Report: U.S. mobile web growth triples
June 5, 2007According to a new study issued by mobile content platform developer Bango, U.S. mobile web usage grew threefold over the past year. Bango reports that the U.K. market leads all mobile web usage at 27 percent, followed by the U.S. at 21 percent, South Africa at 11 percent, India at nine percent and Indonesia at three percent.
“We see that wherever flat-rate data charges are pervasive in a country then there’s much more web browsing,” said Bango SVP of marketing Anil Malhotra in a prepared statement. “We expect to see more competitively priced flat-rate data plans in the U.S. which will stimulate further web browsing.”
Mobile is a powerful buzzword in the start up community. But while buzzwords might move the VC community, real consumer buying behavior moves us. Consumer buying behavior generates revenue which begets profits which boosts corporate valuations and that is the game we are playing for our shareholders. Furthermore, having most recently worked at building two entertainment-related mobile companies, we’re confident in our ability to discern fact from fiction in this soon-to-explode business environment.
Literally hundreds of mobile gaming companies have been financed over the past five years to build products that oftentimes confound us. Few VCs have actually made any money on their investments and few have visibility into any near term profits. From our experience in the market there are several reasons why this is the case:
- Poor Product Concepts: There is a dramatic need for a killer application in this space that is simple, intuitive and widely adopted by the 20-something set (and we’re confident that FN Mobile will be that killer app); A very small percentage of launched products have proven to be of material interest to consumers
- Market Timing: Many products fail because they enter markets before consumers are widely ready to adopt new buying requirements and usage behavior; For the most part, only early adopters have bought data applications (e.g. mobile games) because they are virtually impossible to locate, difficult to purchase and download and of questionable value to the mass market
- Distribution Friction: In the wireless world, the Big 4 carriers are king; They can make or break a product based on a whim by including it on their menu of phone options (called The Deck) or not and one oftentimes can’t control this process until a product is ready for launch
Solving the issues and concerns outlined above prior to the commencement of any development process is intuitive to us. That is why Fuego Nation Wireless is being designed using the same interface as the web-based product (establishes known familiarity), relies on photos (which everyone enjoys looking at) and leverages text/MMS-based messaging which everyone already does. As marketers we believe that the key to changing consumer behavior is to evolve the usage pattern by extending it while never requiring an entirely new one. Doing so creates market friction and is a key contributor to poor performance to date.
One of the key criteria for us in building our next generation social community was to create an interface and product utility that was platform agnostic. This means that when it comes to making money we think ‘digitally’ not web or wireless. In other words, to us they represent two mechanisms to tailor deliver our branded community experience. This is why our mobile interface looks identical to that found on the web.
From the outset, we designed our online product to seamlessly dovetail into the wireless world. We did this for several reasons but most particularly because we believe that mobile data services represents the next great opportunity in the digital universe. And though we believe our online products have enormous potential we have always believed that our mobile product line stands to have an even bigger market impact.
There are several features of the online product that, when mobilized, extend the value of our product to users ‘on the go’ while others are unique to the mobile experience and create a distinct advantage over mobile products from the likes of MySpace, Facebook, etc.
Similar to the online version of the product, users will be able to do the following:
1. Vote on applicants to the community
2. Browse member profiles
3. Contact other members through expanded search functionality
4. See member activity in their designated groups
5. Email their member friends
6. Check their scores and receive mobile alerts when a material change in status occurs
7. Upload mobile device photos and videos to their selected profiles
8. Meet and converse with other members using text messaging functionality
The wireless product offering also includes features that are uniquely tailored to the mobile experience including some that, as a result of our targeted, high end user base, can only be found in our product. A brief sampling of the proposed features follows below:
Data Export to Location-based Services. Because our database of talented, high-achievers is constantly culled and refined by our users, we have an opportunity to export that data to location-based services (LBS) companies like Loopt who will then be able to map, in your city, the hot spots for singles. While these services classically use GPS-tracking to locate friends, children, etc. Fuego Nation Wireless adds a whole new dimension of value never seen before. So while Loopt might help you locate your friends, FN Wireless extends this capability to ‘where do we go?
