For most of the people Web 2.0 is just a buzzword - round corners, a bit childish web design but nothing too special. But there are some key elements that make Web 2.0 different from yesterday’s web (Web 1.0). Major difference is that Web 2.0 websites allow users to do more than just retrieve information - people are able to create their own content and be part of democratic and organic web.

Main keywords for Web 2.0 are openness, collaboration, dynamic, interactive, context sensitive services, third party content. Vast majority of the Web 2.0 doesn’t have a good business model behind it, although recently we have seen a bit more of the ones that do. There is also a tendency that services with a business model tend to move away from Web 2.0 ideology (openness, third party content, content sensitivity). I think that Google AdSense is the best example of Web 2.0 with a great business model.

But what comes next?

I’m not talking about major buzzword Web 3.0, but we may call it Web 2.5 at least ;). We are going to see business models behind wikis, podcasts etc, so that third parties would also be able to earn revenue. We already have some great examples in that field, but this will become a MUST feature in near future. I believe that creating opportunities for third parties is the next phase in the web and it is almost here.

Context sensitivity, third party content and long tail are creating opportunities for everyone who has ideas, knowledge and will to do something. Everyone will be able to benefit from their knowledge and experience, and what’s most important - the business doesn’t have any borders or limits. One is definitely sure, mobile services are involved as well.

Just wanted to let you know that Fortumo will be attending CTIA Wireless in Las Vegas on 1-3 April. If you happen to be there as well, then we would love to set up a meeting or just have a cup of coffee somewhere. Please e-mail rain.rannu@fortumo.com to get in touch. See you in Vegas

We are very happy that Mobile Monday finally launches in Tallinn, Estonia. Fortumo is obviously there, as well as many of our customers. The opening event will be held at 18:00, Omega Hall, Olümpia Conference Centre.

Mobile Monday is a world known networking format for everyone in the mobile business. Meetings in Estonia are scheduled to be held monthly, alternating between Tallinn and Tartu. Tallinn events will cover general and marketing-related topics, with international speakers and a wide audience. Tartu events will focus on mobile development topics.

7th february
Vodafone & Myspace partner to develop mobile social networking

Vodafone inks an exclusive deal with MySpace allowing mobile users in the U.K. access to the social networking website on the move. The Vodafone deal with MySpace marks the first time that the Fox Interactive Media unit of News Corp. has made its MySpace.com portal available to European mobile users.

23rd february
Lanetro zed acquires Monstermob

The acquisition saga comes to an end when Monstermob shareholders vote in favor of LaNetro Zed’s proposal to take a 52 percent stake in the company. The completion of the deal ends weeks of speculation that China’s Linktone would take control of the company for $78 million, and marks the start of a major shake up of the D2C mobile content sector.

23rd April
Ntt doCoMo & napster launch unlimited mobile music service

This marks the first-ever deployment of the ground-breaking Napster Mobile service that seamlessly integrates mobile and PC, enabling users, for one low monthly fee, to access full-length songs and ringtones that can be delivered over-the-air (OTA) directly to their mobile handset for immediate listening and downloading. The service provides a blueprint for the clear convergence of Web and mobile music services, and paves the way for unique pricing and data models.

15th May
AOL enters into mobile advertising with third screen Media

The mobile advertising land grab continues with AOL snapping up mobile advertising company Third Screen Media for an undisclosed sum. The deal follows Microsoft’s acquisition of French advertising firm ScreenTonic and marks another milestone deal in a period that has seen a mad scramble for position in digital advertising.

1st June
Amp’d Mobile MVnO files Chapter 11

The dream of the content-oriented MVNO comes to an end as Amp’d Mobile files for bankruptcy protection and closes its doors a month later. The news comes just months after the high profile fall of Mobile ESPN, the Disney- owned MVNO that hoped to find a subscriber base among U.S. sports fans by delivering sports-oriented content
over the phone. Will ad-funded MVNO Blyk raise hope?

29th June
Apple launches iPhone & re-invents touch-screen technology

Steve Jobs takes the wraps off the long-awaited iPhone, a game-changing device with touch screen and a raft of features to encourage mobile browsing and content consumption. The iPhone buzz reaches Europe in the Fall, sparking a Christmas buying frenzy.

29th August
Nokia announces Ovi & a move towards internet services

Nokia reinvents itself as a mobile services company, announcing Ovi as an umbrella service for its music, games, mapping and Internet offerings. The launch ends the speculation about Nokia’s intentions in the content sector and marks a significant turning point in the handset maker’s strategy.

1st september 2007
UK. mobile payment goes live with Payforit launch

Major U.K. mobile operators jointly launch Payforit, a new payment service for mobile websites based on Vodafone m-payments. Use is limited to transactions under GBP10 and the user-experience is similar to the Internet. Could this be the initiative that jumpstarts real m-commerce development?

1st november
Nokia buys navigation mapping company navteq

Nokia pays a whopping $8.1 billion for Navteq, a satellite navigation mapping and software company. The technology is
folded into the existing Nokia Maps solution, which is spearheaded in the market by the GPS-enabled N95 Nseries device. Will this be the catalyst for mainstream location-based services (LBS) adoption?

29th november
Eu supports dVB-h mobile tV standard

The European Union formally and finally supports DVB-H as its “official” mobile TV format. The decision to support one standard is seen as an effort to promote consensus and stop market fragmentation. Signs are strong that 2008 will mark the starting point for commercial mobile TV.

by: Netsize Guide 2008 - Top 10 facts

At the moment there are more than 3.3 billion mobile phone users worldwide it makes 50% of total population, compared to 20% of internet’s. That is why experts are predicting great changes in mobile social networks’ field. According to Pyramid Research’s “Social Networking Goes Mobile” report the number of consumers worldwide using their mobile phones to access social networks will more than triple from 2010 to 2012.

