Next Big Revolution on Mobile Phone Screens

The Online Reporter
Written by Charles Hall
March 22-28, 2008 Issue 581

There’s going to be more on mobile handsets than just videos, songs and maps if LightPole has its way. Its LightPole Publishing System is intended to make it easy for publishers, bloggers and other “word-based” content providers to distribute content to mobile devices and let users engage in two-way communication with the publishers and each other.

LightPole Publishing supports multiple sources of revenue for the publisher including subscriptions, transactions and advertising. Readers can post comments, share links and meet online. The company promises that special programming and expensive IT equipment are not required.

LightPole's Publishing System Makes it Easy
“The next great revolution in communication will take place on the screens of mobile phones,” predicts LightPole CEO Doug Klein. “The emergence of smart devices, true Web 2.0 services and a suitable network infrastructure has allowed LightPole to be at the forefront of an economic disruption in mobile much like what happened with the Web years ago.” Klein said LightPole’s end-to-end publishing system makes it easy for everyone – from content publishers to mobile phone users themselves – to participate in the next information revolution.

Eight publishers have already signed up:

• Yahoo provides YahooLocal content.
• Yelp allows users to write reviews about local businesses.
• Platial is a free online mapping source where people worldwide can discover and share places.
• MappyHour is a bar guide that shares Happy Hour locations throughout the world.
• HotSpotr identifies laptop-friendly locations with free Wi-Fi, complete with a user rating system providing critical information such as availability of power outlets.
• Heyday Books specializes in books and educational projects that foster an understanding of the history, literature, art, environment, social issues and culture of California and the West.
• Bathroom Diaries says it has the world’s largest database - and brief reviews - of restroom locations.
• Zvents is a local search engine for discovering things to do, places to visit and people to see – anytime and anywhere.

LightPole expects the number of publishers to increase substantially.

LightPole says it supports hundreds of models of mobile phones - Blackberry, Motorola, Nokia, and most phones from leading carries such as AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile as well as the Blackberry on Verizon Wireless – and is adding more. Most of the services do not appear to work with iPhone and iPod touch. The company is promising iPhone/iPod compatibility later this year.

LightPole promises to bring the usefulness of the open Net that consumers are accustomed to at home and office to the proprietary world that mobile phone operators have walled off.