The "cell mostly" generation
I'd say that I'm one of these people. Those whose preference it is to access the internet via mobile phone.
Many 'cell mostly' people lack a land line. Many more don't have a high-speed home broadband connection.
For any organisation seeking to influence people online, this is a profound development.
Experience your content as your client does
Desktop oriented businesses don't see the world from the same perspective as those of us viewing their content on a smartphone. What looks good, makes sense and works well on a large screen is confusing, frustrating and annoying on a hand held.
If you're in business and you don't have a smart phone, get one. Until you have it in your hand you may not realise what is occurring.
Google desktop made search relevant by monitoring your behaviour. Mobiles go a stage further and overlay this knowledge with location and activity. Your phone knows exactly where you are, where you have been and (to some extent) what you've been doing.
It even knows the weather, exactly where you are. If it's raining, your phone can show you the nearest place to buy an umbrella. Or suggest a coffee shop where you can take refuge.
Q. What is the consequence for your online strategy? A. Profound for most businesses.
We've long argued that website as destination has been usurped by website as a hub.
In other words, unless your website is connected to every aspect of the cloud it is a tiny desert island that may be pretty and quaint but is rarely, if ever, visited.
In this context, the 'cloud' is primarily websites and social networks, but it is beginning to include cloud applications such as salesforce, Microsoft's Office 365 and Google apps.
What is 'website as hub'?
People dip in and out of websites. Effective websites syndicate content so that it appears in multiple ways. Somebody may click a link to your site from Facebook for example. Or open a link to your site from a friend's Twitter 'tweet'.
The spokes are many and varied: social networks, favourite sites, email and apps.
Traffic that lands on your content may come from many sources. Your site becomes interactive by being part of live conversations.
Why is handheld different from desktop?
Obviously the screen is smaller, and there's a touch screen. This means that traditional web sites are generally cumbersome to use compared to 'apps' or sites designed for mobiles.
It's common for content to be 'aggregated'. This means that content from multiple web sites is available in a single place. This allows the user to view a headline and synopsis before deciding whether to 'drill down' into the content.
A leading example of this is Flipboard. Users can add content from any source (including websites) and will be alerted when fresh content appears.
While your website is no longer a 'destination' for the user, you have increased the reach of your message dramatically. If your content is liked, it can literally be 'liked' on Facebook, tweeted on twitter or emailed/sms'd to a friend.
Getting the balance right
Decisions have to be made about what content appears on which version of your website: desktop, mobile, tablet and app (if your content is app-friendly).
If you are viewing this post on mobile, you are seeing less than 20% of the available content on this website. Why? Because the volume, format and type of content that works to get actions on a desktop simply doesn't work on a handheld. Since we are interested in actions (what you do as a result of interacting with us), we (try) to create valuable experiences for all devices.