Florence or Dusseldorf?

Yesterday I outlined three simple steps for mobile marketing effectiveness, Mobile Marketing 101.  But if you are a larger enterprise or a developer, you need a more sophisticated perspective.  Let’s move on to MM301.

Mobile Marketing 301 considers which mobile ecosystem will be right for you long-term.  Last week I spoke briefly about evolutionary cycles; let’s take that thinking further and consider closed versus open.

Closed systems and open systems are each great in different ways.

Apple’s beautiful, elegant, closed system has proven performance and profitability.  In particular in mobile, Apple deserves credit for taking mobile devices “one giant step” forward, shattering the mold of previous devices and setting the bar much, much higher.

The paradox of a closed system is that it  can advance a design point of view that polevaults it past the competition, but does not tolerate contributions outside that point of view.

Imagine your favorite style of architecture, beautifully executed in a walled city with strict building codes.  This is the closed system.

Now imagine a city which has very few building codes and lots of imaginative builders.  Some of the builders are geniuses.  Others don’t care about design at all.  Many styles flourish, and in this environment any innovation can occur.

This is the city of Google Android’s open system.  Those who are highly sensitive to design, consistency and beauty often find this city revolting.  For example, it is not surprising that most of my friends who work in design cannot abide the Droid.  It feels “rough” to them in comparison to the iPhone’s silky smooth consistency.

So here’s our thesis assignment for MM301: which type of city better fits your long-term business or development efforts?  The beautiful Florence of the Medici, compelling and sumptuous, but limiting?  Or the experimental Dusseldorf of Frank Gehry, jangling and rough in places, but a place where innovation can occur outside the building code?

Don’t forget to take your agnosticism along as your guiding principle.  There is no one “right answer” for everyone.  Your task is more subtle than that.  It’s deciding which path is the most promising for your enterprise.

—Lisa