Casting Off Our Desktop Shackles

Casting Oﬀ Our Desktop Shackles
Jason Grigsby • @grigs • cloudfour.com
Slides: bit.ly/shackles-wvpdx

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/theroadisthegoal/372137752/

Follow along
@grigs_talks
bit.ly/shackles-wvpdx

After event: @grigs

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/stevegarﬁeld/4247757731/

There is no mobile web.

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/robboudon/6035811624/

I’m conflicted.

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/tudor/4324056624/

There are valid reasons to question mobile context.

And despite that, I can’t help but feel…
http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/bourguiboeuf/5364614975/

We’re limiting ourselves.

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/lintmachine/2306383943/

1. Mobile doesn
’t mean taking th
ings away.
http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/quinnanya/4599750124/

Don’t Skip Core Functionality

How Do I Add an RSS Feed to My RSS Reader?

1024 x 768: Still No Way to Add RSS

URLs should go to content, not mobile home.

Great mobile site. Good luck finding it.

But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in observing
people on their mobile devices, it’s that they’ll
do anything on mobile if they have the need.

Write long emails? Check. Manage complex sets
of information? Check. And the list goes on.

If people want to do it, they’ll do it on mobile -
especially when it’s their only or most
convenient option.
—Luke Wroblewski
lukew.com/ﬀ/entry.asp?1333
http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/emmacox/6095336904/

2. Our vision of mobile
context is often wrong.

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/brunauto/5062644167/

80% during
misc downtime

76% while
waiting in lines

62% while
watching TV

69% for point of
sale research

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/missmeng/5327470961

TMI: 39% use phone
on the toilet.

Yes, we can’t know
the mobile context.

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/timcaynes/158599960/

But that doesn’t
mean mobile isn’t
unique and powerful.

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/sparktography/2485147794/

1. Printing press

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/buschap/3917984966/

2. Recordings

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/taviona/278461610/

3. Cinema

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/m4tik/4687194723/

4. Radio

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/kt/249301268/

5. Television

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/simon_aughton/2178768452/

6. Internet

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/lecates/454787692/

7. Mobile

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/djwudi/382030798/

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/pedestriantype/4789244416/

Mobile’s Eight
Unique Abilities

1. PERSONAL

63% do not
share phone
http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/fchouse/2829381653/

~50% of US admit to
sleeping with phone

2. PERMANENTLY
CARRIED http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/kk/3615287378/

3. ALWAYS ON http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/gilderic/3517477267/

5. CREATIVE
IMPULSE http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/d_a_v_i_d_m_/246298437/

6. ACCURATE
MEASUREMENT

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/memotions/259656126/

7. SOCIAL CONTEXT http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/mythoto/1234638761/

8. AUGMENTED
REALITY

http://issuu.com/mkparsley/docs/ikea

Mobile is the most borg-like
technology we’ve ever seen

Inspiring

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/asphericlens/5661878892/

“When a new medium borrows from an existing
one, some of what it borrows makes sense, but
much of the borrowing is thoughtless, ‘ritual’,
and often constrains the new medium. Over
time, the new medium develops its own
conventions, throwing oﬀ existing conventions
that don’t make sense.”

—John Allsopp, Dao of Web Design

What are we borrowing from the previous
medium—the PC Internet—that doesn’t make
sense for mobile?

And can an article written for a previous
medium really be the key to a new one?

“The history of mobile phones has been a long
slow process of copying what works on the
desktop and then sheepishly realizing that it just
doesn’t quite work right.”

—Scott Jenson

320 px

Too much focus on
the smaller screen.

TV resolution reinforces this idea
1980 px
1080 px

This is
HDTV

Why do we need to
look at our phones to
get directions?

One vibration for left.
Two for right.

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/williamhook/4225307113

Old saying in
mobile:

Asia is two
years ahead…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/romainguy/3673700251/

of Europe
which is two
years ahead…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/djou/2079730487

of the United States.

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/davearquati/459024208/

“My impression is that there was no computers
anymore. Only tablets and phones.”

“Some Apple devices, but not that much. Most
of the smartphones are Samsung and HTC
phones (no surprise here), but also a *lot* of
feature phones and not-that-smart-phones (old
smart phones). ”

It’s fairly
certain that the
highest-value
use will stay
predominantly
on desktop.
—Jakob Nielsen

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/dplanet/82899080/

Most complex tasks have vastly better user
experience on the desktop and thus will be
performed there. I'm talking anything from
researching your next car purchase to learning
about a new medical condition (and its associated
pharmaceuticals) to managing your investment
portfolio. Yes, you might enter a stock trade with
your broker's mobile app, but you'll research new
mutual funds on the desktop.
—Jakob Nielsen

http://www.millennialmedia.com/wp-content/images/mobilemix/MM-MobileMix-Dec2010.pdf

Unlimited Voice, Text and Web for $40/mo.

The Post-PC Era Didn’t
Start with the iPad

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/acaben/541334636/

It started in Asia with
mobile phones and spread to
developing countries.

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/jamesjustin/3914923307

GSMA Predictions for End of 2011
Connections YoY
% Total Largest Market
(millions) Growth %

Asia-Paciﬁc 3,019 50% 17% China (961M)

Africa 648 11% 18% Nigeria (99M)

Americas 627 10% 11% Brazil

E.Europe 541 9% 6% Russia (231M)

W.Europe 539 9% 3% Germany (112M)

USA/Canada 367 6% 9% USA (340M)

Middle East 330 5% 11% Iran (82M)

World 6,071 100% 13%

Oﬃcially #2
mobile region.

“Out of every
100 people, 65
have some
form of mobile
connectivity.”

Africa has
more in
common with
Asia than Asia
does with the
United States.

