Katie Fehrenbacher at GigaOM posted an article on mobile advertising. I suggest you all take a look here. The article summed up the recent acquisitions and movements in the mobile space and asks the question, is there too much hype around mobile? Here is my response.
The dollar amount does not intrigue me as much as the strategic choice to make decisions appropriate to mobile advertising. (Disclosure: I have worked for a few mobile advertising companies since 2000.) I cannot tell you how excited I am that this discussion is happening now. I started in mobile advertising in 2000 (with all the hype and press), and then people were promising the world. Now in 2007, things are just beginning to deliver on the promises of years ago. Critical mass has been met in terms of the number of users of the mobile Internet (and that term includes ringtones and wallpapers as well as browsing) and the eyeballs are there to make advertisers interested in this medium. It is different. It is unique. There is a lot of education ahead of us in the industry. But still, they know mobile is here, and they are INTERESTED! Let’s educate them appropriately.