www.mobile-ent.biz
I
’ve got thisapocalyptic theoryabout web 2.0. Atfirst it was just runningaround my head, anagging doubt thatwouldn’t go away. SlowlyI began to share it withfrightened-lookingcolleagues. Then, I began to see others voicingsimilar thoughts. Perhaps I’m not delusionalafter all. Perhaps web 2.0 really is set for analmighty crash. A bit like, well, web 1.0.My utter lack of faith in the current state of these new social media services began atMobile World Congress as I fielded incessantquestions about Twitter. I wasn’t a user then. Iam now. Got to admit, it can be fun, but I stilldon’t get where the cash is coming from. Icannot conceive any meaningful revenuestream otherthanadvertising.And as we’veseen fromYouTube andFacebook –eachimmeasurably more sticky than Twitter – adrevenue is incapable of paying the bills.What’s more, those bills are rising. YouTubeand Facebook add users and content at adizzying rate every day. But many of the newparticipants are from emerging markets, andtherefore lack the disposable income to interestadvertisers. Pure cost, in other words.We can all construct elaborate theories aboutnew business models, the power of free, etc,but in the end someone’s got to pay. So is itreally that outlandish to wonder whether thesesites will soon say: that’s it you lot, pay us $5 amonth or we’re going bust. It’s a topsy-turvyworld where people pay £50 a month for asatellite TV subscription they hardly ever watch,but baulk at the mere mention of a fee for aservice they organise their lives around.So where does mobile stand in relation tothis? Well, it could be a salvation of sorts. Onmobile you can charge for bulk messaging,create mini games based on micro-payment,even chuck a few quid on the monthly sub foraccess. Operators already do it for Skype andSpinvox. It’s not that outlandish.So there it is, out in the open: without drasticaction web 2.0 is f**ked. I could get used tothis plain speaking. Next month I will explainwhy The Rolling Stones are now, and havealways been, tedious fakes.
Tim.Green@intentmedia.co.uk
Dotcom crash 2.0?
We can all construct theories about new business models,but in the end someone has to pay.
ISSUE 52
June 09
News
4-6
Reference SectionFeatures
June 2009
3
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Already a massive presence in transactionsand ads, MIG turns its attention to sitebuilding and apps with Kilrush.
19 Testing, testing
What does the app store era mean for thosespecialising in porting, QA and localisation?We found out.
23 App Store milestone
The iPhone App Store attracted one billiondownloads in nine months; the contentindustry will never be the same.
Coming up to ayear for the App Store!
9 ME Awards kick-off
The categories are confirmed. Get yourentries in. Gotta be in it to win it.
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