Following on from the previous post, one might ask if the concept “Mobile Web 1.0″ itself is still largely hype. The Web experience as we all now know it, which is a “must have” feature of any PC (but not of mobile) is nothing like what we get on a mobile, so I don’t even think it’s correct to call it “Mobile Web”, it’s something else.

Since the beginning of browsers for phones (HDML days) there has been this expectation that a mobile web would arise. In other words, standard websites would mobilize, like the BBC has done today (and very well I think). However, that day has still not come and apart from operator portals and relatively few mobile sites, 99.9999% of the web remains unusable on most phones. So, “Mobile Web” itself remains an exaggeration. There is no mobile web. There is a web with crappy mobile support.

Now, if there really is a big belief amongst the tech community in a mobile web, why don’t we see more of it? In fact, nearly ALL of the Web 2.0 services out there, most blogs (including 99% of those by mobilists) don’t have mobilized versions. There is an almost arrogant attitude that the operators and the device guys have to make it work. Why? It is possible to incorporate mobilization tools in most content management tools out there, including blogs, but it doesn’t happen that often. The vast pool of techies hasn’t solved the problem, so even crowd-sourcing has failed has on this one.

I’ve always had a mobilized version of my blog via the excellent Winksite service (see the icon on the bottom right of this site) and it gets hits (remarkably), but I still don’t inhale my own exhaust fumes when it comes to the forlorned promise of the mobile web. For the best experience on mobile, site publishers and authors have to make an effort to make their content available for mobiles. This is still a niche activity for most web authors.