This blog post is part of a series of blog posts focused on how to blog more effectively.
The Internet has evolved to a point where web access is no longer an exclusive preserve of desktop or laptop computers. A new demography has matured over the years and has since reached a critical mass that is already outnumbering desktops and laptops. I am referring mobile internet devices: smartphones, and feature phones that are capable of browsing mobile-friendly websites.
The rise and rise of mobile web
From Wikipedia:
[…]the Web is becoming more accessible by portable and wireless devices and in 2008 mobile access to the Internet exceeded desktop computer-based access for the first time (source: International Telecommunications Union, Oct 2009). The shift to mobile Web access has been accelerating with the rise since 2007 of larger multitouch smartphones, and of multitouch tablet computers since 2010.
From my experience: I hardly spend time on news websites when using my laptop or desktop. I prefer to focus exclusively on work. However, I spend time on leading news websites and blogs like BBC News, New York Times, Sahara Reporters, PC World, TechCrunch, Mobility Nigeria etc when using my smartphone on the move because they all have mobile-friendly versions.
Also, 18% of traffic to this blog in the past 10 months has been from mobile devices.
TechCrunch reported on 30th March 2010: Mobile Data Traffic Expected To Rise 40-Fold Over Next Five Years
As smartphones like the iPhone and Android take over the mobile Web, the amount of data traffic going over cellular networks is expected to grow 40-fold over the next five years. UK firm Coda Research Consultancy forecasts that in the U.S. alone mobile handset data traffic will grow from 8 petabytes/month this year to 327 petabytes/month in 2015. That amounts to a 117 percent compound annual growth rate.
Targeting mobile-friendly devices opens your blog to a much larger audience as the above statistics have shown. Your blog readers would be grateful for the convenience of accessing your blog from anywhere.
I blog for money. Will I make money from mobile traffic?
If making money from ads is your motive for blogging, there is a lot of money to be made:
Advertisers are increasingly using the mobile Web as platform to reach consumers. The total value of advertising on mobile was 2.2 billion dollars in 2007. A recent study by the Online Publishers Association reports that about one-in-ten mobile Web users said they have made a purchase based on a mobile Web ad, while 23% said they have visited a Web site, 13% said they have requested more information about a product or service and 11% said they have gone to a store to check out a product.
Whatever your purpose for blogging is, it helps to maximize your reach. Offering a mobile-friendly version of your blog is one way to do so. The next blog post in the Effective Blogging series would provide information on how to offer a mobile version of your blog.
I believe mobile blogging or M-blogging will be the thing of the NOW and the future, already the impact is felt with the introduction of mobile friendly phones, like the IPADs, BBs etc, I was speaking with a cyber cafe user recently and he complained with the introduction of mobile phones and browsing enabled on them he sure will make losses and possibly close down soonest, 🙁 , my believe is businesses should change strategy and move closer to the mobile blog model
You couldn’t have said it better. But then, what new strategy can cyber cafe owners adopt, in your opinion?
David great work. You will make a great journalist. I’ve read this post already but I’ll don’t mind doing so again. I read it from my mobile phone.
When I grow up, yes? 🙂 Thanks for the feedback.
[…] an earlier post in the Effective Blogging series, I made a case for why every blogger should have a mobile-friendly version of their blog. In this post, I would be highlighting how to make your blog […]
wonderful post from a brilliant author who has contributed to the empowerment of youths in Nigeria and beyond. Thanks Ajao
You’re welcome. Share the good news.
Interesting talk bro, I better get my acts together.