Every day the proportion of people looking at Websites on mobile phones and other mobile devices is increasing. A recent study by Morgan Stanley has predicted that by 2015, mobiles will overtake desktops as the primary means of accessing Websites.
Google has seen the writing on the wall and decided that if they are to keep earning revenue from Website owners to drive traffic to their Websites, Google is going to have to help Website owners ensure that their Websites are ‘mobile-friendly’. Rather than having to zoom in on a tiny screen to a Website designed for a large desktop screen, users want to browse Websites on their mobile phones that have been optimised for the small screen. This is not necessarily an easy thing to do for many Website’s, since the design and the code needs to be flexible enough to allow this transformation.
The buzzword of the day is “responsive”. Websites need to be able to detect the type of device they are being viewed on and respond by serving up the most suitable design and layout. You might notice many larger Websites now have a separate address for mobile phones. For example, try http://www.smh.com.au and http://m.smh.com.au – you will see two very different ways of delivering the Sydney Morning Herald’s news online.
To address this growing need of businesses to have mobile friendly Websites, Google has launched a Website called HowToGoMo – http://www.howtogomo.com/au/d/ – this site allows you to test your current Website and even allows you to have a go at converting your site into a mobile version. Depending on the success of this process, they also refer you to a range of specialist Mobile Website developers who can help make it happen.
Cyrius is not listed on their site, but we can help you, too!
Beam Me Up!
Another big shift for business is the ability to hold virtual meetings. As broadband gets faster and faster, and the technology to facilitate high definition (HD) video conferencing improves on an almost daily basis, virtual meetings are becoming realistic alternatives to getting together in person to discuss business. When you combine the added enhancement of being able to check out and share multi-media, Website links, graphics and documents, we might just be entering a new era, where business travel begins to grind to a halt, while business interaction grows exponentially.
Check out http://www.gotomeeting.com.au/ as just one of the places that is facilitating virtual meetings, webinars and training sessions. If you thought this was all a little bit too much like science fiction, you might find that the future is already here.
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