A placid revolution

In his book ‘Here Comes Everybody’ Clay Shirky recognised that revolutions don't happen when technology is introduced, but when it becomes ubiquitous.

Mobile has indeed achieved total saturation, but the use of content and services haven't followed suit, and has meant we are yet to see the fabled 'year of mobile advertising' revolution.

But with O2's prediction that mobile marketing spend is to grow 150% over the next five years it seems entirely feasible that it could happen so long as the channel helps itself to grow.

The opportunity lies in generating new spend from the thousands of clients yet to experiment with mobile, and although mobile is still ranked alongside social networking as a nice-to-have, rather than an essential, it will never be relevant for all.

But clever spend, in the right channels, will allows brands to punch above their weight, and potentially deliver an effective alternative.

So, in order to take full advantage, mobile must ensure it overcomes the ongoing hurdles of education, fragmentation and usability. If it fails, then the platform will never become ubiquitous, and any potential revolutions will be muted before they can even begin.