and Pepcom. This year we’ll both be at the Smaato Mobile Advertising Awards 2008, a special event recognizing the best and brightest in the space. (bnetTV is a media sponsor.) BTW: If you want to get the most out of mixers, blenders and networking opps, then I recommend you check out this complete list of parties, organized by Eric Chan over at Mobile Slate.

If you plan to attend CTIA and want to schedule an “on-the-ground” interview, then contact me (peggy@msearchgroove.com) or bnetTV (CTIAF08@bnettv.com ). Space is limited, but we’ll try to squeeze you in. In between filming and some fun, I am also scheduling briefings, meet-ups and coverage for MSG. I encourage you to contact my PA Andrea Henninge (andrea@msearchgroove.com) to set up an appointment.

The Atlas examines the handset lifecycle and looks at the key companies active in the pre-load phase (vendors involved in providing software, hardware and services to the core value chain during the design and development of the handset, and before the software is embedded onto the handset), and the major players in the post-load phase (vendors involved in providing content and services after the handset has left the factory).

It was months in the making, a job well-done by Andreas Constantinou, VisionMobile Research Director. His company brings together a team of experts to offer research, workshops and advisory services on under-the-radar market sectors and emerging technologies. I am proud to be a VisionMobile Associate and to have contributed to the Mobile Industry Atlas by identifying companies that provide content and services after the handset has left the factory, including vendors in the mobile content, mobile games, mobile advertising, mobile search, and content targeting sectors.

If you are looking for a map that clarifies the complete mobile ecosystem, then I encourage you to download it here. The cost for an A2 glossy wallchart (which looks great, by the way) + PDF (single user) is GBP55, incl. shipping and taxes.

BTW: Andreas tells me that the Mobile Industry Atlas will be updated bi-annually. The next VisionMobile report slated for publication is S60 vs. Android: Champion vs. Challenger. This in-depth comparative analysis will dissect the developer experiences and the platform strategies offered by the two industry giants. No doubt Andreas will have more about this on his blog, which you can read here or follow by signing up for an email update.

The good news: Recent stats from mobile Web champions such as dotMobi confirm the full-force arrival of the mobile Web. (It is indeed great news and I have the green light to post my earlier Q&A with Paul Nerger, dotMobi VP of Advanced Services and Applications.) The bad news: We need more than numbers to drive uptake and make the mobile Web an indispensable part of our daily routine. (And it must become that if we are indeed going to crawl out of the chasm and blaze into Mobile Web 2.0.)

How do we get there from here? Before we develop a roadmap, we must understand the issues. We must connect with the thought leaders, trail-blazers and futurists at an event keenly focused on the mobile Web megatrends that matter.

Fortunately, Ajit Jaokar -  CEO of the publishing company futuretext – perhaps best known as the co-author of Mobile Web 2.0, the milestone book that started it all – has organized a one-day conference to accomplish all of the above.

Aptly titled Mobile Web Megatrends, this one-day event (Monday, September 8^th @ University of California, Berkeley) features C-level speakers from companies including AdMob, Cellfire, iLoop Mobile, Nokia, Opera – to name a few.

From APIs to widgets, and from Android to QR codes, this unique event is sure to push the boundaries. (As it should. Open sits at the core of all Ajit does and is also the focus of his upcoming book Open Mobile.) Some sessions that caught my attention: The Obamamobile – Media and mobile convergence; Trends Driving the Mobile Web & Related Business Opportunities for Startups; and iPhone – The iStore and the future of mobile applications. (You can check out the agenda here.)

MSG is proud to be a media and blogging partner for the conference. Unfortunately, I won’t make it to the inaugural event in California (I’m in a plane on my way to CTIA on that day), but I will connect with Ajit soon to plan and provide pre-event coverage and podcasts with the speakers.

In the meantime, indications are good that this won’t be my last chance to be involved with the conference. Ajit tells me organizers have requested to repeat his path-breaking event in several countries – including Germany, where I am based. I’m honored that Ajit has asked me to speak at that event as well – so more on the program once the date and venue are set.

My take: Mobile Web Megatrends is going on tour (!) It clearly has its finger on the pulse, so expect to see this conference make some waves.

www.mobilewebmegatrends.com

Email comments that have since filled the MSG inbox have provided more than valuable feedback. They confirm a growing frustration among developers with fragmentation and a lack of best practices to follow.

As I have developed MSG to be a knowledge resource at the intersection of content and context, I recognize a certain responsibility to showcase worthwhile research and online destinations that can help us all navigate this difficult terrain. I’ve begun my outreach to vendors and organizations for columns and commentary to publish on MSG, and will feature those contributions soon. If you feel you have research/insights/practical advice to share, then I invite you to contact me directly (peggy@msearchgroove.com).

In the case of Cloud Four – a Portland-based design, development and strategy company focused on web, mobile and emerging technology – you could say I have hit the jackpot!

