Author Archive
by Helen Keegan
July 9, 2007 at 5:45 pm · Filed under Mobile messaging 2.0, SMS, MMS, Events + Conferences, Global Messaging 2007, Global Mobile Messaging 2007
I saw this article today over at 160 Characters and I thought it was very relevant to this particular blog and so Mike Grenville, who wrote the piece, has given me permission to republish it here in its entirety:
“While today it may seem obvious that mobile phones are used to exchange text messages as well to talk to other people. As more and more ways of sending text messages become available on the handset, there is a growing temptation to merge message types. But are consumers really calling for convergence or is this driven by developments in technology?
We are often reminded that the rise of SMS was not predicted and certainly was not part of the original design. However it is not clear whether the factors behind the popularity have been understood and incorporated into developments going forward. Partly because of the way that new types of messaging have emerged they are often stored and accessed in quite different ways the mobile phone handset.
While the search for benefits from an IP network goes on, converging messaging has been touted as one of them. While there are benefits to converging the various types of message formats from a network perspective, great care needs to be taken before removing the ability of users to choose which format to use.
A Place For MMS
One of the reasons that MMS has failed so spectacularly was because it was touted as a replacement for SMS. The analysts lined up to say that SMS was about to peak and by the end of the year would level off and be replaced by the rapid rise of the shiny new world of MMS. This was repeated for a few years until it finally became apparent to all that MMS was never going to replace SMS and it joined the growing list of messaging choices available to consumers.
According to M:Metrics at the end of 2006 only about 2-3% of users send an MMS every day, with about 30% using it between one and three times a month.
Speaking at the 2007 Global Messaging Congress, Sibel Ozcan from Turkcell said that “the success of SMS so far is because it is reliable, it is easy to use and the pricing is simple - all of which is the opposite for MMS.” Turkcell have recently relaunched MMS and Ozcan said that they are growing both P2P and A2P MMS traffic. They have found that while an SMS might be sent to anyone in the address book, an MMS is mostly only sent to one person. Special event days and anniversaries was the number one driver for sending an MMS followed by as a decision aid while out shopping. Based on their research Turkcell ran a variety of targeted campaigns for example a series of ads on drink mats in coffee shops which successfully stimulated usage.
Reliability
Ovum’s John Delaney agreed that “SMS continues to have enormous growth even in supposedly saturated markets. It is simple, ubiquitous, most people know that they have it on their handset and it is reliable.”
This last point reliability, is something that MMS still has issues with. While reliability has no doubt substantially for most operators, at least two operators admitted at Global Messaging Congress that about 20% of their MMS messages were not delivered.
In South Africa Vodacom addressed the issue head on. Their research said that young people were not reached by traditional advertising - “give us a service that works and we will share it with our friends” they said. Messaging Product Manager for Vodacom Gabi Porter admitted that the operator got the initial launch of MMS wrong and said that Vodacom went back to basics. They made sure that handsets were properly provisioned to work with MMS and incentivised subscribers who could but hadn’t so far sent MMS. This strategy paid off and moved MMS from being the main reason for calls to the help desk to the lowest alongside a 15% increase in activity.
Porter emphasised that operators need to eat their own dog food! She said that Vodacom found that by sending an MMS instead of the usual SMS at contract renewal time, there was a 40% increase in renewals instead of just 15% with a text message.
MIM Enters Stage Left
Into this messaging comes Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM), which as CEO, Orange Group, Sanjiv Ahuja pointed out at 3GSM in February, “There are five times more SMS users than IM users.”
A recent white paper from Mobile IM provider Miyowa reported that on average, subscribers access MIM services 20 times a month, for about 20 minutes each session, Miyowa’s recommendation platform aims to progressively replace the monthly subscriptions the telcos charge their subscribers to access MIM, with a free service funded by advertising and recommendations for premium content.
Converged Networks
However as network infrastructure moves to a common transport patform, the temptation is there to merge message formats for the user, on the basis that users are only interested in sending a message and not how it gets there or what happens when it arrives.
Ricardo Ruggiero, CEO of Telecom Italia while recognising the “remarkable success of mobile text messaging” he sees IM as “an important transition towards IP-based services, which Telecom Italia believes are an integral part of fixed-mobile convergence.”
While Ruggiero said that “Telecom Italia is driving the evolution of messaging services and developing a high quality, integrated offer for customers”, it wasn’t yet clear whether this would be an integration that real users would be able to make sense of. Message integration is sometimes presented as a revamped version of Unified Messaging which only a few people could make any sense of.
Just because the technology enables a feature does not mean that it offers a benefit to users. Most users are well aware that the levels of intimacy and interuption vary with each message format and choose accordingly, even ignoring the price implications of different formats.
