Google's mobile platform stumbling into view

Reports are filtering through that google's mobile platform is looming. There's talk of announcements about plans for announcements, if you get my drift.
But mid 2008? Is google perhaps being a little less fleet of foot than one might expect for a company built on innovation?
At least the talk is of an open platform. And it's that which might let it catch up with those who are still bricklaying.
Still, I wish they'd make a phone though - just for the fun of it.

Why your mobile strategy is more important than ever

And while we're looking at some mobile stats... How about this one? 38% growth in sms messages in the UK last year. The number sent topped 40 billion.
Yes, that's right, 40 billion. Or an average of 138million a day - that's well over two texts per man, woman and child (no matter what their age) in the UK - every day. And each one involves money changing hands.
There are 50 million plus mobile phones in the UK.
That's about 3 times as many phones as there are PCs - and PCs are considerably less accessible and personal to the individual.

And you think your mobile strategy is how important?

So if you're ready for the migration of web content to mobile content... catch up on Tomi T Ahonen's latest thinking HERE

What users want from modern digital offerings

I compiled the below list of recognised current trends when thinking about the boxes that need ticking when developing a social-networking mobile internet offering. But they probably apply to all current digital planning.

Granted, my thinking is probably a bit focused on Generation-C (the under 27s this year, the under 29s, next) but then, they are the most likely group to take-up a 3G mobile offering anyway - I'd have thought. What other trends do you think ought to be considered?

Check the list and add your thoughts by posting below.

• Users want to tag their world (3G, geolocation)
• People are making use of new social networking tools to re-establish a ‘we-species’ (as in communities everywhere, but with 3G geolocation these communities can be focused on where you are right now, with the fluidity to allow you to connect with new communities as you move through your world).
• Users want to remain permanently connected to their communities (through text messaging if not ‘online all the time’.)
• People are (naturally) creative and want to co-create their content if we give them the tools.
• People want their opinions to matter – and will rate things (including content others have created).
• People are increasingly used to using several channels, increasingly at once.
• They demand speed of response.
• They have an open-minded approach to change and to experimentation (creative hacking).
• Access to mobile internet is accelerating and looks set to overtake fixed line. Design for it!
• Convergent technology is helping to drive much of the above.
• Crowd-sourcing draws on all these to create contributory communities willing to help develop products which can self-perfect. This can inform all digital development.

Cyworld: 21M uu a month, 16M page impressions a day, $100M a year.

Alan Moore has just posted this on communities dominate brands

Apart from anything else, I hope the headline on this suggests we all could learn a little here.

Visit this link and there's a 100-page plus report on best practices learned from Cyworld to download free.

The interview Alan conducts reveals, for example, that the US version I link to on this site (one's to watch) and have sampled is a much watered down version of the full-on Korean one. So that explains that then!

The numbers alone are staggering. A third of the population of South Korea has an account. And most of them appear to visit almost every day.

Take a look at Alan's full post.

Here's a few highlights from an interview with Benjamin Joffe of Plus Eight Star

"Among the most interesting aspects are Cyworld's business model relying on micro-customization, which concerns not only avatars but the whole page with music and many other functions. Also, the mobile aspects of Cyworld can certainly inspire companies who wish to step into this next 3-billion dollars industry'."

"The key point in Cyworld is its 'real-name policy'. Basically you need to use your real name associated with your official ID number to register. This has become more or less a standard among South Korean Internet services... Real name policy does not damage free speech, it brings responsibility, courtesy and a lot of benefits for users themselves in terms of trust in the information they can find."

"It is useful to note here that most Cyworld users write for their 'offline friends' and not for strangers. They can set privacy levels to their hompy, setting accessibily by content category to themselves only, friends or everybody. The role of the 'il-chon' friendship link is critical here. Visiting friends' pages and friends-of-friends' can help deepen relationships by understanding people better.

"Among the most important issues has been this privacy aspect: many information are at risk on (western) blogs: appearance, name, address, contact info, pictures, relationships, age, etc. Some problems have appeared in services like MySpace."

"what do users value in the service?
This is a critical question to ask yourself as a SNS operator, as it will largely condition service development, marketing and eventually revenues! In Cyworld we found the following drivers:
a). Not being left behind
b). Their creations
c). Their relationships
d). Their image"

Generation-C: How do you know if you are part of it?

Generation-C is a term used by the authors of Communities Dominate Brands. Not surprisingly the C (in their use of Generation-C) stands for community.

The important difference between this new Gen-C and previous ones (where C may have stood for connected) is that Generation-C has its community in its pocket with it at all times - its virtual network of friends is permanently available to them - essentially through sms and or mms messages.

But it's a mistake to think the mobile phone is the only important element in the creation of this generation. It's more their use of it, and other connections, to maintain relationships that is new. Here is a generation who don't knock on doors to ask their friends out to play - they text.

This is a generation that spends up to 90% of its available resource on their mobiles (cigarette and sweet sales are tumbling in these sectors). They buy their music as downloads to their phones, they buy their games this way too (or pay for upgrades to their more traditional games this way). They send sms rather than pass a message across the room.

They start relationships - and end them - through sms.

They need loads more discussion (and Communities Dominate Brands is a great starting point) but how do you know you are part of it? If you can answer yes to the vast majority of the following questions, you're Gen-C. So please add to the list!

1. Do you return home to get your mobile if you forget it.
2. Can you happily ignore the ringing of a mobile (because you know if its important, they'll text you, or you'll answer when you feel like it).
3. In order to maintain a relationship you feel you need to text at least once a day
4. You think predictive text is for old people
5. You've grown up playing online multi-player interactive games
6. You know how to share digital stuff easily - and do so regularly
7. You are almost certainly under 27
8. You regularly rate content, products, services and firms via systems like those found on eBay, Amazon, YouTube etc
9. You are happy to use your phone like a credit card - and aren't surprised to learn that mobile users in Korea can pay for petrol with their phone.

er, that's all I've got off the top of my head. If you have any other definers, your input could really help us all understand how best to reach Generation-C.