Verizon Wireless announced their earnings this morning and I found something of interest in the announcement.
Data revenues grew 45.3 percent over the prior year, contributing nearly $2.6 billion. The company had 49.6 million retail data customers in June (approximately three-quarters of its retail customer base), a 25.6 percent increase over the prior year.
The above without the benefit of the iPhone on their network. As you may know, all the evidence is that iPhone users, while a small installed base, account for a disproportionately high percentage of data usage and it’s reasonable to assume that as other advanced devices like the iPhone come to market in the next year or so, demand for data will soar, as will networks’ revenues from them.
So the question really becomes what are you, as someone who is paying an awful lot of attention to yourself on the web, doing about it? I know – you’ve barely figured out social media for the web – how can you worry about mobile and the integration of content, ads, and community? How can you not?
I got up to play golf yesterday and it was pouring. Lightning everywhere, ponding in the back yard. I did what I always do – go look at the radar, figure out how long it will take to pass, and proceed accordingly, especially since my course has no tee times and if you show up late, you wait. I figured it would all be gone in an hour so I dressed and drove up there. Got right out, played in 3 hours, no rain (OK, one tiny shower on 12 but it was gone in 5 minutes).
My point is that as marketers and content providers we need to look at the radar. A lot. Verizon’s announcement tells us something and if we don’t act accordingly, we going to have to get in line on the tee.
Consult Keith 