Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Mobile Media Alerts= Lazy
It's strange to me, still, to think of how many people rely on their cell phones, a device used to get in touch with another person at any moment in time, for so many other things than just that. A perfect example would be an article I read about such matters where 2,000 adults were surveyed and more than half agreed that they would like to get alerts for mobile discount programs. Groceries, national restaurant chains and entertainment as well as fast food were such aspects in which people would like to have sent to their phones. To me this is just pure laziness. Considering what people wanted most of (food), it is not very surprising considering the stats: "One-third of Americans who currently have signed up for mobile marketing alerts indicate that such services impact their decision to go into stores and 27 percent report that mobile programs have impacted their decision to buy products in physical retail locations". This just screams lazy, and takes the fun out of shopping all-together. I understand if your a busy mother with a family it can be convenient at times but do people really need to be alerted with coupons everytime such industries decide to send one out? Wouldn't that be annoying too?
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I have to respectfully disagree with some of this, because I see mobile phone alerts as being much more controllable than the alternative: the mail. Every week I get dozens of pages of cheaply-printed, greasy-feeling catalogs that advertise local grocery stores, and I throw all of it away or use it to help start a party around my fire pit. I can appreciate stumbling on a good deal or a sale without being prompted by a mediator like a mobile alert, but I imagine there will be huge amounts of customization options for what we receive on our phones and from whom. But I'm with you completely when you ask if people really need to be alerted to this stuff. I'm not sure we do at all, and it might ultimately be a way to make us even more shamelessly consumptive. The Atlantic just published a really cool article about Google's future plans for this same sort of technology, and it actually sounds kind of fun.
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