Mobile Communications Influence and Impact Questions

Mobile Communications Influence and Impact

From the Mindmap above, we can see there are many questions we need to look at to try and understand the impact and influence mobile communications have on our lives.

I have looked at mobile communications in particular as to its influence and impact on:

(1)  Values, Beliefs and Principles

(2)  Development and Prosperity

This is by no means an exhaustive list but it is a start.

VALUES, BELIEFS AND PRINCIPLES

When we look at Values, Beliefs and Principles there are two main themes that we should consider:

• Society
• Family

These two themes influence each other and some of the questions we raise are:

1.    In Society

1. Has the mobile phone developed meaning?
2. Is there a new youth culture?
3. Are new structures starting to emerge and do these influences cross borders / countries?
4. Have we got new social constraints?
5. Are we becoming unselfish and more generous or just the opposite?

2.    In Families

1. How do the individual members pursuing of their own independent activities influence family structure?
2. Are there new structures emerging with new and different responsibilities?
3. How are we communicating?

 

DEVELOPMENT AND PROSPERITY

If we review our Development and Prosperity four themes come to mind, namely:

• Economy
• Work / Office Environments
• Training and Education
• Politics

All these themes have an influence-impact relationship as no one theme is completely independent from the changes of another theme.

General questions for consideration are:

1.    In the Economy

1. Are we merging space and time with our anywhere at any time concepts?
2. Of developing countries what is the influence and impact of the new mobile communications?
3. Are there new definitions for power and wealth?

2.    Our Work and Office Environments

1. Has the old fashioned office environment changed?
2. Quality of work, is it different or changed?
3. Does multitasking exist and if yes, is it productive?

3.    In Training and Education

1. How are classrooms and students affected?
2. How has language changed?
3. How has it changed?

4.    In Politics

1. What changes has mobile communications brought to politics?

 

SUMMARY

These are only some of the questions as there are many more. One thing is certain the answers cannot always be found in past research or our historical assessments of human behaviour.

For example, we use to and still believe to some extend that television is bad for children, therefore our logical conclusion leads us to believe that the internet must be bad for children.

Yet, in the same area of research and assessments we would find in the developing countries that the use of communication technologies such as television and the internet can and does enhance and develop.

This is where people come unstuck as in the absence of good data they argue from pre-existing views as little or no new perspectives can be offered.

This is neither right nor wrong, sometimes it just is. It is just a perspective to work from and change when new data becomes available.

In my follow-up blog articles I will cover each and every question trying to get a better understanding of this new simple yet complex world that we are in now.

Your comments and experiences are most welcome to add to my research and knowledge on this fascinating topic. 

 

Dear God and Angels

Dear God and Angels today I am thankful for being able to have enjoyed another blessed year of health, wealth, peace, protection, love and joy.

Help me be the best person I can be by helping others find their purpose, success, love and joy.

 

10 Things I am Passionate About

If you ever get the chance or time to read my blogs, you will find that I generally write about the things I care and know about. Those things are:

1. People. Helping others obtain their goals and helping them to understand and change their thinking patterns. Our thinking patterns or thinking traps as it is also known is one of the major issues that we have that prevent us from realizing our dreams.
2. Our Planet. I care about our planet and know that we can through small acts of kindness or behavioural changes bring about necessary change.
3. Technology. The speed with which technology has changed in my life time has been unbelievable and I hope to live long enough to still see probably some of the greatest changes that technology will still bring to our world. I love reading about it and learning about new technologies where possible. The internet and its possibilities fascinate me as this has and will still change all our lives significantly in particular mobile phones and the influence this has on our social skills and society in general.
4. Personal Growth and Development. The only person that is responsible for your life is you. When you take responsibility for your own development and growth, you can direct your life in any direction that you wish to go. It is just as simple as that.
5. Family. I am blessed with a family that I love more than anything else. We are no different from the famous TV program ‘Brothers & Sisters’ as we fight, love and laugh as much if not more. Family is everything.
6. My country South Africa. It is for me a country that has all the different faces of life. Love, hate, laughter, sadness, possibilities, passion, colour, good, bad and these are just a few of the adjectives that come to mind. There are many, many more. Nowhere on this planet (in my opinion) is there a country where you live life as much as we do every day.
7. Valentino Rossi. The MotoGP (motorbike) champion is the best in the world and I love his dedication to his sport and his personality.
8. Reading. I am a bookworm of note. I read a lot of non-fiction always trying to expand my knowledge but I also love just to curl up on my bed and read books of my favourite authors. They are Patricia Cornwell, Frederick Forsyth, David Baldacci, Sandra Brown, Kathy Reich, James Patterson and my most favourite is the Jason Borne series from Robert Ludlum.
9. Rugby. I am a big Springbok (South Africa national rugby team) fan.

