Chris Silva, my colleague at Altimeter Group, released a useful report today that I wanted to share with you here. Mobile is important and I believe you know this. However, when we consider mobile, we often think about the experience when and where it begins. But, we often miss the opportunity to lead a more meaningful journey as it may travel from small screen to larger screens across laptops, desktops and beyond. And along the way, we must now determine our role in this journey to provide information, shape decisions, and influence behavior.

In Chris’ report, he reminds us that 2011 was the year of the mobile consumer. As he notes

2011 saw a surge in mobile users, but 2012 is the year when smartphone owners become the majority of users, currently hovering just below 50% of U.S. mobile phone users. Tablets, too, take center stage with a near 24% CAGR in adoption.

Indeed. Think about all of the events leading up to this moment today and the role your smartphone or tablet played in helping your discover, share, communicate and learn. You might in fact, be reading this on your mobile device now. The reality is that growth in mobile is blinding as consumers break the shackles of their PCs and expand beyond the reach of wifi to keep them connected to information and people anywhere and everywhere. This is an important moment in the evolution of mobile as it no longer simply about communication or smart communication. Mobile is causing a fundamental shift in society where consumers are evolving into connected consumers. This connected mindset is empowering as people take advantage of on-demand access to not just information, but other people, opinions, shared experiences, and a bevy of apps and resources to help make more informed and efficient decisions than ever before.

In Chris’ graphic, we can see just how pervasive mobile is within our increasingly connected society.

- Tablets comprise 7% of population of all mobile devices owners

- Android users spend on average 1.24 hours daily engaging with the device

- 77% of smartphone users put their phone to work while shopping

58% of adults are somewhat or very likely to make a purchase on their smartphone (this will only become standard one day)

One of the biggest areas impacted by this constant change in market dynamics is of course retail. This past holiday season only proved the point. Consumers scanned barcodes or QR codes to check prices nearby and online. And, before they would consider finalizing the purchase, they would ask for a little help from their friends by taking to social networks or review sites to validate decisions.

In his report, Chris observes…

Retailers, to date, have had mixed success targeting these users. While many have achieved success with mobile, a maturity level Altimeter defines as “flying high” with their mobile strategy, many are in a middle ground of maturity, called “hitting turbulence” and many more are still not yet started and highly immature, or still “on the ground.”

Hitting turbulence is indeed the right metaphor. Some of the biggest retailers were caught surprisingly off guard or rigid in their ability to adapt when consumers would ask customer service managers to match prices displayed on the mobile phone. Small screens caused big ramifications as those consumers would instead leave rather than succumb to aging in store policies that, nowadays, work against the retailer. Think about it for a moment. Consumers willingly abandoned what could be a point of purchase because of a policy that doesn’t apply to today’s standards that are driving connected consumerism. Many times, they would spend their savings in gas to purchase elsewhere or online. If this continues, local retailers will simply become the showrooms of the more adaptive and competitive online retailers. And just wait until mobile commerce becomes disruptive.

Avoiding Mistakes and How to Win

But this is not just about matching prices. This is about shaping and steering experiences. From apps, to in store guides and reward systems, to check-ins to payments and beyond. And as we think through how to engage customers on the small screen, especially within the store environment, walking in the shoes of our connected consumers is now part of the job. We are in fact, the consumers we are trying to reach and as such, we must not introduce strategies that are disconnected from the start.

Here, Chris provides a list of common mistakes to avoid.

1. Mobile for Mobile’s Sake. Major retail brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) and Longhorn Steakhouse are prime examples of brands rushing to mobile with a focus on the medium and not the end goal of impacting the business (see Figure 2 in the report).

2. Missing the Chance to Target Mobile Users. Another common mistake is not targeting mobile users. For example, Amazon launched a campaign on December 10, 2011, to have users scan products in-store using its Price Check app (see Figure 3 in the report).

Instead Chris shares tips and best practices to help brands and retailers better connect with the connected consumer…

1. Align mobile with other key teams. Winning mobile teams are tightly aligned with marketing loyalty programs (if applicable) and e-commerce teams. For example, Starbucks built its wildly successful application not around revenue or loyalty card adhesion, but instead around ease of purchase.

2. Focus on what the user needs. Mobile strategies should be holistic and remain focused on what users are seeking. Informational apps may seem simple in design, but a solid strategy seeks to solve the “information” problem, not just the “mobile” problem.

3. Allocate the resources necessary to make mobile successful. Allocation of the necessary resources at U.S. pharmacy and convenience retailer Walgreens is at the forefront of everything the company does in mobile. The Walgreens app used the mobile device’s camera to scan a prescription barcode to initiate a refill, is an example of “multichannel lite” activity.

4. Mobile means multiple platforms. One of the few retailers profiled that has built a tablet and smartphone version of its app along with a fully featured mobile website, Zappos, worked many processes in parallel to get its application off the ground.

Everything begins with understanding the maturity of your mobile strategy so that you pinpoint areas where to improve in capabilities and ultimately more engaging and productive experiences…with desired outcomes.

 On the Ground. Retailers in this phase of maturity are just beginning their journey into mobile. They’re on the runway, ready for takeoff, but still laying out the groundwork for their mobile strategy in its first iteration. There is much ground to cover, and the potential to fall behind or lose ground to competitors is high.

Hitting Turbulence. Retailers at this maturity phase have jumped into mobile with some of the best intentions but have not realized the revenue or customer interaction gains they hoped to achieve. What is most likely holding them back are that the efforts in these organizations are not clearly focused on serving business needs or actual customer pains.

Flying High. The news is not all bad; we interviewed many successful mobile teams that have attained success with their mobile strategy. Their apps currently provide a positive impact to the business and make interaction and purchasing easier for customers, addressing an actual customer pain.

If 2011 was the year of the mobile consumer, 2012 is the year of the mobile marketer. You are now an architect of experiences that helps the customer journey end in your favor. Use this report to help build a bridge not only between screens, but also to weave engaging, useful and efficient experiences that help customers make decisions in your favor now and over time. Innovation is now an ongoing investment as expectations and device capabilities will continue to evolve in parallel.

Think about the experience and the desired outcome…not just mobile for mobile’s sake. The small screen is a window to decisions, sentiment, and loyalty.

Download it or read it below to learn more about how to deliver remarkable mobile experiences…

Make An App For That: Mobile Strategies For Retailers

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Guest post by Scott Forshay, creator and editor of mobi.luxe. Following him on Twitter @mobiluxe

Establishing consumer relationships through mobile marketing, as with any successful, productive relationship, inherently requires a mutual exchange of value. Whether consumers are opting-in for brand communications via SMS or engaging with the brand in a single instance through scanning a QR code, the onus is on the brand to deliver value in return for customers’ valuable time and information. Without the perception that value has been exchanged for value, the relationship becomes essentially one-sided and unrequited attempts at interaction on the part of the consumer will spell the end of the relationship – perhaps permanently.

