Posts Tagged ‘Mobile phone’
Access to Facebook via mobile browser grew 112% in the past year, while mobile Twitter access experienced a 347% jump, according to a new study from comScore.
Mobile Users Favor Facebook and Twitter over MySpace
In January 2010, 25.1 million mobile users accessed Facebook via their mobile browser, up 112% from 11.8 million mobile users in January 2009. While only 4.7 million mobile users accessed Twitter from their mobile browser in January 2010, this represented 347% growth from 1.05 million mobile users in January 2009.
- Growth in mobile usage of social networks
Meanwhile, mobile usage of MySpace dropped in the past year. In January 2010, 11.4 million mobile users accessed MySpace, a 7% decline from 12.3 million mobile users in January 2009.
Facebook’s mobile browser audience surpassed MySpace in February 2009, three months earlier than the Facebook audience exceeded that of MySpace on the PC-based internet in May 2009. These figures do not include access of the social networking services by the nearly 6 million mobile phone owners who do so exclusively through mobile applications.
Mobile Social Networking Grows
In general, the popularity of mobile social networking is increasing. In January 2010, 11.1% of all mobile phone users accessed a social networking site via mobile browser, an increase of 4.6 percentage points from the previous year. Much of this growth has been driven by smartphone owners, 30.8% of whom accessed social networking sites on their mobile browsers, up more than eight percentage points on the year. By comparison, just 6.8% of feature phone users accessed social networking sites on their mobile phones.
- Mobile usage of Social Networks
Women, Middle-aged Do Most Social Networking
Women and people between 35 and 54 are most apt to perform social networking activities via mobile device, according to data from The Nielsen Company. A clear gender gap exists in social networking activity on mobile devices. In December 2009, Nielsen research indicates that women were responsible for 55% of mobile social networking activity, compared to 45% performed by men.
Kids Don’t Lead Mobile Social Networking Usage
Despite the stereotype of teens spending every waking moment on a mobile device, Nielsen data suggests their parents actually spend more time performing mobile web surfing. Only 7% of mobile social networking activity was represented by 13-to-17-year-olds and only 16% by 18-to-24-year-olds in December 2009.
The leaders in mobile social networking activity are 35-to-54-year-olds, who accounted for 36% of mobile social network usage in December 2009. Close behind them were 25-to-34-year-olds, who performed 34% of the month’s mobile social networking activity. Users ages 55 and up combined for the remaining 7%.
Baby Boomers slowly adopting mobile web
Baby boomers are on the verge of adopting smartphones and the mobile Internet, and in the vanguard of this movement are younger boomers. But boomers’ mobile Internet adoption rates will be similar to their social media uptake—that is, slow. They must see the benefits before they sign on.
Back in 1995, boomers were the pioneers of mobile phone usage, exceeding or equaling other age groups’ uptake of the devices, according to the Pew Research Center. Ownership rates have now grown to more than 85% among boomers, the majority using feature phones. But only 55% consider their mobile phone a necessity.
US Baby Boomers who have a mobile phone
“Internet use will be the driving force behind boomers’ adoption of smartphones and the mobile Internet,” said Lisa E. Phillips, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, “Boomers and Mobile Usage.” “They are avid Web users but no longer such early adopters.”
Boomers made up 30.6% of all mobile phone users in August 2009, according to comScore’s age breakout. However, they made up only 19.6% of all touch-screen users and 21.1% of smartphone users. Younger boomers (ages 45 to 54) were more likely than older boomers to use touch-screens, smartphones and any mobile phone.
Total US smart phone users
“Boomers are underrepresented among smartphone users but are becoming more interested in the devices,” said Ms. Phillips. “Smartphones are now well established in the marketplace, which should help to convince the portions of the boomer cohort that are not early adopters.
“The business aspect of smartphones should appeal to the many boomers who say they plan to continue working after retirement age,” Ms. Phillips said.
But price is a factor for many. As carriers reduce prices for phones as well as monthly data plans, more boomers will come on board.
Ford Motor Company
Great story from Las Vegas and featured on CNN is the news that the Ford Motor Co. announced technology to let computers read their Twitter feeds to them while behind the wheel.
