Do You Mobile Web??

According to recent studies mobile web usage is swelling.

The report, researched and released by In-Stat, forecasts that by 2012 more than 229.5 million people worldwide could be using mobile social networking services.

Social networking aside, IBM estimates that by 2011 the number of mobile Web users worldwide will approach one billion, a 191 percent increase from 2006, according to a study released last week.

When I moved to New York three years ago all of the attorneys at the firm I work for had a Blackberry that they used largely for work purposes. People you saw on the train with them were obviously using them for work as well. Today, not only do the attorneys have them, the secretaries, messengers and receptionists all have them and it's not because of work, it is purely for pleasure. I love my Crackberry. I use it for email all day long, in class if I need to look something up via Google quickly and for other random purposes. Wanna know if it's raining? Crackberry. Need to see if tickets are still available for that event this weekend? Crackberry. Bored on the train and need something to do?? Crackberry!!! People at school have them, people at church have them, they're everywhere. The world really is at our fingertips.

So the Point Is???

It means that if I were you, I would seriously consider advertising on the mobile Web. The In-Stat report estimates that businesses will spend $1.5 billion in mobile Web advertising this year, but that’s only a small fraction of the $486 billion expected to be spent on advertising as a whole.

In a few years nearly one billion people will be carrying Web access with them everywhere they go. That’s quite an audience, so capture it now. It’s true that the mobile Web still has a few kinks to work out, but it’s going to take off, sooner rather than later.

I don't know how I feel about this. I wouldn't want pop-up ads ruining my love of my mobile web device.