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Switching to a Blackberry

By Hope Needles

Since trading in my regular mobile phone for a Blackberry eight months ago, I have become increasingly aware of changes in my Internet search patterns, email exchanges and overall media consumption. Before switching to a Blackberry, my cell phone was extremely limiting in helping me to connect with others. I mainly used it to call my family and friends, and to make last-minute arrangements. My cell phone also served as my go-to device for emergency situations — if I ever needed a phone number for a cab, a nearby hospital or pharmacy, I had these numbers programmed into my phone. As a cell phone user, I never became accustomed to text messaging because I found the keypad too small to navigate. My reluctance to use SMS, therefore, always made it hard to send directions or short messages to people, particularly in situations like movie theaters, classrooms, and libraries, where it would have been inappropriate to make a personal phone call.

Now that I have a Blackberry, I find that my communication habits have improved considerably. Because my Blackberry is synched with my email inbox via IMAP, I am constantly notified of incoming messages without having to check for them myself. I am now able to directly reply to these emails anywhere using my phone and can better integrate all of the contact information (work/cell phone numbers and email addresses) for personal contacts. There used to be many occasions when I would not leave my computer for an extended period of time, in cases when I was expecting email. Now I realize that I spend much more time away from home and no longer feel burdened by my computer’s email inbox.

I am certainly not alone in embracing the benefits of using a Blackberry or smartphone for email exchanges and Internet searches. According to a report from the Pew Research Center, almost two-thirds of Americans have now had some experience with using the Internet on their mobile devices. About 60% of adults ages 18 to 29 use text messaging on a daily basis, compared with only 14% of their parents. Furthermore, about one-third of young adults are now using mobile Internet.

These shifting media habits have led online advertising agencies and major internet portals like Google to experiment with how best to deliver content via mobile Internet connections. Google is now taking significant steps to revamp its mobile advertising so that it has as much of an impact, if not greater, than that of ads delivered on computer screens.

A major redesign of Google’s new operating system, Android, is also underway to allow for more openness and functionality for mobile Internet users. Many tech experts predict that this new interface will integrate nicely with mobile ads and appeal directly to consumers on the go. The world’s largest chip maker Intel is also interested in creating microprocessors with Internet capabilities for mobile devices and other gadgets.

The highly personalized features of a cell phone are becoming extremely valuable for Internet advertisers, who can draw upon a wealth of data to study content consumption patterns. Behavioral targeting data collection, for example, is one of these methods being used by companies to develop a profile of the mobile Internet consumer, which can then be analyzed to determine what content delivers the biggest punch via a small, portable screen.

Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 Filed under Advertising |