It seems like it has been quiet since we heard that Facebook hit the 400M Mark in beginning of 2010. Well, they now are about to hit another amazing milestone… 700M! The Trajectory does not appear to be slowing down and they keep getting larger and larger. I followed the Trajectory, and it looks like the 1Billion mark will come around Q4, 2012. How will they keep this momentum going and get there?

Well, there is not a lack of news about the Middle East these days. China is a challenge as they grow their own competitors to Facebook….. so my gut tells me that the “Arab Spring movement” should be an important convergence that will be a continued asset for Facebook. How about South East Asia or the Africa region. This will require more and more strategies around mobile and possibly some acquisition targets for Facebook to keep getting users.

In any event, this is a big day for the Facebook team. A big congrats at getting to this next level.

Look at the incredible growth of Netflix over the last year!  9Million new subs… ( Approx 40% of their total subscribers).  They have embraced cross-platform convergence as a core strategy. Not only are they on every mobile platform that will port them today, they exist on as many platforms they can port to.  Try Nintendo, Try Playstations, X-boxes you name it Netflix is there… They started out as a humble service provider that leveraged snail-mail and now they are the top of the  rich-media content delivery business.

Media companies today need to really embrace cross-screening ( a term I created to describe the phenomena of users experiencing content on Multi-Screens.

Another company that has done a great job at the cross-screen strategy is New York Times.   Not only they marketing everywhere that they are leveraging all screens for users to consume content ( pay once and get all, they are advertising this just as well).  I see their Digital Subscriber Ads in the New York Subway everyday, and here is an ad that I recently saw in the CBSlocal.com website.

Not only is NewYork Times building themselves very strongly across all mediums, what is equally important is how much emphasis they put on Mobile.  Just recently, New York Times was awarded the 2011 Webby for the Best Mobile News Website . In today’s landscape media companies need to not only embrace mobile, but make it a very strong priority like Netflix and NYTimes.

If we look at Comcast, they do have a strong mobile strategy but as media consumption patterns are changing it is critical they embrace all platforms.   My gut tells me that they should just buy Hulu and start to change the game with Online content distribution streaming in a bigger way as well.  Put Hulu a bit out of their misery by trying to do it alone with those tough Networks.   Netflix has evolved with those relationships that started with physical plastic boxes with Tape, then DVD’s (some may say this could be considered an advantage), but they got the business model right and have expanded like crazy.   Hulu on the other hand, has had an uphill battle from the start with the content providers.  My recommendation for Comcast is to buy Hulu and start to change the game a bit with Netflix!  Make it cross-screen for all Digital Subscribers…

If you are a website owner, you need to be getting geared up for Mobile.  In the recent Business Insider Report, they shared some of the statistics for their own site on Mobile [ See Picture].  

We at ADObjects, Inc have been working with a variety of companies offering  mobilization services, and we  found for all of our clients similar data to what is seen at Business Insider.  You can expect between 10~20% of your existing traffic to now be from Mobile devices. Generally speaking we have found that the traffic from mobile browsers has been from 60~80% from iOS devices, with Android under 10%, but for this business users where Android devices have cannibalized much of the Blackberry market to take  close to 20% from the 10% in the past.

Well it has been Three years since I worked at Nokia, and it is great to start to work officially with Finland here in NYC.

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Finnish Mobile Association brings Finnish mobile expertise to New York

- There is life outside Nokia, media and advertising industries convergence with mobile seen as the next big thing.

May 2, 2011, Helsinki, Finland – Finnish Mobile Association (FinnMob), Greater Helsinki Promotion and Finpro are expanding operations to New York to promote Finnish mobile industry expertise and help Finnish companies to make it in the US. The trio aims to open doors for Finnish companies wanting to enter the world of mobile media and advertising.

FinnMob and Finpro are also establishing a new incubator and co-working space for Finnish companies in New York. They will offer office space as well as mentoring services and introduction to local investors. Today, there are more investments made in high-tech companies in New York than Silicon Valley.

“We can certainly see a shift from West Coast to East Coast happening in the technology market. For example, Google just opened their new media headquarters in New York. As convergence of mobile and media is continuing, it is important for mobile companies to be in New York, where all the major digital, media and advertising agencies are based. We believe that the next big revenue source for mobile will be from media and advertising,” comments Ismo Rantala, Managing Director of FinnMob.

FinnMob has been warmly welcomed to New York and they work closely with the New York Mayor’s office and New York University. The goal for FinnMob’s expansion to East Coast, is to find 30 most potential media houses that could benefit from mobile technology and introduce them to Finnish expertise.

”We have created a database of over 400 Finnish mobile companies, who we will be promoting in New York. If Finnish companies want to break in the US, they should head to the East Coast instead of Silicon Valley” Rantala continues.

Second goal of the project is to attract R&D to Finland, where there is talented workforce available. Many global companies already have presence in the country and Finland is leading the way in mobile gaming fuelled by the success of Angry Birds.

Finnish Mobile Association promotes Finnish mobile industry expertise globally. FinnMob acts as a matchmaker for Finnish companies looking for global opportunities by opening doors for potential new clients, investors and partners.

For more information:

Ismo Rantala, managing director

FinnMob

Ismo.rantala (at) finnmob.com

Tel. +358 40 556 7770