Carlos Fernandez Casares, Messaging Product Marketing Manager at Telefonica Moviles is on the right track when he said that “people will use mobile IM for a closed user group. But will use SMS and MMS for further away people - those we don’t communicate with every day”.
Pick And Choose
Operators need to be clear about how and why users pick different messaging types to suit a variety of purposes. For example, a recent survey by 160Characters found wide variation in the time they expected a response and how they used this as part of deciding which message format to use.
With person-to-person SMS generating US$56 billion in 2006 alone and with messaging revenue accounting for up to 80% of operators’ data revenues and around 20% of all revenues, the stakes are high for operators to get it right. Understanding users rather than the technology would be a good place to start.”
http://www.160characters.org
by Helen Keegan
July 5, 2007 at 7:55 am · Filed under Mobile messaging 2.0
Vodafone, in partnership with Nokia and Nokia Siemens Network have just published a new policy report entitled ‘The Transofrmation Potential of M-Transactions’. This report is Vodafone’s 6th policy paper, of which three focus on the social impact of mobile phones, details new independent research from some hotshots who know about this stuff. One of the conclusions the research team draws is that a new regulatory framework is needed to encourage financial transactions by mobile phones and transform access to financial services in developing countries. And that the suggested changes will have a widespread impact on both the economic development of countries and the financial security of millions of people currently without access to banking services.
One of the things I keep banging on about to naysayers of mobile is that it’s all to easy in Europe and the US to get obsessed by web 2.0, online social networking, fancy shmancy web services and everything being internet and lap or desktop centric but IMHO, everything will be going mobile as there’s a concerted effort to make mobile stuff accessible and affordable for emerging markets in particular. And we keep our mobiles with us all the time and few of us lug laptops around with us in our handbags (ok, occasionally I do, but that’s out of necessity, not choice).
What with wind-powered and solar-powered mobile phones and solar-powered street lighting with built-in wi-fi from the Starsight team, the planet will be truly connected in the not too distant future. Add in the ability to complete financial transactions on your mobile phone, then things will certainly be rockin’ ‘n rollin’.
by Helen Keegan
July 2, 2007 at 1:15 pm · Filed under Mobile messaging 2.0
As I’m sure all our English readers are aware, as of 6am on the 1st July, smoking was banned in all public places that are under-cover - that means, all bars, clubs, work vehicles, offices, restaurants, shops, shopping malls and more besides. Arguably this is long overdue and as a non-smoker, I’m absolutely delighted that I’ll now be able to go out on the town and come back smelling of me instead of someone else’s foul smelling tobacco smoke. Anyway, I digress.
There are lots of folks who are going to find this new law very hard to deal with so the news that Manchester NHS (National Health Service) is using text messaging to help smokers quit is good news indeed. It’s a relatively simple campaign and you text in a keyword (depending on which advert you’ve been exposted to on a beermat, on the radio, on a poster, whatever) and you get a call back with details of services available to you to help you quit.
I think they could easily have gone one step further. A friend and colleague of mine, Steve Flaherty, developed Textotine several years ago now (it was way ahead of its time - let me know if you’re interested in helping to get it off the ground again). This service was more like a quit smoking buddy and kept track of how much money you’d saved, how many days you’d been smoke free, and tips and hints to keep you on the straight and narrow which could be a sponsored service or run using premium rate text messaging or some kind of subscription service.
Anyone know of any other mobile stop-smoking services?
RELATED POSTS
-No related posts
by Helen Keegan
June 29, 2007 at 8:35 am · Filed under Mobile messaging 2.0
A few new North American-centric services that I’ve just been tipped off about via TrendCentral and wondered if any readers here had tried them.
The first is Jott which is billed as a hands-free messaging service. What that means is that it transcribes your voice message into a text message. Seems to me this is a mash-up of Spinvox (of which I’m a HUGE fan) and Morning Papers. It’s a simple idea, you just call a number, dictate your message and Jott does the rest. What would be cleverer still though is if you could also add your friend’s mobile number and then send that message as a text message to them. Particularly useful if you have a broken arm or something and can’t use your hands or if you’re blind and can’t get hold of your friend by voice.
Slifter is a service which helps you find products and promotions at stores near you on the web or on your phone.
It seems there are three ways you can use Slifter:
1. ONLINE at www.slifter.com
2. TEXT MESSAGE
Just text your product query and zip code to 75438. (Ex: “Nikon Coolpix 10001″)
3. MOBILE APPLICATION (it’s Java based and downloadable to your phone)
Includes:
- Mobile Shopping List
- Product Images
- Maps to stores
- Send-to-Friend
There is no cost for using Slifter both on the go and online, although your mobile carrier may assess standard text and data service charges depending on your plan.
