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RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS
SoLoMo:
Characteristics and
implications of the
phenomenon
New movement has come into the Internet market due mance of navigation devices is increasingly dis-
to three factors: a growing usage of a new kind of inter- placed by offers of smartphones. Here, a better
net access (mobile), a changing focus (local), and usability benefits the smartphones which can addi-
greater involvement of the Internet in everyday life tionally score with the consumer compared to the
(social). This movement is summarized by the neolo- navigation services - especially through the use of
gism "SoLoMo". social media. Simplified access and intuitive opera-
tion of social represent important milestones on the
To clarify the individual components of SoLoMo, let’s way to the permanent users who stay permanently
start by discussing them individually: online via mobile devices in conjunction with the
map and localization services. By and by, mobile
Internet usage is constantly becoming easier, more
Social: Over the past years, the social media mar- intuitive and useful for everyday use. Therefore,
ket has been growing strongly. Key drivers have this phenomenon will not only apply to a specific
been social networks and blogs, forums, micro- Internet savvy group of online users, but in the me-
blogging services and video- as well as photo- dium-term include the majority of all mobile users.
sharing sites. Overall, "social” largely stands for ac-
cessible, kind of non-hierarchical, and partially Local: So far the Internet primarily served to con-
grassroots communication and interaction over the nect to the global network. The direct environment
network. Barrier-free insofar, as spatial distances of a user was neglected for a long time. With social
represent no obstacle to the exchange. Non- media, a first step was made to include the social
hierarchical, because the users interact at eye level. environment of a user on the World Wide Web.
The exchange of views on the social media has Now, mobile devices offer a variety of new func-
grassroots traits, since popular rejection is easily tions, which can also involve the geographical envi-
expressed and opposing views can be rapidly ronment of the user, which is putting the social and
spread, so others can find it. Opinions can reach a spatial environment of the user in focus. This tech-
large range of people and based on the popularity nical progress has direct impact on the surfing be-
or the rejection of many, the votes take place con- havior of the user and has long lasting effect on the
stantly, which can then be used to define online as use of the Internet. The increasing local use of the
well as offline trends. The social communication on Internet brings forth new Internet offerings specifi-
the Internet, therefore, is similar to the social ex- cally tailored to this local usage demand.
change offline. The main subjects are entertain-
ment, exchange of opinions and gossip, interaction SoLoMo creates the connection of the offline and
and mobilization. Only with the difference of being the online world
barrier-free, non-hierarchical, and democratic.
New technological developments now allow for the
Mobile: Mobile access to the Internet is becoming merging of the individual components to SoLoMo. Not
commonplace due to the technical development of
smartphones. The mobile user is online anywhere, representing an isolated Internet phenomenon, but ra-
ther only mirroring the thinking and acting of people
anytime. Though currently mobile Internet access is
most commonly used for retrieving emails or finding online, social media, mobile Internet and local services
finally are technically able to depict the everyday life of
specific information, the mobile Internet will take an
increasing role in the local environment and the so- people in the digital world.
cial environment in the future. The technological
development in the field of localization and naviga- The Internet meets the local demands of the user, de-
tion services was a big boost for this development, livering a concrete added value, no matter in which
as the direct environment became suddenly more spatial and social environment he/she is moving in.
focus for mobile Internet usage. By now, the perfor- This added value can manifest itself in many ways: Nu-
8 Asian eMarketing May 2014 - Multichannel Marketing— SoLoMo
