Having a mobile strategy is like having a “laptop” strategy 20 years ago

Source: http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/a-mobile-strategy-a-laptop-strategy-20-years-ago/238445/

Mobile is increasingly becoming the dominant online distribution channel (per the author already is the most important channel), and it is being underestimated by many companies who simply have a “mobile strategy”.  Per the article, “making a distinction between the desktop and mobile web is a mistake.” 

In the 1990s, when the laptop entered the computer scene, industry execs were having similar conversations about creating specific laptop software for these new smaller screens.  However 10 years later, these devices were used interchangeably and people expected their files to work across them seamlessly.  “Laptop use became the norm, or at least not the side dish”.  Mobile is currently being treated as the “side dish” when it actually should be treated as an equal or even superior counterpart.  “Social means mobiles, and content needs to flow and format seamless from desktop to mobile, mobile to tablet, mobile to mobile etc.” An effective digital marketing must address that mobile, “the smaller screen”, will soon become the principal way in which people both access and share content online.

Below is an interesting graph presented in the article: 

Above one can see that Facebook and Google have equal referral traffic they send to publishers, which further accentuates the power of mobile as a great majority of Facebook users access the site via mobile.