andforge.net

For the Introduction of this paper, please see part 1.

II. The mobile Internet vs. the “normal” Internet

Is the mobile Internet different by the Internet we became used to in the last decade? If yes, is it possible to convert this differences into earnings?[ad#google_image_middle_jo]
In the last ten years, the Internet gained tremendous importance. Importance as a fast channel to information, as a distribution channel and as a big market for advertising. The estimated number of people using the Internet in the year 2000, short time before the Internet bubble crashed, counted 300 million. This was almost ten times more than the total user amount of PCs in their glorious eighties. The world’s most valuable brand, Google, emerged in this time and many other companies, such as eBay, Facebook or Flickr benefited from the growing power the Internet achieved as well [3]. The main possibilities of making money with the Internet are: Selling products, may it be information or goods, and addressing advertisements in a very precise way, for example via the network of Google Ads.
When looking at a mobile phone, the first difference to a computer, where the “normal” Internet is used to run, is the size of the screen, whereas the processing power does not matter very much for the use of the Internet, because most of the processes are done by the server before delivering them to users. This small screens are very uncomfortable when displaying websites their “usual” way. Only parts of them can be seen or, with some browsers that support a zoom functionality, they can be viewed from a perspective more far away. Then they are presented very small and parts of the site in which the user is interested in can be chosen and inspected closer. The second thing about websites for “big” screens is: They normally contain a lot of pictures. This pictures cause traffic and this traffic again takes a long time to be loaded onto the cellphone, especially when no 3G-connection is possible.
The third difference between mobile and normal Internet is, that the mentioned traffic has in most cases been far more expensive on mobiles. Due to the latest changes in the pricing system of the mobile providers offering this services, this will not be part of the rest of this paper.
The first point, larger screens, contains financial opportunities. One opportunity is: Advertisings on mobile websites are catching much more attention than those displayed on big screens. This is the case because they simply use much more space of the screen. While an advertising placed on a 19” monitor of captures about 11 to 12 percent of the total screen, the same ad placed on a mobile screen uses 30 percent of the screen or even more (see picture 1). The second mentioned point comes into play: While ads on PCs can be easily clicked away, this behavior takes time in the mobile world because of the small screens and the reaction time caused by the slower data connection. Finding an interesting link and clicking it takes far more time on the smaller screens, even with such advanced operation concepts as the iPhone provides one to users of the mobile version of Safari. Ads can be blocked by browser-plugins on modern PC browsers. this is not established on cellular phones yet.

It is common that web pages are designed for being displayed on big screens and also are implemented in a way in which it is possible to show them more structured and easier to overview in mobile browsers. Furthermore the blindness for banner ads, an Internet phenomenon in which the user is blanking the advertisements displayed on the website, does not exist on mobile phones [4]. This is caused by the fact that the personal mobile phone is perceived as a very private thing. This means: Everything appearing on the display of a phone is relevant to its owner with a very high probability. This probability again also affects the way banners are noticed. Their reach is much higher than those of normal advertising banners on usual websites, with content hopefully relevant to every visitor. Although the ad presented to the user does not change only because he or she is using a mobile phone to access it, the brain tells him or her that this content is more relevant to him or her because of its environment- his or her personal cellphone. This is supported by the mobile view the website provider is hopefully offering, which is different again of the habit in which advertising normally appears.
Because pictures are expensive of traffic, mobile representations of web pages often offer the same content with less optical effects, this makes the content more equal in terms of look and feel and advertisings easier to be found.[ad#google_article_jo]
Summarizing the above facts from the view of a small or medium enterprise, this leads to one main economical difference between the “normal” and the mobile Internet: Advertising on the mobile Internet reach much more people than the same advertising shown on home PCs or Macs. This means: A mobile view of a web page should be implemented and it should contain advertising that is formatted in a way that they can be displayed well on mobile phones.
Besides this main difference, the advanced technology of smartphones running the Android operating system can enable a web site to do one more important thing: Obtaining the current location of the mobile phone and through this its owner. How this affects advertisings and the profits that can be made of them is described in chapter 4 – Location based advertising in Android applications.


[3] T. T. Ahonen (May 07. 2009) The Digital Klondyke, inside the Cyber Eldorado. Why YOU should go mobile now and fast. Communities Dominate Brands [Online]. Available: http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/brands/2009/05/the-digital-klondyke-the-cyber-eldorado-why-you-should-go-mobile-now-and-fast.html

[4] C. Sharma, J. Herzog, V. Melfi. Mobile Advertising: Supercharge Your Brand in the Exploding Wireless Market. Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ, 2008.