Nearly 5 years ago, I predicted that mobile search was going to be the freedom fighter of mobile. I said that it would empower brands, agencies and vendors to find far reaching and innovative business models.
I raved about the potential of mobile search and the mobile web, and how mobile search services such as find.mobi would revolutionise mobile.
Yesterday, I would have said that I am not wrong and that it can still happen. But today I had a phone-call with a mobile search company that has put its most innovative business model in the bin, and replaced it with an adult content and porn plan… and now I fear…
I was wrong.
People in the know from ad networks are telling me that 80% of the mobile web is adult or porn. That is where the money is.
Now, this is important. I am not talking about money for ad-networks. I am talking about money for mobile start-ups that have received seed or early stage investment.
After the critical 18 months stage – ROI needs to be close in order not to fail. However, the return isn’t happening. Venture Capital providers are banging on the door – but funds are low and ROI is vital.
Truth be told, adult is showing ROI in mobile. The personal mobile device is indeed extremely personal and the ability to take it everywhere might be reaching needs or parts the TV, Video, DVD or bedroom just don’t.
I popped on my rose tinted glasses and took a little tour in mobile web adult space. These three areas seemed to be extremely popular:
Adult dating, gay search and user generated mobile content.
Adult Dating: This is the oddball style dating where strangers play strip poker, play games and tell virtual stories revealing only what they want from their identity.
Gay Search: I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I saw gay search as a real life proof that mobile search did have amazing potential. Focusing on keywords (including the obscure) the adult search services based on vertical keywords rocked. I typed in “beard” and I got several options (video, image, text) on every oddball type of bearded gay person going.
User generated adult content: I am warning you, don’t go here if you are naive. This user generated search is for the frustrated. It is generally very low cost or free but full of adverts and pictures of bits and bobs of men and women.
I personally didn’t like this –but I could see the attraction as any female or male could escalate to high heights very quickly via a random like/ don’t like or download image trackback scheme that puts the viral into adult.
I did feel like a trespasser in the adult space (being a family woman with two kids… I have an urgency to say that all of a sudden!!) but strangely adult is a success story for several visionary mobile concepts.
Search rocks, but on top of that I have seen a completely new case for user generated mobile content.
One that when I logged on was also being visited by several hundred people?! Yikes, several hundred people globally on a mobile adult user generated content site?
Isn’t that proof that mobile is a success and it will get there – even if adult is the early adopter. Maybe I still will be right? My fingers are crossed.
It might be of interest for you to have a look at this paper presented by google at the WWW2009 conference.
http://www2009.org/proceedings/pdf/p801.pdf
It points out some very interesting findings on search trends, particularly relating to the choice of content for iphone users versus other cell users. It points to interesting possibilities about users becoming more conventional as their mobiles become more capable.
“People in the know from ad networks are telling me that 80% of the mobile web is adult or porn. That is where the money is.”
That is where 80% of the money is, now. That is where google isn’t, now. So whether it will change is a good question – will the mobile web grow up into something different or just develop an even bigger appetite for this?
Surely not 80% of the content or use of the mobile web is adult, it’s just that the rest of the mobile hasn’t been as lucrative yet, and mobile payment methods might affect that.
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I can confirm that mobile, now, is generally slanted toward adult content. Looking at search trends for business directory, it was easy to see that the online version of the site yielded mostly ‘legitimate’ search requests: flowers; plumbers; automotive services; retail; etc, whereas the mobile version of the same directory was clouded with adult queries in the top 10 searches: escorts; massage; brothels; adult entertainment etc.
I do believe that this is largely due to the personal nature of the device. I haven’t read article above (from UberAlex), but I wouldn’t be surprised to see adult content to increase as device capability improves.
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Porn is easily found and the fact that mobi devices are being attracted is no big surprise. I try to use my time more wisely. For example, did you know that you can actually make money promoting to these mobi devices? See for yourself. http://www.mobicashcow.com
Take care and stay away from the porn it will only rot your brain.
Ray