September 30th I attended MoMo Boston held at the Boston Harbor Hotel where there was the usual meet and greet of some of the finest minds in America but also a great panel discussion regarding mobile advertising, mobile platforms, the best types of phones, etc. Needless to say, out of a room of 200, there were probably 11 women. Oh well – it meant more white wine for me. And NO! I do not JUST go for the open bar – Jeez.
My reason for attending was compounded by the fact that one of the speakers was a young lad I watched accept an award with MITX for his brainchild – SCVNGR. SCVNGR is a revolutionary online mobile game for large scavenger hunts. Seth Priebatsch, the 20 year old CEO (dropped out of Princeton to start the company) fielded questions regarding the state of mobile along with fellow panelists from Getjar, Runkeeper, and Quattro Wireless.
The consensus:
• There are a LOT of mobile applications – some who last only days before being tossed aside by users.
• Mobile advertising is the future of the market.
• There are a lot of new styles of android phone coming out – 35 to be exact – but that means the need for strong UI/UX is HUGE.
• And the smart phone is here to stay.
Everyone is obsessed with smart phone technology. To prove this point - a lot has been written about iPhone addictions. There are even YouTube clips and hilarious blogs about it. However – I have first hand knowledge. OH YES friends. I have been given the “iphone shoulder.” Recently I was at a party and 4 out of the 6 participants in a card game not only sent continual text messages but all 4 whipped out their iphones to compare apps – this one downloaded a really cool way to scan his gym membership. And this one found a great way to keep track of his diet. ETC. ETC. ETC. ETC. ETC. All the while, none realized that they couldn’t even “unplug” for a 30 minute card game. Now if it was Monopoly, it could be forgiven. That game lasts for days!
Back to Momo: Worldwide there is some discrepancy regarding which platform is best. But the big take away – MOBILE ADVERTISING. I walked away from the event with some new knowledge regarding some AWESOME technology partnerships coming out – ie. You’re doing an online mobile event, and you haven’t eaten – well….. wouldn’t you know it. Your phone just sent you 3 restaurants within walking distance. GENIUS! Or you’re seeing a movie, and you use Goby.com to create your next adventure by quickly searching the vast expanses of the Internet from your phone. This could make living life spontaneously far more tolerable.
Did I leave feeling slightly less intelligent? You betcha.
Am I tempted to buy an iPhone – I plead the 5th.
