 RAIN 10/28: Fast Company says 2009 the year of mobile Internet ·Oct 28, 11:50 AM OPERA TRAFFIC SHOWS MOBILE HAS HIT “BOILING POINT,” SAYS MAGAZINENew data from Opera indicates a huge surge in mobile web traffic, and the company’s not talking about iPhone users. Opera makes the Opera Mini mobile web browser, installed mainly on Nokia and Sony Ericsson handsets around the world, and on Blackberrys in the U.S.
Opera’s servers handled 8.7% more traffic last month than in August 2009. (Currently, Opera represents about 27% of mobile browsing worldwide, while Apple’s Safari is below 22% and Nokia below 21%.) Plus, 11.5% more people in September used the Opera mobile browser than in August. “But the number of people using Opera mobile rose by 150% compared to the same period in 2008—a figure which can only be interpreted as an explosion in use,” writes Fast Company. Keep in mind that surveys show Opera users don’t use their browsers nearly as much as Safari (iPhone) users. “Still, it’s undeniably a marker that in 2009 the mobile Web, RADIO EXPERTS HASH OUT ISSUE OF REQUIRING LISTENERS TO REGISTER ONLINEThere’s been an interesting discussion, via blog posts, between well-known and respected industry observers Mark Ramsay (right) and James Cridland regarding Internet radio and user registration. That is, why don’t more broadcasters and webcasters require listeners to surrender even the most basic personal info — e.g. age, gender, and ZIP code — to listen online.
Clearly there are benefits to the webcaster to have this info, but are there benefits to the listener? Ramsey, in an entry on his Hear 2.0 blog featuring an interview with AndoMedia CMO Patrick Reynolds, stressed the importance for Internet radio of matching relevant advertising messages to listeners. But “the vast majority of radio companies are surrendering this power and the significant monetization value this capability represents. And that’s because they are not requiring registration to their websites and/or streams,” Ramsey suggests. He adds this “reality check”: “Pandora has 100% of their users registered.” Cridland takes issue with Ramsey’s example, insisting one can’t compare a listener surrendering personal info to use Pandora with, say, Read Ramsey’s Hear 2.0 here. Read Cridland’s blog here. CONCLAVE “LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE LEGENDS” WEBINAR FEATURES BOB SHANNON THIS AFTERNOON The Conclave hosts radio legend Bob Shannon this afternoon for “Lessons Learned from the Legends.” The webinar is at 3 ET/2 CT, and requires pre-registration here. Shannon’s new book, Turn It Up! American Radio Tales, 1946-1996, features interviews with radio legends like Rick Dees, Dick Clark, Lee Abrams,Chuck Blore, Dick Biondi, Bill Drake, Alan Freed, and Larry Lujack. Read more here, and don’t forget to pre-register!
PANDORA ADDS FACEBOOK, TWITTER “SHARING” CAPABILITY Pandora has added a “share” toolbar to its player to enable listeners to share a song or station with Facebook friends or Twitter followers. Stations can even be “gifted” to friends — sort of like an electronic greeting card meets a mixtape. See Pandora CTO Tom Conrad’s blog for background and details here.
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CommentCommenting is closed for this article.  Other stories RAIN has upgraded (and moved)! RAIN 9/13: RAIN Summit Chicago takes place today! RAIN 9/12: First Summit in RAIN's hometown takes place tomorrow RAIN 9/9: Summer holidays, "doldrums" impact July Webcast Metrics, but audience up over last year RAIN 9/8: Clear Channel launches new customizable iHeartRadio beta; RAIN goes hands-on RAIN 9/7: Meet more speakers you'll hear at RAIN Summit Chicago in less than a week RAIN 9/6: Clear Channel taps The Echo Nest to take on Pandora RAIN 9/2: RAIN reviews Spotify's radio-like product Artist Radio RAIN 9/1: UK online radio aggregator Radioplayer campaigns b'dcasters to create "all radio" ratings RAIN 8/31: Execs from Merlin, Triton Digital, jacAPPS and more to appear at RAIN Summit Chicago |
which has been bubbling under boil for several years now, has finally reached boiling point,” concludes Fast Company. Plus, “Dell’s due to launch its smartphone with China’s biggest network, and Apple’s partnered with the second place network provider.” Read more 
a terrestrial broadcast stream. “Pandora offers a user something better than the offer of slightly more relevant advertisements, of course,” he writes. “Pandora… needs to remember your information in order to work… I’d hope you’re not thinking about hiding your radio station behind a registration wall on the web.” Cridland (left) says the real lesson for broadcasters and webcasters is that they should give listeners “tons of great reasons” to register with the service (and points out 
