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Thoughts on the Mobile Web: Stop Being Average

Firstborn's Dave Snyder on Avoiding One Solution for All

By: Dave Snyder, Published: Sep 23, 2010

I was in a debate the other day over mobile support, feature sets and the Mobile Web as a whole. Alas, an ideological impasse arose—an impasse that got me thinking.

There is a lot of chatter about the Mobile Web lately. It's totally en vogue, and we finally have the devices that make browsing the web via mobile worthwhile and enjoyable. Thank you, Steve Jobs. Thank you, Android.

It's an exciting time, much more so than six years ago, when I worked extensively in the mobile space. It sucked six years ago. Content is now everywhere, and we are (finally) able to devour it from anywhere. The problem in discussing the Mobile Web, however, is that people think about it (and its users) in the same way they think about users browsing via PC. It's that very point of difference, I believe, which was at the heart of our impasse.

At a root level I believe that premium mobile devices should get premium experiences. To be more precise: different devices, different solutions. An experience on an iPhone or Android shouldn't be limited because lower grade mobile browsers can't handle it. (Please note, I'm saying experience, NOT content.) People who drive Porsches get a better diving experience than people who drive Hondas, and I'm fine with that. Everyone of a legal age should surely be allowed to drive—access to content, in this case—but not everyone gets a Porsche. And yes, I like German cars.

But the argument is deeper than content accessibility across devices. That should be a given. Content should be universal. The way in which you experience that content, however, should be tailored to you based on the device used and the user behaviors inherent with it.

The Mobile Web is fundamentally different than PC-based browsing (as are user behaviors and expectations). Yet people tend to form opinions on mobile based on the falsehood that they are one in the same, something some are finding hard to grasp. Some still have no problem opining on the subject matter even if they spend no time whatsoever browsing the web via mobile. To be blunt, opinions rooted in comment trolling and blogger punditry, rather than real-life experience, are of little meaning. Especially when it comes to a field that is still emerging.

The iPhone, like it or not, has fundamentally changed the way people think and browse mobile based content. The millions upon millions of marketing dollars Apple has spent (and continues to spend) have taught the world how to swipe and pinch. They've introduced the world to the "premium" way to browse the Mobile Web. Take away fundamental browsing behaviors and expectations from an iPhone user, and you have a frustrated iPhone user. Simple.

Now a BlackBerry or Android user wouldn't be the wiser in this case: different device, different behaviors and expectations. But there is surely a better way to design a BlackBerry experience with its trackball, small screen space and limited font choices. And I have. And it's worthy of its own solution. The same holds true for Android.



Tailoring content to user behaviors and expectations innate in each device just makes sense to me.

The case for a limited experience, or a "one solution for all" remedy, reminds me of a lunch spot up the street from Firstborn, called Amish Market. They sell a little of everything: pizza, sushi, pot roast, hoagies and groceries—all of it, on a good day, average.



If you create an experience that is the same for everyone all you are doing is creating an average solution. In some situations, average is all that may be necessary. That's life. But I don't like average. And I certainly don't want "average" to become status quo.

Will this mean more work? Sure...marginal, in the grand scheme of things. But the argument for "one solution for all" isn't about what's right for the user. It's really an argument for less work.












Dave Snyder is an associate creative director at Firstborn.

1 Comment: By narrowdesign September 23rd, 2010 10:14:31 pm

Damnit Dave, I finally made my mind up that there can be one web and then you go and make good arguments for different experiences on different devices! I love that the discussion has moved away from everything-in-apps and switched to keeping the web alive by trying to figure out how to best experience it. I've heard arguments that nobody wants an experience site on their phone but I think Steve Jobs and the $60 million in immersive iAds he sold in 3 weeks would beg to differ. Our phones are faster than most computers from 5 years ago and many of the screens have better resolution than the Trinitron I was designing Flash sites on a decade ago. Now that Android and Blackberry run web-kit browsers and Typekit has added support for Android, the chance to bring one "premium" touch experience to all the major modern handsets feels within reach.

PS. I loaded www.firstborn.com on my DroidX (with Flash) today in hopes that I'd see the full site and was a little disappointed when I saw the mobile version (not a knock on the mobile version, it's great). Was that intentional or are you sniffing for mobile first and sending them all to m.fborn.com?

I don't know where we'll end up on all of this as devices and behaviors evolve but it's fun to be along for the ride. Thanks for making me question my thinking. Great article.

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