Mobile ‘Business Cards’- The ‘trading card’ metaphor was designed specifically to work equally as well in a mobile context; So, while it would be difficult to ‘sign up’ for Facebook or MySpace via a mobile device, the process is simple, quick and intuitive at Fuego Nation. Additionally, members will have their Passion Cards loaded onto their phones which they can then virally send via short-range communications, Bluetooth or MMS to any other phone; This is a much more secure and fun way to grant contact information to someone you meet in a bookstore or bar and acts, essentially, as an advertising/recruitment tool for the online product
Talent Scout- With Fuego Nation Wireless, members have the tools to become emissaries of our mission to compile the largest collection of talented individuals in the world; The talent scout feature allows one to make an otherwise awkward introduction to someone by recruiting them to the site (snapping a photo, adding six bits of information, etc.)
Parlor Games- Our automated rating system allows a user at any time (at a nightclub for example) to take a camera photo of a friend (or group) send it to Fuego Nation Online, have it rated by users and returned back to the sender all within a matter of seconds; Any number of addictive games could be parlayed off this functionality but our favorite is called “Lowest Rated Photo Buys the Next Round”
Spontaneous Act of Excellence/Heroism- User generated media has become a phenomenon amongst the young, early adopter crowd. Companies like YouTube and now Current Media have exploding valuations based on photo and video content taken by consumers ‘in the field.’ But only recently do mobile devices have both photo and video quality that allows them to capture, not just inane, silly videos which dominate YouTube but true acts of human excellence and heroism. The destination for those videos of interest will naturally lie with Fuego Nation and our video upload functionality will make it simple for anyone with a web-based connection via their phones to contribute to our community of excellence. Once videos are uploaded on the site (for which members gain participation points toward a higher status ranking) videos are voted on and displayed in Leaderboard format for viewing by members and guests around the world
VIP Club Passes- With a Fuego Nation VIP Club Pass on your phone, you will never HAVE to be on a list again; with participating Night Club sponsors, all you’ll need to do is flash your VIP Club pass on your cell phone to bypass the line at hundreds of clubs around the nation
Couponing- To advertisers, not all consumers are alike which is a key reason why we group our users into status levels. This enables us to deliver coupons on a more targeted basis to our users. So, for example, while we may know that two members are both Madonna fans, we might send a discounted coupon to the Basic Member and a Backstage VIP pass to the VIP member. This form of targeted web to mobile, real-time couponing doesn’t exist today and is unique to the Fuego Nation experience.
In the end, we are big believers in the potential of the mobile web and in the expected explosion of data service usage on mobile phones generally. This realization, coupled with our intent to build a product with true global appeal from the outset will allow us to market our digital products not only here in America but around the world in places that have few computers but massive cellular device penetration.
Archive for the ‘Social Gaming’ Category
Report: U.S. mobile web growth triples
June 5, 2007According to a new study issued by mobile content platform developer Bango, U.S. mobile web usage grew threefold over the past year. Bango reports that the U.K. market leads all mobile web usage at 27 percent, followed by the U.S. at 21 percent, South Africa at 11 percent, India at nine percent and Indonesia at three percent.
“We see that wherever flat-rate data charges are pervasive in a country then there’s much more web browsing,” said Bango SVP of marketing Anil Malhotra in a prepared statement. “We expect to see more competitively priced flat-rate data plans in the U.S. which will stimulate further web browsing.”
Literally hundreds of mobile gaming companies have been financed over the past five years to build products that oftentimes confound us. Few VCs have actually made any money on their investments and few have visibility into any near term profits. From our experience in the market there are several reasons why this is the case:
Solving the issues and concerns outlined above prior to the commencement of any development process is intuitive to us. That is why Fuego Nation Wireless is being designed using the same interface as the web-based product (establishes known familiarity), relies on photos (which everyone enjoys looking at) and leverages text/MMS-based messaging which everyone already does. As marketers we believe that the key to changing consumer behavior is to evolve the usage pattern by extending it while never requiring an entirely new one. Doing so creates market friction and is a key contributor to poor performance to date.
