Tuesday, July 11, 2006
What do you think of blogging to mobiles? By this, I mean using your mobile phone as an RSS reader. Somebody else (most likely the adult industry) has probably thought of this already, but doesn't it seem "really simple" to subscribe to a blog that would be delivered to mobile phones via SMS? Either you would pay on your mobile phone bill for this service, or it would be free to the user but the SMS would include an ad. Let's face it, in any medium that carries advertising, writing has always been mere 'content provision'; but it's only in the last few years that the distinction between the content providers and the content hosts has become clear. And, importantly, you don't have to be a big player to get leverage as a content provider.
According to the Australian Mobile Phone Lifestyle Index, 11% of mobile phone users currently have a 3G handset. More significantly, 25% don't know whether theirs is or isn't. Hutchison's 3 Mobile has only been operating for three years, and the other carriers only introduces their services last year. 12% of respondents to the survey said they will definitely or probably buy a 3G phone in the next six months.
But I'm not talking 3G phones here. And unlike podcasting and vodcasting, which still confuses people and requires you not only to subscribe but also to upload the content to your portable media player, the crappiest of bricks would be able to read this blog wherever the user is, without the user needing to do anything. Of course, some messages could be delivered in pictures and video once this technology penetrates the market.
Now here's the juicy stuff. The blog itself couldn't be just any blog. Its entire premise would have to dovetail with its mode of delivery. Do you have a friend who sends you random text messages with a funny observation? Is that friend me? I see awesome stuff all the time, and lacking a camera phone, sometimes I just have to tell people about it. Like, last night I saw this guy who looked like an ugly version of Jude Law, which is to say, he was not hideously ugly but compared to the real Law, he was. He had the receding hairline, the same colouring and that slight look of distaste that Law often wears. So I said in a text message to LucyMo:
According to the Australian Mobile Phone Lifestyle Index, 11% of mobile phone users currently have a 3G handset. More significantly, 25% don't know whether theirs is or isn't. Hutchison's 3 Mobile has only been operating for three years, and the other carriers only introduces their services last year. 12% of respondents to the survey said they will definitely or probably buy a 3G phone in the next six months.
But I'm not talking 3G phones here. And unlike podcasting and vodcasting, which still confuses people and requires you not only to subscribe but also to upload the content to your portable media player, the crappiest of bricks would be able to read this blog wherever the user is, without the user needing to do anything. Of course, some messages could be delivered in pictures and video once this technology penetrates the market.
Now here's the juicy stuff. The blog itself couldn't be just any blog. Its entire premise would have to dovetail with its mode of delivery. Do you have a friend who sends you random text messages with a funny observation? Is that friend me? I see awesome stuff all the time, and lacking a camera phone, sometimes I just have to tell people about it. Like, last night I saw this guy who looked like an ugly version of Jude Law, which is to say, he was not hideously ugly but compared to the real Law, he was. He had the receding hairline, the same colouring and that slight look of distaste that Law often wears. So I said in a text message to LucyMo:
There's a guy on my tram who looks like an ugly Jude Law, if that makes any sense.Lucy replied:
That is utterly surprising. And informative. I would like constant pt updates. Constant!She was probably being facetious, but what if that was the blog-to-mobiles? Would you be interested in receiving my little thoughts two or three times a day in SMS form? (And yes, I realise that someone is probably going to steal this idea and do it first now.)
