Mobile making a move?

One of the most thoughtful new media experts on the planet is a guy named Steve Shamp. Shamp directs the New Media Institute at the University of Georgia. He runs a listserv and sends out occasional email blasts that are almost always interesting, often funny and sometimes inspiring.

Shamp is just back from the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona and he’s on fire about all that’s happening in that new media arena. Here are just a few thoughts he shared in his latest email update:

There are roughly 6.6 billion people on the planet (to make this clear I am engaging in some liberal rounding up and down). And there are 3.3 billion wireless users world-wide. Yeah, half the planet has a cell phone. How does that compare with other media? About a billion have used the internet. Although estimates range, most agree there are probably about 1.6 billion TVs and slightly more radios worldwide.

His conclusion? “Mobile is the way to communicate with the world.”

Shamp also talked about the incredible capacity of cell phones to send targeted ads, directly to these billions of users. He pointed out that there are people and companies all over the world, trying to get out front when it comes to creating innovative content for mobile devices.

My question? Are any of them journalists? Or is mobile just another media platform for which news organizations will play the “wait and see game” – following the leaders instead of becoming them?

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