In the early stages of mobile marketing, the value exchange was almost exclusively defined through promotional-based marketing. Consumers were asked to share their mobile numbers in exchange for coupons. While seemingly primitive by today’s standards, text back couponing remains an effective behavior stimulus for many brands and retailers, but for luxury brands discounting flies in the face of the intrinsic value of the brand. The challenge for innovative prestige brands is defining how best to create a true value exchange with their most loyal advocates while remaining true to themselves and not cheapening the brand in the process of attempting to deepen relationships.
Any value exchange requires the exchange of currency. Whether the currency is monetary, emotional, or informational, it establishes the parameters necessary to define a successful exchange and secures a commitment to future exchanges. With this in mind, an analysis of the efficacy of any value exchange must be measured by the mutually beneficial exchange of mobile currency.

Affluent loyalists of prestigious brands seek greater intimacy with, and priority access to, the brands they most covet. In exchange for priority access, the affluent consumer will exchange premium monetary currency. A mobile campaign touchpoint that directs the consumer to an optimized landing page or microsite featuring a product exclusive to mobile subscribers effectively plays marionette with the heartstrings of affluent consumers by exclusively engaging a prestigious audience with exclusivity and access to product available only to a select audience. Tactics such as these create a successful value exchange whereby a monetary commitment is made by the consumer in exchange for priority access to the brand and the prestige associated with exclusive ownership.

The essence of any coveted brand is the story it conveys. And as Brian Solis believes, “the aspiration it evokes.”

The rich heritage and tradition of the brand is infused with creative vision and continued innovation as the brand narrative unfolds across mediums to engage consumers and create a vision of a lifestyle to be aspired to and desired. Traditionally the brand narrative has been told in a unidirectional fashion through artfully produced photography and film, but the consumer was only capable of experiencing the story in a disconnected way. Mobile, as a medium, is innately transitive in nature, serving as a persistent interface for consumers to navigate an ever-evolving digital ecosystem of retail touchpoints and become, themselves, players in the storytelling experience. Strategically dissecting the brand narrative to take on an episodic form allows the brand to engage audiences in the on-going drama, create desire to see where the story will lead, and create deeper emotional connections in the process. Whether bringing still imagery to digital life through QR codes or augmented reality, targeting desired audiences and engaging them with rich mobile display advertising, or consistently communicating emotional currency via SMS marketing, the mobile value exchange is successful in the exchange of permission to communicate with highly-valued consumers in return for deeper levels of involvement and engagement with the brand.

Regardless the strategies or technologies employed, successful mobile marketing relies heavily on a fair and evenly balanced value exchange between consumer and brand. Given the intensely personal nature of smart devices, coupled with the fact that the device is nearly always within arm’s reach, it is more important in mobile marketing to avoid being intrusive and irrelevant. Consumers will not give up their valuable information in exchange for clutter or noise. Focus on an understanding of the currency of mobile marketing and utilize it to create an exchange that delights both the audience and the brand that value them.

Scott Forshay is a Luxury and Premium Brand Marketing Consultant and Mobile Strategist who’s been featured in PSFK, Luxury Daily, Fashion’s Collective, Business of Fashion, and The Wall Street Journal.

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Today’s social media best practices will show you the marvels of creative marketing in social networks, the benefits of customer service on Twitter and blogs, innovations in co-created products and services, and insights into how to build a more engaged business. As organizations migrate from rigid to social business models, no line of business, department, function, or small business for that matter, will go untouched or unchanged. So what’s next? As you can see in the image above, one of the more aggressive trends on the horizon is social commerce and it centers on improving the complicated relationships that exist between…

1. Consumers and their friends/peers as they shop
2. Consumers and retailers
3. Retailers and Brands
4. Brands and Consumers, pre-, mid and post commerce

The idea of buying with friends is not necessarily new. But, sharing in purchase experiences, interacting with products through connected apps, and influencing decisions through social and mobile networks is quickly becoming “the next big thing.” And, it’s also quickly becoming the next big wonderment. The idea of social commerce is so big, so distributed that entire ecosystems are forming around each of the four categories listed above. Like social media, social commerce is bigger than how we view social today – meaning its bigger than Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare and Groupon.  This is about building meaningful relationships with customers. This is our opportunity to create useful and shareable experiences that satisfy the needs of consumers and sparks engagement between brands, retailers, friends, and friends of friends.

SpinBack, a social commerce and analytics platform that was recently acquired by BuddyMedia, published a clever infographic that demonstrates the value and possibilities of social commerce. In four simple, yet profound steps, socialized commerce makes the case for retailers. However social commerce just isn’t about being social. This is about defining an integrated and substantial experiences across the entire ecosystem. The nature of how consumers interact with one another, brands, and retailers is fundamentally a higher touch proposition than ever before.

Imagine sending  a more sophisticated social consumer to your website or social presence as it exists today? Ask yourself, what’s so compelling about the clickpath today that would compel a discerning consumer to travel from beginning to end and find the journey so completely fascinating that they will tweet, update Facebook, and update every relevant network along the way. Chances are, they won’t. This is why developing a foundation for social commerce is just the beginning. Designing the entire online customer experience, from beginning to end, is where our focus will lie over the next few years. Add to that a layer of engagement, and you can feel and count the effects of the disruptive nature of socialized commerce.

For those who seek inspiration or justification, Spinback assembled some astounding facts. Here are just a few standouts:

- 90% of all purchases are subject to social influence

- Social commerce is expected to generate $30 billion in 2015 (just a few short years away)

- Facebook friends are four times more valuable than Twitter followers

As you lead the way, it’s often helpful to point to stats or achievements to make the case for change even if you’re in the middle of an existing strategy. At the same time, every new year introduces the need for new plans. As we can see, short term success is possible. The question is, how do you translate the short term to longer term value? Nonetheless, we can see that using Groupon, The Gap generated $11 million in one-day sales. Through F-commerce, Pampers sold more than 1,000 diapers in one hour. And, LivingSocial drove more than 42,000 shares in one day for a $20 Amazon voucher.

Social Commerce Opens the Door (and Conversation) to Syndicated Commerce

Social commerce is just one part of a multifaceted approach to a new era commerce. It’s important to realize that there is no one way to reach every consumer with a sweeping commerce strategy. One to many now longer works in a time where consumers are not only connected, they’re empowered. Remember, social commerce only reaches a finite percentage of your overall prospects. Such is true for any other single channel such as mobile or F-commerce. True commerce must be far more comprehensive, yet focused than any one channel.

Social commerce in of itself, is a vast universe that covers social networks, apps, F-Commerce (Facebook Commerce), mobile, Facebook Connect and Twitter @Anywhere, and much much more. As consumer needs, preferences and networks of relevance are as varied as they are concentrated, the focus of any social commerce strategy moving forward should not solely target the social consumer, but instead the connected consumer. This means that social plays into a much more expansive approach that reaches consumers through their channels of preference.

Sounds easy enough right? Not so fast. Ask any consumer what it is they expect from a brand or retailer online and they’ll tell you that in addition to discounts, promotions, special offers and exclusive information, they want the ability to buy within their network.

To quote the now cult-status video, Double Rainbow, “what does this mean?”

