Novarra?s research has found that microblogging sites such as Twitter are introducing new consumers to the mobile Internet.

The ?Mobile Internet Experience Update? study by Novarra also found that page views of bit.ly and tinyurl.com, shortened URL services, grew 1,068 percent in 2009. Tiny URLS and bit.ly links are often used to share content via Twitter and Novarra said that the surge in usage shows that these links are an important driver of Internet use via mobile devices.

?The strongest growth in mobile Web does not come from Internet brands marketing directly to consumers or operators featuring apps and sites in portals and app stores, it comes from the recommendations that are sent to us by [consumers?] trusted personal and professional contacts,? said Scott Cotter, senior director of marketing at Novarra, Chicago.

Mr. Cotter said that Web 2.0 has made the leap to mobile and that discovery is still an impediment to uptake of mobile Web services and use of mobile as a channel for marketers.

Novarra provides mobile Internet products for carriers, handset manufacturers and Internet brands to create services and revenue streams for smartphones, feature phones and emerging-market handsets.

Getting consumers on the mobile Web
Twitter, with its 140 character messages, is suited for viral communication via mobile, Mr. Cotter said.

Tweets are not only personally relevant and from the consumer?s known contacts but also more immersive and informative when coupled with URL-shortened services like bit.ly and tinyurl.com that take consumers deeper to compelling Web content.

Mr. Cotter said that the most surprising finding is the magnitude of growth since the beginning of this year.

On mobile there were 10 times more shortened URL click-throughs and 35 times more searches and page views of Twitter itself than at the beginning of the year.

?No one should doubt that mobile phones are becoming a new preferred method of information sharing and non-voice communication for consumers,? Mr. Cotter said.

Novarra predicts that Web 2.0 and viral sharing will continue to be the biggest drivers of usage and uptake for Internet via mobile and an increasingly attractive medium for marketers, when used appropriately in a campaign and executed correctly.

Mr. Cotter said that it is important to provide a quality user experience for the click-throughs that Web 2.0 activity is generating.

Mr. Cotter said that classic brand-champion and evangelist-building strategies make sense for mobile.

Mr. Cotter said that marketers need to know that personally relevant Web 2.0 sharing will occur and that it is critically important to provide a quality user experience for the click-throughs that Web 2.0 activity is generating, no matter what device and network the user may have.

?The most certain way to quell the interest of these new users of Internet via mobile is to allow them to click through to a Web page that doesn?t work or is slow to load,? Mr. Cotter said.