10. Writing. I have embarked on this passion over the last 2-3 years and love researching and writing about various topics that interest me.

Keep watching and reading my blog to get the latest updates on these and various other topics of interest.

 

Internet Business The Magic of Working Together

In this world, Ken Blanchard, the famous author of several strategic management and motivational books, could not have said it better ‘none of us is as smart as all of us’.

This slogan can be applied to any aspect in life, whether it is business, sport or pleasure.

In any business this slogan is of particular importance as this is where team work or working together can mean the difference between success and failure.

Let us look at internet and affiliate marketing business sector where by applying this slogan specifically can grow your business significantly.

Any person that runs their business primarily on the internet knows that this business environment’s most reliable aspect is change. Change happens continuously in the world of the internet.

So, what you may say? If you are in this business thinking you know everything you’re screwed to be blunt. In this ever changing environment it is virtually impossible for you to know everything. This is where strategic partnerships or alliances become an essential part of your business strategy.

Here is 10 key tactics that you can apply and use to create strategic partners and/or relationships:

1. Start by identifying areas in your business that you are not good at but need. Example; web site design, logo design, article / content writers etc
2. Apply the age old 80/20 principle where 20% of the effort can give you 80% of the return
3. Look for businesses who you can give (outsource) these areas to and that you would like to work with
4. Where possible look for partnerships that you can give back to. Perhaps you have a skill and/or competency that you can trade with?
5. Very important to get to know the business / company that you have identified before you approach them. Spend time finding out who they are, what they stand for, what are their values and goals and more importantly, what their reputation on the internet is
6. To get a partnership, do not be afraid to ask. You will be surprised at the answers and remember no, does not mean never
7. Look for businesses that cater to the same audience / market that you do, but who are not direct competitors. Perhaps you can share your mailing lists?
8. Once you have setup a partnership it is also important to manage and maintain this relationship. Treat it like a marriage. It always takes two to tango
9. Make sure that both parties understand what to expect from each other
10. Lastly, remember that you can create a partnership even if the other party is a competitor, as joining forces can push both businesses into a bigger success than if they tried on their own. (This point is of particular importance when both business are still relatively small)

Where possible try and form a partnership with a company much bigger (perceived or otherwise) than yours, do not be intimidated as you will push harder to achieve higher results for your own business.

 

Categories and Key Questions for your Internet Business Plan

Having a strategy and a business plan is essential to ensure the continued success of your Internet business.

You should create your business plan immediately after you have created and decided on your business strategy. Planning is the ‘how to’ of your strategy and will tell you how to achieve the goals you have set out for your business.

Start the business plan by using the categories (only if appropriate) below and do some brainstorming with other players or partners in your business or if you are on your own, a big piece of paper and colour pens will do the trick.

Here are 11 categories to consider.

1. Selecting your Market and Product

To be more successful on the internet I would suggest (as many others do) that you identify firstly the market that you would want to operate in then find the products to sell into that market.

Identifying an existing market is always the preference, unless you have a unique product that you would like to introduce into a brand new market. This is of course the more difficult, but not impossible, option.

Key question: New market or existing market?

1. Product Strategy

Decide how you will market and advertise your product.

Key question: With my current knowledge which marketing and/or advertising strategy should I go for first?

1. Target Market and Competitors

Identify your target market.

Key questions: Who are they? (Age level, skill level etc) Who are the customers that already exist in this market? Does your product strategy cover these potential customers?

1. Economics

It is essential for you to understand your market and product costs. Research to see if the market you want to be in is economically viable. Can you sell your product in this market?

Key questions: At what price will my product be put on the market? Can my target market afford this product?

1. Implementation

Here you translate your market and product strategies into a set of tactics that eventually reads like your ‘to do list’.

The most important aspect of your implementation plan is set realistic timelines, continually review these dates and adjust where appropriate.

Key question: By when do I want my product launched?

1. Marketing Strategy

This is all about getting customers to your web site.

Key questions: How will I get traffic to my web site? How will I choose which of the traffic building methods to use?

It is important for you to choose perhaps only two traffic methods to start with and focus all efforts on those before you embark on adding more. Once you have mastered a technique and have it running well, then and only then add another method.

1. Resources and Tools

Identify the tools you need to start off your business. Use as many free tools as possible to keep your costs initially to a minimum.

Key question: What tools do I need to start? (Example, word processing)

1. Finance

Understand your financial situation thoroughly before you start. You do not want to get your business into financial difficulty.

Key question: What is my budget?

