On the CDB blog I wrote what I consider now my "definitive" treatise of the mobile data opportunity and why it is a klondyke or eldorado. Obviously familiar themes, the widest reach to the most users; the revenues are enormous; and the growth rates breathtaking.
But there is much more to the mobile data opportunity. So please consider this as the postscript to the story (I'm not going to repeat the CDB blog, its long..)
Mobile is also the preferrred media. I call it the 7th mass media and someoen recently said, actually mobile is the first mass media. It is nearest to us. Like I write in the book, its the first thing we see when we wakee up (and the last we see before we fall asleep). Take any young adults or youth, and give them a limit of only 3 items they can take along on your long family trip. They'll take the iPod, the Playstation Portable and their phone. But if you cut it down more, the phone will always be in the mix. Finally if you say only one item - they will pick the phone. It is the preferred device. Yet another reason why mobile data services launched for moile will be bigger success than those on any other platform.
I talked about revenues in the main story. But more important than revenues are profits. Mobile data services are incredibly profitable. The 200 billion total mobile data revenue opportunity of 2008 had over 120 billion in pure profit !!!!!!!!!! Ok, most of that is SMS text messaging profit and SMS forms half of the total pie. but still.The big billionaires of the next decade will be born in businesses with big profits.obile data again.
Then we have the addiction ! SMS text messaging proven in university studies to be as addictive as cigarette smoking. Imagine if you could somehow "bundle" newspaper sales to the consumptoin of cocaine and heroin (addictive drugs). The newspaper industry would not be in the panic it is today. Imagine if somehow technically music CD sales would be tied to cigarette sales. The music industry would instantly stop worrying about file-sharing, the napsterization of their industry. but they can't. but we can. SMS is addictive. We can stick all kinds of services onto that SMS device and ride that wave. Remember, as addictive as cigarette smoking.
There is still much more, but let me end here. If Bill Gates became the richest man on the PC industry growth rates and now we have a bigger industry growing faster with a reach to almost 100 fold larger consumer base; and we add preference, profits and addiction - all in favor of mobile, then yes, the Magical Money-Making Machine will produce the next richest person. Might even produce the full Top 10 richest people ha-ha. This is our klondyke inside an eldorado..
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