Monthly Archives: May 2012

Move beyond just going mobile

A great mobile presence means more than just building a mobile site. Whether consumers are watching TV from home, listening to radio in their cars, walking past a billboard, or even browsing in stores, they are interacting with media all the time. Mobile devices give these users a means to access that content instantly, making the mobile web the glue that can unify your entire campaign strategy.

By connecting different marketing mediums, you can create a depth of consumer interaction that will enhance both product interest, and consumer trust in your client’s brand. We wanted to offer a few suggestions on just how you can make mobile work double duty for your clients. Read More…

Mobile may be the key to bringing Facebook full circle.

When Facebook released its prospectus just a few weeks before the IPO of the decade (and probably the millennium thus far), the company made no secret it was having trouble capitalizing on the mobile platform. Though there were plenty of balls in the air, and a hefty collection of possible influences, many believe that Facebook’s struggle with mobile was a major factor in what ended up being a disappointing public debut. While mobile may be a sticking point for the social giant, it may also be the company’s ticket to long term success. And as the headlines keep rolling in, it is becoming more and more obvious that the folks at Facebook already have the wheels turning. Read More…

The orders to go mobile are coming straight from the top.

With campaign season in full swing and the nation still struggling to emerge from the seemingly bottomless economic pit of the past eight years, needless to say President Obama is a busy man. While he may have diplomats to meet with, bills to sign, and babies to kiss, those things have not stopped him from taking the time to focus on mobile. In a directive issued Wednesday from the Office of the Press Secretary, the President gave direct orders for all government agencies to optimize their websites for mobile devices.

During the 2008 election, we saw social networks become major players in campaign strategy, and this year many experts are predicting that mobile will make or break candidates’ campaigns. Wednesday’s initiative takes the mobile movement well beyond the campaign trail (though it will almost certainly end up benefitting President Obama’s re-election efforts) and into the national spotlight. Read More…

What does it REALLY mean to go mobile like a pro?

We tend to throw the term “mobile web” around a lot, but the truth is as the web expands, mobile is becoming so much more than a separate web. While the mobile experience is unique, the capabilities it provides act as uniting forces that have the potential to unify the entire digital landscape. While that may sound a bit idealistic and over-ambitious, putting these techniques into practice is much easier than you might think. The folks who are truly going to take advantage of mobile are the ones who find ways to use it as a bridge to connect all of their initiatives. That’s why we thought we’d offer a few creative ways to do just that. Read More…

Weekend Roundup: Fiddle Favorites

Wow, what an uneventful week. What’s that? A 900 million user, 85+ billion dollar company is doing what today? Okay fine we’ll talk about it. Facebook is going public folks so grab your popcorn and pull up a chair in front of the stock ticker. Today we’ll see if stock traders worldwide have bought into team Zuckerberg’s promise to continue their growth, or are turned away by Facebook’s admitted struggles to capitalize on the mobile platform. Either way, the move promises to be exciting, and is bound to have some major impacts on the mobile and global web landscape.

While Facebook may have stolen all the headlines this week, let’s not forget that there was plenty more going on in the world of mobile. As always we did our best to keep tabs on all the happenings, so why not take a break from sweating the stocks, and check out some of our favorite news from the past week.

  • • Last week some of the most important minds in the mobile and web development game gathered in Amsterdam for one of our favorite mobile conferences, Mobilism. Earlier this week some of the amazing presentations from the conference began to hit the web, like this one from the great Lyza Danger Gardner (@lyzadanger)
  • • Augmented reality might just be the next step in web, and this week the people at Wikitude took AR to the next level by introducing a feature that connects augmented reality directly to the mobile web. Using the smartphone’s built-in camera, now you can get real-time assistance by simply surveying your surroundings. Check it out here.
  • • BONUS: We came across this product called Electric Imp that is designed to connect every electric device in your house via the cloud. Pretty awesome stuff.

Okay everyone, that’s all from us for today. We hope you and your portfolios all have a great weekend, and of course, make sure to connect with us on Twitter @fiddlefly, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and Pinterest for more updates and info about the mobile web.

Making money with mobile; the Facebook conundrum.

Making money with mobile; the Facebook conundrum.

“It’s free and always will be.”

Bold promises like the one above have become all but standard practice from the folks over at Facebook. In the short history of what is now the hands-down global social leader, the company has made a habit of following through on its lofty predictions. However with this week’s IPO looming and the recent admissions from within that the social giant is having trouble monetizing its mobile network, the question of whether or not Facebook will in fact always be free seems to be up in the air.

It is no secret that mobile is a primary initiative at Facebook. Moves like the purchase of Instagram (possibly Facebook’s biggest mobile photo sharing competitor), the introduction of the mobile test suite Ringmark, and the introduction of its very own app market, all emphasize that Mr. Zuckerberg and company know how important going mobile actually is. Just to drill the point home, this week Facebook’s wunderkind CEO came right out and told the world that not only is mobile a major initiative, it is the primary initiative for the social juggernaut.

Despite such a blatant public focus on mobile as the next generation of Facebook, there seems to be plenty of skepticism about Facebook’s ability to be successful in the mobile space. Numerous amendments to the prospectus the company issued coupled with a CEO that is always raising eyebrows for breaking the mold, have plenty of potential investors worried.

So are their fears founded? That remains to be seen, however there are plenty of red flags. For one, Facebook currently makes a huge chunk of its revenue from sponsored ads. These ads, while effective in the PC medium, do not translate well to mobile. Facebook mobile users are primarily interested in chatting or sharing things like photos and status updates. Interrupting these activities on the small screens of mobile devices can risk driving many users away. Facebook has grown into the behemoth it is today by keeping the social experience simple and direct. Naturally, disrupting the mobile experience is not ideal.

Aside from ads, the next most logical way to make consistent profit over time would be to break the company’s long-standing promise and simply charge users a fee. Obviously this is not likely to happen as long as Mark Zuckerberg is at the helm, unless a radical philosophical shift takes place.

While the company is perched to see a major influx in revenue in the short term thanks to this week’s IPO, how without ad revenue or subscription fees does Facebook actually stand to be profitable in the long run? The most likely answer here is that the company will do what it has always done; get creative.

Over the past few weeks Facebook has rolled out a seemingly daily stream of initiatives and programs aimed at building a solid future for the company. The aforementioned app market, for example, stands to unify the app experience across all devices and pad Facebook’s mobile revenue. The company has also just begun testing a program in which users can pay to promote posts by highlighting them in followers’ feeds. These small initiatives may not be cure-all solutions, however they may be the building blocks for long-term profit strategies for one of the world’s most influential companies.

The way we see it, the ball could roll a number of ways for Facebook’s future. Maybe Facebook’s tactics will work and the social king will become the mobile ruler as well. Perhaps mobile will prove to be the hurdle Facebook can’t quite clear and a flashy newcomer will emerge to take the throne. The company could even get antsy with Mark Zuckerberg’s eccentric ways and we could see an Apple-like coup to remove him from power.

The only thing we can be sure of now is that in order to stay afloat in this unified web world, Facebook will need to find a way to capitalize on mobile. For now, there is a golden apple the size of Jupiter hanging right outside of Facebook’s reach. All that’s left to do is take a bite.

Let us know what you think is in store for the social giant and while you’re at it, why not check out our page as well as connect with us on Twitter @fiddlefly, Google+, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

 

 

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