Time Machines & Technology

The past twenty-five years have given way to some of the most ingenius technological ideas that have resulted to reality. For example, the internet itself was a byproduct of the computer, an instrument that once necessitated the volume of an entire room to operate. Now, people can operate laptops with superfast internet connections that are no thicker than a 70-page notebook.

Another instance, remember when using a cell phone was the equivalent of lifting a brick up to year ear? Now, the cell phone is a sleek and sexy device that people use on a daily, hourly, minutely and secondly basis (depends if you’re a teenager, businesswoman, etc.). Given these two examples, I now ask you to do me a favor.

You must follow the steps below exactly

• Get your laptop (or buy one if you don’t have one)
• Put that laptop in a duffle bag along with your cell phone
• Construct a time machine
• Set the time machine for ten years from now
• Jump in, sit down, lay down or whatever it is that you must do to attain complete comfort whilst in your time machine (remember to bring your dufflebag)
• Turn the dial, flip the switch and enjoy the ride

You wake up. What happened? Flying cars! Really? No, not really… You get up and exit your time machine. What are the people around you wearing? What are they doing? Are teenagers still plugging away with their thumbs on their phones? What do their phones look like? Are they thin, thicker, smaller or are they voice-activated projections from some unknown source on your wrist or eye? Now, I ask you, are their laptops? Are there any devices that even mimic the shape of your prehistoric tablet? Well, all of these answers would be quite apparent if time machines existed, but there is one important point to be made here – change is inevitable.

According to an article by Paul Bruemmer of searchengineland.com, mobile devices (cell phones and tablets) are expected to become heavier weighted in regards to online retail sales. In fact, they’re expected to become the heavyweight of online sales. Last year, mobile devices were used in 50 percent of all organic searches! Even more impressive is the fact that tablets are replacing laptops on a global level (more than 100 million worldwide by end of 2012).

This is technology changing dramatically in front of us (we don’t have to wait 10 years), but unfortunately many of us don’t recognize important events like this right away. We lag behind the trailblazers, but now is the time to take advantage of mobile marketing; now is the time to leave room in the marketing budget for mobile advancement.

In the meantime, here are some important tips for turning your site into an efficient and effective mobile landing page.

• Utilize two different stylesheets (one for an iPhone and one for all other types of devices)
• Don’t over-think the site. Your consumer doesn’t want to think – call to action, call to action, call to action
• Keep in mind that handhelds have resolutions equal to 320 x 240
• Remember the mobile sitemap
• Take care of your business locally – include it in local directories