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New places: Whether it ’ s on a train, waiting in line at a bus stop or an airport, walking
down a street, working in the fi elds, lounging on the beach, or snatching glances while
driving a car, humans now have the opportunity to access websites from a whole host of
new locations — places where it is impractical or impossible to use a desktop or laptop
computer. The desktop web gets used from home, the offi ce, and possibly caf é s and kiosks,
but places and situations where users can access the mobile web are innumerable. Think
how you can adapt your services and content to cater to people visiting your site from these
novel contexts, and with the rise of geolocation capabilities in some modern browsers, you
can even start to key your content off them.
New users: The mobile web creates the opportunity to place web content into the hands
of new users altogether. It is easy to think that everyone has regular access to a computer
connected the Internet, and in some developed markets and for certain demographic groups,
that ’ s true. But the availability of fi xed Internet access is already dwarfed by that via mobile
devices. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) estimates that there are 13.6
mobile 3G subscriptions for every 100 people (compared to 8 fi xed broadband connections).
But even that is just the start: Only 1 billion of the world ’ s 5.3 billion mobile subscribers
have 3G connections. If that proportion grows rapidly over the current years, there will be
literally billions of new mobile web users around the world. Suffi ce to say that this sheer
volume can be a huge opportunity for site owners to capitalize on.
New marketing, new business models: The mobile web provides a new way to reach potential
and existing customers. If you run an online business, or an offl ine one that relies on online
marking and promotion, this can signifi cantly open the possibilities for you to grow and
develop your business. Through localized and targeted mobile advertising, you can reach
users who are perhaps more in need of your services than ever (a web search for “ plumber ”
on a mobile device might imply that the user is in more urgent need of service than from
a high - and - dry desktop browser!), and location - based social networks providing check - in
functionality (such as Facebook, foursquare, and the like) look set to offer exciting new ways
to promote and market certain types of businesses. But the mobile medium itself provides
the opportunity for new fulfi llment and business models altogether. From phone - based
voucher techniques, to games with in - app purchasing, to near - fi eld communication - based
commerce, the mobile device offers new ways to interact with customers and create business
opportunities.
New types of relationships: Often overlooked is that fact that the mobile web is a medium
viewed through the screen of what many consider to be a highly personal piece of consumer
electronics. With them all the time and normally held close to their body, the mobile
phone is more to many users than simply another gadget: It is their primary link with their
friends, their families, and their online lives. A computer rarely engenders as much love and
care as a mobile phone, and many believe that this can be an important facet to consider
when developing mobile web services. Bland, impersonal web pages might jar with a user ’ s
perception of what his mobile device represents; he may expect the mobile web to be more
immersive, more customized, more personal, and more social. As a site owner, you need
to consider how your online presence can capitalize on this more emotional relationship
between the user and the medium.
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Revisiting Assumptions
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