1. Risks

Make a list of any key risks that you can think of that might influence or impact your business.

Key question: What are my key risks?

10. Evaluate and Review

Identify the areas that you need to monitor and evaluate on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.

Key question: What do I need to monitor and with what frequency?

11. Growth Strategy

What will you need to do to grow your business? Make a note of any ideas that come to mind and continually evaluate to see if the idea is still valid.

Key question: How will I grow my business?

Remember, no two business plans are alike. Use categories only where you see fit and last but not the least, business plans change as your knowledge and your business grows, so adapt it as you go along.

 

Book of Methods Make Money Online

At long last I have completed and released the much awaited Book of Methods. This is 117-pages of top tips to help you start your online business or to grow your existing online business.

Subscribe Now and get some free ebooks as step one.

 

Generation XYZ to G How and Why?

So tell me, when did we move from the baby boomers generation X, to Y, to Z and now G?

When everyone was branding the various generations X, then Y then Z I was wondering what tag we were going to come up next. Alpha, beta..? I guess it was the same crazy person that tagged generation X after the baby boomers.

I keep looking for some logic but there clearly is none.

Generation G after Z?

Let’s take a quick history lesson to understand the various branded generations.

The Baby Boomers were between 1946 and 1964. Those brash and confident bunch that  pushed their values and political views on anybody that would listen. A whole bunch of them became very successful and rich benefiting from all the post war demand for anything and everything.

And yes, they are still around, lots of them are our managers, bosses or our politicians. We can definitely brand them as a bunch of know-it-alls and who love doing, pushing and competing . We keep thinking that they will retire at 65 but no way, as long as they have their health we will not stop them.

From 1965 to 1979 we got Generation X. Oh man, what a laid back bunch. Straight from Woodstock. They made love freely, studied harder than their parents and when it came to relationships commitment was not high on their agenda.

Low and behold we got generation Y from 1980 to around 1997/8. These were our risk takers and our computer bof’s. They loved the internet and their communication skills evolved around it.

Ok, so now we have our current rug-rats born from 1998 to-date, Generation Z. Wow, do they live in the age where information flows at an all time high. These rug-rats play a major influence in the buying economy as they are the driving force behind all parent decisions.

With this generation I am not sure what happened to childhood, but they certainly stepped right over it.

Now that brings us to Generation G. Unlike the other generations, G is not characterized by age but spans across all the generations from Baby Boomers to Z.

Generation G covers any age, where you as an individual have come to the realization that the most important aspect of any business is its generosity to society as a whole.

What caused this shift?

1. The recent economic melt down caused a lot of people to realize how greedy and disgusting society has become.

2. We started to look for and want more from the corporate world than bonus payouts. We want corporates to care about us and our fellow citizens.

3. As individuals we have started being less selfish and caring more for others. We are a far more generous society than before.

4. We have also grown very aware of our planet and our environment and the damage we do each and every day. We try harder to be kinder to the environment and we are changing our bad habits.

So there you have it, G for Generous. Go to my web site and download some free ebooks.

And, yes, let me know what you think about the various generations.

 

How to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

I worked at this amazing place where for many years I had one challenge after another. This was why I loved my job and could spend many hours at it with complete disregard for friends or family.

But one day I started realizing that I was going to work hating every minute of it. On analysis of my day to day activities I came to the realization that the reason for this discontent was, that I was in my comfort zone.

What happened to the challenges? Was I missing opportunities because the job was too easy? No, that was not it. I looked around my environment and had a good look at my job.

My job started feeling like a jail sentence. Why was that? The same beautiful office environment now started feeling to me more and more like a jail. Walls started closing in on me on a daily basis. Yet, I could not leave. Was I too scared to change, too comfortable in the environment that I have been in for more than a decade?

Yes. I loathe admitting it but there it was. I desperately wanted out, but did not have the guts to go. I was too scared to leave this comfort zone that I had worked myself into as the thought of failure sent my thoughts straight back to the “I cannot leave because..” and there were a million reasons that I would come up with to justify why I could not leave.

Yet, my discontent grew day by day as I watch my life go by. Longing for something else I could not put my finger too.

So I got up one day and told myself, this far and no further. I could not let my life go by whilst I saw hundreds of others leave there comfort zones, take risks, fail, get up, do it again and again, then success steps in.

Success never comes at an assigned date, it just happens in its own time as the universe plans for you to have it.

Yes, that was what I did. I held my breath and took that giant step out. I felt free and with renewed strength took on the unknown with open arms.

