Mobile Behavior: an Omnicom Group Company

This week's reblog is from our friend Anastasia Goodstein, founder of YPulse.com.

Reading Pew Internet's retrospective summary of its teen mobile research over the past five years, I had two thoughts:

1) I am betting their 2010 report shows way more mobile adoption from younger teens, less landline usage, esp. with younger teens of Xer parents who may have ditched the landline (though they admit they only surveyed households with landlines in the past), way higher texting rates and higher percentage of smartphone ownership that may cut across socioeconomic lines (we'll see/should be interesting).

2) There are some basic truths you can glean from reading this research about teens and their phones (outlined below)

Girls Are The Biggest Users Of Voice & Texting On Mobile. Just as they put the "social" in social networking – girls are hypercommunicators. From Pew:

Girls ages 12-17 are more likely than boys to use any kind of phone for voice calling. More than a third (36%) of girls say that they use a landline phone daily, compared with 27% of boys. Similarly, 55% of girls with cell phones talk daily on their cell phone, while 47% of cell phone-owning boys report the same. [they didn't measure how LONG these conversations were, which I bet would draw an even starker gender difference]

Girls are more likely than boys to send and receive text messages frequently, as are older teens ages 15-17. More than 2 in 5 girls (42%) send text messages to friends daily, while about a third (34%) of boys do the same.

Older Teens Use Their Mobile Phones More. Even if tween mobile phone adoption numbers increase, my hunch is that it's being driven by parents just as much as peer pressure out of safety concerns. These parents probably aren't quite ready to give their tweens unlimited plans and still have a heavy hand in controlling how these tweens use their phones. Tweens also aren't driving yet, so they may be doing less communicating around where to meet up, who is picking up whom, etc. From Pew:

The older the teen, the more likely she uses her phone frequently. Older teens use them to talk to friends on a daily basis; younger teens tend to use mobile phones to call pals a few times or less per week. More than seven in ten 17-year-olds with phones talk to friends on their cell phones daily, while just 28% of 12-year-olds with phones say the same. A large percentage of phone-owning younger teens ages 12-14 say that they talk to friends at least once a week – 18% of those ages 12-14 report weekly cell phone use, while 10% of those ages 15-17 do.

Tweens Heart Games. Just as the internet is more about playing games for tweens (vs. social networking), portable gaming devices also reflect this reality.

Mobile gaming devices are owned predominantly by younger teens (those ages 12-14). Two-thirds (67%) of 12-14 year olds own a portable gaming device, compared with 44% of teens ages 15 to 17. The most notable drop occurs at age 14, typically a time of transition between middle and high school for many teens.

- Anastasia Goodstein

The original post can be found here.

Follow the site at twitter.com/ypulse.

For more coverage of the latest trends and developments in mobile technology for youth, check out the Ypulse Mobile Channel.

In our Mobile First Society, the phone is becoming the great equalizer. In this week's ReBlog, Corinne Ramey from MobileActive.org takes a look at how people in Pakistan (and the rest of the developing world) listen to radio on their mobiles, and why this could have a potentially disruptive, and democratizing, impact.

In Pakistan even the cheapest mobile phones, those without cameras or other advanced features, come with the ability to listen to FM radio. Every day, and especially during cricket matches, people walk around the streets with their phones pressed to their ears, tuned into their local stations, says Huma Yusuf, a journalist based in Pakistan.

In Pakistan and other countries in the developing world, mobile phones are ubiquitous. In June 2009, Pakistan had 94.3 million mobile subscribers, or about 58 percent of the population, according to the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority, a government agency. And mobiles phones have become a popular way to tune into radio, a medium that has already been documented to be powerful in democratization and civil society. Although its not yet clear what effect the combination of mobile and radio will have, mixing increased mobile penetration with radio is a potentially powerful combination.

The evolving relationship between mobiles and radios was one of the subjects of a recent report by LIRNEasia, a think tank that studies ICT policy across the Asia Pacific. The most surprising finding was that in three of the countries studied -- Bangladesh, India and Pakistan -- more people own mobile phones than radios, says Ayesha Zainudeen, research manager at LIRNEasia.

About 24 percent of people in Pakistan own radios, according to the study. Not only has phone ownership surpassed radio ownership in some countries, but people are tuning in to the radio on their phones. According to the study, about 7 percent of people in Pakistan listen to radio on their phones. However, Zainudeen said the numbers likely underreported the number of listeners. In 10,000 face-to-face interviews conducted by the researchers, people reported other family members listening to the radio on a phone shared within the family, which was not counted in the study.

