The Digital Movement

I had the chance to meet Tomi Ahonen over lunch. Tomi’s a bestselling author and he is also an independent consultant and motivational speaker. He’s an expert in the converging areas of of mobile telecoms, internet, media, advertising, credit and banking, and virtual reality. Tomi speaks at about 20 conferences a year, and is based in Hong Kong. (Website: www.tomiahonen.com Blog: www.communities-dominate.blogs.com)

So I’m going to give you guys an insight to what’s going to be in Tomi’s new book: 7 reasons why mobile beats any other forms of media.

1. The mobile phone is a personal device. According to Tomi, at least 60% of the world’s mobile phone users do not share their phone with other people, even their spouses. So given how intimate the mobile phone device is, it’s a very accurate device on determining the number of users using a particular network or software app.
2. Mobile phone is the only personal media that is carried all the time. Our dependence on the mobile phone shows how important the device is to the consumer. Even when you’re asleep, a number of people carry the mobile phone to bed, or leave it somewhere within reach.
3. It is the only media that is always on, no matter where you go. That’s the reason why there can be a constant stream of information to the phone. For example, a user can constantly receive news feeds from a number of sources on the go.
4. The handheld device is the only form of media with a built in payment system. It’s basically a touch and go platform as compared to systems on the internet which uses credit card information or services like paypal. And obviously, other media like the TV and radio has absolutely no forms of payment.
5. The mobile phone is a ready made device that facilitates user generated content. It is great for that very moment of inspiration or creative impulse, so you can just take a video, a photo or do an audio recording before the moment slips away.
6. It also has the most accurate user measurement. As compared to the TV which has 1% accuracy, or even the internet with 10%, the mobile phone has a 90% accuracy of user measurement. This is in terms of measuring number of users and who these users actually are.
7. Finally, the cell phone is the only device that captures the social context of consumption. An example which was brought up talks about 2 communicating users using sms to discuss about a particular TV show. Let’s say one of them did an interactive action on the program (eg. sms voting), we can be sure that both these mobile phone users are actually watching the show. This concept is pretty new and takes some time to sink in, but it really allows us to understand our customers.

Tomi talked about other interesting topics such as the co-creation or user generated advertisements, where people actually call in and ask for more advertisements to be displayed. It’s the co-created experience where the most relevant word comes in, communities. He also enlightened me about the different statistics and trends the mobile industry is moving in the different regions and countries around the world.

Do go check out Tomi’s blog, or just grab his latest book, Communities Dominate Brands.