Mark Schaefer of BusinessesGrow.com invited me to do this guest post on his Grow blog – and it was subsequently reposted at Ragan.com! Thanks for the opportunity, Mark!
Guest post on businessesgrow.com and ragan.com!!
March 11th, 2011New Interview
January 6th, 2011A recent video interview with Green Bus Tour discussing the sustainabilty and green tech aspects of the mobile web – enjoy!
Why the Mobile Web is Local, Sustainable and Organic
November 4th, 2010Just as we are trying to be more local, sustainable and organic with the food we eat and the resources we consume, the mobile web strategy is local/sustainable/organic as well…
Local:
You don’t have to build an app (hire a developer) for each device (hire several developers) at high cost (overpaying for middlemen) and hope for approval by the App Store(s) (extra processing/refining) and depend on your users to download from the app store, find a place on their phone and keep it updated (sell at supermarket)
Instead, you build the user experience in one place, the web server (produced locally) and are one step from the end user (multiple entry points to web URL/audio/video/business card, etc), instead of multiple steps in production process (content provider -> app programmer -> app stores -> user going to app store, downloading, placing on phone, etc.)
Sustainable:
When you update functionality, and even content sometimes, in an app, the phone owner has to download the latest version of the app to get that new content/functionality. Also, you have to make sure it gets approved and works across all apps for any devices you have provided; and if a new sexy device comes out you have to build and maintain yet another version of the app for that device. A new device will require new programming techniques which any developer will charge a premium for knowing how to do this first.
If you have a mobile website which renders properly across all devices from one starting point (your web server), anyone who goes to the website and refreshes the page has the latest access to content, design, functionality and user experience without going thru any of the steps necessary for the app (see above)
Organic/Green:
business card delivery: no paper, no burden on the recipient to type info into a computer or phone; all info rather than partial; phone keyboards are difficult to use so typos are rampant
if you can use a website perfectly on a phone, you don’t have to fire up a computer, or even bring it with you; and you don’t have to drive to a wifi hotspot to start using the website properly
people can work from anywhere, not have to go to an office; physical resources of corporate offices get reduced
Using the mobile web for fundraising, flyers, petition signings, etc. will save even more paper and resources…
When I’m Mobile TV Interview
June 11th, 2010First TV interview featuring When I’m Mobile, on Saudi Arabian TV channel KSA2.
New video about When I’m Mobile features
April 9th, 2010Video describing some important features of When I’m Mobile’s service, produced superbly by my new friends and colleagues at the Green Bus Tour:
Your Phone as Barcode Reader: The When I’m Mobile QR Code
February 17th, 2010I am starting to experiment with QR codes. If your mobile phone has QR code reader software on it (you can get one here, from your phone, courtesy of PercentMobile). Focus the reader on this QR code:
This technology has been used for years in Europe and Asia, and is just starting to be recognized as a powerful tool here in the USA. The possibilities are very exciting, we will be exploring this more in the weeks and months to come.
Take the When I’m Mobile Challenge
January 23rd, 2010a relevant post from my other blog:
A built-to-order case for mobile web vs apps
January 7th, 2010So there’s this very important radio station, listened to online for years by people around the world, and known as a tastemaker for indie and eclectic music. The station has been asked many times over the years by its users to provide mobile listening options. I first came up with the idea that I could build mobile websites, upon finding their mobile placeholder page on my company smartphone’s browser.
After many requests and months, the long-awaited iPhone app is presented.
Please take a look at the comments in this thread:
Notice how many of the comments are about wanting an app on their non-iPhone phone (I have seen at least 6 different devices mentioned) versus how many are discussing the iPhone app itself. On rough count, I am seeing about half of the comments referring to the iPhone app itself, and the other half referring to the absence of an app for other devices.
The station is being barraged with “What about me? Am I not important to you because I don’t have an iPhone?” and are now under the gun to build out apps for the other phones.
What’s involved in getting this accomplished? Well, there are the challenges of the cycle of getting an app designed, built, submitted and approved. Now it must be repeated with however many other device types they decide to support. Plus there is the added factor of maintaining and enhancing several different apps and keeping them in sync.
What if an important innovation or feature works on some apps but not others? Will all apps be approved by their respective app marketplace, at the same time? What happens when the next “sexy” phone comes out and people start running toward that?
Radio Paradise is further along in the evolution of mobile content delivery. Even though they already had a very impressive iPhone app, they knew from years of comments from their members and users that people have different phones and they want things to work properly on them. My company, When I’m Mobile, worked with Radio Paradise to make sure the website works as well as it can within the capabilities of the device being used. The mobile site works as well as the regular computer site on most phones (Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Palm OS, Web OS, etc) and has at least a good user experience on ANY phone with a web browser (including non-smartphone “flip phones”).
The mobile strategy for any company, especially in the music industry, is not sustainable in the long term if apps are the only thing being developed. The difficulties and headaches that come with any app cycle are just going to be repeated and proliferated with each complaint and each new device that comes to market. Using the browser as the centerpiece, one mobile web development shop vs several independent app developers, and eliminating the bureaucracy and inefficiency of separate app development cycles, will return immediate dividends by satisfying and accomodating all smartphone users at once.
Article about Streaming Music in NYTimes
December 18th, 2009There was an article in the New York Times this week about how streaming music may become the new business model for online listening, replacing or at least co-existing with keeping physical files on your computer or storage space.
When I’m Mobile is in a unique position to capitalize on this regarding streaming to mobile devices. We, along with our clients (most notably Radio Paradise), are also addressing the concerns of carriers charging for high-bandwidth users, by offering several streaming options at different bandwidths. Radio Paradise is at the forefront of this strategy; if you go to their site on your mobile device you will be given a listening recommendation specifically tailored to the device you are using; and their 64k AAC stream sounds as good or better than most 128k MP3 streams.
When I’m Mobile Video
December 7th, 2009
Here is a video that was made about a year ago to give an overview of what When I’m Mobile is all about.