I thought MobileBeyond readers and podcast listeners would enjoy knowing the ten best mobile blog posts in 2009.
It’s been a growth year for MobileBeyond, which focuses on the future of mobile. visitors, page views, time on the site and other stats rose dramatically.
When I started MobileBeyond, I decided to focus on quality rather than quantity to distinguish it from hundreds of other mobile blogs and websites.
Although readers and listeners probably won’t find every article or podcast of interest, there’s plenty of content about mobile communications, mobile technology and mobile marketing to keep blog readers and podcast listeners coming back.
And they have. A typical MobileBeyond visitor returns at least three times a month.
Best Mobile Blog Posts: The First Year
MobileBeyond launched early in 2009. Before switching to WordPress as my blogging platform, I wrote for two other blog sites–MarketingBeyond and MobileBeyond.info (no longer live).
When I discovered that most visitors liked the mobile articles and podcasts more than direct marketing posts, I consolidated the two blogs into MobileBeyond.net.
During 2009, I’ve had a fantastic opportunity to interview some of the top leaders in mobile technology, communications, publishing, marketing and advertising. My guests on MobileBeyond freely shared their time and ideas, resulting in a growing list of experts.
Measured by number of visitors, here are the best mobile blogging podcasts and blog posts on MobileBeyond for 2009. (I added a few comments under each along with the links in case you’d like to directly jump to the posts.)
Keep in mind that newer posts and podcasts that are “trending up” would easily have made the “top ten” list if they’d been released earlier in the year.
- “Developing Mobile Applications for Nokia: Gian-Luca Cioletti Podcast“
Luca Cioletti is one of the more colorful characters at Nokia. He’s responsible for working with mobile app developers for Nokia’s EMEA division (Europe, Middle East and Africa). At the time we did the podcast interview, Nokia’s declining handset sales as it competed with smart phone makers was growing. As a result, Luca couldn’t discuss a number of changes happening within the Nokia organization. To promote his podcast, he sent out a series of emails to others within Nokia and elsewhere that attracted more viewers and listeners to his post.Since then, I’ve written about the Apple/Nokia patent suits–a continuing saga that will probably grow in 2010 with other handset manufacturers.
- “Mobile Marketer’s Mickey Alam Khan: Mobile Marketing and Advertising “Mickey launched Mobile Marketer, covering mobile, media and commerce to fill a hole in online sites not focusing on mobile marketing and advertising. His daily output of 4-5 new stories–mostly about large brands using mobile–is must reading for anyone in the fields of marketing, advertising and media. Since launching Mobile Marketer, Mickey released a number of very useful PDF’s on mobile commerce, mobile advertising and, the latest, up-and-coming women in the mobile industry.In the podcast interview, Mickey candidly shares his views on the growth of mobile marketing. Recently, his podcast went viral on StumbleUpon drawing over 500 people to his post in two days. Those who’ve read the post and/or listened to the podcast is now well above 1,100 people.
- “Roku Portable Media Player: IP Mobile Media Streaming from the Cloud“I bought the $99 Roku Video Player some months ago and within a week knew I no longer need to pay Directv $85 a month for its service. Apparently a lot of other folks are doing the same.For less than $14 a month, Netflix subscribers get access to streaming Internet media, including tens of thousands of movies and television series. Roku has also partnered with Amazon, MLB, Pandora, Facebook and a host of other online content providers.Amazon charges $2.95 to $4.95 to rent movies for 24 hours and most of the other Internet sites have commercials. By subscribing, you’re not only lowering your monthly cable or satellite television bill, you’re also reducing your electric bill (no hard disk spinning on a DVR; all content is in the “cloud”). Roku continues integrating its service with other online content that gets better month-to-month.
Is the Roku Media Player a mobile device? You bet. Just remove two cables from the pocket book size player and connect it to any television or personal computer near an Internet connection. The Roku player even has Wi-Fi. Roku is leading the pack with IP-based entertainment services.
- “Behind the Scenes at Pandora Internet Radio: Tom Conrad Interview“
Pandora (now Pandora Media) is the top-rated music service available on both your personal computer or mobile phone. In the past year, Pandora finally started advertising on mobile handsets to pay the light bill. Its listeners are very passionate about the service and like sending feedback to management. In the podcast, Tom discusses how Pandora grew to its status as the premiere music service in mobile.
