Mostly Mobile - Facebook, Google and others are now predominantly mobile companies

Quick - Is Google a mobile company? "Sure" you might say, "But mostly web search and web apps." Apple? Sure but they sell Macs too. We know Instagram, Uber, WhatsApp, SnapChat - all mobile first. What about Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and Pandora? According to the mobile app statistics, including the latest revenue and usage data - all of the above are generating more revenue, more growth and have more usage as mobile apps and/or mobile platforms. Some of the biggest names in the internet are now mostly mobile. And companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Yahoo all wish they were too. Here is a snapshot of the largest social networks - by time spent via mobile or desktop.

And here is what Google web search is looking like:

• Half of Youtube’s video views are from mobile devices

• The majority of email in Gmail accounts is opened on mobile devices

Usage only tells part of the story

73% of Facebook's ad revenues come from mobile - up from 14% 2 years ago. In 8 quarters, Facebook went from barely addressing the advertising opportunities for their mobile users, to generating 73% of their ad revenues from mobile.

The macro perspective of the mobile advertising space

2013

20% of time spent in Mobile, 4% of ad spend (US only)

2014

24% of time spent in Mobile, 8% of ad spend

According to the above chart, mobile advertising spend doubled, and still couldn't keep up with the increase in time spent in mobile.

The rise of messaging apps

You may be very aware of Whatsapp ($22b) and Snapchat ($19b), if not a daily user. How about LINE ($10b), KakaoTalk ($2b), Tango ($1b) and WeChat owner Tencent ($100b). This is all happening fast, and there are leaders and laggards. It is time to add fuel to your mobile marketing investment!

What to watch for next

It sure looks like the Apple Watch will have its own app store. Applinks/Deep Linking will continue to expand as Apple tries to increase the value of Spotlight Search and Siri, while Google tries to index the content in the app silo. The list of mobile first businesses with $1b valuations continues to expand.