Is that "everything" in your pocket?

FORMATTED FOR MOBILE PHONES

Many years ago Mike, George, Nick, Sam and Bob
were walking down a dirt path...

They came to a point where there were several paths
to choose from...

Each decided to take a separate route, occasionally
they would cross paths with one another...

Until one day they all emerged on a single narrow path and
begun to fight to be the first in line...

At which point it became clear that all paths lead to the same place...
in this case the place is the internet on ones phone...

First and foremost there is a paradox embedded in the mobile web...
Screen size and keyboard limitations and processing power demand simplicity...

However, common phone features (GPS)that are not present on desktops demand complexity...

So what does this mean to business...well for starters it means that companies can actually track the physical whereabouts of their customers...for instance...is it possible for BestBuy to inform a mailing list customer of a relevant sale...via their phone...as they walk past the store?

It also allows for a whole new arena of interaction...
Can consumer brands entice potential customers to scan QR codes and actually interact with the product before purchasing it?

Can an upset consumer get instant "public" customer support via Twitter?

The answer to all the questions is yes...and then some...for instance...a customer no longer needs to be consuming content (in front of a screen or on paper) to be hit with targeted ads.

Once again it should be noted that the existence of such technologies does not necessitate the realization of potential...rather each individual company has a responsibility to execute the use of such technologies in a manner that encourages the user actually engage...

Another quick thought...once we in North America can actually purchase items via phones...will Loblaws be able to link a Twitter message to a customer who just purchased some cheesecake? Time will tell...

As a parting gift I will leave you with some cool news relevant to the Canadian telecommunication publishing industry as well as Canadian media...

Shaw recently made some moves towards the purchase of Canwest...for their content!!!...so refreshing to see someone make a move in this market without resorting to complaining to the CRTC...some real strategy is so much cooler then complaining...

heres the real news...Goldman Sachs Surprised by Canwest Sale, National Post Reports...Why Shaw wants a piece of Canwest and Why Shaw wants CanWest