It means that businesses must now think about a distributed commerce strategy that accounts not only for social commerce, but also all forms of commerce ranging from mobile commerce (m-commerce), e-commerce, Facebook commerce (F-commerce), social commerce, real world (in-store) commerce, e-mail commerce, and every other form of commerce that matters.

The future of commerce is not simply social. The future of commerce takes a holistic approach in the form of syndicated commerce. Customer deals, offers, promotions, and experiences must be one with the brand and the brand experience. To achieve oneness across syndicated commerce, business leaders must define the experience, desired outcomes, and mutual benefits along the way. More importantly, each platform must feed into a single system that identifies people, their relationships, and their preferences to introduce substance and value – regardless of medium.

Oh but what is the reward or ROI for all of the extra expenditures, resources and time required to build out an entirely new system? Well, what’s the cost of irrelevance or obsolescence when the I in ROI could stand for ignorance? Certainly by developing a dedicated, yet holistic strategy is far more lucrative than continuing on a path of business as usual. What’s at stake is customer engagement, deeper customer loyalty, and ultimately drive sales and profit.

Syndicated commerce delivers value to consumers and shapes and steers experiences that deliver long term value to businesses.

Social media is a great disruptor and it is rightfully earning its place within the foundation of everyday business. But our job is only just beginning. We cannot rest on validation that organizations now Tweet, blog, or maintain a presence on Facebook or Youtube. That’s not what this consumer revolution is about. What’s happening now is not because of social media nor will businesses transform simply because of social networks. Instead, businesses must realize that disruptive channels and networks represent an opportunity for insight and engagement. Even though many businesses are using social media now merely for marketing purposes, the ability for businesses to listen to, learn from, and connect with customers will transform the entire organization from the inside out. From customer service to employee relations to product development to commerce, social media and disruptive technology in general sets the stage for a new era of business.

To be continued…

#AdaptorDie!

Order The End of Business as Usual today…

Part 1 – Digital Darwinism, Who’s Next
Part 2 – Social Media’s Impending Flood of Customer Unlikes and Unfollows
Part 3 – Social Media Customer Service is a Failure!
Part 4 – I think we need some time apart, it’s not me, it’s you
Part 5 – We are the 5th P: People
Part 6 – The State of Social Media 2011: Social is the new normal
Part 7 – I like you, but not in that way
Part 8 – Are You Building a Social Brand or a Social Business?
Part 9 – CMO’s are at the Crossroads of Customer Transactions and Engagement

I can’t believe that The End of Business as Usual is now officially available. To celebrate, I’d like to share the words of those who helped support its launch. First up is Mark Cuban, someone whom I greatly respect and someone who has shown that vision, passion, hard work and taking risks are the keys to unlock success – however you define it.

“To be successful in business, you need to see what others don’t. Start with this book. Someone’s going to do it, why not you?” —Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and Chairman of HDNet

Order The End of Business as Usual today…

Based on data collected and analyzed using Google Ad Planner, I recently discovered that in Social Media, women rule. Across almost every major social network, the balance was revealing and in some cases, profound.

Facebook:
Male: 43%
Female: 57%

Delicious
Male: 48%
Female: 52%

Docstoc
Male: 41%
Female: 59%

Flickr
Male: 45%
Female: 55%

MySpace
Male: 36%
Female: 64%

Ning
Male: 41%
Female: 59%

Twitter
Male: 43%
Female: 57%

Upcoming.org
Male: 45%
Female: 55%

Ustream.tv
Male: 34%
Female: 66%

Yelp
Male: 43%
Female: 57%

Social Networks Go Mobile, Women Lead the Way

According to new reports, it appears that mobile counterparts paint a similar picture. Nielsen recently released data that shows that in mobile, women also dominate social networking.

At 55% women to 45% men, mobile social networking fortifies what we’re learning in social media in general.  Women also used their phones to tweet and friend 10% more than men.

Delving a bit deeper into social demographics, the 35-54 age group led the fray for active social networking via mobile devices followed closely by those 25-34.

Mobile devices are becoming increasingly sophisticated with mobile online access accelerating to match the broadband connectivity we expect on desktop and laptop PCs. As each day passes, smart phones, such as iPhones, BlackBerries, Palm, and Android devices replace the standard cell phone, introducing new capabilities and experiences to the masses. Whereas voice was the primary driver for mobile phones, dedicated apps and online destinations are augmenting and enhancing everyday user activity.

Social networks are now among the catalysts spurring mobile interaction and only continue to grow in prominence as a hub for attention, discovery, and communication.  Facebook recently announced that of its 400 million users, 100 million actively engage through mobile platforms.

In early March, comScore published a report that documented triple-digit growth in Facebook and Twitter mobile access. The study found that 30.8 percent of smartphone users accessed social networks via mobile browsers in January 2010, up 8.3% from 22.5% one year ago. Note that these numbers do not represent access to Twitter and Facebook via dedicated apps, which is currently estimated at an additional 6 million.

Perhaps most notably, access to Facebook via mobile grew 112% over the past year  and Twitter mobile usage soared by 347%. In January 2010, 25.1 million mobile users accessed Facebook and 4.7 million connected to Twitter via their mobile browser. MySpace saw a 7% drop in mobile access, however it still attracted 11.4 million users.

For those active in social networks on behalf of businesses, please keep in mind that without a mobile strategy as well as content and engagement programs aimed at specific demographics and psychographics, you may be missing essential touchpoints for true engagement and collaboration.

One size does not fit all and there is no market for generalized messages. In social media, whether it’s mobile, desktop, or laptop, opportunity clicks…

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Interesting headline I know…However, it’s not intended to be sensationalist, simply a matter of fact and also a topic worthy of discussion.

Facebook announced that active users of its mobile platform surpassed 100 million, each and every month. And, this usage happens on almost every carrier in the world.  If interaction and participation serve as the foundation for social media, then Facebook is setting the standard. Facebook is reporting that mobile users are twice more active on Facebook than non-mobile users.

According to estimates, the number of mobile Facebook users far exceeds the total active user base for Twitter, including mobile, Web, and through third-party applications.

This news also represents a concentric ring around another major milestone the company reached earlier this month.  On February 4th, the burgeoning social network celebrated its sixth anniversary as well as hosting more than 400 million users.

In a recent statement, Facebook voiced its dedication to mobile platforms…

Facebook’s goal is to enable our users to be able to stay connected and communicate with their friends whenever, wherever they are. To accomplish this we are working with every major operator and mobile device maker to ensure that users are able to access Facebook – through SMS, mobile web sites or an application – from the device of their choice.

To further improve the mobile experience, Facebook redesigned m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com enabling people to access Facebook from any mobile browser in more than 70 languages.

Text messaging remains significant, with more then 80 operators in 32 countries enabling millions around the world to stay connected via SMS. The Facebook team also introduced FB.ME that makes it even easier for people to share content from their mobile devices.

Of course dedicated applications for Facebook remain paramount as smart phones gain traction within the marketplace. The network recently released updates for the dedicated Facebook applications on Android, Blackberry, iPhone, Nokia and Samsung and it also supports a broadening array of new devices from HTC, INQ, LG Electronics, Palm, Sony Ericsson and Microsoft’s Windows Phone.