In Pakistan, where radio stations operate under state restrictions, radio operators have become creative to share useful content, says Yusuf, the journalist. For example, FM stations will invite guests who will talk about issues that are technically illegal to discuss on the air. "We have a poor government licensing department," said Yusuf. "There's a lot that happens, so they forget and don't realize they need to shut something down." Radio stations have also used traffic reports, which are permitted by the government, as a means of reporting gang violence, looting and other unsafe conditions. In this article, Yusuf writes:

The radio journalist Waqar Azmat advised drivers to avoid the area known as Gurumandir, "because the conditions there are not good, there is no traffic in the area." A few minutes later, at 2:26 p.m., he returned to the airwaves to say, "traffic on Shaheed-e-Millat Road is very bad, as it is on Sharah-e-Faisal. There's madness all the way until Tipu Sultan Road. Drivers should choose their routes carefully so that they don't become victims of bad traffic."

Descriptions of traffic became code for urban warfare and violence, warning listeners where it wasn't safe to travel or be outdoors. In the future, Yusuf thinks that the combination of radio and mobiles could become especially interesting is in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) "This is the place where radio can have most explosive impact," she said.

Currently, the Taliban has about 150 illegal FM radio stations in this area, but the Pakistani government is considering allowing other stations in order to counter the Taliban. "That legislation is expected soon," said Yusuf. "If that passes, I think that lots of incredible things will happen." While the government is unlikely to allow community radio stations across the country - for fear of the power of local reporting, said Yusef - they also recognize the potential impact that community radio stations could have against the Taliban. The Obama administration has also supported the use of cell phones and radio in this area. "The way Obama phrased it is that we're losing the information war against the Taliban," said Yusuf.

As more people in Pakistan (and the rest of the developing world) listen to radio on their mobiles, the growing number of listeners could have a potentially disruptive, and democratizing, impact. And likely, these listeners won't just be tuning in to cricket scores.

Corinne Ramey has written for publications including The Forward, the NY Daily News, City Hall News, The Capitol and the Manhattan Times. On the web, she's written for blogs including PBS Mediashift Idea Lab, MobileActive.org and DMIBlog.com.

The original post over at MobileActive.org

Corinne Ramey's blog

Follow her on twitter @coryramey

The SMS is much more than a communication format, through this distinctive language one can sense how a person feels or what they are thinking. In this week's ReBlog, Steve Smith, chair of OMMA Mobile, shares with us a late night interaction with his daughter and her SMS woes, realizing that characters and people might matter more than brands and stories.

There is nothing quite like teen SMS drama at 1 a.m.

"Dad, Sarah* says she won't fill in for me at work tomorrow after all, so I have to go in. But this is so unfair, and now I can't even get text service." I am not sure that I understand all of the details, so I won't even try to complete the back story here. But my daughter bursts into my bedroom last week in high teen torpor just as I am about to drop off. The formula was simple: altercation with co-worker frenemy, a favor of filling in for my daughter at work extended and then rescinded at 1 a.m., Verizon tower seems to go dead in the middle of a bitter exchange... equals daughter in tears.

But something about my bedroom, which she rarely has cause to enter, has stopped her in her tracks. "Dad, what's with all the 'Little Orphan Annie; and 'Tales from the Crypt' books?" Okay, so I am a little obsessed with the mid-century period in American comics history, and I unwind at night with archives of the old EC comics, Dick Tracy and The Spirit. Doesn't everyone? "You must have 50 books here. Got anything left to pay for my college?"

This is one of those rare instances where I want to get her back on the teen angst track. It's late, though, so I apply the parental template: commiserate and instruct. "It is unfair. Horribly, terribly unfair. But stick up for yourself and don't let her get away with this."

"But my text isn't working. I can't believe this! ...And who is Buck Rogers? What is a Little Nemo in Slumberland? Dad, you're 51. This is just weird that you read this stuff."

"Can we get beyond Dick Tracy, please? It's a hobby. Here, use my phone to text Sarah." We then get a long cellular comedy of my daughter juggling two phones, instant-messaging another friend, a voice call to her college-aged store manager (apparently drunk at a party) and feverish texting on my phone to the detestable Sarah. Meanwhile, she is mumbling that my comic archives collection is "creepier than a hobby, Dad."

The strange product of this night of teen terror (aside from un-closeting my comics-aholism) is a compelling tale of woe left on my cell phone. At some point in the drama, my daughter's Verizon service reawakened in and she swapped back to her own phone, but Sarah was still sending impassioned messages to her via my phone.

Ordinarily, when my daughter uses my phone I deliberately delete the messages she leaves behind to avoid snooping, but this girl Sarah's missives were popping up on the screen, so I got a dose of them before handing them back over to my daughter. I was struck immediately by how effectively SMS communicates character. In just a few short text bursts, I immediately got a sense of this girl's voice and her family drama (for reasons of their own, her parents were commanding her not to work that day). I actually became curious about this girl.

