Following Mobile Web Trends Toward Profits

Word of the world of opportunity in the mobile web has been around since the early part of this century. Though still in it nascent stage, a few applications are starting to stand out as areas ripe for innovators as detailed in this post Five trends driving the mobile web or as the authors, Matthaus Krzykowski and Matt Marshall put it:

...those areas most ripe for pillaging by start-ups

As one who spends a fair amount of time thinking, reading and writing about innovation, the mobile web is an area I keep an eye on. Why? Because it is so early in the growth stage. It's always interesting to watch as a whole new technology takes over. Will it follow the same trajectory of those that came before or will it morph and branch off in another direction?

The authors of this article discuss the various stages of market adoption in the technology arena:

Incubation

Early Traction

Acceptance

Adoption

Mapping the various companies and technologies involved in the mobile web right now they come to a not too surprising conclusion. An opportunity exists for well organized, well funded startups with well thought out and well executed, innovative products

You'll see the action tends to happen in sectors that are somewhere between their "early adoption" and "adoption" phases

Reading their fairly technical discussion of mobile phone trends, I don"t always agree with their assessment of where various technologies lie in the market adoption process, but it's interesting to note which applications they have identified as at a tipping point.

The Five Trends

1. Mobile Advertising

2. Mobile Social Networks

3. Mobile Internet Interface- Search

4. Mobile Mapping And Navigation - Mobile maps

5. Mobile Mapping And Navigation - Location based

As you can see, the 5 trends include some that have had entrepreneurs and large companies salivating since the introduction of the mobile web, while others are newer entries. Mobile advertising, early to be considered but slow to gain traction, may need innovative new delivery systems or more likely ways to get around the "hassle" factor to really take off. Others, like mobile navigation seem a given, as evidenced by the explosive growth in sales of GPS devices.

So, does this mean that innovators in the mobile field should focus on developing applications in those segments deemed to be hottest and most ripe for exploitation? Well no. Perhaps, and it seems likely given the attention given to the study on which this analysis was based, that venture capitalists and angel investors will be looking for companies operating in those spaces.

However, as we've seen as Web 1.0 had morphed into Web 2.0, the biggest opportunities are often not visible until the technology AND the marketplace matures. Who would have guessed that social media would play such a big role with users of the web 10 years ago?

My advice to innovators is to continue investing time into your ideas, whatever they may be. Ensure that your technology works well and smoothly. Make sure it meets current consumer needs and don't be surprised if user input turns your idea in a whole new direction. Just ask the founders of Ebay ( a market for exchanging Pez dispensers) or Youtube (a place to store videos) or even Yahoo, originally just a directory for friends.