The acquisition of Admob by Google is a seminal moment .. Much like the launch of the iPhone. That might seem like an exaggeration, but I think it indicates a turning point for the industry .. And a wake-up call for both the advertising industry and Telecoms.

Consider this .. The traditional ad agencies could not build an off portal ad engine. They are still stuck in the mindset of ‘creatives’ and ‘Digital’ to TOTALLY miss the boom in mobile advertising. I met a senior ad exec once who said that their agency specialises in ‘Digital’ .. I half jokingly asked him . If he had worked on ‘Analogue’(i.e. opposite of Digital) .. he took it as a compliment and launched into a debate of how wonderful the days of TV were for the advertising industry (when the revenue, rates and metrics were predictable and their audience did not ‘talk back’) … I did not really expect him to understand mobile, let alone the Internet.

The guy was in a 1980s time warp ..

His mind(and heart) lay with TV..

If agencies do not evolve, then one has to question their long term existence .. See The elephant in the room: Can agencies be a part Agency 2.0?

Now, consider Telecoms.

The Admob story is also a big win for the off-portal strategy. I cannot say the same for Advertising initiatives confined to specific Operators since it’s hard to see how they can match the billions of impressions. With players like Apple and Google, the rate of change for Telecoms now mirrors that of the Web and new thinking is needed going forward. However, many in the industry still like to base their strategies and reports towards the Operator – partly for historical reasons, partly because they believe that’s their customer.

But why is this acquisition such a big landmark?

The Admob acquisition and growth reflects a deeper trend by the customer towards Mobile Web and Mobile Apps. It indicates that Mobile Web and Mobile Apps are becoming the most significant elements of the Mobile industry surpassing both Voice and SMS in importance.

Why?

We all know that Mobile Web and Mobile Apps are a significant(if not primary) mode of access to the Web for many people .. but the Admob figures indicate that the manner of access is significant ..

Historically, the belief was – people accessed the Mobile Web with an ‘intent’ (such as ‘find my nearest’) .. If that were the case, we would never have seen such a large number of ad impressions. So, the Mobile Web access has become pervasive .. instead if ‘intent based’

In other words, the Mobile Web (and Mobile Apps) have arrived.

And brings good news to Admob, a company which I have been following for a while, knowing Russell Buckley for many years now Google acquires Admob for $750m – Congrats Russell Buckley ..

But still .. some old views persist. Just yesterday, Jim Ryan of Motricity said .. “If the mobile internet turns into the general internet, then shame on us”

Only Rupert Murdoch springs to mind when I read the comment about paying for news .. And even he would not be so myopic to think that ‘mobile’ news will be paid for …

So, I think while old views persist, this is a wake up call for the industry

But the Admob acquisition shows that Mobile Web and Mobile Apps have ‘arrived’!

Image source: http://www.dft.gov.uk/144130/165189/256478/257655/image001.jpg

On Thursday this week there is an eight week focus in London of some 40 social media conference and events. mashup* is the kick off event with the speakers including Sarah Beeny (Channel 4), Robin Wight (President Engine and WCRS) Mat Morrison, Giles Rhys Jones (Ogilvy Group), Andrew Grill and many more

This event on Thursday 12th Nov from 14.00 so you can get a good mornings work done, grab a bite to eat on the way and spend an afternoon learning, sharing and understanding how social media is being used across business, government, charity & politics.

see more at

Social media 2009 event

Microsoft loses Don Dodge. Like many people, I feel this was a bad mistake .. In a world where Apps and Appstores make everything into a platform, the value of a person who can engage with third parties effectively is invaluable!

Update: Microsoft’s Loss, Google’s Gain. Don Dodge Gets A New Job. Not surprising! Ecosystem makers are too valuable and there are only a few around!

Google acquires Admob for $750m - Congrats Russell Buckley .. VP alliances of Admob who has been an architect of their vision from the outset. Russell has also been my first two contacts in the industry(Along with Simon Buckingham of Mobile Streams) and its been ten years since I have watched Zagme and then Admob.

Very well deserved!

It’s a great move for both companies and for the industry as a whole. shows Google’s commitment to mobile!

Very nice note from Omar on their site

There has never been a better time to be in this industry!