If I weren't already vying for "creepy Dad of the year" I would have asked my daughter for a bit more back story on Sarah, but she is still having trouble getting over my stack of "Two-Fisted Tales" and "Haunt of Fear" archives she happened upon that night. "Really, Dad. Prozac, ya know?"

What struck me was how little else in my SMS inbox even approached these few messages from Sarah to my daughter. No marketer or media company I have covered has leveraged the real conversational and characterization powers of SMS that our own teenagers demonstrate every day. The half-told back stories, the oblique references to offline conversations and events, the one-word expressions of dramatic (nay, melodramatic) angst add up to remarkably effective narrative hooks because they beckon you to fill in the story.

I know that others in Asia and Europe have tried to create "SMS novels" out of a series of short messages over time, but why aren't media companies jumping at the chance to craft daily stories or character sidelines? I know we have seen reality shows put some of their "characters" on separate SMS feeds to work as parallel commentary on a show, and this is promising. But the best example we have of this short-short form personality theater working effectively are the fictional character feeds now popping up on Twitter. Social media marketing specialist Carri Bugbee became the voice of "Mad Men"'s Peggy Olson on Twitter and some colleagues picked up other characters from the show.

The brilliance of this simple move should be clear. Rather than use these conversational media to "subscribe" or "friend" or "follow" a media brand, this project lets us follow a person. The combination of short bursts of commentary and reflection with the high frequency Twitter and SMS allow produces a unique character-telling medium. This medium is less about plot and story than perhaps it is about voice and persona and slowly creating a fleshed-out character over time.

Dare I say (and you could see this one coming, couldn't you?) that as a tale-telling device, the 140-160 character platform most closely resembles the comic strip in its frequency/brevity. The serialized comic strip is a character-driven medium that builds in the tiniest four panel increments day by day, over months and years. Perhaps we don't' need an SMS "novel" so much as an SMS Joe Palooka or Mary Worth.

Don't text me a brand. Text me a character. Don't tell me a story. Tell me a person.

Steve Smith is chair and programmer of OMMA Mobile and OMMA Behavioral conferences from Mediapost and is the Digital Media Editor at Media Industry Newsletter (MIN) from Access Intelligence.

The orginal post over at MediaPost.

We have a double feature today! The first post is from Kristina Horner who delivers a powerful video piece on why brands and bloggers need to work together. The second is from Meghan Keane, who discusses the potential of mobile donations and their implications for mobile payments. Enjoy...

Social vs Brand

This is a very passionate video response by YouTube blogger Kristina Horner about communities working with brands.

‘Kristina is a 21 year old girl from Seattle who is currently studying at the University of Washington, but in her spare time you can find her making videos for YouTube, playing music, or writing. She’s in a band that plays music about Harry Potter and through that, has traveled all over the country (and sometimes further) playing shows and attending conferences. In the past year she’s also been to numerous YouTube related gatherings and events and loves meeting new people and seeing new sights. Kristina has a slight addiction to broadcasting her life and thoughts in various forms on the Internet.‘

Motivated by criticism of her partnership with Ford for the (pretty smart) FiestaMovement work. Kristina argues that for both bloggers and brands to be successful they need to accept the fact that traditional advertising is not-effective (and often rejected) in social spaces. But, brands and publishers like Kristina can easily find win-win situations when brands support their work without compromise. If you work in ‘advertising and or marketing’ and struggle to understand the social media space, have a butchers:

The original post at Rubbishcorp

Kristina's blog italktosnakes

Follow her on Twitter @KristinaHorner

PSA's Come to Mobile. Along with Additional Purchasing Options. by Meghan Keane

How do you get people to start charging purchases on their mobile phones? Have them to do it for charity.

This week mobile gaming company Cellufun will launch the first ever mobile public service announcement campaign. In conjunction with The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, Cellufan is offering free in-game advertising, as well as mobile donation opportunities to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

The mobile PSA could be very profitable for the ASPCA. But it's also a smart move on Cellufan's part. Getting new groups of users to spend money through their phones will help pave the way for monetizing the mobile web.

Cellufun allows users to play social games, connect with friends and shop for virtual goods. The service has over 7 million unique monthly mobile visitors, who generate more than 220 million monthly impressions. The average user spends about 6.9 hours using Cellufun. The company estimates the value of the PSA campaign to be more than $10,000 per month.

"Cellufun’s social games — such as Mobile Pet Online and Cellufun Farming — provide not only entertainment, but the perfect venue for raising social awareness by partnering with leading charities and non-profits,” said Neil Edwards, chief executive officer of Cellufun.

Clearly the ASPCA thinks that mobile is a place that has fundraising potential. In addition, it's a great way for Cellufun to get its users accustomed to parting with a little extra money on their mobile devices. Already in the gaming space, these users aren't exactly shy about such things, but for the mobile space to reach its potential as a marketplace, users who have historically been uninterested in buying ringtones or purchasing gaming software need to start getting comfortable with giving money on their phones. And that's already happening.

