The pilgrimage in AM13 (the 13th year after the birth of Mobifone, 2007 for unbelievers) was challenging and yet very exciting. The mobilists finally reached the foot of Mount Mobi and gathered there to hear the words of Mobilus.
Mobilus, the prophet of all things mobile and the messenger of the divine dotMobi, was surrounded by his Gen C first adopters. He gazed upon the multitudes basking in the sunlight (for once it had stopped raining in Cape Town). He checked for last minute messages on his smartphone. And then, once the crowd had changed their phone profiles to silent, he spoke thus.
Though I have the greatest and coolest Community, ranging from 10 to 10 million users and have not Connectivity, I am beating on a tin drum in an empty stadium. And though I have the gift of the gab and can entertain and delight many people, yet without Connectivity I am nothing.
And though I become a Wikipedia service with mountains of knowledge and powerful search engines, and I have all the processing power in the world to manage and organise that knowledge and have not Connectivity, I am heading for failure.
And though I have a great strategy to monetise my Community, to take social network services and user generated content to new heights, and have not Connectivity, it profiteth me nothing.
Connectivity is the life-blood of mCommerce; it is 24/7, it is long suffering and should never drop you. Connectivity needs to give value for money; it seeks not its own; it beareth all things. Connectivity must never fail you.
And now abideth Communities, mCommerce and Connectivity, these three; but the greatest of these is Connectivity.
Questioned the prophet
Having spoken thus, Mobilus bade his Gen Cs to go amongst the crowd and dish out the latest slim-line batteries so that they could be energised. And then there were some amongst the crowd who wished to question the prophet.
The first was a somewhat wild-eyed man named Barnardus, He was of the archaic Rappoportus tribe in the Printmedius Clan. As he addressed the master, he clasped his hand to his chest and said, “But I believe in the power of print! The best marketing value is still to be found in print.”
Mobilus cast his eyes to the heavens and said; “Forgive him dotMobi for he knows not what he speaks”, and with a beatific smile looked upon Barnardus and said; “Oh ye person of little faith. I see inside your soul and know the fear of change that envelopes your heart. Have you not heard of the Star Wagon, the latest fully mobile oriented vehicle built for journalists? You had better take a ride soon or be left behind.”
Parting of the crowd
The crowd parted and suddenly there appeared a business executive, confident and, dare I say, somewhat arrogant. He barked out, “This is all a lot of rubbish, man. I don't surf the Internet on my cellphone, so why would my customers do it? It is meant for calls and that is that.”
The prophet, used to such effrontery, calmly replied; “It would be more difficult for you to pass into mCommerce than for handset manufacturers to settle on a single standard. The majority of people in several countries access the Internet daily on their mobiles. In a short period of time this will be true for most of the inhabitants of your city, country and indeed, the planet.”
A dumb blonde then bounced/minced forward, and after a vacuous smile she/he ( depending on your preference) pleaded; “Oh Mobilus, I think u r cool, but when will dotMobi turn me into someone smart?”
Alas there are some miracles that even Mobilus cannot perform. Nevertheless he replied, “Oh sweet child, your salvation is nigh. Next year you will be able to buy one of the 100 million smartphones being shipped by manufacturers. At least you will be able to look smart.”
The dumb blonde was most disappointed and, as it transpired, compelled the prophet to reveal the true reason for not granting this most sought-after wish.
“Unfortunately dotMobi cannot do a brain swop on you right now as he has the whole media and marketing industry lined up for surgery,” declared the prophet.
And with these profound words Mobilus the prophet took up his iPhone and, closely followed by his Gen C first adopters, repaired down the mountain to the 3G AfricaCom Conference at the Cape Town International Conference Centre on 21 – 22 November anno mobilus 13 ( 2007 if you still don't get it!)
• As recorded by Mobilist Harry Trisos, who witnessed these events in person.
Harry Trisos of Mobilety has been involved in the marketing of telemedia for the past 15 years. Commencing with Telkom and the 087 industry in the early 90s, he has been at the forefront of developments in value-added content throughout this period, working with some of the leading service providers in this sector.
Harry has also provided media marketing services to almost every major publication in the country. His services have ranged from setting up and managing of variable data promotional competitions to consulting on mobile strategy for publications. He can be reached at smm121@mweb.co.za.
Visit our PRESS OFFICE: Mobilety is a fully integrated supplier of content to the mobile market. The company consults and manages the channel to consumer for any client who is supplying content to mobile markets.- more....
Connected by: Uninet
Harry Trisos of Mobilety has been involved in the marketing of telemedia for the past 15 years. Commencing with Telkom and the 087 industry in the early 90s, he has been at the forefront of developments in value-added content throughout this period, working with some of the leading service providers in this sector.
Harry has also provided media marketing services to almost every major publication in the country. His services have ranged from setting up and managing of variable data promotional competitions to consulting on mobile strategy for publications. He can be reached at 
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