More Mobile Than I Thought

I have to admit that since I got my first BlackBerry about 2 years ago I have become more mobile than I ever imagined. I don’t mean that I go more places or that I get there faster or anything like that (although I am reconsidering how safe this whole thing is on the road). I do mean though that I find out my information more on my mobile device than on my laptop.

This has been a steady trend that has been escalated by my recent purchase of the BlackBerry Storm. FYI – This post is NOT A PRODUCT PITCH. I just want you to know that I am using a Blackberry device and not the iPhone. Now, I realize that any thought of being cool has been flushed down the toilet but I am fine with that.

The change was subtle at first. I became a very regular e-mail checker (I still check it in the middle of the night if I get up for any reason. Pathetic, I know, but it’s the truth). I even began some light texting which has escalated to some degree but I am not a huge fan of it honestly. I stayed this way throughout my usage of the Blackberry World Edition because the browser, well, it sucked. Not being able to view sites as they appear in a regular browser is just annoying and not worth the hassle in most instances.

Now, however, I have completely turned the corner. By having the web at my disposable pretty quickly (not quite like the commercials though surprise, surprise) my habits have changed. I live outside of a small to medium sized city (an SMC, I guess?) and it is very decentralized so there is a lot of time spent driving from place to place and setting up shop in coffee places etc. No longer do I need to worry about hot spots or the like so I have more flexibility and therefore I also do more exploring.

• I search more. Google gets a serious workout in my new environment. If I have a question I can get some kind of an answer or direction very quickly now. Sometimes that’s good while other times I realize that it didn’t really matter. I’m learning.

• Local businesses get more attention than ever. Sure, I work in internet marketing but I am finding that I can determine whether I will give a local business any attention if their web presence is decent. Not great, just decent.

• I see a lot of opportunity. I see so many businesses that are still just missing the boat. I wonder what they are doing to market themselves. I wonder why they haven’t paid closer attention to the way that many people are finding and evaluating them.

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I am a lifelong learner and there is so much to learn. During this economy I hope these businesses are willing to learn as well. If not it’s going to make my research a lot easier because there won’t be as much to see.

FT Takeaway: Mobile / smartphone usage is more widespread than we believe. Businesses are being evaluated in more ways than ever. If you are not doing a good job of presenting yourself with a total web presence you are losing business. It’s that simple.