Mobile Web 2.0
Today, I receive an email from Cameron Moll, reminding me about the (almost, August 28th) release of his long awaited Mobile Web Design book. Perfect, I thought. I’ve been waiting for this almost as long as I was waiting for the release of the iPhone.
One of the reasons I’ve been waiting in such anticipation is that, for the last 10 months or so, two of the biggest projects I’ve been working on, directly relate to mobile web. Not so much in the sense of mobile web design, but in the sense that both of these projects make use of mobile technology to extend the web beyond web browsers. I’m very pleased to say that one of these, KaDoink, just launched into limited public beta.
This is Delivery
This was extremely exciting news. Lauren and I have been working with KaDoink for the better part of the year and we’re continuing to work with them to better define this branch of web development and design.
On May 31, 2005 CNN reported on the “not far away” Smart Homes:
The entry “home” in your mobile phone address book will have a whole new meaning in a few years — your place of residence is likely to be clever enough to send SMS messages directly to you, and you will do the same to it.
Julie Clothier for CNN
It’s kind of funny, looking back. Computer’s that can SMS you, hardly seems novel. But the fact is, these are the baby steps that are seriously changing the landscape for web development. Today we’re talking about web browsers, but we’re already seeing the erosion of differentials between stand-alone applications and web applications. In fact, if you consider the necessity for online software updates, there really isn’t any. What does this mean for web design?
Mashable.com probably said it best, when they reviewed Kadoink.
If Twitter Were On Steriods, You’d Have Kadoink
Kristin Nicole on Mashable.com
Well, almost . . . aside from misspelling “steroids”. Come on guys, it’s the title of your article! Anyway, I digress.
Mobile web design in 5 years?
I touched upon some of the set backs for mobile web design in my post media=”handheld”, and again with iThumb, but what I didn’t talk about was what all this means for mobile web design in the years to come.
KaDoink is a good example. They’ve extended the traditional web 2.0 social networking beyond the web browser and translated it for complete mobile integration. Egad! If Second Life subjugates the real world as a virtual fantasy, KaDoink liberates the technology of the virtual web, into our daily lives. Well, that sounds a little too profound, but it is the breaching of these boundaries that will shape the world of web design in the coming years.
So, where do I see mobile web design in 5 years?
I’ll put it this way; We’ll all have jet packs, so Google Maps will be obsolete. We won’t need online project management applications like Base Camp, because dodgeball will take over and we won’t need to sleep anymore, because there will be sleeping pills. Oh wait, we already have something like that. Not sure what that has to do with mobile web design anyway. The point is, I haven’t the slightest idea. But I’ll say this, how we think about the web is always changing. Web browsers were designed for computers, to access the web. Why should we expect the same thing for a mobile device?
I used to take some time to prepare something for lunch, stop by the local deli, and pick up a few newspapers. It was a nice change-in-pace to separate myself from the computer and sit down in the kitchen.
Now I can separate myself… but have access to millions of different publications… all through my iPhone.
I think the increased interest mobile media (specifically with the release of the iPhone) pushes us one step closer to dumping those newspapers in the trash forever. (Hey, I say the NYT will be out of print by 2010.)
A bit before our jet packs arrive, we’ll be picking up foldable computer screens that dynamically feed us the latest headlines… except with one dynamic page. (Bring to mind Harry Potter! haha)
Ah, mobile web as distraction is something to watch in our profession. It’s hard enough pulling myself away from the computer. The iPhone can be dangerous in that way.
I think you’re right though. The great thing is the gap the web and everyday life is rappedly being streamlined. I have to admit, I am guilty of confusing the tools I have to control my life outside my computer with the tools inside my computer. I can’t tell you how many times I, ever so briefly, thought I could find my coat or glasses by pulling up QuickSilver.
Just that geeky.
I was about to try Kadoink but they don’t support T-mobile yet. Not that my phone ever gets reception anyway.
After a recent trip to Buffalo, I am convinced that paper newspapers will not be going away any time soon. There are many people out there, especially outside the bubble known as the Bay Area, that are not very “wired” yet.