Not sure about the name though - is Slifter short for Shoplifter and it’s actually an underground service to aid theft from stores near you?? Just joking, but it is an odd name.
And finally, young people are using a free information “FREE 411″ service reached by dialing the number 1.800.373.3411 (many have the number programmed into their mobiles’ phonebooks). A great potential space for marketers, the service requires users to listen to a short ad before making their information request.
Unfortunately, as all these services are available in the US and/or Canada only, I can’t try them out for size so I’m interested to get your feedback on them if you’ve heard of them and tried them.
by Helen Keegan
June 18, 2007 at 2:26 pm · Filed under Mobile messaging 2.0, Events + Conferences, Global Messaging 2007, MEM07, Global Mobile Messaging 2007
I met Marcus about a year ago at a mobile entertainment event in London and although we exchange the odd email, I don’t actually get to see him very often as he’s based in Germany and I haven’t been to Germany since my Sixth Form days when I went on a dismal student exchange (actually, the family treated me very well and I did some interesting things, it was just I had nothing in common with the student I was paired with). So it was a pleasant surprise to bump into Marcus at the Meffy’s on the Tuesday night at the Fairmont Hotel.
Marcus is COO of Peperoni who runs Peperonity, which is a mobile social network that pre-dates myspace and is one of the largest mobile social networks on the planet. And for whom both mobile entertainment and messaging are a crucial part of the service they run for their members. So I thought I’d take the opportunity to ask Marcus a few questions about what he thought about his trip to Monte Carlo.
Was the trip worth it?
Despite being unsure about the value in the first place and this being the first time we attended the conference (plus: we paid for it :-)) I must say that all in all it was worth it, not just because of the nice, though rainy location. Many of the panels were quite interesting and the meet-and-greet aspect was very important. I also enjoyed the MEFFYS presentation
What were the downsides to the event?
- Why were there no free drinks for attendees? The sun was burning outside and selling water for 3 € gave me the impression that they don’t even try to provide value for money.
- Why was there no cloakroom on the 5th? Many people including myself were running around with their full baggage that day which was a bit annoying inside the conference rooms.
- The whole venue looked a bit scattered due to the several levels in the forum and there being room for 10 times more people all in all, so maybe pick a smaller location next time to support networking.
- I couldn’t find the venue of the MEFFYS in the first place and they sent me the wrong way so what about improving organisation and signposts next time
What was the most interesting thing you saw there and why?
Stupidly enough, we failed to enter the MEFFYS awards but were still sitting at the dinner tables. So I thought to myself, well it’s still a good chance to see who’s number 2 in mobile UGC but from the presentations I saw, I knew only Pitch and Jumbuck’s FastFlirting so it seemed that we were rather looking at who’s number 20 in mobile UGC and not number 2 . Anyway, most of the awards nominees, with the exception of Admob, were unrepresentative of the majority of the current market. So to address that we’re strongly considering entering the awards next year!
Which speaker or session, if any, stood out for you and why?
I think that one of the most interesting presentations from our standpoint was that of the VP Mobile of mySpace (what was his name again? Jean Paul Sanchez - ed). They did seem to get the message of being unable to transfer everything they have to mobile and I am very confident that they provide a very useful mobile side of their web service and thus will help to proliferate the mobile idea even further and exercise even more pressure on the network operators to rectify their access and billing issues very soon so that we can all be part of a great mobile world.
The best panel was definitely the one with the 10 Monaco kids. Even though they were probably not your typical European child, in that they went to an expensive school, lived a relatively sheltered existence in Monaco and money was no worry, they still showed behaviour in common with kids their own age across Europe and the US. It was very clear that even in a world where money doesn’t matter (them being from wealthy families and not worried about the phone bill), content is still being sideloaded and bluetoothed instead of downloaded and MMS’ed because the payment methods are simply not working and the process is not wholly reliable. Lots of lessons for operators in there, wonder if any were present?
So see you there next year Marcus!
by Helen Keegan
June 18, 2007 at 2:01 pm · Filed under Mobile messaging 2.0, Events + Conferences, Global Messaging 2007, MEM07, Global Mobile Messaging 2007
I’ve had a pretty busy few weeks followed by a nasty lurgy so there’s been a bit of radio silence post Monte Carlo. I’ve now had chance to collect a few thoughts on the whole experience and I’ve asked a few colleagues the same.
