“Will 2010 be the ‘year of mobile?’” Oh come on, must we?!

we’re not even out of october yet, and already i’m seeing articles, primarily in marketing related pubs/blogs, wondering if 2010 will finally be the year of mobile. it’s like seeing holiday decorations in september at the local department store.

what really peeves me is that this question is even being asked. so i ask, “come on, must we?” the “year of mobile” in its proper significant sense as the question being asked suggests, has already come and gone. recall that there are just as many mobile devices in the world now as people, that globally there are billions upon billions of text messages being sent daily, that studies show total mobile data usage rapidly catching up to desktop data usage, and that ESPN often sees more traffic on its mobile assets than on their “wired” site. These along with so many other stats a book could be written of just one stat after another prove that mobile is, and has been, a predominant force in all communications, personal and professional.

1896 Telephone (source: Wikipedia)

the year of mobile was 2007 when the iPhone was released radically shaking up the industry and public perception as to what mobile meant. no, actually it was 2004 when Motorola released the RAZR after, like the iPhone, years of top secret development and refinement, and it made available to consumers a slim form factor and a price that resulted in an explosion of cell phone sales. no, now thinking about it further, the year of mobile was 1992 when the first text message, “Merry Christmas” in fact, was sent. Or how about 1973 when the first hand-held mobile phone call was made? No, the year of mobile was probably 1908 when U.S. patent 887,357 was issued to Nathan Stubblefield for a wireless telephone. Actually, perhaps the real year of mobile was 123 years ago, when in 1876, Bell was awarded the master patent for… the telephone, the foundation of which would lead to the voice and data communications we enjoy today.

my point is hopefully clear that it’s almost ridiculous to pose the “year of mobile” question still. writers… it’s time to find something more intellectual and fresh to report on. i realize the inspiration for the question in some marketing pubs/blogs may be intended as a question as to the use of mobile for marketing purposes. but, even so, the answer is clear already that numerous companies, large and small, have successfully utilized mobile for years to increase revenue, decrease expenses, generate leads, improve customer service, enhance operational efficiencies, and/or provide for further brand engagement. we may not be at some magical percentage of brands mark yet, but does that really matter.

if marketers for businesses that can benefit from mobile are still not taking advantage of the low cost, highly effective medium, because those marketers are trying to protect their turf, are risk adverse, don’t understand it, have experienced previous failure, or worse… don’t use SMS or mobile data themselves so of course their customers don’t either, then shame on them. that definitely doesn’t mean the year of mobile hasn’t already arrived. it’s come and gone… and if you’re not on the train yet, perhaps you are not the right person for your job, or better yet, get on board and enjoy the ride!

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