Looking back in 15 years, I believe there will be three distinct phases to the information age:

• the Personal Computer (1978-)
• the Internet (1995-)
• Mobile Internet (2007-)

This was the thesis of a short presentation I was invited to give as part of a panel discussion at the [Enterprise Development Center of South Florida](http://www.edc-tech.org)’s, Emerging Technology Business Showcase last month at the Deerfield Beach Hilton. This thesis has serious implications.

Steven at Emerging Technology Business Showcase

Both the advent of the PC and the Internet as a consumer and business phenomenon resulted in huge investment booms, economic growth and opportunities for both new and established businesses. Both of these trends were “big bangs” that upset existing marketplaces, launched new household names, and sent formerly top players to the bottom of the pile.

These “big bangs” continue to unfold powerfully across the fields of business, media, politics, culture and finance. We will add another billion people to the Internet worldwide in the next two years. The Internet revolution is still underway. My contention is that Mobile Internet will be just as “big.” It will change the way we work, consume, learn, cooperate and relate to each other. And it will likely take even less time to develop than previous phases.

What year is it?

Remember these?

Internet adoption rose in concert with increased dialup modem speeds in the mid-to-late 1990s. It is hard to believe but it was only in 1998 that the v.90 (56k) modem standard was approved. At 56kbps, the Internet became usable in something like its modern form. It delivered a compelling experience for consumers and a new method for businesses to engage their customers. Prior to this many companies offered Internet at work but it was not yet commonplace to have access at home.

iPhone changes the game

Mobile Internet really began to take off with the introduction of Apple’s iPhone. Prior to the iPhone most smart phones were corporate devices such as Blackberries, obtained through employers, and which reflected their priorities. (boring – used mostly for email) Prior to the iPhone few had access to a compelling Mobile Internet or Mobile Applications (Apps). We credit Apple with opening this world up to the consumer, just as they did in the PC era with the Apple II and the Mac. Apple already earns more profits from its smart phones than Nokia earns across all its phones, with 30x the market share.

If we can describe the timeline in something like “Internet-years” – and those of us who lived through the first Internet era remember them well – then I think it is around 1996 or 1997 in Internet-years for Mobile Internet. Within two years almost everyone will have a modern smart phone. In PC years, we may imagine it is 1985. The game is on. Entrepreneurs have noticed a huge new marketplace. Hardware vendors and mobile providers have all adjusted their plans and product offerings. More nimble corporations have eyed the new market for strategic opportunities and threats. Small players, early to the field, have carved out niches for themselves and hope to grow with the industry.

This is where we find ourselves at the end of 2009.

Mobile Apps

What are mobile apps? Mobile apps span everything from conventional websites that have been tailored for mobile access to sophisticated native applications which interface with the mobile device hardware. The early native-apps were overwhelmingly trivial games and entertainment oriented applications with a smattering of personal information management applications. Connected applications take advantage of the Mobile Internet to exchange information with the Cloud and with other devices. This category is beginning to enjoy the network effects that drove the growth of earlier Internet-only products.

The top areas for mobile applications will likely be:

• social computing (meeting, organizing, communicating)
• augmented reality
• personal/household data measurement, management
• shopping
• mobile data collection, surveying, sensing
• person-to-person commerce
• casual and formal learning
• entertainment

Intimate Customer Relationships

Just as in 1996, every corporation needed an Internet strategy and presence, today businesses need to ask themselves what if anything does Mobile Internet mean to them and to their customers? What is the main thing established corporations and businesses need to consider with respect to mobile strategy?

I submit it is this: You have the chance to engage in a more intimate customer relationship — to become a more integrated part of the life of your customers. After all, you can literally be in your customers’ pockets at all times. What does that mean to you? If you aren’t thinking about it, rest assured someone else is.