Not coined by them, but the mobile ad gurus of Admob are writing about the rise of the Middle Web. At first I thought this was going to be a play on words or some amusing trip into fantasy, like a kind of journey into middle earth. It wouldn’t be the first time that mobile travelled into the realms of fantasy and fiction. But, no! Just another neologism to confuse us. Where is this middle web? I’d like to visit it.

I might let is pass and not be so bothered, continue to sip my Jasmine tea, except that I noticed this:

One does begin to question how much will be done by native clients vs. web applications, considering the browser on these devices are so capable.

Why do we have to keep asking this question? It comes around every few weeks it seems. I don’t mind the debate per se, and I have joined in on many occasions, but for heaven’s sake, talking about this in such generic terms is like a pointless debate about the merits of one art form over another.

But this is not art. The choice of native versus web can - and should - be decided using plain old logic. If anyone plans to attend the mobile internet portals strategies conference in the UK, I shall be demonstrating such logic using a decision tree to show the various options for mobilizing media content.

But, let me summarise. It starts with what we call requirements. What do you want to do with mobile and why? This should lead to a set of functional requirements. From this, we can attempt to map these to the capabilities of various approaches to mobile application implementation, taking into account project budgets, regional variations in mobile markets and so on. From there, we end up with a set of options for the particular project in hand.

The options may well include - and often do - a set of alternatives, such that a native client is good for achieving x and a browser good for achieving y. Moreover, some things can only be done natively. This is a sorry fact of life. On the other hand, the customer could do absolutely nothing and rely on people using the Middle Web!

This is all subject to plain old logic. Now, whether or not various options will be successful or usable, then that is not so easy to decide upon. However, it is not impossible to use various approaches to test the market, test the solution and see how well a particular solution works. It is also possible to map various market and device usage stats to the target market for the mobile service in order to predict, at least in some statistically meaningful fashion (not hand-waving). For example, if you want to rely solely on Middle Web, then the number of potential users is x!

Sorry to be so boring about this and talk of requirements, mapping, testing and other hard-ish facts of the software business.

I do understand why our friends at Admob and others are perhaps interested in the question in general. After all, if you’re business is about getting noticed by as many mobile users as possible, then the ways and means by which this happens are important. Moreover, the mobile advertising model, as far as one exists today, scales better on the web.

Whilst talking about the iPhone and generic web access, then the fact that many iPhone specific sites have emerged so quickly goes to show that the ‘ordinary web on my phone’ has limitations. Again, this is a sorry fact of life and we should recognise the reality of the mobile beast. It is clear that from a user’s perspective, both options are possible, which makes life relatively easier. For example, I am now able to access my online banking from my phone, which I couldn’t do on other devices because the standard web interface is too cumbersome (and wasn’t even accessible on a lot of mobile browsers). However, it is a pain in the backside. A designed-for-mobile version would be better.

I can access Facebook, but this is a complete nightmare. The iPhone version is much better because it is easier to use. It’s so much easier that I - and others I’ve discussed with - will sometimes use this version on the desktop. This is interesting because I am left wondering if a kind of Web Lite will emerge as a general design pattern for mobiles and certain types of desktop user - those who like their coffee just black - no cream, no sugar, no full fat milk, just a bit of skimmed milk maybe!

Wait a minute! A feel another neologism coming on here. The Skinny Web anyone? The Espresso Web? Web Lite?

Technorati Tags: middle web, native, web, mobile internet, iPhone, Facebook

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