You mean you can TALK on that thing, too?

Social Media Bible, Chapter 21–The Formidable Fourth Screen (Mobile)

Cell phones have changed just a little over the years…

I‘m guessing there are some students in our class who can’t understand what Lon Safko means when he says mobile phones used to be “awkward and heavy.” I can certainly remember them. It was so exciting to have one, even though it was the size of a small loaf of bread! But wow, those bag phones (left) were amazing. Just find a place on the seat for the “bag,” plug it into the cigarette lighter in the car and hold that huge headset up to your ear and you could talk on the phone while in your car. That’s it…talk. No texting, no movies, no music, no Internet, no camera, no GPS, no email…just talk. But look how cool it was, with the dialpad on the back of the phone. Made us feel like 007!

Then, the technology just had to improve a little to allow for a slightly larger battery so it didn’t have to be physically connected to a power source in the car. That meant you could carry it around in your pocket (if you had a big pocket). Wasn’t that hot?! (right)

Look how cool it made you look…well, OK, it helped if you were Michael Douglas.

The rest of this chapter talks about features of phones, apps for phones, and even the idea that our smartphones have now become the “remote control for our lives.” For many of us, it certainly is a question of ‘where would we be without our phone?’

The newest thing on phones is mobile marketing, in which companies can push info to your phone, with coupons, “hot deal” text messages and more. This is an area that media outlets are especially getting into, with radio and TV stations and newspapers all having special mobile-optimized apps and websites.

A new term mentioned in this chapter is advergaming or ad-funded mobile gaming, in which large brands can deliver advertising messages actually within mobile games. Once again, I had no idea this existed. This is probably not a place where most local clients will be spending their money, but as with much of the information in this book, it’s good to know about it.

On a sad note: After reading this chapter, I was excited to learn more about the service called Jott. It seems like I’m always in the car when I want to write myself a note so I don’t forget something, and that’s exactly what this service would allow you to do through your phone. Unfortunately, as of May 3, 2011, that service no longer exists. Guess I’ll just have to continue putting my phone under my chin, driving with my knee and writing notes on old McDonald’s drive-thru napkins.