Here’s the full story as written by CNN reporter John D Sutter:
The debate over distracted drivers ramped up a notch on Thursday as Ford Motor Co. announced technology to let computers read their Twitter feeds to them while behind the wheel.
The company has not formally announced technology to let drivers post tweets verbally from behind the wheel, but such an announcement likely will come in the next 12 to 18 months, Doug VanDagens, Ford’s global director of connected services, told CNN in an interview after the company’s keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show here.
VanDagens said people read Twitter feeds and send text messages while they’re driving anyway, and that the automaker is trying to make those activities safer for drivers.
“We take what people do — they talk on the phone, they fumble with mp3 players, they look at maps. We take these activities and make them safer,” he said.
Safety groups have criticized car companies and technology makers for putting touch-screen devices that surf the Internet in cars.
The U.S. is in a distracted driving crisis, and, in general, the more technology electronics makers put into cars, the less drivers are able to pay attention to the road, said Christie Hype, a spokeswoman for AAA, the motor safety group.
“The more things that are going on in a vehicle, the more things can distract a driver,” she said.
“You only have so much attention to give, and we really want everyone to keep their attention on the roadway for safety reasons.”
More study of the tweeting by voice while driving would need to take place to make an absolute determination as to what effect Ford’s announcement will have on distracted driving, she said.
Ford’s system, which will be installed in some cars later this year, does not let drivers surf the Internet visually while driving. A Wi-Fi hot spot in the new cars generate will let drivers browse the Web when their cars are parked, VanDagens said.
The technologies will first show up in Edge and Focus model cars. Not all models will be upgraded in 2010, but new lines of these cars will be equipped with the media-center technology, which features an 8-inch screen in the center of the dash and a media hookup under the armrest. A company representative would not comment on whether the technology will increase the price of Ford cars.
Ford’s announcement also highlights the growing popularity and importance of mobile phone applications. Instead of downloading Twitter feeds through the car, Ford works with drivers’ mobile phones, pulling data from a number of apps, which are produced by other companies.
The Twitter-reading function works with a Twitter mobile app called Open Beak. The car company also announced partnership with Pandora’s mobile app, which streams music, and Stitcher, an application for online news.
Internet search engines and print directories are the primary sources for finding local business information and account for 31% and 28%, respectively, of all local searches conducted in the US, according to a study from TMP Directional Marketing (TMPDM) and comScore, Inc.
The annual study, which examined the year-over-year growth of local search and the shifts in consumer behavior and media usage, also found that though local search is definitely moving in a digital direction, online and offline media still work together to play differerent roles in the consumer research and purchase process.
Interactive Media a Growing Force
Though the percentages of use for the larger information sources (search engines, directories) remain virtually unchanged from last year’s findings, it has become more clear this year that online media and new platforms – such as mobile and social network search – are increasingly fueling growth in the overall search market, which grew to 21.9 billion total US searches in June 2009, a year-over-year increase of 31%.
Among the sources for local business information, local search sites increased in usage, from 11% in 2008 to 12% in 2009. Also, internet Yellow Pages (IYP) sites gained ground, from 19% usage last year to 21% this year, while print directories declined 3%.
Mobile Search Takes Off
The study also found that, as the number of mobile internet users grows, mobile search is becoming a growing force in the local search arena. Some 32% of searchers with internet-capable cellphones now search for local business information from the mobile internet, an 11% increase from 2008
Additional mobile search findings:
- Of mobile searchers with internet-ready devices, 60% of smartphone owners search on internet browsers or via downloaded applications.
- Only 5% of mobile searchers send text messages from their cellphones to directory assistance. But overall, the number of mobile users who look up local information via SMS grew by 27%.
- The most popular local content categories searched on mobile platforms are online directories (42%), maps (41%), restaurant information (37%) and movies (30%).
Print Yellow Pages Still Relevant
While a majority of consumer search behavior has shifted toward the use of interactive resources, print Yellow Pages and other offline directories are still referenced in the consumer purchase process, especially when coupled with IYP. The study found that 30% of consumers who first use IYP turn to print directories as additional resources in their searches.