My own thoughts were that the conference quality was not up to scratch. The opening session on the first day did not wow me in the least. The atmosphere was staid, the content was a bit same old same old and the speakers were very limited by corporate handcuffs as to what they could or couldn’t discuss. And this was a shame. However, there were lots of very interesting people in attendance and I hope you’ve had a chance to listen to the podcasts of some of my fellow UK mobilists, Deborah from Muze, Mike from 160 Characters, John from Vodafone and Gerry from Tanla Mobile. And having the right people there is at least as important as the content. But at Monte Carlo prices, the substance of the conference should have been better. As could the logistics…
Andrew Darling, of WestPier Media, on being asked what he thought of the event, comments
“I thought Peter Bazelgette summed it up when he said ‘Mobile is falling way behind as an entertainment distribution platform, compared to broadband.’ This he said in his key note and you could read the frustration he felt between these lines.
And when you put this in the context of the show, you have to agree. The only interesting things I saw/heard about were based around messaging applications involving advertising (Colibria).
The fact that there were no brands or major media companies exhibiting at the event shows you something. Ok, so it’s a show for mobile service providers to demonstrate their wares and attract the interest of brands, but the floor was only full of mobile people, not media (even if this is what mobile companies would prefer to be called!!). And the media companies taking part in the conference - Bebo, Sony Pictures, Endemol, MTV and EMI - probably took off after they had spoken (to huge, empty-ish auditoriums).
There was absolutely no focal point for networking, apart from the Gala Dinner, at the event. No lunch provided and only a crummy, overpriced bar where stale sandwiches cost an arm and a jambe. I’m not even going to mention the price/hassle in getting to Monte Carlo.
The party scene was pretty non-existent too. Monte Carlo, despite its supposed glamour, is one of the most soulless places I’ve been to. Ok, so a lot of rich, glamorous people reside there for two months a year or whatever the minimum requirement for tax free status is. But rich people have catered parties in their mansions and don’t go out much so the atmosphere is pretty dire, even in the Le Casino.
So what’s the attraction in going next year? I can’t see one personally.”
So what was your take on the conference and exhibition?
by Helen Keegan
June 5, 2007 at 6:05 am · Filed under Mobile messaging 2.0
It took me a while to get settled into my bloggers pod this morning as I was busy being Ms Sociable and saying hello to all my London buddies who’ve made it over here. If I get chance, I’ll collar those I’ve seen to give us a soundbite or two about their experience of the conference and exhibition so you get a wider flavour than just us ever-so-slightly cynical bloggers. So hopefully we’ll have some stuff from Fathom Partners, Bango, Tanla Mobile, 160 Characters, M:Metrics (I do love a good bit of M:Metrics juice of a morning) as well as some other journos and bloggers and other folks who are also here but I haven’t seen them yet. Watch this space…
RELATED POSTS
-No related posts
by Helen Keegan
June 5, 2007 at 5:51 am · Filed under Mobile messaging 2.0, Events + Conferences
Well, it’s my first morning at the Global Messaging conference and Ewan and I are already ranting! We’ve only been in to see one session on mobile instant messenger and email. John Maynard spoke from the point of view of Vodafone and Martin Harris spoke from AOL UK, on the mobile side of things. Both speakers were somewhat constrained by NDAs and toeing the corporate line which wasn’t their fault.
Anyway, the upshot is, all the operators want to make more money out of mobile email and Mobile Instant Messenger but there are some barriers to success which they didn’t really discuss in any depth.
So, the good news is that Vodafone has introduced a flat rate data plan for pay as you go customers limiting liability to a £1 a day. Great! There is a but… if you imagine that youth is probably the biggest segment to drive and influence mobile IM use and mobile email use or even mobile messaging use on something like MySpace then even at a £1 it’s going to be too much. Here’s why.
You don’t know what experience you’re going to get on your phone when you access these services if you’ve never used them before. You’ve no idea how long you’re going to use them for, and if you only use messaging on your phone intermittently, then even a £1 a day is too much. Are you really going to spend £1 to click on one link to see a myspace message which might not even be from your pal, but from someone promoting their new track or whatever? Vodafone’s target email customer on average receives 8 to 10 emails a day. Are you really going to spend £1 to see those emails? And then if you get into heavy usage, are you really going to spend £30 a month?
And anyway, most customers don’t understand the pricing or what ‘data charges’ even means. When I’ve asked a few teenagers I know why they don’t use mobile web services, the answer is ‘well it’s a £1 a minute isn’t it when I click on a link in a text message or the icon on my phone’.
So, I guess it’s baby steps.. flat rate data pricing models are certainly the way forward, but the pricing models still need some work. Why can’t it be something like a penny a minute up to a maximum of a £1 a day or £10 a month, whichever is less and then add in technical support at £1 a minute? This model we’re used to as in the old days of dial-up and when this structure was introduced, Freeserve made a killing and signed up 900,000 users with 700,000 of them active within just 16 weeks. This was against AOL who took 3 years to sign up half a million customers.
I think there’s a lesson to be learned there.