The step out is as easy as that. Here is a few simple how to steps:

• Decide what you want to do

• Put all your focus on that idea

• Throw away or talk yourself out of your fear

• Trust yourself. Remember when you fear failure you are basically saying “I do not trust my own skills. I lack confidence in myself. I don’t believe in myself”

• Be persistent. When making mistakes or if an attempt fails, ask “what did I learn from this?”

• Get up, incorporate the learning and try again. Failure is when you never tried again.

• Get a positive mantra to keep you going

Remember:

• Nothing ventured nothing gained

• All winners at one time were filled with doubt

Do not sit in your comfort zone and watch your life go by. There will be nothing worse than some day saying the dreaded”if only I..”

Reach for your future with a smile. The sum of persistent attempts equals success.

 

How Cell Phones Influence Internet Advertising and Marketing

The world telecommunications industry is expected to increase by an 11% compound annual growth at the end of 2010.

Now that is an impressive increase looking at the state of the economy over the last year and the current predictions of its recovery over the next financial year.

The revenue that the World telecom industry earns from the gross world products revenue is 3% and growing. 

In the US alone, the telecoms industry has set the following targets:

To create in excess of 212,000 jobs,

Invest $58 billion in capital investment opportunities and

To generate $113 billion new revenue streams

In China the telecoms industry is growing rapidly, with a past growth rate of 20% from 1997 to 2000. The telecoms industry’s mobile operators have invested on average US$25 billion annually. China also has the world’s largest mobile network industry.

India has enormous market potential in the telecoms industry and the government of India has enacted effective policies to allow for bigger investments from foreign companies. This accompanied by the fact that they have enabled basic and cellular services to use any modern technology has facilitated huge growth within the telecoms industry in India.

 

Now how does all this information contribute to the cell phones influence in the advertising market?

Simply, put, more and more people use their cell phones to access the internet as each new generation of cell phone manufacturer tries to perfect the handset’s ability to access the internet easier and easier at an ever reducing cost.

Let us have a look at the world internet usage stats per region.

In Africa only 6.7% of the population have internet and the majority of this growth was from 2000 to 2009. Actual growth from 2000 to 2009 was 1,349.9%.  

Another region where the internet user % to the population is under 20% is Asia with 18.5%.

Regions that had phenomenal growth from 2000 to 2009 were; Central America with 913.5%, Middle East 1,360.2% and Latin America & Caribbean with 873.1%. Yet despite this growth these regions still have less than 30% of their population on the internet.

The regions with the highest ratio of internet users are North America with 73.9% and Oceania / Australia with 60.1%.

Now if you look at the growth predications for erecting cellular towers in Africa, Asia and South America you will know that the growth trend in mobile communications will continue to be massive over the next 5 years.

These stats show us very interesting trends that we as internet marketers must not ignore.

In most of the under developed regions of the world, for example, Africa, this phenomenal growth is not based on fixed infrastructure connections but mostly wireless communications.

This in itself tells you that the majority of these users only link to the internet is via their mobile phone.

The question you must ask yourself is what do these new users want?

This is the biggest area that every internet marketer must focus on and design their web sites or blogs for this massively growing “small screen” market.

To tap into this market and for further information, visit this web site

 

Make Money With Cell Phone Advertising

We are all aware of Adwords and the power it has and still holds today in the online advertising world. Any web site owner worth their salt will or is advertising using Adwords.

There is however a relatively new market that is growing far quicker than the current online advertising market and that is the cell phone advertising market.

Currently, this new market has a potential client base of around 4.3 billion!

If you go to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) web site, they have some interesting statistics. ITU has also been the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technologies for over 145 years.

Did you know that 61% of the World’s population use a cell phone and this number is growing on a daily basis?

Most advertisers who have targeted this market markets mostly to one particular phone, which is the Apple iPhone. Doing some research on the market share of the various phones, you will find that the iPhone holds only about 11% of the cell phone market.

That leaves literally 89% of cell phone users that are not targeted.

A recent report from OgilvyOne and Acision made an interesting prediction about where cell phone advertising will be in 2020. This report said that by 2020 advertising will be far more people-centric, meaning you will not get just random ads delivered to your inbox, but far more personalised ads based on your tastes and preferences.

This is good news for most of us, who on a daily basis are receiving in excess of 50+ ads, which we mostly delete. If we can have control over what comes into our inboxes, life will most definitely be just a tad easier and less time consuming.

Now, all you web site owners, product pushers and affiliates out there, this is good news.

So, get to know what type of web sites are suited for cell phone advertising and start getting to know this new market better as it is growing. The OgilvyOne and Acisions report also predict that the proliferation of 3G and 4G networks will significantly grow the mobile advertising market from where it is today.

To learn more about this new market and its opportunities, go to MakeMoneyCellphone.com