Apple's App Store has gotten hordes of iPhone users to purchase products on their cellphones, and a key to tapping into the monetization potential of mobile will be proving to people that cellphones are a safe and easy way to make purchasing decisions.

Already consumers are getting more comfortable with many mobile decisions that they skipped on the computer. One proof of this is the fact that mobile Internet usage is far more diverse than the way it has typically worked online. For starters, African Americans are the group quickest to adopt mobile Internet usage this year.

Last week, a Pew Research Center survey found that 32% of Americans have accessed the Internet through a mobile device this year and 48% of African Americans are using their mobile phones to access the Internet. For many groups — especially low income users — the cellphone is the way that they access the Internet altogether.

John Horrigan, associate director of the Pew Internet Project, tells the New York Times:

“The cost of broadband and personal computers drives some users to adopt mobile Internet instead of the traditional wire-line,” Mr. Horrigan said. “It might make sense to invest the money in a smartphone and a monthly plan that enables you to do so many different things, like make calls and send e-mails.”

In addition, consumers who are sympathetic to a cause might make a spur of the moment purchasing decision that they would hesitate on for something more frivolous — from gaming to paid advertising. And once a purchase has been made in a new environment in a space that a consumer trusts, getting them to buy something again is that much easier.

The original post on Econsultancy

Follow her on twitter @keanesian

With the boom of smartphones and mobile applications, its easy to dismiss SMS as soooo 2000 and late. But in this week's reblog, Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures stresses the appeal, simplicity, and popularity of the SMS format and begs us to get our heads out of our apps.

There's been a healthy debate of late about whether mobile apps are a long term business or whether web apps running on mobile devices will ultimately win out. It's an important debate to have and while I favor mobile web apps, the current state of mobile technology and connectivity certainly favors the mobile app in the short term.

But lost in all of this debate is the least common denominator - SMS (or texting as it is know in the mainstream).

I believe that Twitter's native implementation of sms is an important part of its success. The 140 character limit was driven by the 160 character limit of sms and the initial design of the service put sms compatibility up there near or at the top of the system requirements. Other competitive services, including Facebook, are just not as natively available via sms the way Twitter is.

Of course most people access Twitter and Facebook and other web services via mobile web interfaces and apps. I don't know the current percentages but I think something less than 15 percent of Twitter updates are posted via sms. And the number of people following via sms is also relatively low.

But I think it is critical, particularly early on in the commercialization of a mobile web service, for there to be an easy and quick sms interface. It allows potential users to see the value of the service without having to download anything. And it is always faster to shoot out a text message than load a mobile app or a mobile web page.

And the onboarding experience can also be easier via sms. Jack Dorsey, who built the first version of Twitter, showed me the easiest way to sign someone up for Twitter a few years ago. He said 'when you want to get a friend on Twitter just tell them to send "follow fredwilson" to 40404'. For those of you who don't know, 40404 is the Twitter shortcode in the US. I've used Jack's approach dozens of times since then.

I've been playing Foursquare lately and I blogged about it last week. I check in most of the time via sms. Many people who play foursquare don't know you can do that. It's fast and easy. Much faster than loading the iPhone app and checking in.

I don't know if you can sign up for Foursquare via sms (like you can with Twitter) but it would be great to be able to do that. Let's say you are at dinner with friends, you sit down and do a Foursquare check in via sms. Your friends might ask you what you are doing. And you show them and they then do the same thing. That's virality and friends showing friends is one of the best ways to get mobile web apps to spread.

So while its true that serious mobile web services require mobile apps and good mobile web interfaces to deliver real engagement, it is also true that you should offer a simple, easy, and fast sms interface. Its the least common denominator, its on every cell phone out there, and it will help you build your user base.

Selected Comments:

"In Europe, sms is the mass mobile communication tool. It still outweighs mobile email by a factor of gazillions because as you say it's the lowest common denominator. It is on every mobile phone and every kid over the age of 5 knows how to do it". by Richard Forster

"I'm always advocating for SMS functionality within apps and marketing campaigns. Just look at the massive volume numbers of mobile users who are texting versus those who jump into data-plan heavy app downloads and mobile web usage. The future of direct marketing will be mobile and probably SMS based, so if you equate the value of the opt-in process of "sending KEYWORD to SHORTCODE" to typing in your email address and clicking SUBMIT, then you're onto something." by Geoff Brown

"yes - except it should always be a pull based model not a push - many companies made this mistake. the 2.0 of SMS is the pull based." by markslater

Fred Wilson is a principal at Union Square Ventures

The original post over at A VC

Follow Fred Wilson @fredwilson