Excerpt from:  Marketing. Communication. Results.
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October 14, 2007

The Difference Between [Desktop] Search and Mobile Search

The definition of "mobile content" is rapidly changing -- but one aspect is constant - quality content is important to people on the move.

A technology partner familiar with mobile content recently echoed an industry expert who suggests mobile search is all about advertising and discovery of mobile-specific content.

I agree with the first part - pretty much everything is about advertising. But I strongly disagree with the second part - the Internet and mobile devices have become very good buddies. The release of the iPhone and specifically, the rapid maturity of the Safari browser driven by the WebKit Open Source Project, have transformed the definition of "mobile content". With my iPhone I can access almost 100% of the content I presently access with my dual 20" displays.

But there's more to this than you might think. Consider the rapid pace that Google has set for mobility in general; the gPhone is comming, everything about Google is ad-based, the Google Web Toolkit is based on WebKit, and Google is busy filing patents that are mobile-friendly.

I see a bright future for mobile search because the world will soon be flooded with devices that can interoperate without the limitations that caused us to think of mobile search as something entirely differen from [desktop] search.

There are still some things that you'll have to consider to pave the way for greater findability and consumption of your content with these new devices and browser technologies.  At MyST we're constantly thinking about ways to make sure your advertorial content is indexable, discoverable, and consumable from mobile devices.  With its strong XML infrastructure, Blogsite can integrate with existing mobile content distributors.

You can see an example of two mobile integrations at RideCME, Colorado Mountain Express' blogsite. For mobile content consumers they provide a special Mobile Phone Ski Report notification service that leverages their RSS content using Bloglines' new mobile service (http://m.beta.bloglines.com/).

CME is also experimenting with a new mobile subscription and access platform from BuzMob which makes it easy to subscribe to and read CME content from almost any cell phone including the iPhone.

Take a few moments to watch this video - it demonstrates some of these new mobile ideas, and please drop us a comment if you know of other mobile content services you'd like us to integrate with.

Comments
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Mobile search vs. Search from your Mobile...

(currently) the two do not mean the same thing

I agree with everything you wrote, but (there's always a "but")... what you are describing is performing a "web search" from a mobile device.  In effect, there is nothing inherently "mobile" about what you do - you use the exact same search engine (and browser) you would on your PC.  You're likely to obtain the same result set as well, unless your operator shares location/behavioral information with your search engine of choice (hmm... privacy concerns anyone?).

"Mobile search", as an industry, currently does not refer to this at all, which is why the term "mobile search" is somewhat misleading.  For the +2B mobile users out there who do not have Safari, and who are unlikely to have such sophisticated devices anytime soon, search is about discovering "mobile friendly" services and mobile content - mobile friendly websites, mobile downloadables such as videos, ringtones, games, etc.  The search engines they have access to are typically provided by the carrier (pre-installed on the device).  They (the engines) index the carrier's content deck first, and then (if at all) the rest of the world.

I've no doubt that the future will see the demise of mobile search, in favor of a cross-platform (web)search.  The mobile device will simply be another access point to the "generic" search platform. 

--- Oren

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The mobile device will simply be another access point to the "generic" search platform.

Oren - I think we are saying the same thing (if not agreeing on the eventual outcome).

However, I think the mobile service providers may be underestimating the market in two ways -

  1. Customers want freedom of choice - forcing them to take a specific [constrained] view of the "Web" is likely to create dissatisfaction (over time).
  2. Technology providers (the device and software manufacturers) are continually improving on the lack-luster performance; both speed and browser agility.

I believe these two dimensions are converging very quickly to create disruption - probably very soon for business users. Even a dated product such as a Treo 650 has a decent browsing experience that doesn't require proprietary search and content services for search tasks.

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This just in...

Yahoo! Mobile Search, Aligns with Telefonica, to Service Over 100 Million

If partnerships like this are happing as we type, (i) there must huge be demand for open and unfettered [common] search, and (ii) devices and their embedded browsers have now become advanced enough to use open mobile search solutions such as m.yahoo.

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