I am not sure exactly how this happened, but after a pleasant interregnum, we seem to be back in the throes of gadget lust. The iPad, of course, is the poster child for unreasonable tech cravings, but recent gushery over 3D TVs, eBook readers and smart phones real and promised underscores the return of the toy. Perhaps I just wasn't paying close enough attention during the recession, or maybe gadget porn was humbled by the downturn, but it smells like Tech Spirit again.» 0 Comments
"I will be 18. Legally an adult." My daughter, who now drives up in her Honda Civic and pores over her buzzing BlackBerry with the intensity of any middle manager, is coming of age in the next few weeks. She and her friends are trying to celebrate their group emancipation with a major road trip this summer across country. Dad, terrified, of course, is trying to figure out what the wireless plan is -- so I know how and where to airlift little Miss Legally Independent out of trouble. How about an iPad 3G? It will have mapping so she ...» 0 Comments
Can an online display ad make you cry? Well, sure -- when the creative is as crushingly poor as most of the advertising we have been seeing since the dubious invention of the "banner" in the mid-1990s. It makes me tear up a bit, if only in despair over the lost opportunity.» 0 Comments
In some sense publishers are in the same boat as marketers when it comes to mobile media. Their position may be worse, in fact. They have to invest money and allocate resources well in advance of returns. But like marketers, they have to make the basic decision on what this medium will be worth, and when changes will occur.» 0 Comments
"He's cute." Those are two of the worst words a father can hear from a teen daughter when the family is out and about. Once a boy and girl of that age make eye contact and go into flirt mode, you can bet that your evening in the mall or at a restaurant, a ball game - whatever - is about to get hijacked. But it only gets compounded when your own partner joins in. "Yeah, he is cute." In one of those creepy episodes that turn an evening at Red Lobster into a regrettable adventure, the two of them ...» 0 Comments
The local mobile ads that I see coursing through the apps and mobile Web sites leave a lot to be desired. Google's ad bug is unappealing and the ads feel pretty random. Local directory and discovery provider Where seemed to feel the same way about the ads it was getting from the ad nets -- so it took steps to change things.» 0 Comments
The one thing you can almost always count on at the Oscars is that the documentary film winners are the likeliest to make a political statement that will make everyone uncomfortable and cue the orchestra for an early speech cut-off. But I have to say even I wasn't expecting someone to hold up a sign with a short code in the middle of an acceptance speech.» 0 Comments
I suspect that Facebook and Twitter use (up 347% last year on phones) is just a leading indicator of a tipping point: In important categories of use, the mobile experience is quickly becoming better than the Web experience. There are already four or five things my handheld does better than my desktop....» 0 Comments
All I did was click on a mobile banner ad and suddenly I found myself watching a grainy, badly lit video of a doctor from my own town discussing the simplicity of some corrective surgery procedure.» 0 Comments
Steve Smith
Steve Smith is the editor of Mobile Marketing Daily at MediaPost where he covers all aspects of the mobile landscape and writes the daily MoBlog and regular Mobile Insider columns. He also programs the OMMA Mobile/Display/Data and Behavioral series of shows and the Mobile Insider Summits. A recovering academic who taught media studies at Brown and University of Virginia, he spent the last decade as a digital media critic for numerous publications and as consultant. He also writes for Media Industry Newsletter and eContent magazine. Contact him here.
