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Hello and welcome to the Mobile First Marketer podcast, where you will hear stories about how to succeed and thrive in a world where customers demand to be serviced on their mobile devices, which includes not just smartphones and tablets, but also wearables and other connected machines. In this inaugural episode, we are going to explore a major shift that has happened in our lives. It is a shift which has huge implications for businesses and business professionals—especially marketers. But because it is so new, most of us haven’t figured out how to reformulate our thinking and our doing in response to the shift, and as you will hear from some industry experts, that puts you at risk of being beaten by your competitors—both in business and in your career. I am talking about the shift to mobile as the primary way people communicate, get answers, and consume media. Listen to the podcast here, or read on for a transcript of the entire show Let’s start the story with a realization that most of us have had. Someone was telling me today that ‘I am constantly thinking about mobile, and how to get our content on mobile’. I am talking to Mark Kersteen of Incite Marketing and Communications, who I interviewed because of an interesting study he did that provides a perspective on marketers comfort level with mobile. (You can find his articles here) ‘The desktop browser is becoming the radio of our generation.’ Most of us grew us experiencing the internet through our desktop browser, so it is hard to imagine it is turning into something only “grandpa” uses. In India and Africa, the mobile phone is the primary way to experience media. And I just got a smartphone a year ago. Now I find my whole life being shaped by what I can do with my phone. I barely ever look at my laptop anymore. I communicate with people more because I have so many channels to connect with people. Mark finds that his whole life being shaped by what he can do with his phone. We are going to hear more from Mark later. For now, lets move on to another example that illustrates the role of mobile devices in our lives. To see what has happened in well under a decade, search the internet for “2013 vatican mobile phones” on your computer (or more likely your mobile device). You will find some fantastically contrasted pictures. Your search will yield images and articles about the 2005 announcement of Pope Benedict in St. Peter’s Square, which show a crowd of people—many holdi