Jason Grigsby, Cloud Four VP and Web Strategist, is also a thought leader with the rare ability to take an idea, communicate exquisitely about it, and craft a strategy to make it happen. (Taken from the website. But after a long conversation with Jason, a pleasant follow-up email exchange, and a look at this awsome slide show, and I couldn’t agree more.)

An outstanding Cloud Four research project is the Mobile Browser Concurrency Test, a public test that expertly examines the key factors that enable Web pages to load and render quickly. This is critical data that developers/publishers can wield to optimize web pages for performance and can save resources otherwise spent on bandwidth, infrastructure and trial and error.

In a nutshell, Cloud Four has collected this data in an attempt to determine the number of concurrent http connections by observing the behavior from the server instead of the client. (Jason tells me this is useful for any browser, but is particularly useful for mobile browsers where it is more difficult, if not impossible, to implement client-side network sniffers – which is the other way of observing the number of connections.)

By way of background, the research hones in on three key pieces of information:

• What is the number of concurrent http connections that the mobile browser supports – both per domain and overall?
• Does the mobile browser support gzip or other methods for reducing the size of pages?
• Does the mobile browser support caching if you set the Expires header far into the future?

You can check out the complete methodology here.

The concurrency test was a difficult one to conduct, but Cloud Four has concluded its research and you can review the valuable raw data here.

Granted there are excellent sources of information about the nuts and bolts of how browsers work on various devices, including Detect Right, Device Atlas, UAProf and the open source WURFL Project. But Jason tells me that they didn’t shed light on the factors he felt were equally critical to browser performance across devices. Cloud Four now has a comprehensive database of mobile performance characteristics, and will share the results of the test via its blog soon. I’ll publish this report along with other practical information/advice that might help developers build faster mobile Web pages.

A closing word about Jason and his worthwhile work. Cloud Four is also founder and organizer of Mobile Portland, a local user group focused on mobile development. As Jason puts it: “We are mobile evangelists who believe that mobile has the potential to change the world and founded our company to help make that potential a reality.”

That says it all really!

You can catch up with Jason next month when he speaks at the Web 2.0 Expo, and no doubt uses the opportunity to share the highlights of the Mobile Browser Concurrency Test. You can check out the agenda and details here.

Or is the hype around mobile browsers distracting us from widgets as the approach to bank on? Certainly the move toward web-based applications and away from native applications makes customized widgets a key component in our personal mobility experiences. (Peggy S. tells me we can look forward to a lively debate on this topic, beginning with a thought-provoking column from her favourite widget guru, Dave Evans, SurfKitchen CTO, so check back regularly.)

Logically, the browser is not likely to control our mobile Web experience (we really may not choose to replicate our Internet experience on mobile devices, which speaks in favor of a new made-for-mobile approach). However, the browser is in a pivotal position to drive our mobile Web experience, and this alone is reason to examine recent commercial solutions and their potential impacts on how we interface and interact with mobile content.

The last weeks have seen some milestones developments that will no doubt impact how we experience the Internet on our phones. There’s the trickle of news about what we can expect from Mozilla; the news that Skyfire has rolled out the beta release of its mobile browser (an excellent review is here); and a mobile browser speed test of Skyfire, Opera 9.5.1 and Safari from Laptop Magazine, to name just a few examples of the attention mobile browsers are getting lately.

And while we’re at it, who said the winner’s circle won’t include a few surprises?

I’m thinking here of Bitstream, a U.S.-based company that introduced one of the first real mobile browsers some six (!) years ago. Because a mobile browser that targeted smartphones was years ahead of the market, Bitstream shifted its strategy to adapt the technology for use on both high-end and mass-market devices.

The result of that effort is ThunderHawk version 3.0, a browser that marks a comeback for Bitstream and a turning point in how we can access, navigate and enjoy Internet content on our mobile phones.

I caught up with Anna Chagnon, Bitstream’s CEO, for a demo of the browser and an in-depth briefing on where it all goes from here.

What does Bitstream have in mind?
In terms of distribution, Bitstream has devoted 2008 corporate funds and personnel to promote its browser technology to mobile operators and OEMs. Anna tells me the company is pursuing a multi-pronged business model, which is smart.

Bitstream has a client/server version of ThunderHawk that can be scaled to all kinds of phones and a server-based “client-less” solution that eases deployment to all of an operators’ handsets, and, Anna tells me, work is under way on a client-only browser for high-end phones. 

While the company is aggressively targeting operators and device manufacturers with ThunderHawk, it is also targeting content companies and enterprise IT departments that want digital content sent to mobile devices. And Bitstream is also considering the option of licensing ThunderHawk as a white-label product. As Anna puts it: “It’s possible that if people approached us from other browsing companies we’d be open to that, and clearly what we want to do is get the technology out in the marketplace.”

What does Bitstream offer?

At its heart, Bitstream is a digital font company, and it drew from this core competency when creating the ThunderHawk browser. In fact, ThunderHawk effectively replaces the fonts used in the original content contained in a Web page with a proprietary font technology that has several positives. It is more readable and scalable on mobile devices, minimizes the scrolling needed to scan content, and eliminates a lot of the heavy lifting in a network that is required to send data streams associated with fonts in the first place. In fact, it substantially cuts the time needed to load pages – period.

