Apple and Intermediaries in Information on Mobile Devices

In this blog we have published a number of entries dedicated to think a very important point of the relationship between technology companies and travel market: the relevance of intermediation (links at the bottom of the entry). That is, when one of the big marketing companies and Internet technology in particular, Google, Apple and Facebook-are transformed,
or seek to become, in key parts of the business process of companies in the travel market, by a side and on the other, part of the search engines and access to information by users on the other. Of course, this is not relevant only to the travel segment, and encompasses many other vertical markets.

Here are some basic examples of market intermediation:

* Google is currently the major intermediary in the process of searching for information on the Web. But fight the market, in terms of advertising and promotions, with Facebook-which, incidentally, is gaining more and more space in this segment.

* In the segment of social networks, Facebook is clearly dominant, while Google builds failure or unsuccessful attempts, although the market for mobile devices, Twitter is much used as an information exchange network, and Instagram photo segment. Sure, the latter bought something on Facebook about a billion dollars.

* Google and Apple compete for the market of mobile and data, with results in recent months shows Apple iOS better positioned than Google Android.

This last point is that we are interested in this entry. In an entry from GigaOM make an analysis of what is missing from Apple to finish becoming an important intermediary in the segment and shopping information from mobile devices: a platform for exchange of data between users, and a payment mechanism. Something that could be approached from 2 sales potential: Foursquare and Square. The first, because it concentrates the information on where users are visiting, along with recommendations and pictures, And all in real time, allowing Apple to enter the space that now clearly dominates Twitter. And the second, Square, it is by far the major player in the payments market from the mobile, a simple device that is added to the iPhone, allowing any purchases paid with credit card. GigaOM's note does not suggest that such purchases are imminent; only analyze potential consequences.

For Apple, such purchases involve extending the growing dominance of the market for mobile devices more expensive-so-called smartphones, and take this a step further, by linking content generation by users with the purchase and payment process thereof . And, of course, to transform such a platform also a business opportunity for advertising and marketing . For example, many businesses segurmente be interested in doing some promotions in that platform.

Both Google and Facebook have their problems in the mobile market. They are strong in their segments of search engines and social networks, but have their problems when leaving the PC can not get Google Android to grow more in the smartphone market, and even manages to improve the refresh rate of the devices the latest version of Android, 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Facebook Instagram bought an expensive measure but interesting, but its mobile applications are now quite painful now. In particular, they seek to "translate" the social network that works well on PCs to mobile phones, rather than focusing on the experience from the phones.

As has been happening for some years, large technology companies want to become intermediaries in the processes required to search for information, contacts with our friends, and purchasing decisions in both PCs and phones . The most likely continue to see as some of them dominate specific markets, search, social networks, interaction from mobile procurement process. And are relevant to the travel market from the user searches where companies decide to do advertising and promotion, to be seen now as they manage to grow in the mobile market, a key to access space travelers .