Respecting the needs of each sphere/player of the mobile ecosystem
Author: Michael Becker
The author of the article Why Randall Stross and the New York Times Don’t Get Wireless raises a number of valid and good points in defense of the wireless carriers and their role with in the mobile ecosystem, including the fact that there is infrastructure to pay for SMS messaging, spectrum costs money, etc. Randall had written an article the previous weak, What Carriers Aren’t Eager to Tell You About Texting, calling out the carrier on the fact that he perceived they were charging too much for text messaging when, per his research, the cost of test is bascially zero. I believe the key message from this piece is that everyone that plays a hand in the mobile ecosystem and uses it for personal or commercial purposes should attempt to understand the demands and drivers from each player and each industry that is leveraging the incredibly powerful and important medium that is the mobile channel.
One trade group that is helping organize a mobile industry conversation is the Mobile Marketing Association (www.mmaglobal.com). The MMA will be holding an event January 12 (http://www.mmaglobal.com/event/2009/01/12/day), “How to Cultivate A Successful Mobile Marketing Ecosystem,” which will bring members from every sphere of the mobile marketing ecosystem (http://www.mmaglobal.com/resources/mobile-marketing-ecosystem) together to have a conversation on how to understand, respect and respond to the needs of the industry players within each of the key spheres of the mobile ecosystem. In addition, on January 13, the MMA will be holing its Consumer Best Practices Industry Forum (http://www.mmaglobal.com/event/2009/01/13/day) to encourage an open discussion on best practices around the use of the mobile channel for marketing and related commercial purposes.
It is only through vision and collaboration that we can get the most effective use and value out of the entire mobile ecosystem. If you value the type of discussion that this article triggers, I encourage you to join the MMA, The Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org) and/or related group pertinent to your industry and lend your voice in order to keep the conversation move forward.


