Mobile internet usage has almost doubled in the past year, with Australians turning to mobile devices to access the internet even when a computer may be available in the home or in the office. Australians most commonly access the mobile web at work or at home (both 42 per cent), followed by when they are in transit (30 per cent) and when they are out and about (10 per cent). Long gone are the days when the internet was exclusively accessible from a desktop computer in the lounge room. The splintering of the internet has seen its accessibility spread across a number of mobile devices including smart phones, laptops, tablets, and even gaming consoles. The recent launch of The Daily, the first daily newspaper built exclusively for tablet devices is a solid example of how accessing online content beyond a fixed PC is becoming the norm. This splintering of the internet has serious implications for businesses. They have the added advantage of customers who have 24 hour access to the internet via their mobile devices; these customers are consistently engaging with mobile websites and applications providing a wealth of valuable data as to their interests and preferences. However, many businesses are faced with a lack of understanding as to how to properly engage their mobile customers. To engage with the mobile audience, businesses need to think about developing a mobile version of their website - many companies have done this well, such as Facebook and YouTube, while other mobile sites still need improvement. The content and layout of a mobile website needs to be simplified to improve the browsing experience on the small screen. Excessive scrolling should be avoided, pop ups should be removed and image sizes should be reduced. Additionally, text entry fields should be replaced with drop down menus for a streamlined user experience. Developing a mobile site alone is not enough. To ensure that they are reaching their target audience effectively, businesses need to understand how customers effectively customers are engaging with their brand through the mobile site. By tracking their visit and understanding where drop of points occur, they can optimise their mobile sites to better engage the mobile audience. ….To read the rest of this article please visit ABC’s Technology + Games site [This post was written by Mark Allison. Mark is the Director of Webtrends Australia and a regular contributor to ABC’s Tech Blog – Ed.]

As we've seen in recent years, the SXSW conversation happens as much socially as it does at the event itself - maybe even more so. Of course those conversations include the obligatory "SXSW Is Over" comments (I'm loving the article Saying "SXSW Is Over" Is Over with its Portlandia references). While we were at the event together with the MoFilm, as the sponsor of SouthBytes, we were also monitoring the event buzz. This year people shared their thoughts pretty equally between Twitter and Facebook.

Each year SXSWi brings a bevy of new and updated apps, this year we looked at what was hot before and during the event itself. Instagram moved from 4th to 1st, showing big love for the iPhone app by the Austin audience.

While Techcrunch declared "Before it Even Begins, Apple Wins SXSW" which might be true for iPad2 sales, the brand buzz put Google out in front.

Checking in this year had FourSquare dwarfing local-favorite Gowalla. Seth Priebatsch said We'll All Be Playing Games Soon but SVNGR checkins registered only a blip.

And what those checkins, tweets and Facebook posts said differed from day to night:

All data was gathered using Webtrends Social Measurement & analysis conducted by Webtrends analysts.

With the who’s who of the technology world hitting Barcelona last month for the infamous Mobile World Congress, when I was asked to write a guest blog for eCircle, the power of mobile marketing seemed to have a nice ring to it (surely I’m allowed at least one pun?). 2011 has been much heralded as the year of mobile. Marketers are already feeling the same pressure as they did with social media to recognise and relish the opportunities created as internet users leave their desktops behind and take to the mobile internet in their droves to access social media, email and ecommerce. But is mobile just our next hot topic? As marketers, we are all too often accused of only being interested in the next big thing! But in the case of mobile, it simply cannot be denied that it is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of transformation and understanding how this incredibly powerful ecosystem affects businesses has never been more important. It’s a big moment for mobile, as smarter handsets, faster connections, and a seemingly endless supply of innovative applications hit us on a daily basis. From apps to optimising emails for mobile, investing in mobile marketing can simply not be regarded as a ‘gimmick’ any longer. As an example of a business recognising how audiences now wish to access content and the importance of continued investment, we’ve recently worked closely with The Telegraph to gain a comprehensive understanding of how an increasingly sophisticated audience interacts with its iPad app. This understanding, when combined with a series of focus groups run by the Telegraph, has been fundamental in the development of v2 of its app which is currently in the pipeline for a 2011 launch. All too often, however, the confusion is not how to continue mobile marketing investment but where to start. In 2010, we saw a strong shift from online strategies to social media strategies and, I believe, we will follow a similar pattern between social media strategies and mobile device marketing. As a result, it is important to start now and put the budget behind the basics rather than push through a mobile marketing strategy because those all too frequently words of ‘everybody else is doing it’ are uttered. Mobile offers massive opportunities for acquiring customers, delivering services and selling products, so don’t leave anything to chance and cover all the bases. It’s not a time to be overawed by the technology, now is the time to embrace another new and flourishing way to interact and communicate with our customers. [This article was originally posted on the ecircle blog March 3, 2011. Webtrends is a Gold Sponsor at eCircle’s ConnectEurope2011 held on 3/17. Colette Wade is the Marketing Director, Webtrends EMEA and Australasia. -- Ed]

Webtrends kicked off its Engage 2011 conference today in San Francisco to a record number of attendees, and a record number of attending companies. One thing was clear on Engage day one: marketers are realizing that measurement across their brand platforms (web, mobile, social), and the actions that are defined by this measurement, lies with them and they need to understand and harness it. The shift from speaking at, to engaging audiences has been fast and furious, and more brands are getting this every day. The advent and mass adoption of social and mobile has amplified this shift. In celebration of engagement, and our social world, here are a few of the moments of inspired genius from Engage day one speakers in 140 characters or less: Hope Frank, CMO, Webtrends: Today’s companies require fierce creative, a brave marketing team, and a tremendous amount of depth and insight. Ze Frank, zefrank.com & star.me: Everyone is a marketer today. Kids use SEO to get their YouTube videos more traffic. Tyler Lessard, Blackberry: Life is now being lived on mobile devices. Brands now need to deliver hyper engagement experiences, and we are moving to hyper-connectedness: payment terminals, cars. Mark Challinor, Telegraph Media Group: Age of mass media: we talked to the forest. Niche media: we talked to the trees. Micro media: we talk to the leaves and they talk to each other. Sam Yagan, OkCupid: iPhone users have twice as many sex partners as Android users. BleackBerry users are somewhere in the middle. Adrienne Smith, Google Ads: Mobile device shipments have outpaced PCs. 65 million minutes on Angry Birds played every day. 79% of large online advertisers don’t have a mobile optimized site. Brian Solis, Future Works: Don't benchmark against competitors (old thinking) but against the opportunity. I need to speak to you, connect with you, speak through you. David Kirkpatrick, Daily Beast: If iPhone didn’t have a Facebook app, I guarantee it would not be the phenomenal success it is today. Dan Rose, Facebook: Social design principle: building with social first. Our mission is to make the world more open and connected. Dennis Yu, Webtrends: Facebook advertising’s pitfall is confusing # of fans with engagement. Engagement is the number of likes/comments divided by the # of fans. We look forward to what day two will bring. If you'd like to watch the morning sessions live visit our event site. There's lot of blogging and tweeting going on, so follow the hashtag #wtengage