moblf Blog

Here’s some interesting data about Mobile Web usage, based on the recently released opera survey.

Read Write Web has a global perspective and Content Sutra has some stats for India.

At moblf, we share a vision of providing access to web services over SMS text messaging. A tall order when you think of it. But when you look at the opportunity it boils down to strategic planning and quick execution.

Some facts:

• Total mobile users: 3.5 billion (3 times more than the internet users)
• SMS Text Messaging is the biggest data application on earth
• SMS Text Messaging Revenues in 2007: $ 100 Billion (a projected growth of 25% year on year)
• 8 Billion SMS are sent every day Or 92,000 SMS sent every second
• A study by Queensland University in Australia last year found mobile phone services twice as addictive as PC based services, and text messaging to be as addictive as smoking.

SMS Text Messaging is instant, as compared to email, where an average user might not access the web for sometime. Email is opened in 24 hours and replied to in 48 hours. SMS is read within 15 minutes on average and responded within 60 minutes. 65% of email is spam and less than 10% of SMS is spam. (more here Putting 2.7 billion in context: Mobile phone users)

Only 1% of the mobile users population own a smart phone, that leaves us with the rest of the 99% who have the SMS Text Messaging feature on their phones.

Here’s how it all fits in:

Scenario 1: How about accessing your mail server via your SMS Text Messaging and keeping update on your mails? Or accessing your Facebook account or Orkut account or…the possibilities here are immense.

Scenario 2: When you walk into a restaurant or a café next and find the service or foods inappropriate, you have the option of scribbling off a quick feedback / review about the place and SMS Text Messaging to a number. How would you like it?

Right customer feedback is of great importance to businesses, there are feedback mechanisms currently, which has a chance of losing its flavor during translation. Or like most people who I have interacted with, may not choose to leave a feedback as they seldom get a feedback form or the feedback number to call is too cumbersome to dial.

Scenario 3: How about you had the option of sharing your experience of a vacation you are at? The website you took the vacation from offers you a SMS Text Messaging number for you to quickly send your review.

Travel companies will love to hear from you, other users who are looking to know about the experience will advantage from you. And as for the review, it’s coming in at real time, just as you are experiencing it!

Scenario 4: SMS Text Message your order to the fast food take away counter at the corner of your street as you wait for the traffic signal to turn green. The order is ready for you to take away as you reach the window. How would you like that?

These are a few examples of how moblf can serve consumers and prosumers via their platform. Let us know what you think of them. Also, please write to us services you think will add value if they were available on SMS Text Messaging for you to use them.

Killerstartups has written about us as a killer idea. Here’s the link

Let us know what you think? Also, if you think we have a killer idea, don’t forget to vote for us on killerstartups.com

We’ve been in a mull-mode, here at moblf; working towards a few next things, shaping up our long-term goals, so on. This for me is the innate characteristic of a startup, that one will not find elsewhere – the whole experience of evolving the product or business offering, tweaking the main idea, changing it based on user and industry inputs. I am living what Paul Graham has articulated here.

What’s the relevance of moblf to the end user, to the world of communication and to web services – this is something that has occupied a great part of our mindshare here. Moblf is a platform that brings web services on mobile, specifically over SMS text messaging. With this as the premise the opportunity is vast and the possibilities immense. Who we will cater to first, what will we offer initially, what’s a good start – these are questions we’ve been trying to answer and have found some ground too. As a platform we have the opportunity to serve consumers and prosumers simultaneously, we can serve as brand moblf and also as a customized white label enterprise solution. More on relevance of moblf in my next post!