CNET Networks decides to go mobile

CNET Networks in the U.K. has decided to make its move into the mobile world and it has started quite well by mobilizing two of its famous sites – cnet.co.uk and gamespot.co.uk. From now on, you can access both these sites any time you want, if you have an internet enabled mobile phone.

You will be able to access tons of content from both these sites, including but not limited to news and gadget reviews. CNET Network currently has around 10 million users and it hopes to reach out to them even more effectively through these mobile sites. CNET has joined hands with Nokia’s mobile portal and operator 3 to widen its prospects in the mobile world. The mobile sites of CNET will be managed by MoMac.

This announcement from CNET could not have come at a better time, as mobile industry right now is growing at a fast pace. CNET Network said that the time is ripe for experimenting with mobile content and since U.K. is considered one of the biggest markets for mobile internet, it just makes it even better. The main reason behind this move, according to CNET, is to provide value-added service to its current users and to attract more tech-savvy users who look for information on the move, right on their mobile phone.

CNET has also announced that it will come up with the mobile version of three of its sites – silicon.com, zdnet.com, and SmartPlanet.

I think this is a great move from CNET. Coming at a time when the habit of surfing the web on mobile phones is on the rise, this move might enable CNET to grab a large market share when the market grows further.

Categories: All things mobile phones.

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South Africa - Mobile advertisers’ dream market

While experts all over the world are arguing whether or not mobile advertising will grow at the rate it’s been predicted to grow, there is one market which has sent a loud and clear message to all of ‘em. It’s South Africa.

Mobile advertising in South Africa has been very successful and as a result lots and lots of brands are coming up with innovative mobile marketing campaigns to reach out to their target customers. Just check out the facts below.

1. MMS (multimedia messaging service) has been the most successful form of mobile advertising in SA. Most MMS campaigns get a tremendous response within just 48 hours.

2. The response rate for mobile advertising in general has been very good. It’s usually in the range of 10% to 25%, which is way better than the response rates for traditional advertising methods.

3. Amazingly, only less than 1% of people unsubscribe from mobile advertising campaigns on an average.

4. The viral impact of mobile ads has been phenomenal, with mobile users sharing mobile ads with their friends, family, and other people.

5. A lot of companies in South Africa have started their own mobile websites to bring customized mobile content to their customers and the response has been pretty good.

So, South African market has debunked the fact that people in general are averse to mobile ads and all that. Needless to mention, South Africa is said to have the most proactive mobile user base in the world and their data rates are perhaps the cheapest in the world.

This has just reaffirmed my faith that providing useful, relevant mobile content at affordable rates is the key to successful mobile advertising.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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The story of the Dot Mobi extension

Ever since mobile advertising and mobile internet became a big deal, there is a lot of talk about the Dot Mobi extension. Some say it’s worth tens of thousands dollars, some say it’s overpriced, and some say it’s underestimated. However, one thing is for sure. People are curious to know about the Dot Mobi extension. Let’s take a detailed look now.

First of all, I’ve got to tell you one thing. The Dot Mobi extension, as of now, is more expensive than the Dot Com, Dot Org, and Dot Net extensions. Thus, it’s true that there is enough demand in the market for that extension. However, some argue that Dot Mobi doesn’t really have a future. And they have a reason for it too.

They argue that Dot Mobi is something which will become famous only if the number of mobile sites grows at a fast rate. They also argue that with high-end phones like the Apple iPhone and Nokia N95, people are comfortable browsing normal websites in their mobile browsers, so there is actually no need for mobile sites. I, however, don’t buy this.

No matter how sophisticated your mobile phone is, viewing a normal website has its own downsides. There can be some technical difficulties and certain sites might not load properly, as they are not optimized for mobile phones. According to web experts, for an optimal mobile browsing experience, the markup language for websites should be XML with Java. This may not be the case in some websites, which might make your mobile browsing experience slightly annoying.

On the other hand, a mobile site is optimized for mobile phones and it’s ideal for the tiny little screen of the mobile phone. So, I think mobile sites might be the best choice for mobile phones. Already, there are plenty of mobile sites and big companies have bought Dot Mobi domains to develop their own mobile sites.

So, I think the Dot Mobi extension will become very popular. Already, we’ve seen some precursors for that and it might as well be the case a few years from now.

Categories: All things mobile phones.

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CBS Mobile’s technology to enrich user experience in its mobile website

CBS Mobile has come up with a feature that might help you find what you want to read in mobile sites. It has partnered with Aggregate Knowledge to incorporate a technology which checks the click history of each and every web page visited in a mobile site, compares your click history with other people’s click history, finds out what people with similar tastes are viewing, and then delivers the most appropriate content for you.

For example, you read an article. Aggregate Knowledge will check out the click history of that article. It will find out how many people have read that article before and what other articles they went on to read after that. Then, it will show you those articles, which were read by others who read the same article that you did, in the form of “Your Headlines.”

People behind CBS Mobile are very confident that this will enrich the experience of mobile users who visit their WAP site and if everything happens according to their plan, they also have plans to introduce mobile advertising in their site. So, if you’re reading an article on Roger Federer, you might get an ad saying “Buy exclusive goodies signed by Roger Federer.” But this idea is only in the pipeline and will take off only based on the reception Aggregate Knowledge technology gets.

Though it’s a revolutionary idea as far as mobile sites are concerned, it’s not a new idea in the web. I mean, there are plenty of sites which already have this technology. You can find a number of sites in which when you read an article, you get a few links at the end of the article with the caption “people who read this article also read this, this, and this.” It actually helps you find similar content in the website without any effort. So, I think this technology will find a lot of takers in the mobile web space too.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones, Mobile Web.

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WapFly’s role in the world of mobile media

Alright; I’ll be honest with you. I checked out this site only because I read somewhere that David Beckham is associated with them. But I have to tell you, when I did check out the site, I was quite impressed. I’m talking about WapFly Technologies.

WapFly is a company that specializes in building platforms for effective mobile advertising/marketing campaigns in the mobile media space. The company has a lot of platforms and technologies on offer which will be of great use to anyone who is trying to reach his customer base in the mobile media space.

WapFly offers WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), Origin, a platform which helps you build and maintain your mobile sites effectively, SMS Marketing which helps you reach your customers through text messages, location based services, M-Trak, a mobile phone tracking service, PayForIt, an M-Commerce platform, a variety of mobile content, and a host of interactive services for mobile phones. All these services and platforms are very impressive and have become very popular with mobile advertisers and marketers.

I know this post will not be complete without mentioning David Beckham again. So, go here and check out the details on his WAP site.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones, Mobile Web.

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