Why You Should Join the Mobile Conversation

How many times have you received an e-mail solicitation for an event that reads “only a few seats remain” and you think to yourself, “yeah right, I’m not falling for that trick?” That is exactly what happened to me via an e-mail from the DC Web Content Mavens inviting me to their recent meet-up, “Content: Web to Mobile.” This time, however, I believed it, and quickly grabbed a seat.

It’s not hard to convince people that mobile technology is ubiquitous. With more than 33 million iPhones sold and more than 80,000 applications available online, devices like these have transformed consumer awareness of advanced mobile features. Mobile platforms, and the applications they run, constitute a channel for brand-consumer interaction that cannot be ignored.

That stated, my motivation for attending the Mavens’ event was purely market research. I wanted to understand the challenges facing web managers with regards to mobile; I wanted to get a feel for how many—if any—have conquered mobile, how many are like me in research mode, and how many are at ground zero. I was a bit surprised by what I found.

It seems nobody has come close to conquering mobile – even panelists from organizations such as Politico and National Geographic admitted they are learning new things every day and continually revising their mobile approach. The majority of attendees at the event were still at the beginning stages between ground zero and research mode; they were trying to find the answers to the “why,” “what,” and “how.”

The group agreed that the mobile age is upon us, and that many of the lessons and best practices we have learned over the last decade of web development are shaping mobile conversations. Questions from the audience ranged from mobile ROI and metrics to ad networks to mobile content management systems. The group also believes that the rate at which mobile development will mature will be much faster than what we experienced with the Internet.

So what was the big take away? Simply this: If developing a mobile strategy for your organization is on your list of things to do but you’re not sure where to start or where you want to go, know that you are not alone. The next time you get an e-mail from a mobile event organizer reading “only a few seats remain,” believe it, register, and join the mobile conversation.

Together, we can conquer mobile faster.