So what is Anna’s assessment of the browser market today? “Some of what the iPhone has taught us is that people will browse on phones that have the right experience level, but until the market takes off there will always be questions about how many and how far the technology goes,” she acknowledged to me.

But it is her view that “until you have a full desktop browsing experience, [the market is] not going to go very far, which is why our experience is really the image of the desktop and tools to help users navigate through that on a smaller screen.”

To this end, the ThunderHawk browser offers patented zoom-in and out modes and a split-view screen feature that gives users the ability to simultaneously view a miniaturized display of a full HTML Web page as it would appear on a desktop, as well as a section of highlighted text, in a larger typeface that the user scrolls through for reading. (Opera Mini, to name just one comparison, gives a layout-perspective and the zoom in-zoom out capability, but not the split-screen feature.)

ThunderHawk users can also employ the browser and assorted soft-keys to open links and conduct Web searches and make one-click calls directly to phone numbers on Web pages.

But grabbing a piece of the action in the mobile browser market will hardly be an easy task for Bitstream. Opera, ACCESS and open source solutions, such as Webkit, are likewise jockeying for position in the marketplace. But the pay-off will be worth it. ABI Research reckons this segment of the mobile browser market (which it calls open-Internet browser, or OIB) will skyrocket, with nearly 700 million browsers delivered in 2013, up from 76 million in 2007.

The bottom line:

As in any mobile technology marketplace, vendors that have differentiating solutions as well as a breadth of products can find advantage. Frank Dickson, co-founder and chief research officer at MultiMedia Intelligence, a market research firm, is impressed by the ThunderHawk browser, as I am. But Bitstream might have a better chance at the big leagues if it focuses on helping mobile content companies and application developers exploit its enabling technologies (which Frank describes as ahead-of-their-time and core to Bitstream’s “strategic competitiveness”).

Bitstream should also borrow a page from the way Adobe Systems licenses its products in the online world, and license its technologies for use in creating mobile content too. “That would be the holy grail for them,” Frank suggested. And I couldn’t agree more.

A major obstacle is usability. Inputting search terms on a mobile device is tedious, but the more words in the query the more accurate the result set is likely to be. You’re sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place, which is why query completion and/or multi-modal technology (voice) have a top-notch spot in many mobile search strategies.

But input is just part of the equation. Another important issue is context/personalization, and the requirement for mobile search services to “learn” with the user to understand that when they type in “bond” they want financial news (stocks and bonds) and not entertainment (James Bond).

Many tools and technologies are coming online to tackle these issues, but kannuu, a newcomer that broke on the scene with its patented technology in 2007, has the capabilities mix to address several key issues at once. In fact, I have had kannuu high on my radar since the start of the year when I was requested to judge the 2008 Meffy Mobile Entertainment awards in the mobile Search and Discovery category for the second consecutive year. (BTW: The awards provide an excellent snapshot of cutting-edge technology and business models, and are presented by the Mobile Entertainment Forum, the global infotainment industry association. In the end, kannuu made the shortlist, along with some other companies you can read about here.)

I was initially impressed by the company’s approach to usability. But a recent briefing with Sean-Michael Daley, kannuu CEO, has made it clear that kannuu has its eye on a much bigger prize: Applying its self-learning algorithms and key IP in indexing to improve mobile search and enable new monetization schemes that go far beyond Google AdWords. (Thanks again to Sarah Duckett, kannuu VP Communications, for arranging the briefing and providing me with first-rate background materials such as the video below.)

Sean-Michael tells me that recent usability tests estimate kannuu’s technology “generally delivers a 3x improvement in the speed at which users can find something.” But it’s not just about speeding up mobile search. The pay-off is in fine-tuning mobile search to enable transactions and commerce on the fly. (Sean-Michael’s remarks remind me of a recent panel on mobile search trends in Japan that MSG covered here. The bottom line: Commerce, not search advertising, will be the way content owners and brands make their money.)

Sean-Michael tells me that mobile commerce pilots are already underway. “That’s where there is a really good return on investment…We can improve the quality of the experience people go through and [enable them to] actually complete transactions. Because of the volume there you only need to increase that by a fraction of a percent and our technology is well and truly paying for itself.”

Listen to the podcast here. [11:30]

In my view, kannuu is one of the few companies in a position to both recognize and address the growth opportunities in mobile search and content discovery. That’s a pretty bold statement, so I’ll begin with a review of the key capabilities that allow kannuu to organize content sources so items are searchable and findable in the first place (thus going one better than most).

As the demo above shows, kannuu’s user interface is built from the ground up to present the user with relevant options at each menu level, along with a way for the user to make their next move. In the case of a device with a screen and four-way directional button, the user gets four choices at a time, and can select between them by pressing the button up, down, left, or r