Let’s quickly recap…

100 million active mobile users. 400 million total Facebook users. Facebook is truly gaining prominence all over the world.

While Twitter is seemingly stealing the real-time spotlight, Facebook is where brands, whether local, national, or global, should concentrate significant attention, creativity, and engagement. And with 100 million active users interacting with other Facebook contacts from their mobile devices, creating portable brand experiences is now predominant.

Why?

The social graph that each individual user builds within Facebook is unequaled in its design and effect.

The average user on Facebook has over 130 friends, sending eight friend requests per month. Individuals spend more than 55 minutes per day interacting with contacts while also exploring the activities of those defining their social graphs (which is exactly where brand opportunities reside).

More than 35 million users update their status each day with more than 60 million status updates posted daily.

More than 20 million people become fans of Pages each day.

Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans.

At a time when businesses are rushing to create Facebook Fan Pages and Twitter profiles without necessarily calculating or defining goals, intentions, or targets, the question becomes, how are you optimizing your brand or story for the Facebook and also the Facebook mobile experience…?

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Sounds like a sensationalistic headline, but if you read Morgan Stanley‘s latest series of reports on the Mobile Internet, you’ll walk away with the same impression.

Morgan Stanley’s global technology and telecom analysts documented the rapidly changing mobile Internet market to provide a framework for emerging trends and direction.

To set the stage, Morgan Stanley forecasts that the mobile Internet market will be at least 2x the size of desktop Internet when comparing Internet users to mobile subscribers.

According to the report, Apple’s iTunes + iPhone/Touch ecosystem has created what “may prove to be the fastest ramping and most disruptive technology product / service launch the world has ever seen.”

For marketers, Apple has reset the market by empowering brands and developers to mine an entirely new channel to reach existing and potential customers, advocates, and influencers. You can expect to see brands increasingly exploiting popular apps as well as creating branded experiences in the Apple, Android and eventually in the Microsoft, BlackBerry, and Palm platforms as well. VW’s launch of its new GTI exclusively on the iPhone and iPod Touch as an app was as groundbreaking as it was telling.

Morgan Stanley also predicts that smartphones will out-ship the global notebook + netbook market in 2010E. And, smartphones will also out-ship the global PC market (notebook + netbook + desktop) by 2012E. Driven primarily by 3G and a rich ecosystem of anytime, anywhere wireless capabilities, many consumers are finding their mobile online activity rise dramatically due 24×7 access to ‘cloud-based’ content and applications.

In reviewing the report, it appears that consumer usage of wireless data (including video + images + content + communications) continues to grow rapidly and this growth is expected to run its course for the foreseeable future. In addition, Morgan Stanley sees three platforms demonstrating especially strong momentum that combines consumer and developer adoption and interest.

1) Facebook (which is increasingly becoming a desktop + mobile communications hub);

2) Mobile (clearly led by Apple’s iPhone / iTouch / iTunes ecosystem)

3) The web (as online usage of products / services continue to gain share vs. offline counterparts and growing wireless usage expands market opportunities).

Social Networking Drives Growth

According to the report, Facebook represents the potential to serve as a communication platform and engine. With the smartphone, Facebook becomes a unified communications and multimedia creation tool and network that fits in your pocket and goes with you anywhere you go. While it already connects over 350 million users, Facebook’s market leaderships will extend as more consumers embrace more powerful mobile devices with video, photo, and high-speed wireless access. Also mentioned, and quite an interesting opportunity if you think about it, Facebook will offer easy and compelling voice and video chat functions and those capabilities will connect mobile and desktop users in new mediums and introduce new capabilities in the process.

Morgan Stanley views Facebook and Apple driving independent yet overlapping platforms that are forcing innovation in social and mobile connectivity and communications. Essentially, they are driving growth and ingenuity for one another while setting the stage for a new era of social networking.

Geo-Local and Augmented Reality

Similar to the recent Forrester report containing 2010 predictions for social computing, Morgan Stanley excluded Geo-local applications such as Loopt, FourSquare, and Gowalla as well as the bevy of Augmented Reality apps that are rolling out at an increasing pace.

Mobile does indeed symbolize the future of communication and collaboration, representing one-third of The Golden Triangle.

In addition, social and real-time (plus geo-local and augmented reality) applications will only fuel adoption and innovation, creating a bridge between online and offline interaction. Most important, the fusion of these technologies will fundamentally change how we communicate with one another as well as how we purchase products and services. Mobile Internet combined with geo-local and augmented reality applications and networks just may represent the last-mile in the ever-elusive local advertising and marketing markets.

Other key takeaways include:

Material wealth creation / destruction should surpass earlier computing cycles. The mobile Internet cycle, the 5th cycle in 50 years, is just starting. Winners in each cycle often create more market capitalization than in the last. New winners emerge, some incumbents survive – or thrive – while many past winners falter.

The mobile Internet is ramping faster than desktop Internet did, and Morgan Stanley believes more users may connect to the Internet via mobile devices than desktop PCs within five years.

Five IP-based products / services are growing / converging and providing the underpinnings for dramatic growth in mobile Internet usage – 3G adoption + social networking + video + VoIP + impressive mobile devices.

Massive mobile data growth is driving transitions for carriers and equipment providers.

Emerging markets have material potential for mobile Internet user growth. Low penetration of fixed-line telephone and already vibrant mobile value-added services mean that for many EM users and SMEs, the Internet will be mobile.

Read the Full Reports

The Mobile Internet Report Setup – 92-slide presentation
The Mobile Internet Report Key Themes – 659 slide presentation
The Mobile Internet Report – 424 page report

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Every year closes with summaries of the top stories as well the predictions for the year ahead. Heading into Twenty-Ten, I contributed to several prediction roundups including Junta42, ContactCenterWorld, ZDNet, among others. What I didn’t do however, is write about the endless predictions for the future of marketing, media, business, et al. While there were many excellent contributions, I focused on other writing priorities.

When I received an end of year 2009 report on the Top Social Computing Predictions for 2010 from Forrester Research, my attention shifted. Fueled by a timely post by Forrester’s newly appointed social analyst Augie Ray, “The Year that Marketing Dies,” I was compelled to read and share what I learned.

As Ray observes in his post:

The role of the new marketer will (edited):

- Focus on outbound messaging in addition to consult with sales, customer service, and human resources on how the brand must be communicated in every consumer interaction, every tweet, and every touchpoint

- Fashion programs that are seamless with the actual product and service experience beyond the imagination of creative messages

- Respond to and be part of the ever-changing dialog with consumers, not plan bursts of communication on a yearlong calendar

- Look beyond the quantity of friends, page visits, eyeballs, readers, and viewers to measure changes in consumer attitude and intent

- Listen to and engage customers one to one

- Build relationships and not campaigns

- Create experiences not impressions

- Earn media and not buy it

Augie’s post about the death and rebirth of marketing coincides with the release of the new Forrester report, but doesn’t represent nor summarize it officially.

Forrester’s Top Social Computing Predictions for 2010, written by Emily Riley, Nate Elliott, Josh Bernoff, Sean Corcoran, Augie Ray, and Emily Bowen, envision the rise of social computing this year, gaining credibility and accountability in the process.

