Our Mobile Future

Remember when all the information you needed could only be found on paper? Or in books that you would go to the town library to rent? In fact, I remember as a kid going to the library to rent movies and books, patiently waiting to use such media. Currently, such memories seem more distant than ever, as even just a few years ago smartphones were just reaching the majority of the market. This has had amazing improvements for all different genres of people and the implications of such rapid technological changes are drastic. The side-effect however, made society a lot less patient.
At the beginning of the 21st century, all you needed to do was go start up your computer and search for any information you wanted such as what time movies were playing, where the coolest hang outs were, what the hottest new trends were; well you get the picture, everything seemed to be at your fingertips. It seemed as though literally ANYTHING that you wanted to know was at your fingertips- as long as you were by a computer. Now our impatience has reached an all time high. That impatience resulted from us now carrying mini super computers in our pockets, everywhere we go, all the time, so at no point anything is out of our reach. If you don’t know something, take out your smartphone to Google it, and you will.
Anyone that has had a smartphone for an extended period of time, meaning over 2 years understands how impatient one becomes with such technology. Without my smartphone I literally feel lost, almost like a child without his parent. This is the sad reality that mobile technology has created. With such amazing technology comes the draw back of relying on such amazing technology. Having GPS wherever I go causes me to feel as if I know how to get anywhere, but when my phone dies, I am lost without the experience of navigating using signs and road cues. It is an interesting phenomena, as it is the people that know how to create, use and build such technologies that hold such great power, but it also those that are too reliant on such technology that lose the original skills we once needed to survive such as directional awareness.
Mobile computing is the new phenomena that has changed everything. Did you know that over half of the world population now has a mobile phone. 9 out of 10 mobile searches result in some form of action to a business whether that be a purchase, store visit, call or some other action in the US. People are using mobile and it is doing nothing but grow; in fact from 2005-2015, mobile commerce or “mCommerce” as it is being dubbed will grow ten times larger. This article on Mobile Marketing Growth shows how mobile is growing across the globe, and is exploding in Asia, the continent with by far the most people in the world. Now is the time to get a grasp of that emerging market. Set up an mCommerce site that will drive sales to your business, set up shipping, and make more money!
Still wondering not sold on Mobile Marketing? Well consider this: Google has previously stated that in the near future they will be indexing whether or not your website has a mobile optimized site, and it will help your SEO, moving you further up the ranks if you do have one. As more and more people become reliant on smartphones it will become more and more important for businesses to reach out to mobile consumers. The time to get into mobile technology is now, whether it is building an application for your business or a mobile website.
Just as the internet has grown to rule the marketing landscape, so too will mobile internet grow to new heights. The capabilities of Mobile computing will grow exponentially because of the ability to fit exponentially more transistors (informational holding units) into smaller and smaller microchips. Thus it is only a matter of time before the computing powers of mobile devices outgrows those of our current labtops and desktops. This will open up a whole new landscape of mobile application and web development as smart phones become more and more powerful.
The time to jump on the mobile bandwagon is now, regardless of whether you are a small business or large corporation. Mobile computing devices are here to stay, and the reliance one has upon such technology only grows the longer one has it. The children growing up with Iphone’s and Android devices will one day become college students, and thus eventually consumers. It is these future generations that will drive mobile marketing and technology to heights that most might consider unfathomable at present.
The most important and under appreciated component of mobile marketing is that most businesses haven’t even tapped into this market. It is the businesses that invest in the new technology trends that will stay ahead of the competition. There will be entirely new industries built on the backbone of mobile devices and mobile computing, just as search engine optimization is a relatively new profession. A decade ago, 99 percent of people would have no idea what SEO was, now it is just starting to become a household term. Just as search engines destroyed many marketing industries such as the yellowpages, mobile marketing too will cut into many arenas. However, it is those with the foresight to see such potential that will reap the benefits of the mobile boom without taking the hit from the industries that die off.