One of the key criteria for us in building our next generation social community was to create an interface and product utility that was platform agnostic. This means that when it comes to making money we think ‘digitally’ not web or wireless. In other words, to us they represent two mechanisms to tailor deliver our branded community experience. This is why our mobile interface looks identical to that found on the web.
From the outset, we designed our online product to seamlessly dovetail into the wireless world. We did this for several reasons but most particularly because we believe that mobile data services represents the next great opportunity in the digital universe. And though we believe our online products have enormous potential we have always believed that our mobile product line stands to have an even bigger market impact.
There are several features of the online product that, when mobilized, extend the value of our product to users ‘on the go’ while others are unique to the mobile experience and create a distinct advantage over mobile products from the likes of MySpace, Facebook, etc.
Similar to the online version of the product, users will be able to do the following:
The wireless product offering also includes features that are uniquely tailored to the mobile experience including some that, as a result of our targeted, high end user base, can only be found in our product. A brief sampling of the proposed features follows below:
In the end, we are big believers in the potential of the mobile web and in the expected explosion of data service usage on mobile phones generally. This realization, coupled with our intent to build a product with true global appeal from the outset will allow us to market our digital products not only here in America but around the world in places that have few computers but massive cellular device penetration.
At EA, we referred to this effort as the Holy Grail of gaming… [John Riccitiello’s recent pronouncements at EA that their games are too complicated and difficult to play are an example of both the hope and challenge of attaining this elusive milestone.]
The game-inspired aspect of Fuego Nation online showcases a highly engaging and interactive experience with a core play dynamic, ubiquitous reward/feedback system and utility that were universally intuited (both by region and age). The seeds of addiction sown by the control mechanics would be founded on the premise of status (one of the key motivators in all off our lives everywhere in the world).
In other words, in Fuego Nation, while members ‘apply’ to get in and whereas admission is based on a democratic vote of one’s peers (similar to the Digg model) through a combination of viral participation in the community and profile voting/enhancement members can elevate their status to VIP levels and beyond. ‘Leveling up’ results in not only unlocked core functionality but better product opportunities from our luxury/lifestyle ad sponsors.
The utility would be grounded in core communication functionality that would be more advanced than any other social network and eventually would be used by Members as a hub for all of their contact-based communication (web and mobile). So, as their status leveled, Members would be motivated to sustain participation via the quality of communication technology and the promise of high ’signal to noise’ connections (be they personal or professional in nature).
If successful here, then users would not have to scurry to multiple sites to manage multiple contact types (as is the protocol now). Furthermore, we refer to our ‘Face the Nation’ interface as ‘The Game of Life.’ Just as in real life, when we interact with anyone new, we begin to make judgments based on a very limited set of information. This is reflected in the Passion Cards in our interface (which are abstracts of a full profile and look like baseball trading cards). In other words, the ‘game’ one must play to get into the exclusive community is a direct reflection of real life (only set in a digital universe). And while our target audience may be Gen X adults, the core principals of ‘a community of human excellence and endeavor’ works well reset for other age groups, etc. (e.g. Fuego Nation Kids).
I’ve always struggled with the concept of avatars in online gaming because the nature of the ‘avatar’ conceptually and psychologically is inherently niche oriented (e.g. not mass market). In Fuego Nation, we create the capability, using RIA tech from Adobe and Microsoft to create ‘real-life avatars’- that is photo/video-realistic representations of our core with graphical depictions set in our virtual environment. For example, on the Leaderboard section (which will evolve into FN search over time), depicted members might have floating icons above their heads (photos) indicating their primary passion. They can then change these passion icons as their mood, focus, and intensity changes (on whatever time basis). They will also be able to change those ’status indicators’ remotely via their mobile phones. So while I may have a skiing icon during the winter months, I might change that to a climbing graphic which is my preferred activity in the spring. Then a user can initiate a search based on primary motivator/passion by simply clicking on that icon. The Leaderboard then resets with only those Members that share the same passion at that specific time.
The end result is a dynamic, addictive and compelling social experience that simulates the richness of more traditionally geeky fantasy role playing environments in a way that is accessible and meaningful to a mass audience.
