Change is accelerating all the time but no media channel is seeing a faster pace of change than the mobile media channel. It is hard to believe that it was only 1995 when Netscape went public with 75% of all internet users which were at that time based mainly in the United States. However, with the advent of the Mobile Internet more people globally are accessing the internet via mobile phone. This trend will continue and by 2014 the mobile internet will surpass desktop internet access. Growth has been strong, up 13% year after year since 2009. 48% of the worlds’ internet users are in five countries China, United States, India, Brazil and Russia. China has surpassed the United States in internet usage.  Researchers say internet adoption via mobile phone is ramping fast because of the proliferation of smart phones lead by the Apple iPhone.

According to Forrester’s 2007 Study on E-Commerce penetration online in the hot categories including: computer products, event tickets, books, music videos, and gift cards 20% of overall sales came from the internet.  In the toy, video game, baby product, consumer electronics, office supply, flowers and cards, jewelry, apparel, footwear, and movie tickets categories online sales represented 10-20% of overall revenues.  The adoption to mobile shopping is going to be a lot faster.The mobile internet is expected to lead online commerce in a much faster time frame – especially if you consider Rakuten in Japan as the example.

Each major computing cycle stage has seen ten times the adoption rate by users than the earlier stage. Mainframes (1960s) were replaced by Mini Computers in the (1970s), followed by personal computing in the (1980s) to desktop and internet computing in the (1990s). We are now in the mobile internet computing age (2000) – a time of unprecedented change and over ten times adoption rates.

Six trends are emerging at once which is further accelerating the development of the mobile web and adoption of mobile marketing

1. 3G – hit 20% penetration worldwide in 2010 and is now considered mainstream

2. Social Networking– the mobile phone allows content creation right from the handset because it can take photos and videos and these pieces of media can be posted immediately. Some brands have over 2 million Facebook fans that are starting to communicate via mobile messaging

3. Video – according to Cisco traffic will grow over mobile networks due to the rise and demand for mobile video streaming

4. VoIP / Google Voice – has become extremely popular amongst users. If Skype was a carrier (which it is not) it would be the largest in the world.

5.  Impressive mobile devices – iPhone and Android are leading the pack in terms of innovation but others are developing some interesting personal computing devices

6. Emergence of Location-based mobile services – Gilt, mobile coupons, push messages (i.e.txt from eBay letting you know where your bids are at), provide immediate gratification to on the go consumers.  While mobile app development has mainly been in the gaming area as the industry emerges we will see more mobile apps focused on productivity and business applications.

Increasingly mobile phone usage is becoming more about Data than voice.  A couple of years ago a typical mobile user spent 70% of their time on voice while today less than 40%.

North America is 5 to 10 years behind Japan in revenue through the mobile marketing. This is largely due to the monopolistic hold the carriers had. With change and more competition from overseas coming in we can expect to see a quickening to catch up to the rest of the world.

Albert Einstein said: “Look deep, deep, into nature then you will understand everything better.”

There is something absolutely captivating about a pink rose. It is terribly difficult to describe the feeling in words. Today Bette Midler’s song  “The Rose” came on the radio and I understood.

“…When the nights, have been too lonely, and the road, has been too long,

and you think, that love is only for the lucky, and the strong.

Just remember in the winter, far beneath the bitter snow,

lies a seed that with the sun’s love, in the spring becomes the rose….”

Celebrating the life of a pink rose in the dead of winter is about celebrating hope. Hope for rebirth, hope for a future, hope for safety, new friends, love and a joy filled life. It is interesting to note that all it takes is one bloom of hope to create a spiritual garden. 

Hello from The Beautiful Walled Garden. You and your Mantra are welcome to visit however only in a “live” format. No teleportation, no cameras, no recording or computing devices are allowed. This is a digital product FREE zone. Those who enjoy authentic conversation with people, who appreciate little things (like new buds and blooms) and who do not feel compelled to converse all the time will like it here. Also, old fashioned printed novels are allowed, as are newspapers, however, each person must be conscious of our green policies and be responsible for their own clutter. Food and drink is provided with appropriate dress. (Please dress appropriately as we don’t want any of you comedians to scare off the wildlife). There is a pool we keep at 60 degrees for cooling off, if authentic conversation gets too hot for you. Reservations recommended. Book early.

Sincerely yours,  Elizabeth Gage

It is a chaotic online jungle of companies, platforms, services, devices and behavior. Advertising based on who you are is creating a new breed of empowered, consumer renegades, hell bent on protecting their identity and valuable social networks.

With single access sign-in facilitated over a vast array of technological devices a whole new set of security and privacy concerns have emerged. Social networking sites more than ever must struggle with how to be more diligent in protecting our privacy. But can we rely on the Social Media giants like Facebook, Apple, and Google to educate and protect us from what we don’t know? Unfortunately none of them have had a stellar record when it comes to internet privacy issues.

This Christmas I received an email via Facebook from my friend Trish who had apparently bought a Louis Vuitton handbag and Rolex and Gucci watches for an amazing price on this shopping website she had discovered. The problem is that not only was the message strange coming from my friend Trish, but that she would send a message like this to me (knowing my serious allergy to the idea of shopping). To add to the mystery Trish confirmed that she had not sent the message and expressed shock that her entire Facebook group of friends had received this message.

If you have not had a look at the privacy settings for Facebook Apps in a while perhaps now is a good time. I was surprised to see how many apps I was signed up for which I had never heard of.

Perhaps you may think this situation is just a trivial annoyance, and on the surface this situation can appear as such. However, in my opinion it foreshadows the social networking hazards ahead for 2011. As a society we are just in the very infancy of social online networking which is about to explode ten fold over 3G networks at the hands of careless geeks and greedy marketers and merchants.

Welcome to the next computing era. The Mobile Internet. With 10 billion units connecting to the internet including: iPads, smartphones, kindles, tablets, MP3s, cell phones, PDAs, car electronics, home entertainment systems, games, and home appliances (to name a few), the social networking phenomena is emerging as the greatest privacy and security threat for decades.

Well, I don’t know about you but I think it is time to say; “bye, bye open source, social networks, email and cell phones. The party was fun while it lasted. I’m going back to my Walled Garden where I don’t have to worry about people pitching me (including life long friends) and where I can sip no brand tea, listen to cassette tapes, and renew my creativity.” You could say the “Groundswell” overtook me and I am on a temporary retreat to discover real authenticity.

A gentleman remarked at a recent gathering of the EO Entrepreneurs Organization that an entrepreneur is someone who sees little difference between an obstacle and an opportunity, turning both into advantage.

Winston Churchill said that the point was to “Never, never, never, give up.” Thomas Edison is an example of this. He was quoted as saying: “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that it won’t work.” He discovered the light bulb on his 10,001th attempt.

This inspiring little video on women entrepreneurs is a nice break from a brainstorming project that has turned my office into a sea of drawings and written work. Sometimes courage is a quiet voice inside that says, “It’s ok, I will try again tomorrow.”