From Omar’s note -

I‘ve been working in mobile for over 7 years now. Before AdMob, I founded two separate mobile startups that never got significant traction. It was so frustrating to build what I knew was an incredible service only to find myself unable to distribute or monetize the product without a carrier or handset deal. Turns out, I wasn’t the only one. Talk to any veteran in mobile and they will tell you just how hard it was to get things done only a few years ago. I remember we used to have a cynical saying that summarized both the promise that mobile possessed and the monumental barriers we could not cross: “Mobile is the future, and always will be.”

That frustration is what led me to found AdMob a few years ago while I was in grad school. Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to gather a tremendously talented group of employees. Together we’ve been a part of helping to create a healthy and vibrant environment where developers and publishers, small and large, can both promote their services as well as benefit from the attention and usage their products attract. In our early days we were focused primarily on the mobile web, and gained immense satisfaction from each new business that our service made possible within the mobile browser.

Then came the iPhone. Suddenly, Apple solved so many problems that had plagued mobile for so long. They showed all of us the way forward and their efforts have led to a landslide of rapid improvements in our space. We were so excited by the promise the iPhone represented that we shifted a significant portion of our attention to that device in its very early days. We launched the first iPhone ad units focused on the web and quickly added the capability to run ads in applications. Now with the addition of excellent devices from Palm, Nokia, RIM, and plethora of Android powered smartphones, we have all the preconditions necessary for what will be a tidal wave of mobile browsing and app usage. But let there be no mistake. Our business, and the mobile industry in general, owes Apple a debt of gratitude.

loved it!

Marek Pawlowski, who created the Mobile User Experience conference asked me my views on : What future for the mobile phone in a multi-platform world? (which is also the theme of the MEX conference this year)

Here are my views:

There was once a notion of the mobile device as a remote control to our life.

Initially, that notion was fanciful .. but today it may be closer than we think ..

As mobile networks become more open – they will embrace the opportunities from non phone devices.

Thus, the phone (if we may call it that) will embrace functionality from other devices. This is already happening.

But more importantly, the idea of a ‘connection’ will be decoupled from the person. People already have more than one phones in many cases .. but devices will also be network enabled. This makes a big difference.

So, what technologies/initiatives are making this possible in the near future(three to five years)?

If we get that right – then we can indeed predict the role of the mobile device in the multiplatform world

Here are my bets

a) The Cloud – which unifies the Web, Mobile and social network domains

b) The Internet of things enabled through the Cloud / mobile device: The phone becomes a magic wand to the cloud services: Mobile sensor based interface to the cloud to jump start the Internet of things ..

c) DLNA

d) Smart Grids which provide a ‘use case’ for ubiquitous computing. I am doing some research in this space if you are interested

e) LTE – Why LTE is needed next year

f) Femtocells and homegateways

Some notes .. I believe that TV(as it is currently) will NOT adapt fast enough .. see I don’t need two government funded TV channels – I need a wikipedia button on my Sky remote .. and these developments will be good for the Operator as their network gets deployed into more areas It will also be good for device makers ..

The word ‘mobile phone’ will have no meaning and will be used only as a fallback from the old days – just the the word ‘computer’ is used today i.e. at one time the primary function of the computer was to ‘compute’ today .. we take that function for granted ..

Comments welcome!

Our friend Helen Keegan is creating an interesting event called Heroes of the Mobile Screen in London. It’s unique feature is that it also brings (alongwith the rest of the industry) secondary school pupils, college students and other members of the same generation together in one room. With speakers like JP Rangaswami, Daniel Appelquist, Doug Richards, Peggy Ann Salz and others, this should be an interesting event. You can see more at Heroes of the Mobile Screen

Hello

I am trying to get some information about books on iPhone. I would be interested to speak to you if you use book readers like Stanza on the iPhone and / or if you read any books on the iPhone or mobile devices. If so, please email me at ajit.jaokar at futuretext.com

One of the best headlines I have seen in the guardian …

So essentially, they are saying that they aren’t going to stop you from using non-Orange streaming applications, but if you overstep their limits then it’s a way that they can enforce the terms of your contract.

Read more at ..

Want to use your Orange iPhone? There’s a cap for that