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I'm calling bullshit on a strawman argument. I'm not aware of anyone who really thinks that "mobile" is the be and and end all of their channel strategy. It's

I'm calling bullshit on a strawman argument. I'm not aware of anyone who really thinks that "mobile" is the be and and end all of their channel strategy. It's just the current/next (depending on where your company is at this point) channel to go after. On the flipside, all channels are not created equally. Your mobile phone is not simply a version of your PC in your pocket. Nor is the car dashboard. All have an awful lot in common, but they also have their own specific features. Your laptop or your car is unlikely to become a replacement for your wallet at any point, for example (you could argue that your mobile phone doesn't seem to be doing that either yet, but you know what I mean). And there's plenty of things that make sense to implement on big PC or tablet screen, but make far less sense on a phone screen etc. So while no-one should have a "mobile-only" strategy (which pretty much no-one does anyway), having a "mobile-specifc" angle to your overall channel strategy is entirely sensible.

marknutter 14y ago
> I'm not aware of anyone who really thinks that "mobile" is the be and and end all of their channel strategy > So while no-one should have a "mobile-only" strategy (which pretty much no-one does anyway) Path, Snapchat, Color, Flipboard, Pair, Yardsale, Rumgr, etc. There are lots more, those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.
- prof_hobart 14y ago
  Do you really think that none of them are looking at other platforms? Most of the ones I know on that list are already on at least tablet as well, and I would be amazed if someone there isn't at least thinking about future channels (whether that be smart TV, Google Glass or whatever).
  - marknutter 14y ago
    There's a big difference between thinking about other platforms and actually supporting other platforms. Users typically don't care what a company is thinking of doing; they care what they're doing.
    - prof_hobart 14y ago
      The article (and my reply) were about companies long term strategies, not what platforms they currently target.
      - marknutter 14y ago
        Path is been out for how long now? Flipboard? Still mobile only. Of course, that depends on what you mean by "long term strategies" but in the internet startup world I strategies don't tend to be that long term.
        prof_hobart 14y ago
        Pretty certain I've got an optimised version of Flipboard on my tablet. Path I haven't got on my tablet, but there's an optimised version available if I want it. What other existing types of platform would you expect their services to be on at the moment? Flipboard for one almost certainly wouldn't make a great deal of sense as a web app. That doesn't mean that they aren't considering whether it would look good on a gesture-controlled internet TV, or on Google Glass.
        marknutter 14y ago
        I guess I consider tablets mobile devices. But even so, my other examples still hold and there are lots more out there who focus only on smartphones and usually only iPhones.
        prof_hobart 14y ago
        Mobile as a general term covers most of the things that the article is talking about - Google Glass, car dashboards etc are all "mobile" technologies. If he means that wider term, then the article is even more stupid, so I can only assume he's referring to mobile phones specifically. And again, what a company has in market now bears little relationship to what they have in their strategy. As far as "new" channels, my company currently only has a phone app , but we are regularly considering where we might want to go next. And I've not yet talked to a single supplier of any phone technology who isn't at least thinking about the future outside of that one channel (and I talk to a lot of suppliers).
robmclarty 14y ago
I don't think the OP's point is a strawman, but a redirection of focus. I've seen it in my own clients. They get wrapped up in the buzz of 'mobile' and forget that they have a website, an email list, print material, trade-show booths, and product packaging which all contribute to their overall brand. They blow their budget making a native mobile app for every platform and the rest of their efforts are neglected. 'Mobile strategy' is one (of many) important parts of a company's overall effort. But I think the OP is trying to say that it shouldn't be treated as more important (or solely focused on) compared to the many other channels one can leverage. I agree that a business's focus should be it's customers, ubiquitously, without such heavy weight placed just on 'mobile'.

marknutter 14y ago

> I'm not aware of anyone who really thinks that "mobile" is the be and and end all of their channel strategy > So while no-one should have a "mobile-only" strategy (which pretty much no-one does anyway) Path, Snapchat, Color, Flipboard, Pair, Yardsale, Rumgr, etc. There are lots more, those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

prof_hobart 14y ago
Do you really think that none of them are looking at other platforms? Most of the ones I know on that list are already on at least tablet as well, and I would be amazed if someone there isn't at least thinking about future channels (whether that be smart TV, Google Glass or whatever).
- marknutter 14y ago
  There's a big difference between thinking about other platforms and actually supporting other platforms. Users typically don't care what a company is thinking of doing; they care what they're doing.
  - prof_hobart 14y ago
    The article (and my reply) were about companies long term strategies, not what platforms they currently target.
    - marknutter 14y ago
      Path is been out for how long now? Flipboard? Still mobile only. Of course, that depends on what you mean by "long term strategies" but in the internet startup world I strategies don't tend to be that long term.
      - prof_hobart 14y ago
        Pretty certain I've got an optimised version of Flipboard on my tablet. Path I haven't got on my tablet, but there's an optimised version available if I want it. What other existing types of platform would you expect their services to be on at the moment? Flipboard for one almost certainly wouldn't make a great deal of sense as a web app. That doesn't mean that they aren't considering whether it would look good on a gesture-controlled internet TV, or on Google Glass.
        marknutter 14y ago
        I guess I consider tablets mobile devices. But even so, my other examples still hold and there are lots more out there who focus only on smartphones and usually only iPhones.
        prof_hobart 14y ago
        Mobile as a general term covers most of the things that the article is talking about - Google Glass, car dashboards etc are all "mobile" technologies. If he means that wider term, then the article is even more stupid, so I can only assume he's referring to mobile phones specifically. And again, what a company has in market now bears little relationship to what they have in their strategy. As far as "new" channels, my company currently only has a phone app , but we are regularly considering where we might want to go next. And I've not yet talked to a single supplier of any phone technology who isn't at least thinking about the future outside of that one channel (and I talk to a lot of suppliers).

robmclarty 14y ago

I don't think the OP's point is a strawman, but a redirection of focus. I've seen it in my own clients. They get wrapped up in the buzz of 'mobile' and forget that they have a website, an email list, print material, trade-show booths, and product packaging which all contribute to their overall brand. They blow their budget making a native mobile app for every platform and the rest of their efforts are neglected. 'Mobile strategy' is one (of many) important parts of a company's overall effort. But I think the OP is trying to say that it shouldn't be treated as more important (or solely focused on) compared to the many other channels one can leverage. I agree that a business's focus should be it's customers, ubiquitously, without such heavy weight placed just on 'mobile'.