Day 1 of MWC 2014 is in the books, and it was a big one. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook talked about connecting the whole world, telcos proved they could be lifestyle companies, video was revealed as an internet-eating monster, and the promise of social mobility was found to rest with, well, mobile. What will Day 2 bring?

1. 2014
Mobile
world
Congress
Day1
Recap
#OgilvyMWC

2. 2014
Mobile
world
1
Congress
Connecting Everyone in the World
Some numbers are astounding. Here’s one: there are 7 billion mobiles in the world. Of
course, half of those those phones belong to just 3.5 billion people. Here’s another: 80%
of world’s population lives in areas with 2G or 3G network coverage. So, is internet access
a problem? Not according to Mark Zuckerberg. For him, the challenge is to show those
for whom a dollar is a big deal exactly what data can do for them and why they should
spring for it. But how? Zuckerberg’s answer is found in internet.org which will make a
low-cost or free onramp to the internet, providing basic services like search, wikipedia,
messaging, and (surprise!) Facebook. Of course, the skeptic would ask what Facebook,
et al get out of this. It seems that they’re after something noble. The internet.org partners
believe that internet access is a social good that will increase individual prosperity and
health and do the same for societies as a whole. Maybe dental hygiene, too. Of course,
with those new users, FB and the internet.org partners know they’ll do fine.
#OgilvyMWC

3. 2014
Mobile
world
2
Congress
Reaching the Data Threshold
When is the last time you sat around ideating up a new mobile based campaign and
tapping your thumb on your chin, “Hmm, I wonder how much data my totally rad Cannes
worthy mobile idea is going to eat away at my consumer’s data plans and rates?” Probably
never unless you were a really experienced UX or mobile guy in the room. And even
then, we all still take it for granted—just like water and plastics. Well, data might be an
infinite resource but bandwidth is limited...and expensive. The biggest part of the cost of a
smartphone isn’t the device—especially with Mozilla’s new $25 entry—it’s the data plan.
Facebook partnered with Ericsson to bring the pain to some app developers in an event
that simulated the data constraints present throughout the world, and pain is a good
teacher. We need to start thinking about how to conserve data. That will lessen the draw
on data infrastructure resources and essentially (or hopefully) bring down cost.
#OgilvyMWC

4. 2014
Mobile
world
3
Congress
Telecoms Changing up the Game
Telecoms have a one-up advantage to a lot of industries. They have direct access to the
consumer everywhere and every moment. (Admit it: you sleep with your smartphone
next to you, and you check it in the middle of the night.) Telecoms, being generally of the
brainy sort, are sauntering from the starchy telecommunications part of town down to
the digital lifestyle village, where the cool kids hang out. They’re focusing on providing
access to entertainment, better m-commerce, and even mobile financial services
(MFS). Teleco company Millicom saw the need for MFS in Tunisia, and within a month
of implementing mobile banking services, the country’s GDP increased. As NFC goes
broader, mobile money goes with it. 1 in 3 Visa payments in Australia is via NFC. Mobile
video is burgeoning, too. Of course, there is that pesky bandwidth issue. Who pays for the
necessary upgrade? The consumer, the service provider (cf. Netflix/Comcast), or, maybe, a
brand?
#OgilvyMWC

5. 2014
Mobile
world
4
Congress
video killed the radio star...and everything else
By 2017, two-thirds of mobile data will be video. While you marinate on that, consider that
by 2020 there will be 50 billion connected devices. Well, you say, those will all be wrist
bands and clever kitchen appliances. Mmm...no. 15 billion of those connected devices will
be video enabled, thereby putting you in A Clockwork Orange lid lock wherever you turn.
Mobile video is the most enagaging thing since TV. We engage (or rather absorb) for
210 minutes on connected TV. Our desktops capture us for only 10 minutes of video.
But mobile sucks us in for a full hour. It’s there all the time, too. Tube primetime is the
evening, and we’re staring into our computer screens during the daytime hours. On
mobile, like in Vegas, primetime is all the time. Unless, of course, we get fed up: 15% of
the time, mobile video watchers disappear because of buffering issues.
#OgilvyMWC

6. 2014
Mobile
world
5
Congress
Social mobility
Mobile has given us the power to not only communicate but uncover vast amounts of
information quickly, make transactions instantaneously, and give those in minority
positions the power to even out the playing field. As more and more countries across the
the world become harmonized through mobile and network standards, the people that
inhabit cities and towns have access to information that can impact their business or
improve agricultural success. We heard examples of women and those with disabilities
using mobile to empower them to take back control over their life. Using mobile, Turkcell
empowered 68,000 women with microfinance and crowdfunding. Mobilizing poor women
with microcredits prevents fraud, improves financial literacy, and influences families and
communities. So does education, and as coding—especially mobile coding—has become
a universal language major mobile players have seen the importance of creating a mobile
code curriculum for entire countries.
#OgilvyMWC