Let’s focus on the ‘exclusivity factor’-the dreaded List. The List assumedly attracts a high caliber of city dwellers while repelling the less desirable. If you’re not on the ‘List’, well then, you’re not getting in. Having said that, even at places like Duvet, there are always ways to get into the club even if you’re not on the list. That’s what makes the process so exciting and the psychic benefit of figuring out how to get in so much fun. You might literally find a back door where a friend inside can let you in, you might pay off the bouncer with a cool 20 dollar bill or you might just create a beautiful enough first impression on the bouncer that he pulls the velvet rope as he admires your short skirt floating by. If, ultimately, you succeed in getting in via one of these ‘back doors’ your actual experience having figured out a way to get in is much more powerful and rewarding from an emotional standpoint.
Once in, there are VIP levels (often table service) for those willing to shell out more cash for the added privilege and prestige. This scenario is actually quite similar to the ‘Face the Nation’ admissions process at Fuego Nation Online. The parallels, components of what we refer to as ‘The Game of Life‘ follow below:
1. As an applicant to FNO you play both the bouncer and the bounced. Similar to American Idol, the voting process is entirely democratic; so, while we set the parameters for admission (e.g. total approval votes required to attain Basic membership) we do not determine who does, or does not, get in; The process is entirely both automated and democratic which is what distinguishes our product from every other ‘closed network’ and allows us to make our basic membership pool as large as we want
2. Since there is no list, no one is on it; This means everyone needs to ‘earn’ his or her entrance thus generating the exclusive component of our brand
3. Applicants must generate the best first impression they can via our Passion Cards, then figure out how to supplement that impression with clever ambition; This is why we refer to this process as ‘The Game of Life’ because it is designed to mimic the ‘connection’ process in the real world
4. So while physical attractiveness may help you get in (via the photo component), this isn’t necessarily the case; it depends on what the community determines is ‘cool, talented and desirable;’ good looks might actually backfire if enough applicants focus specifically on core talents
5. Since charter applicants will help ‘arbitrate the definition of cool’ we anticipate that this might trigger viral activity as friends recruit other friends to help define the basic membership trends in the club; If you have a friend who is already a Basic member, they can get you a Club Pass which essentially gets you around the ‘bouncer’ by generating a huge boost of points to help you gain admission; In this case, both the person giving the pass and the receiver of the ‘gift’ feel better about the product experience as a result
6. Although we won’t launch with the opportunity to ‘pay off the bouncer’ the opportunity for us to create a micro-transaction (i.e. a cover charge) is an opportunity for us to generate more revenue down the road
7. Now that you’re into an exclusive hot spot with a quality product to back up the ‘hype’ (and feel that much better about the product because you had to ‘get in’ vs. ‘just walking in’ at a place like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.) you’ll notice that there are levels of service, mainly a VIP section; If you want, you can purchase the added benefit, prestige and status of this product or aspire to do so some other time; this, functionally is how status levels work in FNO
This brings us to a revenue opportunity unique to Fuego Nation-that is, offline events. Getting back to the DNA of Data, if we successfully generate a tighter grouping of ‘cool, talented and ambitious people’ coupled with a brand that indicates ‘human excellence and endeavor’ we’ll be able to export that database into a collective community. This collective community might end up being an offline nightclub experience, professional networking event, climbing expedition, etc. Staying with the nightclub example, we might find a proud venue with poor traffic long past its prime. I’ll use The Ramp in San Francisco to illustrate this point. The Ramp could have tumbleweeds running through its dance floor one night and teeming throngs of talented, higher income Fuego Nation members the next. In other words, we can make a formerly dead club hop in a matter of days and collect 15% of gross receipt for the simple process of redirecting an existing database to a specific offline event. The event itself would be a Fuego Nation VIP member-only affair with an exclusive guest List. There’s the dreaded list again…only, this time, you’re on it. If you’re not on the list, you’re not getting in. Members might be attracted to this opportunity because of the power of brand association and because they KNOW that the general quality of attendees will be higher than anywhere else. Offline events are just one example of leveraging the high-end database of users we’re generating through our online product and only hints at the many revenue-generating opportunities in front of us.