Online Search Used Earlier for Research, Offline Later
As was also the case in 2008, this year’s study found a continuing and complex complementary relationship between the use of online and offline search in the research and purchase process. Online search continues to be used earlier in the process than offline search, primarily because consumers go online to research the best brands to buy and to identify businesses that offer those brands, TMPDM found. Some four in 10 consumers, or approximately 39%, engage in online research to aid in purchase selection. Only 17% of consumers go offline to research.
However, offline search is often performed in the later stages of the consumer purchase process. Four in 10 (40%) of consumers engage in offline search to get specific business details (for example, hours of operation, addresses and phone numbers) about the places they have selected for follow-up activities and/or making purchases.
In terms of post-search activity, TMPDM found that 83% of local search users contacted businesses offline (a six-percentage-point increase over 2008 results), with 4% of consumers making contacts over the phone and 37% visiting the businesses in person.
Additional study findings:
- Nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents in 2009 say they expect their search results to reveal businesses within 15 miles of their homes or places of work. This statistic is significantly higher compared with 2008 (59%) and 2007 (52%), indicating that consumers expect more relevance in their business searches.
- Though print directories remain an important source of local business information, they are giving up some ground to online sources. While 84% of local business searchers own a print directory in their homes, this population has been steadily declining since 2007. 41% of local business searchers spend the vast majority of their time searching for local businesses online instead of offline, up markedly from 26% in 2007.
- At the same time print use is declining, the use of internet Yellow Pages (IYP) is growing, perhaps spillover effect from loyal print Yellow Pages users transitioning to digital.
- Google, which started as a general search site, has developed applications that have overtaken online business directories in both IYP/local and local portal searches, with market shares of 26% and 45% respectively. IYP and local sites split share of IYP/local searches, with local searches growing from 40% to 51% over 2008, primarily because of Google Maps’ growth.
- Search preferences vary by generation. Approximately 41% of youth, ages 18-24, use search engines for business information. At the other end of the spectrum, 49% of searchers ages 65+ rely on print directories.
About the study: TMPDM’s local search usage study includes data from 4,000 online survey responses, as well as observed online behavior of one million consumers who agreed to have their online searches monitored anonymously.
When I was at the Inman technology conference in San Fransisco in August, the subject of Augmented Reality was being bandied around during the technology sessions and I thought it time to have a look at how it will impact not only the small business owner but also the consumer.
Firstly, what is Augmented Reality? The concept has been around since the early 90’s, but it’s really only been in the last 12 months that the technical world has gone ga ga over it and if not for the onslaught of Twitter, you’d probably have heard a lot more about it by now. So here is the technical explanation for what it is:
Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are merged with (or augmented by) virtual computer-generated imagery – creating a mixed reality. The augmentation is conventionally in real-time and in semantic context with environmental elements, like for example sports scores on TV during a match. With the help of advanced AR technology (e.g. adding computer vision and object recognition) the information about the surrounding real world of the user becomes interactive and digitally usable. Artificial information about the environment and the objects in it can be stored and retrieved as an information layer on top of the real world view.
Ok, there it is, simple really, but what does it do and how can you use it in your business. The easiest way to explain how the technology will work is this, lets imagine you’re walking down a street looking for a good place to eat, you hold up your mobile phone so the screen shows what’s in front of you. What you see are things you couldn’t see before, brightly colored makers that show restaurants and bars, turn the corner and you’ll see the new view on your screen, click on any of the markers and you’ll see customer reviews, menu and price information.
To watch the technology in action here’s a video from Layer, an Android-based application that uses your handset’s GPS location, digital compass and accelerometer to call up geotagged information and superimpose it on the world around you.
The iPhone application for this technology is now available for download from the Itunes store, so you can imagine the potential this has for the future, and it’s not just small business that will benefit.
This is just a small part of what this technology can do, so I hope I’ve opened the door just a little for you.
There’s one lesson in this for small business, don’t get left behind, make sure you keep up with developments and new technology such as this as it emerges. Your very future may well depend on it.
I’d suggest also reading the post on using QR codes for Small Business
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