The Hollywood Reporter has prerelease numbers from Deloitte’s “State of the Media Democracy” report, and those numbers show surging growth in using cell phones for more than chatting. 20 percent of those polled said that they watch video on their phone daily or almost daily. Since that’s an average, we have to assume that the number is far higher among 13-24 year olds, 62 percent of whom now say they use their cell phones as entertainment devices. That sort of growth naturally attracts entrepreneurs who want to capitalize on the popularity of Internet-enabled mobile devices. Money can be made either by selling content directly or by selling ads on content that consumers want to view (but not badly enough to pay for). So far, advertising on mobile devices has been hampered by consumer resistance and small screen sizes, but the Deloitte study makes clear that consumers are willing to endure even intrusive ads in return for content they want. Yea verily, we are a nation of cheap sods. Content owners have been accustomed to locking down the experience on mobile devices, but opening a full connection to the web (which the iPhone, for instance, does superbly) necessarily removes much of that control. Mobile operators that have been able to offer proprietary video and chatting services (among others) at premium prices will increasingly find themselves competing with free, ad-supported offerings delivered through a device’s Internet connection. The pressure will hopefully be enough to push back strongly against proprietary lock-in and DRMed offerings. But ad-supported services on cell phones have their drawbacks, too, and some companies are hesitant to jump in. A phone can still feel uniquely personal, making the most lucrative form of advertising (highly specific, even location-based targeting) feel intrusive. The Associated Press is running an article on that very problem, in fact. After all, no advertiser wants to annoy potential customers. “It’s proceed with caution,” said Burst Media’s CEO, Jarvis Coffin, in the piece. “Are consumers going to be spooked by the idea that suddenly their phone goes beep and it’s a Starbucks offer, and they are standing next to a Starbucks?” Short answer: yes. Still, like anything else in the world, people will probably get used to more invasive cell phone ads. Google, a supremely talented data aggregator and ad sales company, has been pushing hard to enter the mobile space, rolling out projects like Android and preparing to bid on wireless spectrum early next year. Other companies are following suit. How much privacy will users be willing to trade for cheap cell phone plans or free services? We’ll start to find out next year.   source: google news http://blogs.mindbodynsoul.com http://www.currentnewsaffairs.com