- “Mobile Communications and Communities in South Africa” Mxit’s Herman Heunis”
Talking with Herman Heunis, an entrepreneur who almost lost Mxit twice before securing funding, was an absolute delight. His conviction to change the mobile scene in South Africa and elsewhere in the world is heartening in an industry primarily interested in maximizing profits. Definitely my most enjoyable podcast interview this year. - “Mobile Life After the Death of U.S. Wireless Carriers”
I wrote this best mobile blogging parody piece in the midst of much rancor by iPhone users against AT&T. Wireless carriers have never been popular with their customers. In many cases I think a lot of customers consider the operators a necessary evil to process cell phone calls and connect users to the mobile Internet.Since the voice market in the U.S. is saturated, I’ve observed the carriers concentrating their resources on improving customer service and offering new services to remain competitive. However, as IP telephony grows and alternatives, such as WiMax, grow, traditional wireless carriers will see their influence diminish. In mobile marketing and advertising, for example, the carrier’s only power in the ecosystem is their role in handling short codes–those five digit numbers used for SMS text message traffic.
However, someone brighter than I will think of alternatives to short codes and bypassing carrier networks. The Google Voice fight in 2009 was only the beginning of the voIP issue. When Google releases its Android phone early in 2010, the carriers better have something to offer in their back pockets.
- “A Day in the Life of a 4G Wireless Guy”
This post was a lot of fun to write. I imagined what a typical day would be like in the future for a guy who had access to a mobile phone (Charlene) who thinks like a person. The futuristic vision of a world where you communicate interactively with your mobile by voice has fascinated me for years. No more clunky QWERTY keypads or “plastic buttons.” In the future, your mobile device (phone, Kindle, whatever) will become a productivity and entertainment tool that’s easy to use and does wondrous things. Hot…and a very cool best mobile blogging piece. - “Mobile Application Development Testing with Eran Yaniv at Perfecto Mobile”
When you think about the 4.7 BILLION handsets on the planet, you start realizing that the pervasiveness of mobile is also one of its challenges for app developers, mobile marketers and others. They’re thousands of handsets in use with different cameras, browsers and other components.Unlike Windows’ PC’s or Apple Mac’s that support a handful of desktop browsers (IE, Firefox, Safari, etc.), this isn’t the case in the world of mobile. If you’re an application developer writing a new program, you have to take into account if your mobile game or other application will work on thousands of smart phones and feature phones. Perfecto Mobile is one of the successful companies that allows app developers to test their new creations remotely. Good interview with Eran. Give it a listen if you’d like to know more about mobile phone technology. - “US Smartphone User Engagement with the Mobile Internet: Joy Liuzzo of InsightExpresss”
One of the unique characteristics of mobile users and their phones is engagement. No other consumer electronics product has created this symbiotic 24/7 relationship between user and device than mobile.That’s what Joy Liuzzo at InsightExpress observes, studies and talks about. In the podcast interview, she discusses recent research on how smart phone users engage with their devices. Interesting best mobile blogging interview.
- “Barcodes Improve Mobile Advertising: 3GVision’s Yossi Lev Podcast“
If you lived in Japan, where barcode technology is in full bloom, you would know how barcodes work. Using 2d barcodes in print publications, television or on the Web, camera phone users can access Internet content, launch games or cause other actions to take place. Want a mobile discount coupon? Point your camera at a barcode outside of Starbucks and a coupon immediately appears on your handset. Want to download a new app for your Android phone? Take a picture of a barcode and the app automatically downloads. The list of applications for barcodes is limitless.
Well, they’re the top ten posts on MobileBeyond for 2009. Again, I should mention that newer posts would have made it into the top ten if I’d posted them earlier in the year. I should also refer you to other posts and podcasts you may have missed that are worth reviewing.
Here are a few best mobile blogging “runner-ups”:
“Direct Digital & Mobile Marketing with Bryce Marshall of Knotice“
“Nimbuzz New Generation Mobile Service: A Chat with Tobias Kemper“
“Future Mobile Technology: Contact Lenses Create Augmented Reality“
“Michael Becker Talks about New Era of Mobile Marketing“
“Mobile and Wireless Health Care with Brian Dolan of MobiHealthNews“
Forgive me if your favorite post isn’t listed or if you were a guest on MobileBeyond and your name is missing. They’re numerous posts and podcast interviews that are very good. To find them, type a keyword in the search box.
Thanks for your support in 2009. 2010 is looking very good for mobile. So stay tuned to MobileBeyond.