To set the stage, Forrester’s use of “social computing” may seem confusing to those who usually associate the term with workflow, collaboration, and productivity.  In this case however, social computing is reflective of social media marketing. As such, in 2009 Forrester observed an increase of social media adoption by interactive marketers which was reflected in pilot programs and entry-level engagement and community-building strategies last year. In 2010, marketers will evolve beyond testing to contribute to the maturation of social media marketing resulting in the establishment of formal, not borrowed, budgets and the creation of an official workflow for listening and measurement.

As I believe, Social Media is not owned by any one department. The entire company will eventually socialize represented by each division that warrants an outward and participatory voice. Conversations always map to the activity that exists across multiple networks, spanning a multitude of subjects and potential outcomes. What’s important to realize is that the nucleus of every conversation represents the beginning of something independently important to the person voicing it as well as the theme it embodies.

Social Emerges as a Business Channel

Forrester Research predicts that interactive marketers will prove the value of social media marketing in 2010, leading with insight at the C-level and pushing deep metrics and relevant data into other departments. The goal is to establish long-term strategies, budgets, and measurement practices.

New Media Advisory Boards/Social Councils

In 2010, companies will officially establish social councils, or what I call New Media Advisory Boards, to attain budgets and power. While Forrester observed the creation of these advisory boards in 2009, this year, cross-functional teams will become pervasive, sharing ideas and exploring opportunities for social media. Although councils will emerge as an internal resource, their stature within most organizations will continue to be informal, thus relying on the budgets and capabilities of its members. However, their role is no less critical to the success of creating, deploying, managing, and measuring social media programming as well as governing the processes that bind them.

Over the years, I have participated in the creation of many Advisory Boards, internal and external, within small businesses and Fortune 500 companies as a way of facilitating collaboration, minimizing control debates and corresponding politics, securing buy-in across the organization, pooling budgets, and fortifying governance and accountability.  Members should include representatives from each division that requires a social presence as well as those who ensure that participating employees are denoted.

Making the Case

In 2010, we will move from a “ready, fire, aim” approach to social media to one of strategy and meaning. Marketers will now have to justify social marketing plans with actual business cases to obtain the resources necessary to execute effectively. Using a map such as The Conversation Prism will help brands discover and weigh relevant online interaction and their potential for formal response and programming.

From Information to Intelligence

Businesses that explored the social landscape in 2009 most likely employed one of the many listening tools available in order to monitor and document activity in popular social networks and blogs. Forrester believes that we will move from an era of listening to one of data mining, trend analysis, and ultimately action. Listening and observation will impact other departments including customer service, PR, among others in order to foster collaboration and cooperation between departments.

According to the report:

Product development, customer service, and upper management will begin to align with marketing and customer intelligence to create customer feedback councils as they focus on giving customers what they want, rather than what the company thinks they want.

I believe that in 2010, the valuable insight that emerges from a formal research program will also channel through to affected divisions, persons of interest, and decision makers to evolve the company into a fully adaptive entity that lives and breathes awareness in order to earn relevance.

Measurement

Metrics will encompass greater significance beyond the number of friends, followers, views, and clickthroughs. Forrester reveals that marketers don’t “think” they’re very good at measuring social media today, rating their own efforts at 4.5 out of 10. As the need for accountability rises in conjunction with the creation and employment of more strategic initiatives, measurement is the connection between present and future activity.

Forrester notes that a silver bullet does not yet exist, nor should it. Social Media is a dynamic medium and the mold that’s currently employed by businesses including the creation of a Facebook Fan Page, profiles on Twitter, etc, quickly emerged as standards without first assessing why their initial creation was necessary.

Metrics are elusive without first exploring the objectives and matching social programming and engagement to help deliver against them. Forrester recommends a systematic approach in order to identify the right metrics for their social media initiatives. They should tie to businesses objectives as well without emulating the traditional sales and top-down marketing voices of old.

Take caution however, when determining if out-of-the-box formulas or “scores” will help measure success or progress.

This is why I implore all brand managers and interactive marketers to STOP reviewing existing case studies and social media success stories because many of them were forged and cultivated without the definition of strategic business- and industry-specific metrics including increased revenue, customer loyalty, advocacy, and market share. Measuring sentiment analysis, would-be referrals, and increases in share of voice are entry-level techniques that do not necessarily capture the potential of socialized media channels. Tie metrics to that of action and trackable activity. For example, it’s not about “would you recommend this product or brand” it’s about driving and assessing whether or not someone “did recommend this…” and if so, what happened next.

We must focus beyond positive and negative horizons. We grow by enlivening the neutral and the negative commentary through analysis. Reading the commentary to feel the true state of the market and surface opportunities to incite measurable activity towards a desired direction. Business metrics and key performance indicators are also worthy of integration into new media. Dell continues to serve as an exemplary model.

Twitter

Forrester gazes into the crystal ball and sees one of two outcomes for Twitter by the end of 2010, either it will become profitable and/or it will get acquired. Perhaps the report was published prior to the release of financial information concerning the Bing and Google search deals, but the economics of Twitter actually proved beneficial for the company’s bottom line. At the end of 2009, Twitter reportedly earned a profit and is expected to do so again in 2010 with the release of commercial products and services in addition to an official advertising channel.

Is Twitter an acquisition target? With a $1 billion valuation, potential suitors are finite. Remember, at the height of its boom, MySpace sold for $580 million. In another example, YouTube sold to Google for $1.65 billion. As Twitter is a cultural and social phenomenon unlike any network before it, perhaps Twitter’s best play is to start making strategic business decisions to remove itself from the targets of would be acquirers in order to grow the Twitter ecosystem, along with its loyal user base, organically. Don’t get me wrong however. In 2010, money will get thrown at Ev, Biz, Jack and team out of our view…but how, when and why will have yet to be seen.

Facebook

Privacy concerns continue to plague Facebook and Forrester sees this as an ongoing challenge. As such, Facebook is expected to protect its own interests by helping users protect theirs as well through the release of new tools that offer more intuitive ways to limit the visibility of their photos, updates, and data to different sets of followers.

As a user, I’m not sure where I stand on Facebook privacy. In general, I view online media equally. Therefore I employ a sweeping rule, assume that anything shared online, even if it’s through email, becomes discoverable when, where, and how you least expect it. Knowing this, proceed to shape and cultivate your online persona, your way.

Stowe Boyd suggests we embrace an era of “publicy” while Erick Schonfeld and Andrew Keen believe, “Instead of making the private public, we will make the public private.” When public is the default, you deliberately select what to keep private instead of the other way around.”

Forrester suggests that new privacy controls and tools make users elusive and difficult to target. It’s absolutely true. As a marketer, Facebook is indeed a silo and its limited interaction potential for brands also impedes genuine engagement across the network. While widgets, apps, groups, live video, and Fan Pages provide the ability for brands to attract friends and fans, Facebook does not facilitate the ability for a brand to maintain a profile or benefit from the advantages inherent in profiles within the network today. While yes, a brand can host a fan page, it cannot interact with users as the brand outside of the page. Unfortunately, in order to do so, fan page admins would need to interact using their personal accounts, which blurs the line between personal and professional engagement and ultimately dilutes the personal social graph.