As we can see from the graph below 1/3 of UK’s mobile phone users are using the device to read their e-mails. We can roughly say that most of them are business users. On the other hand 1/4 are using phones for social networking already now. These are mostly young people and it is predicted that the number will increase as well.

The demand for these services, isn’t necessarily universal, it is strong among some specific geographic and demographic groups. For example in US AT&T continues to offer a paid version of MySpace Mobile, while MySpace itself offers a free mobile version of the site and AT&T has plenty of customers for that service. Nearly 500 social network-using respondents said for the study that mobile phones were their main means of daily communication. That would appear to make social networking by mobile phone a sure hit for US teens. Teen interest in Facebooking or MySpacing by phone will likely grow through , e-marketer has given their predictions on the graph below.

I have written about pros and cons of mobile marketing, bluetooth marketing and gphone, but what is the future of mobile marketing now where Skype, Google, Yahoo! etc are trying to push the limits and bring it to the new level? It seems that 2008 may be a breakthrough for mobile marketing, but experts are in other opinion. David Verklin, CEO of Aegis Media Americas, has said that 2008 isn’t the year of mobile, 2009 will be. I think it is partly because things in mobile field have developed rapidly and people/companies just have to get use to that. At the same time majority of companies and people still don’t have a clear understanding, that is why we would need a year to digest all this information. Here are some key points why 2008 won’t be a mobile’s year.
1. Data prices are too high
2. To use newer products you can target only to people with new devices
3. Engagement post-click. Lack of ecosystem partners and campaign integration
4. Buyers still say it’s hard to make a deal
5. 2.5G isn’t fast enough
6. We still need to use mass media to drive people to concentrated places, i.e. from TV to web

But these are just a few aspects. Manish Jha the CEO of Vantrix said that his company deals with interoperability issues - they have a database of 13,000 phone types. Think about it. You may have enough of a headache building your website for PC and Mac. Or just on PC, for IE and Firefox. Or just in IE, 6 vs. 7. Think that’s bad? Try 13,000 phones.

It seems that 2008 will show us will mobile marketing stay in puberty or do a breakthrough in marketing field.

Usually people picture SMS-services as part of web 2.0 or just web based solutions, but actually it is just one side of the SMS-services. Since the number of mobile devices in increasing all the time, SMS-billing has become a value adding solution. Cell phones are always with people and that is why people can pay for park, pay in shops, order a lightening to ski-track etc all the time notwithstanding how much cash does they have in their wallet.

Finns have came out with a great idea (read a whole article). From January people who are driving along highway 1 can open public toilets by sending a SMS. They explained that as a result of continued and endemic vandalism, the Finnish Road Administration has developed a system which allows travellers to open the doors to roadside toilets only by sending a SMS message to the number given by the Road Administration. So if you want to smash the toilet you’ll have to pay for that, the best part is that it is also possible to find out who as behind the vandalism. But if it was me I would use prepaid card

Yes, of course Fortumo will be present at GSMA Mobile World Congress (former 3GSM) in Barcelona from 11-14 February.

No, we are not exhibiting. By being efficient and not wasting money on expensive stand helps us to give more money to you guys who create our services. This is what Fortumo is all about.

To set up a meeting in Barcelona or catch me over lunch or a cup of coffee, please get in touch at rain.rannu@fortumo.com

In the beginning of this week Yahoo! announced that they will offer graphical ads on T-Mobile’s Internet service, Web’n'walk.
Yahoo! has partnered with T-Mobile to offer exclusive graphical advertising on T-Mobile’s open Internet service Web’n'walk in the UK. They intend to launch the first mobile advertisements during the first half of 2008.

Phil Chapman, director, marketing, T-Mobile, said, “With conventional mobile marketing tools limiting the levels of interaction, banner advertising through the Internet on your mobile creates many opportunities for potential advertisers to adopt innovative marketing campaigns. We regard Yahoo! as a leader in display advertising, and with its deep understanding of the mobile space and the potential that mobile advertising can offer clients, we’re glad they are on board as our partners.”

Why is this announcement good? Well mobile Internet advertising seems to have a great potential in the future, since “Mobile Advertising in Europe” report by JupiterResearch revealed these facts:
* 64 per cent of marketers have planned to use banner advertising on mobile portals
* 68 per cent of marketers have planned to use banner ads on off-portal mobile Internet pages during the next 12 months.
* 58 per cent of marketers consider the mobile Internet to be the most service enabling future growth of mobile advertising

Great news for British marketers is that Yahoo! has also signed a similar deal with Vodafone, so soon Yahoo! can access to UK’s top two mobile operators.

Pay for video enables you to charge for your videos. You are able to monetize videos on your website and earn revenue from every spectator and you don’t have to worry about video hosting. You just have to have videos uploaded to Youtube or some other video sharing community. Create pay for video service, choose videos you want to monetize and embed them to your blog or website. Users send a keyword via SMS to a short code and get a password in a reply message that allows them to see the video You make profit from every SMS sent.

Why to use pay for video?
* it is really easy way to monetize your videos
* people who do not have a credit card or Paypal can see the videos
* people can stay anonymous while using your service
* service is flexible - you can always upload more videos
* you will have great database to whom you can advertise your other services directly via SMS
* you will make profit for every sms sent

Who should use pay for video?
Mainly website owners or bloggers who have interesting video-material uploaded to Youtube or other video sharing community that others might want to see and are willing to pay for it. Small movie producers or artists are able to share movie trailers or music videos with others in their website and at the same time earn revenue from that.