Why Mobilegeddonen Matters

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In 2015, we witnessed conclusive evidence that the world of desktops is a thing of the past. In a few short years, mobile is starting to show signs of dominance.  

• Mobile has overtaken desktop in google searches
• Mobile has overtaken desktop in Emails checked & first read 
• An estimated 98 billion apps will have been downloaded in 2015. 
• Increasing number of websites are being designed specifically for mobile viewers (responsive design, video content, less text). 
• Mobile penetration in parts of Asia, are opening the digital reality to millions of people for the first time, countries like India are set to participate more fully online than ever before. 

Can you think of a technology more disruptive than the Mobile device?

As crazy as it sounds, we are only at the beginning mobilegeddon. Ironically, it's the end of the world for desktops. This also means its the beginning of wearable devices, the smart watch, the smart glasses, the augmented reality/VR head-gear, holographic projections, etc. and the rise of phablets (big smartphones, nearly resembling tablets). 

While strictly speaking, Mobilegeddon is a name given by webmasters and web-developers to the Google's algorithm update of April 21, 2015. The main effect of this update is give priority to web sites that display well on smartphones and other mobile devices. The change does not affect searches made from a desktop computer or a laptop. In broader terms, it's also referring to the rise of the mobile device and a multi-device digital reality dominated by apps, simplicity of interface and functionality (Pioneered by Apple). 

Why are Apps so Popular?

Think about it, an app leads to: 

• Customer acquisition 
• Engagement and interactivity with a value proposition 
• Gamification layer and possible addiction 
• Higher customer retention 
• Customer brand association via habitual use and higher subsequent sales 

I personally am fascinated with apps, they are like an ever-changing alphabet of our mobile reality. Apps are born and die every day. Due to this startups die every day, and a few like Uber make it. 

Check some of these out: 

Productivity

News Reading

Social Networking

Entertainment

Fitness, Health & Food

Sports

Photos & Video

Shopping

Travel

Utilities

Iphone

Android

• In truth, every context of our lives is about to get gamified via mobile optimization! 
• From online dating to ecommerce! 
• From the death of traditional journalism, to instant language translation in real-time. 
• It's not just the web, its society, it's access to goods, access to services, access to people.
• Mobile Payments and scommerce is set to explode in 2016! 

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 Knowing the right app for the right context or situation is part of our "MAL" (our mobile application literacy). Young Millennials and GenZ are constantly changing apps, downloading new ones and may have a better take on this via their social circles and word of mouth than us older folk. 

Mobile apps personify the convenience of the digital age, and a more personalized interface of how we relate to context, social reality and the every increasing overlap between the digital and the real world. What we are witnessing is the gamification layer of mass psychology and engagement that is mobile. This development can be seen as a mass psychology experiment and a precursor that is in effect, preparing us for Virtual reality, Internet of Things, 3D printing, nanotechnology and Machine learning.

There will be no questioning digital evolution, it will just be, testing our neuroplasticity, teaching us to learn from the young. 

By machine learning I am referring to algorithms that will be capable of profiling the sum total of our psychology, habits, lifestyle, online browsing and even our thoughts and social choices that in the future will be an embedded part of our human-AI interface, which will likely be a direct neuro-link. Imagine a digital presence capable of advanced predictive analytics on our various personas, and further gamified layers of our digital realty, making our digital lives yet more central to our existences and our social construct & social contracts at large. 

The Siri-like intelligent personal assistant (IPA) of the future, will literally know us that well, anticipating our needs and helping us organize our lives empowering our lives in ways today in 2015, we cannot yet imagine. That kind of a AI-human symbiosis is the end-game of the mobile device addiction you now witness around you and the trans-humanistic reality of when the singularity hits around the year 2060. 

#digitalevoultion #mobile #apps #futurism #singularity #gamification #gamified #socialmedia #humanpsychology #masspsychology #neurohijacking #visualstorytelling #humaninterface #humanlayerhack

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Michael Spencer helps companies improve their content marketing, social media, viral marketing and user-generated content initiatives. He is especially interested in helping innovative startups with their digital marketing needs. 

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