While this isn’t a prediction, it is a public request for fan pages to resemble “profiles,” providing brands with the ability to truly interact in and outside the page as a branded entity and with the potential to earn more than “5,000″ friends (note: not fans).

As real-time search becomes pervasive, Facebook will need to carefully ensure that content appears in dedicated search engines. Many experts will testify that Twitter gained rapid adoption when Twitter search provided a lens into the activity and conversations of its users. Prior to the New Year, real-time Web search engine Collecta introduced the ability to search conversations and content in MySpace – for the first time. Perhaps this move will actually help MySpace matter once again.

Mobile

Whether it’s Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, et al, the 2010 prediction report could benefit from specific insight and updates into an overdue move towards an open Web. Facebook’s hiring of David Recordan and Google’s hiring of Joseph Smarr represent hope and peak curiosity. Forrester does state however, that incompatible mobile devices and siloed social applications will shatter the social experience.

While the move towards Data Portability, OAuth and Open Social are promising, the reality is that users maintain multiple profiles across an exhaustive list of social networks today. And individual portfolios of social presences expand and contract with the demise, acquisition or introduction of services.

Our attention span is thinning and the “dream” of a common identity is not, according to Forrester, expected to materialize in 2010. Forrester predicts that our social graphs will in fact grow in distance as mobile social networking becomes increasingly pervasive.

As a result, Forrester emphasizes the need for brands to focus resources and budgets:

Marketers, already bamboozled by social media and with limited budgets, will be forced to make choices. Staff a Twitter feed or focus on Facebook? Having done so, they’ll then have to worry about how those choices squeeze through the tiny interface of a mobile device — and about testing and maintaining multiple device experiences. Look for marketers to pick a set of tools — say Twitter and iPhones — and spend 2010 looking carefully at other platforms to ensure they haven’t chosen poorly.

Brands don’t need to be everywhere, only where customers and influencers communicate and seek information today and tomorrow. It’s how we compete for current market share as well as improve our faculty to compete for the future.

In late 2009, I actively explored the ideas of the Golden Triangle and Three Screens, which represent the fusion of social, real-time and mobile as they connected portable devices, desktops, mobile phones, and ultimately TVs.

With the proliferation of smart devices lead by the iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and Palm Pre, users will find their interaction with existing and new location-based social networks (Loopt, FourSquare, Gowalla) and their respective social graphs increasingly mobile. As such, interaction becomes further distributed… And brands are already taking notice.

However, geo-local social networking and augmented reality are strangely missing from Forrester’s 2010 social computing predictions.

2010 represents a market for intelligent mobile marketing in addition to the incredible opportunity rife within appstores dedicated to each platform.

As Sam Altman, CEO of Loopt, recently stated in the San Francisco Chronicle, We [Loopt] want to use location to bridge the gap between the virtual and real world. That’s where…the technology is the most powerful.”

Geo-local networking represents the connection between online and offline, bringing people and businesses together based on location and interests.

Whether it’s through reviews, mobile coupons, free or discounted products and services, the opportunities for consumers, marketers and advertisers are abundant.

We’re already realizing the power of connecting people to nearby friends, restaurants, bars, stores, events, and now special offers. And, when combined with augmented reality, we can literally see the bridge between the virtual and real world.

Yelp’s Monocle is an early, but exceptional example…

Augmented Reality will benefit mobile and desktop users alike, providing brands with a platform to engage consumers through immersive activity. For example, Rayban’s augmented reality application (click virtual mirror) allows customers to virtually try on sunglasses before making a purchase decision.

Additional marketing examples of Augmented Reality applications are viewable on Mashable.

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Mobile phones are rapidly emulating the capabilities of desktop and notebook PCs, serving as one of the three screens of the Golden Triangle that captures a bulk of our attention and interaction.

As the social web evolves, attention is shifting away from destinations and migrating towards packaging and engendering micro experiences. These self-contained environments are delivered directly to individuals where their attention is focused, catering to their appetite for consumption. Whereas Websites served this function from the 90s until recently, it was the interactive, immersive banners that resided on Web pages, improving over time, from Web 1.0 to 2.0, that would set the stage for encapsulated activities delivered through an undercurrent of marketing and messages. These rich multimedia applets evolved along with the rise of the most formidable trends online today:

- Social
- Mobile
- Real-time

From widgets to social network applications to mobile apps, the road between a brand and the brand you isn’t as elusive as one might suspect. It’s paved by the profiles created in each social network, defined by behavior, en masse, and while the roads are open and often toll-free, their direction perpetually changes with technology and trends.

The Fusion of Branding with the Mobile Lifestyle

The road to mobile productivity and connectivity wasn’t born yesterday. Their rise to ubiquity was catapulted with the mainstream glory days of the Palm platform, ultimately superseded by that of Windows Phone, Blackberry, and Nokia. But it wasn’t until the iPhone that we started to realize that mobile apps represent fully contained branding experiences, that to the surprise of many, compel users to download and readily interact with the app and beyond.

Most recently, VW opted out of a traditional marketing and advertising campaign when planning the debut of its 2010 GTI and instead funneled talent, resources, and dollars towards the development and distribution of a slick, interactive and stylish iPhone app with the new car at the center of the experience. Many industry experts considered the move either visionary or foolhardy. The point is that it realized that its target customers were most likely among the millions of iPhone customers actively seeking cool apps.

According to an AdAge article published in October 2009:

Volkswagen of America is launching the newest-generation GTI exclusively on an iPhone app, a cost-efficient approach the automaker said is a first for the industry. VW’s Real Racing GTI game for the iPhone and iPod Touch in the App Store includes a virtual showroom.

When the marketer introduced the GTI in 2006, it spent $60 million on a big-budget blitz with lots of network TV. By comparison, an executive familiar with the matter estimates the annual budget for mobile AOR services is $500,000. And while an iPhone-only strategy may seem limiting, consider this: In September, Apple reported there are more than 50 million iPhone and iPod touch customers worldwide. By comparison, CBS’ “NCIS,” the most-watched show for week ending Oct. 18, reached 21 million viewers and commands an average price of $130,000 for a single 30-second spot.

The true opportunity for branded apps however, isn’t relegated to the corporate giants who will no doubt continue to experiment with portable experiences. The real promise lies in the potential for individuals and small businesses to participate in mobile branding and engagement. Whereas the social Web democratized the ability to create and publish content while equalizing the opportunity for influence, mobile apps represent the syndication channels that will propel content into the hands of potential customers, stakeholders and advocates wherever, whenever.

To Get Things Done, Sometimes You Need to Do It Yourself

Celebrities, artists, performers, authors, and tech-savvy entrepreneurs and businesses are already distributing or developing iPhone applications to serve as their brand agents as well as trusted companions to fans and loyalists. What the Webmaster was to the early days of Web 1.0, developers are to the world of mobile applications. At an increasing clip, brands and personalities are seeking referrals, ideas, and bids from individual designers and agencies to create a killler app to either connect communities and/or create a supplemental revenue opportunity. Estimates range from a few thousand to tens of thousands.

