Reality Check: Organization benefiting from the mobile Web

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace.
When you’re thinking about advanced technology and progressive Web adoption, what type of firm or organization do you think of? Most likely it is a young tech firm or start-up where the employees are tech savvy and up on the latest trends. However, Taptu has found that a surprising group is utilizing the newest category of the mobile Web: made-for-touch content. Non-profits, government agencies and charities are adopting the mobile-touch Web in an unprecedented way.
Because of their operating structure and fiscal situations, non-profits and governments are limited in operating dollars and personnel. Due to budget restrictions, these organizations must prioritize their spending and outreach efforts to achieve maximum reach for minimal outlay. Also, mobile consumers are adopting mobile technology at an unprecedented rate and the legions of new devices on the market present a new medium for organizations to directly reach visitors, potential donors, and other stakeholders.
So what advantages do non-profits, religious organizations, and government agencies see in the mobile-touch Web? Currently two models exist for distributing content to audiences: mobile applications and mobile Web sites. While applications have received a huge amount of coverage, the lack of standards across platforms means that developing an application for just one platform can be restrictive and developing for many can be costly.
However, there is something that unites all the mobile-touch platforms, they all feature a mobile Web browser. This means by utilizing mobile-touch Web content, organizations can reach a mass audience with one development effort. We have found non-profit and government agencies to be eager to raise funds and connect with mobile Web users who have touchscreen devices. These groups see the mobile-touch Web as a very cost-effective way to reach their audiences.
Taptu analyzed this groups’ usage of the touch-friendly Web and the use cases into some major categories and sub-categories outlines below.
Notable government and non-profit categories
1. Federal government and agencies are facilitating the collection of tax online and allowing interaction with elected officials. (Example: DirectGov Mobile, U.K.)
2. Local government agencies are displaying public transport times, allowing access to local information and resources. (Example: Utah.Gov)
3. Colleges and universities have created a virtual campus to give access to learning resources and promote student engagement. (Example: MIT)
4. Charities are building donation portals to speed and simplify fund-raising processes and allowing people to follow and track causes while on the go. (Example: Love The Unloved)
5. Religious institutions are providing worship information, fund-raising and increasing user engagement. (Example: Christ For All Nations)
6. Museums and libraries can post opening/closing times, catalogues, and making visits better by providing information and maps while visitors are on-site. (Example: Walker ArtCenter)
7. Healthcare institutions are providing 24/7 information about medical issues and clinic locations/phone numbers. (Example: WebMD Mobile)
Observations of mobile-touch Web adoption by government and non-profits
1. Some non-profit organizations have exploited the mobile-touch Web with fantastic functionality including information dissemination and opinion gathering. However we believe these organizations should take the next step and integrate a new level of functionality to the mobile Web presence. If charities would utilize mobile donation portals, fund-raising would be greatly improved. SMS-based donations have been utilized to date and mobile donation portals could drive further donation activity.
2. The college and university segment showed what we call “touch sweet spot sites.” These organizations, such as MIT, are utilizing the touch Web to a high level to engage students with innovative services such as on-campus information, e-learning facilities, and alumni outreach.
3. Governments seem to walk a fine line with regards to mobile content distribution. If an agency or institution builds an application for online facility for a specific platform (such as iPhone), they face the possibility of accusations that the group favors privileged demographic groups. Because of the broad reach of mobile-touch Web, agencies can target a broader group of the population with lower capital investment.
In summary, the mobile-touch Web is enabling non-profit and government organizations to build attractive and informative touch friendly websites that reach any touch-screen device. These organizations are embracing this new technology because it’s a cost-effective and highly functional way to reach their audience, raise funds and enhance relationships with key stakeholders. Building mobile applications can be exponentially more expensive than developing a touch Web site and deliver a highly leveraged payback for organizations that choose to build them.
Steve Ives is co-founder and CEO of Taptu Ltd., a mobile search company based in Cambridge U.K. You can follow him on Twitter at @sives. You can experience touch-friendly search by visiting taptu.com on your mobile browser, or searching for “Taptu” in the App Store on the iPhone. View Taptu’s research on the mobile touch ecosystem at http://taptu.com/metrics and follow us on Twitter @taptu.