maramine blog

When someone like Russell Beattie says that the mobile web is dead, it really doesn’t bode well for mobile web developers. Russell, co-founder of Mowser, is someone with a lot of weight when it comes to the topic of mobile internet. For those who hadn’t sampled it, Mowser is/was a web-based tool that allowed users to instantly convert most full web pages into low-end mobile browser-friendly pages. Like what Google does, but better. Yesterday Russell posted on his blog about the difficulties his company has had of late. As such, Mowser is no more.

How could Mowser have succeeded? Carriers and manufacturers are typically the toughest nuts to crack but Mowser needed a big deal with an AT&T, Verizon, Samsung, or other. A service like Mowser has huge potential in my eyes, but without exposure to the right audience it had little hope of becoming a success. It did get exposure but essentially only with the savvy crowd via the tech blogosphere. These are not the people who need Mowser. These are primarily tech-junkie types equipped with smartphones, UMPCs and internet tablets. The mobile web has no place with them. It is the less tech-aware who would have and still can benefit from a product like Mowser.

Contracting with a carrier like AT&T could have lead to a rebranding of Mowser’s technology. Integrate it with the default homepage (MEdiaNet page) accessed by non-smartphones and market it well to the less savvy user. Find interesting ways to show them the clear benefits of mobilizing webpages and watch as data traffic doubles. That is how Mowser could have succeeded. ‘Any information anywhere’ is big money for carriers and the right pitch(es) could have shown them the clear benefits of promoting and extending the reach of a product like Mowser.

But again, a small start-up like Mowser would likely have a difficult time cracking a nut like that - especially without some serious funding. Russell speaks of the difficulties they had in securing funding and with internet-aware VCs focused on social networks, over-valued Facebook apps and the like, it’s no wonder Russel and company had difficulties.

I wish Russell all the best and I wish that I had a job for him. He and his team are quite a talent and under different circumstances, Mowser could have really gone places. The mobile web isn’t dead, it’s just hibernating.