Hollywood Gossip Goes Mobile

The more content you can access on the go, the better, right? It's great that I can surf the Web with my phone. Even better that some models will optimize the view, and perhaps also permit one-button access to social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. Multimedia packages that let me watch YouTube videos on a phone are pretty neat as well. But do we really need access to Hollywood gossip on the go? Um, yes!

I just received an announcement that popular Hollywood gossip site TMZ.com will be offering an ad-supported, "mobile" version of its Website, allowing mobile phone users to get their daily gossip "fix", including breaking news, photos, and even TMZ videos, on the fly. Need to know if Britney Spears had another breakdown? TMZ can send you a text message as soon as a story breaks. Where's Paris Hilton now? TMZ can help you keep tabs on the socialite no matter where you are!

Quattro Wireless is building the site, while Sony Picture's Home Entertainment has signed on as the first sponsor. AT&T will be the first wireless carrier partner in Q2. To get to the site, just punch in "TMZ.com" in your mobile phone's browser; or send a text that says TMZ to short-code 52662.

"There is an insatiable consumer appetite for the breaking entertainment news that TMZ is famous for delivering, so having a presence on mobile plays perfectly into the behaviour of TMZ's core 18-34 demo," said Brett Bouttier, Senior Vice President, Digital, Warner Bros. Television Group (TMZ.com is a joint venture between this Group and AOL).

He's absolutely right. The whole idea really does baffle me. But I have to admit that even I have fallen into the trap. I don't actually own a "smart" phone, per se (believe it or not!), but every single time I review one, I find myself surfing sites like TMZ.com and Perezhilton.com while I'm driving home from the office (I know, it's horrible) or just waiting around for something.

TMZ's core audience is indeed the younger crowd, who also happen to be heavy mobile phone users. This decision is just pure genius on the company's part, as crazy an idea as it seems.

Consumers Consume More Online, Communicate Less

An interesting four-year analysis conducted by the Online Publishers Association (OPA) reveals that consumers are no longer using the ‘net predominantly for communications: the shift is now in favour of consuming content. This is no surprise, given that more and more content has become available online over the past few years.

The study revealed that time spent on content has increased 37% over the past four years. Time spent on search has also gone up (35%), although this represents just 5% of a user’s overall online activity.

What type of content are people viewing online? It ranges from news, to entertainment information, videos, and even checking the weather. Of course we can’t forget social networking Websites, which I’d argue (and OPA President Pam Horan acknowledges) represent not only the consumption of content, but also a new means of communication. Meanwhile, other burgeoning online communication methods, like instant messaging, have hampered the popularity of e-mail; although e-mail arguably still remains an extremely popular method of staying in touch (Blackberry, anyone?)

Marshall McLuhan is famous for having said that “the medium is the message”. In this case, the message is rapidly advancing technology. And that's always a good thing for the CE/IT industry!

The OPA’s index is derived from Web properties that account for approx. 90% of active Web users and approximately 55% of total usage time (excluding .gov, .edu, and domains of a pornographic nature).

For more information on the study, visit http://www.online-publishers.org/iai/.