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/ict4d/3068105816/

slideshare.net/CMSummit/ms-internet-trends060710final

Thanks Steve Souders!

nytimes.com/2011/04/18/technology/18mobile.html

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/kiwanja/3169447879

20% of Kenya’s GDP sent
through mobile banking.

We often get asked how much to add mobile
to desktop. It should be the opposite.

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/stephenhackett/3728570312

Mobile is the most important technology
since the printing press.

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/rhadley/3527304106/

UN urging more mobile
for developing countries.

A 2005 London Business School study
found that for every additional 10 mobile

phones per 100 people in a developing

country, GDP rises by 0.5%.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jul/24/mobile-phones-africa-microfinance-farming

Cellscope puts microscopes in remote areas.

World changing tech. Not just for the aﬄuent.

World changing tech. Not just for the aﬄuent.

Android Phones Help Poor Farmers in Uganda

Afghan Women Tolerate Beating for Cell Phones in Emerging Market

Cambodia: Using text messaging as weapon in malaria war

U.N. plan provides mobile numbers to poor with Cloud Number

Information helps combat food insecurity in Kenya

3 million poor in Africa and South Asia to gain access to mobile phone numbers

India Turns to Mobile Phones in Bid to Improve Vaccination Rate

Tanzanian farmers report improved yields via SMS

http://dstorey.tumblr.com/post/10045571079/mobiledominance

According to California-based mobile-banking
innovator Carol Realini, executive chairman of

Obopay: “Africa is the Silicon Valley of

banking. The future of banking is being defined
here… It’s going to change the world.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jul/24/mobile-phones-africa-microfinance-farming

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/whiteafrican/2888960873

And really, is the United States that diﬀerent?

Or is the story simply not being told?
http://mobithinking.com/mobile-marketing-tools/latest-mobile-stats#mobile-only

Understanding
mobile as the
primary and
sometimes only
device…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/e4a-2030/5106562313

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/goobi/4021009835/

is diﬃcult when we spend so much time on our PCs.

We’re just scratching
Sensor Capabilities
the surface of what
• Location detection: GPS, WiFi, cell towers
these sensors can do.
• Orientation: direction from a digital compass
• Device positioning & motion: from an accelerometer
• Audio: input from a microphone; output to speaker
• Video & image: capture/input from a camera
• Device connections: through Bluetooth between devices
• Proximity: device closeness to physical objects
• Ambient Light: light/dark environment awareness
• RFID reader: identify & track objects with broadcasted identifiers
• Multi-touch sensors
• Haptic feedback: “feel” different surfaces on a screen
• Biometrics: retinal, fingerprint, etc.
• Push: real-time notifications “instant” to user

27

Highly recommend Luke Wroblewski’s First Person User Experience
Presentation at http://www.lukew.com/presos/preso.asp?21

Is there a mobile web?


Is mobile a new mass media?


What about mobile web?


If mobile is a new medium, then
the mobile web is a bit of a half-
breed – it is part mobile medium
and part internet medium so it
inherits traits from both.
—Tim Kadlec

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/meredithfarmer/377846740/

A common element in many of the more futuristic
stories are devices that are most comparable to mobile
phones – always with you, always on. They don’t stop
there though. They respond to context of environment
and adapt based on the users behavioral history – they
create a truly personalized and responsive user
experience regardless of the situation.
—Tim Kadlec

A common element in many of the more futuristic
stories are devices that are most comparable to mobile
phones – always with you, always on. They don’t stop
there though. They respond to context of environment
Where have I heard this recently?
and adapt based on the users behavioral history – they
create a truly personalized and responsive user
experience regardless of the situation.
—Tim Kadlec

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/adactio/6301799843

Upcoming Zombie Apocalypse of Devices

http://www.slideshare.net/scottjenson/mobile-apps-must-die

Just-in-time
interaction

http://www.slideshare.net/scottjenson/mobile-apps-must-die

today’s just in case web + apps
(now with added experience)

“ Our apps offer the best experience...
(so please download, install and keep
them updated, just in case that time
comes...we promise you won’t regret it)

support
information

products
shopping

shopping

brand
infotainment web site
native infotainment
social
tool
apps
tools

tool corporate PR

jobs
investor

news

Thanks to Stephanie Rieger for these brilliant slides. http://www.slideshare.net/yiibu/reset-the-web

...but I don’t want to
own your app, I want
to own the possibility
space of your app.

http://www.slideshare.net/yiibu/reset-the-web
Paraphrased from Mike Kuniavsky @ Webdirections South http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/zenilorac/698514624

tomorrow's just in time web
(because everything is connected)

I’d like to use whatever device I have
on-hand to learn more about this thing/
tool/service/place (right here and right
now)...please show me what I can do.

support

information

tools

Like+
smart thing

http://www.slideshare.net/yiibu/reset-the-web

“ ...a world where our devices load
applications opportunistically
as we need them, in real time.

The technological model for this...
is web pages. But these will be web
pages with advanced functionality that
can be accessed seamlessly from
remote or local networks—and even
from other mobile devices.
- Scott Jenson on Forbes: Apps are over

http://www.slideshare.net/yiibu/reset-the-web http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/keepwaddling1/3048726936/

We look at mobile as a small screen
version of the our computers…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/bendodson/3367856091

when we should be looking
at mobile as so much more.

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/whiteafrican/3401121885

Jason Grigsby • @grigs • cloudfour.com
Slides: bit.ly/shackles-wvpdx

We wrote a book. WebVisions has on sale.

M on
ob d
M
ile ay,
Po 6p
rtl m
an
d
We wrote a book. WebVisions has on sale.

Casting Off Our Desktop Shackles

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