Recently, much has been written about President-Elect Obama’s love affair with his Blackberry and the security concerns it raises for the Secret Service. It’s been funny to watch the back and forth between a very determined and independent President-elect and the institutions (legal, security and administrative) that have built up a tradition of shielding the President from such personal communication.
President-Elect Obama is not alone. One need only fly any heavily traveled business route (my favorite is New York-Chicago) and watch as the plane touches down. Within minutes, almost every business person has popped out their smart phone and begun digesting the mountains of data that has piled up while the plane was in transit. The smart phone isn’t only for business people, as the stay-at-home moms, students, and young professionals purchase these handsets for their personal use.
As this article suggests, the mobile phone is going to compete with the television and PC to be the dominant technology people spend time with. While the TV and computer will undoubtedly get the most non-interrupted use, the fact that our phones are with us all the time will provide opportunity for quick interaction during brief periods of down time. President-elect Obama is the perfect example, using a few moments of solitude between appearances, in the car or on his campaign plane to stay in touch.
So if the mobile phone is going to be THE technology people spend the most time with, how is your business making plans to be where all the consumers are going to be?