So for those up-and-coming artists, entrepreneurs and small businesses, the idea of developing and marketing a custom app remains wishful and intangible.

Until now…

DIY? There’s an app for that.

I recently joined the board of advisors for Mobile Roadie, a new startup that is changing the way people interact with brands and personalities. @MobileRoadie is much bigger than the name implies. It’s an incredibly sophisticated infrastructure that places the power of creating an iPhone app and marketing it through iTunes within reach of almost anyone. Android support is expected soon.

The Mobile Roadie team essentially created a Web-based dashboard that walks users through the steps of creating, designing, customizing an elegant, rich, and fully immersive app that also gets automatic approval and distribution in Apple’s strict iPhone AppStore. More importantly, it channels all aspects of brand engagement, storytelling, news, conversations, traditional mailing updates, and commerce into one fun, easy-to-use, and encapsulating domain.

With Mobile Roadie, users can promote events and sell tickets directly via Ticketmaster and LiveNation (for performances) as well as link directly to commerce engines and Websites with content for sale.

For those brands that require a more sophisticated, custom, and interactive application, the Mobile Roadie team also serves as a talented design studio, already creating apps for some of the biggest names in the business (stay tuned).

In addition to artists, small businesses, and entrepreneurs creating and distributing apps, Mobile Roadie will also fuel a new trend in content publishing and distribution. Many bloggers are already extending their platforms from the blog HQ to Twitter, Facebook, RSS feed readers, and other social networks. In addition, several bloggers and publishers are also embracing the Kindle and Nook platforms (click here for a sample). Now, with applications such as Mobile Roadie, bloggers will have the ability to syndicate content as well as other social objects and promotions directly to the iPhone.

In just the last week, Jeremiah Owyang and Dave Taylor individually demonstrated their new iPhone apps to me with great enthusiasm. My little secret was that I also had an app, but I wanted to wait until Mobile Roadie opened its new platform.

In fact, not only is Mobile Roadie available now, it also announced a partnership with Ustream to live stream video from events, discussions, performances, etc., directly to the iPhone app.

For those using an iPhone, it is with great excitement that I announce the availability of my little app experiment. Without pulling any strings, I wanted to test the process of creating and marketing an app on my own to experience the process and also provide feedback to improve it. As it’s a new service, you’ll notice that it caters to musicians, hence the name. However the team is already verticalizing the application for business, authors, artists, bloggers, among other important markets and applications.

Touring the New Mobile Roadie App

iTunes View

iPhone Dashboard

App Home Page

The App News Feed (My Blog Posts)

Tweets

Upcoming Events/Appearances

An Interactive, Embeddable Fan Wall (Perhaps my favorite feature)

A Complete Mobile Experience – Videos, Biography, Mailing Lists, Links, About, Commerce

Whether you are a rock star, movie star, business owner, author, blogger, artist, or represent a corporate brand, in the era of the social and mobile Web, you now also serve as a brand manager in addition to your other roles. Creating and implementing a mobile strategy is no longer a luxury. In truth, mobile represents a marketing, service, and communications program that is both substantial and of great importance.

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Prior to keynoting the PACA conference in Miami, Maria Kessler, president of the PACA Association, asked me if I had read a recent post by Fred Wilson entitled “The Golden Triangle.” We were deep in conversation as I was seeking an alternate title for my next book that identifies the divide between brands, information, and consumers and how we can, as social architects and engineers, build the bridges between people, contextual relationships, and technology. While “The Golden Triangle” isn’t a contender for the name of the next book, it did get me thinking.

In his brief, but thought-provoking article, Wilson identified the state of engagement, connectivity and interaction. And through a collaborative conversation in the comments thread, new opportunities for future innovation also surfaced.

As Fred Wilson observed, “I can’t remember who said it but at least I remember what was said: The three current big megatrends in the web/tech sector are mobile, social, and real-time. I like to think of this as the golden triangle.”

Wilson continued, “The iPhone is the poster child of mobile. Facebook is the poster child of social. Twitter is the poster child of real-time. But it is what happens inside the golden triangle that is really interesting to me.”

His post served as a social object that demonstrated the “golden triangle” in action. It inspired real-time conversations across multiple social networks in and around his blog post, hosted on Web-based platforms on mobile and desktop devices and systems. This social object served as the catalyst for revealing what transpires within and what can potentially materialize within this Golden Triangle.

While it’s a concise and clear visual, it’s easy to misinterpret the true opportunity rife within the triangle. Tim O’Reilly, one of the most prolific and visionary leaders driving the evolution of the Web, left the first and among the most astute comments in response to Fred’s post:

Seems to me that Fred’s golden triangle applies to business as well, I’m afraid. There are certainly other trends at work that apply to business, but if you look at real-time for instance, it’s at the heart of Google’s ascendancy over Yahoo! and Microsoft in Search (real time ad auction). It’s at the heart of Wal-mart’s success (real time supply chain).

I will say that if you interpret these trends narrowly, you will miss a lot of stuff that these words are pointers to. Mobile does not just mean “mobile phone.” It means encountering computing out and about in the world. Dig deep, and you will see many other ways that computing is becoming mobile and ubiquitous. Similarly, if you think social is limited to “social networks,” you’ll miss all the other ways that social has been bubbling up over the years (e.g. Google’s pagerank was an early social computing breakthrough).

Like a lot of simple formulations that cover a lot of ground, this one is good because it anchors the corners of a very wide net. Fish in that net and you will find a lot, even for non-consumer-facing businesses….

Paul Diagle contributed insight to the dialogue that I also feel is worthy sharing as it brings perspective and context to the triangle

I totally agree– they will converge. But I do think the 3-screen concept will prove a lasting one from a practicality standpoint. We’ll go from having a TV, PC and phone to having a big screen, small screen and pocket screen. Currently our 3 screens represent competing platforms. Tomorrow they’ll be 3 complementary devices that each have certain advantages based on the activity we’re engaged with at a given moment. Pocket screens = single-user. Small screens = work stations. Big screens = group-experience stations. Otherwise their capabilities will be pretty much identical. All these screens will have an IP address and communicate inter-operably. Imagine commanding a 100 ft stadium display through your pocket screen. I totally agree… size will only matter in the number of users that need to experience the screen at a given moment. I think this is inevitable. The big question is how long it will take us to get there.

His point is very interesting as we are already starting to realize and benefit from the technology advancement in platforms, networks, and inter-connectivity that unite two of the three screens. For example, Yelp’s Monocle is a new augmented reality application that connects the Yelp Web-based network, the internal iPhone 3GS compass and camera, and your current position in the real world.

Google Wave joins distributed applications in a real-time collaborative environment that promises to connect people across platforms on two of the three screens.

The third screen, the television, as well as the elusive “living room,” represent the last mile that will link people, social objects, centralized data, and relationships where the Web has mostly been absent and definitely unexploited.

Twitter is giving us a taste of what engagement and communication on three screens looks like as well as illustrating its possibilities (mobile, PC, and TV). Network television and broadcast news continue to experiment with dedicating a portion of the screen to displaying viewer commentary via Twitter. However, watching unfiltered tweets fly across the screen is less useful than it is promising.

