How mobile devices are ripping traditional media apart.





It’s no wonder then, that when smartphones outsold PC’s in late 2010, it signaled what many believe to be the beginning of a new era, and to some, the end of the world.

“Mobile,” the harbinger of death.




The Newspaper has had a rough decade.


The second blow to newspapers occurred when the industry lost another  $3.13 billion between 2007-2009. It just so happens that Apple launched the iPhone in 2007 and other companies followed suit by releasing app-ready and internet-connected smartphones like the Blackberry Storm and the HTC Incredible. THe race is on, and we’re still only talking about smartphones introduced through 2009. The question is: can we really say that took the Newspaper’s advertising money, and the Smartphone took it’s readers?





Why are all of the traditional outlets going downhill?


Since 40% of Facebook’s users access the social networking site from their phone, it’s become commonplace for brands and s to engage with each other in real time. It’s a matter of convenience for both the marketer and the consumer.



As mobile devices become more accessible, more people are find themselves freed of scheduled lineups. They make fewer special trips, and are cutting a lot of “unnecessary” things out of their lives.

So are advertisers.






Flurry iOSsocialGames vs PrimeTimeTV resized 600


Mobile devices are more popular than television’s hottest shows.

Mobile devices are ahead of all traditional broadcast media.

Mobile tech frees us to shift when we consume content at a time that is convenient to us. It gives us discounts on-the-go, lets play games with friends, purchase without a computer or trips to the store, and ultimately, stay connected with the people who matter most.


And what happens when we project this data out another four, five, ore even ten years? When television viewership drops so low that advertisers figure it isn’t a wise spend? What happens when the convenience and savings of downloading a book outweigh the tactile experience of flipping through pages? What happens when we have complete freedom to decide what we consume and when and where we consume it?




  1. Shanti Komada says

    This really is a excellent post. Thanks a lot for taking a few minutes to describe all this out for folks. It really is a great help!

  2. says

    Some truly fascinating stats in this feature, Tommy. These stats are the reason I use a plug-in on my blog that allows it to be easily “consumed” via smart phones.

    But what else should I be doing?

    { twitter = @danenow }

    • Tommy says

      I was truly taken away when I did the research for this article.

      The mobile plugin is a good solution for now, but something I think I’ll be doing in the future is having a mobile specific site made, as well as a “subscribe via SMS” option. The object at that point will then execute in a way that will be truly impressive (not spammy).

      HTML 5 video is also mobile browser friendly. There’s a lot that can be done actually. The main thing to remember is that the mobile interface needs to be designed in a way that is accessible to fingers (not mouses, which can isolate a single pixel) It’ll be some time until I roll the mobile stuff out, but I think it’ll be a lot of fun!


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