Some televisions feature wifi and ethernet connectivity, such as the new Samsung LED series, and include Yahoo! TV Widgets that enable viewers to simultaneously monitor their Twitter stream and also tweet while watching TV.

The Golden Triangle

As we traverse across the three screens, let us not forget the ties that bind us. Services and products aside, it is the construct of the Golden Triangle that facilitates a new genre of content production, distribution, and consumption as well as social interaction and collaboration. It’s borderless, untethered, and practically device agnostic.

“You” are at the center of the Golden Triangle and remain connected to your social and professional graph via devices, applications and networks hosted on mobile and Web-based (cloud) platforms. We are becoming increasingly less dependent on resident systems that lock us into one ecosystem and as such, relying on services that become ubiquitous. For example, you can access your social graph and corresponding data on Facebook from your mobile device or PC, regardless of location. With services such as Google Docs and Apple’s Mobile Me, your data and applications are also available to you whenever, wherever.

The governing corners or angles within the Golden Triangle (mobile, real-time, and social) are connected by content, relationships, and an expansive online ecosystem. It is also this evolving class of hardware devices that serves as the enabler to publishing, productivity, and access. Everything combined, we are witnessing a complete transformation in workflow, behavior, and communication, and it is forcing the rapid and inevitable evolution of every industry and how each connects to their supporting communities.

While technology indeed plays a factor in serving as our social OS and the conduit for interaction, it also facilitates how we forge and nurture relationships. It is that activity within the Golden Triangle and the diverse cultures, behavior, and socio-economic systems that ensue and emerge that fascinate me. I find myself continually coming back to “The Human Network” to describe the social economy that shapes activity within the triangle.

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Forrester Research released its five year forecast that estimates interactive marketing spending from 2009 – 2014. Forrester predicts that interactive marketing in the US will near $55 billion and represent 21% of all marketing spend by 2014 and will include search marketing, display advertising, email marketing, social media, and mobile marketing.

More significantly however, overall advertising in traditional media will continue to decline in favor of less expensive, more effective interactive tools and services.

Forrester analyst Shar VanBoskirk alerts marketing and media professionals with a dire warning, “The cannibalization of traditional media will bring about a decline in overall advertising budgets, death to obsolete agencies, a publisher awakening, and a new identity for Yahoo!”

The majority of budget appears to be earmarked for search marketing, even though the search landscape is rapidly evolving to include real-time updates and also social, community and micro networks. As a marketing professional seeking to tap into spending and visibility trends, take notice to activity in Mobile and Social Media over the next five years.

As mobile devices not only extend the collaboration and productivity capabilities that used to tether us to fixed locations, we’re also seeing the rise of new, highly interactive mobile platforms and networks that increasingly capture our attention and time. Spending growth over the next five years is compounded at 27% which makes it the second most notable growth factor behind Social Media with $1,274 (in millions) expected to fund mobile programs in 2014.

Social Media spending will increase to $3,113 (in millions) in 2014 from $716 in 2009 representing a compound annual growth rate of 34% – the highest percentage gain in the marketing mix. This spending activity also ranks it it as the third most prominent program behind search marketing and display advertising.

Dollars that are moving away from traditional advertising are now allocated towards “un” marketing activities that will earn stature, credibility and ultimately empower a more confident group of influential advocates through investments in innovation, research, customer services, customer experiences, and marketing-specific technology and IT staff.

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The iPhone is gaining traction as not only the must have gadget of the year, but also as an effective tool for mobile professionals. Rather than continue gushing about a device that I am forced to love, I will continue to post new stories when I find new ways to justify its value beyond a killer iPod with phone and Web functionality.

Since Apple has refused to offer an SDK (software development kit), I have been somewhat reluctant to believe that the iPhone was going to have a significant impact in the business community. However, my involvement with the Mobility and Productivity track at the upcoming Office 2.0 Conference has me thinking about new ways to use the iPhone while on the road. If you didn’t read the last post, Ismael Ghalimi is giving away 500 iPhones to attendees of the O2O conference, which makes it the first experiment for next gen mobile office functionality.

All applications on the iPhone, aside from what ships with the device, are designed to run from within the Apple Safari Web browswer, the one and only browser available in the iPhone – sorry Firefox.

I scoured the landscape and tested and qualified the best applications currently available for marketing and PR professionals, as well as creating a go to list for all mobile professionals. I’ll run a top list as frequently as necessary, always with the slant towards mobile marketers.

Recommended iPhone Applications:

Expense View is a pretty cool expense application that also allows you to see graphs on the desktop that chart how you are spending your money. The first time you use it, just ignore the huge pie slice allocated to the purchase of the iPhone itself. It’s an investment right?

Twitter hasn’t truly offered an iPhone specific application yet, but go to m.twitter.com from the Safari browswer and you’ll find that it’s fast and easy enough. Hahlo is also an iPhone styled Twitter application. iTweet is a cool app for expediting tweeting without downloading the entire timeline.

iPhlickr is a stripped down version that simplifies and expedites flickr.

iPhogo takes pictures captured on the iPhone and places them in online albums to share with business associates and friends.

iPhone Digg enhances the Digg experience for your device.

iPhonify bring Google Reader to the iPhone.

iPhone Colony is an online community of iPhone users that you can easily navigate from your phone.

iRovr is basically a mobile mix of Tumblr, Pownce and Twitter for iPhone users. In a sense it’s a portable microblogging platform and community.

JAJAH brings users VoIP capability at a fraction of the traditional price, enabling consumers to make free and low cost telephone calls, locally or internationally.

Kudit’s Words Per Minute helps you improve the speed and accuracy of typing on the virtual keyboard.

BeeJive is a multi-IM client similar to Meebo that integrates Yahoo, MSN, AIM, Jabber, and Google.

iZoho Office, an alternative to Microsoft Office.SoonR Talk, a mobile Skype solution optimized for iPhones.

Meebo, an integrated IM client, centralizes chats with Yahoo, MSN, AIM, Google, and MSN buddies.

iActu is a visually rich and interesting headline aggregator of all top newspapers. It gives you a visual representation of each paper and outlet which is is very cool.

iPhone Application Resources:
iPhone Apps
Top 25 iPhone Apps
Lifehacker’s Top 10

Click here for a funny video from Randi Jayne (sister of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg) about iPhone mania based on the Pussycat Doll’s Dontcha.

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Update: iPhoneology reports that more software apps may be on the way.

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Ismael Ghalimi invited me to be part of the Office 2.0 team and I was more than happy to jump onboard. Ismael is a visionary and is helping to change the way companies think about next generation office applications and workflow.

I’ve been deeply immersed in the Office 2.0 landscape, experimenting and documenting my experience with new and emerging technology and tools.

I’m joining two reigning authorities on the subject, Marc Orchant and Oliver Starr, on the Mobility & Productivity Track. Our task is to define the content and the companies, gadgets, and technologies that will enhance the productivty of mobile knowledge workers.

Let me know if you have any suggestions that we should consider. PR2point0 at gmail dot com.