8 Questions to… Marco Koeder

Marco Koeder is a strategy consultant, author and mobile evangelist living in Tokyo. Since 10 years he is part of Japans mobile internet success and he also helps companies in the US and Europe with their mobile strategies and services. Marco is the advocate of “Simplexity”, a new approach towards technology and future connected services.

His workshops and publications started a new discussion in Japan and abroad about the necessary change of a whole industry.

1. What is your preferred gadget at the moment?
I have been toying around a lot with my Openpandora handheld recently. Also I enjoy trying out my Kinect and all the tools already available for it on the PC. A Minority Report interface feeling at your own home.

2. Your currently most loved app, mobile site, mobile service?

Goodreader on my iPhone and the iPad as well as Evernote. I also often use Seikai Camera, a Japanese AR application to learn more about what’s going on around me.

3. What are you reading and how (paper, ereader, smartphone, tablet.)?

I mostly read on my iPad and my Kindle these days. When it comes to the reading content itself I enjoy magazines such as New Scientist, Mental Floss, Nature, Inc. etc. Right now I am very interested in the concept of Gamification as well as papers on mobile consumer behavior and the aging society. The book I am currently reading is The Collapse of Complex Societies by Joseph A. Tainter. This book contains a lot of food for thought when applied to the future of technology itself.

4. What’s from your perspective the biggest trend in mobile- The Next Big Thing?

Looking at Japan with its over 10 years of mobile internet experience and seeing what is going on in other parts of the world I would say that the mobile trend is just the very first manifestation of a much bigger trend towards a new area of devices and services. Mobile is killing the classic PC and also the classic ways of interacting with machines. Who needs Windows if all you want is to write a few mails and shop online? Who needs to carry around a laptop if all you need is directions, a good restaurant guide and your contacts? For over 30 years technology ruled over the users, now is the time to let users rule over technology. And this will disrupt many established industries but it is a necessary disruption that in the end should result in a more “simplex” world.

5. Which hype annoys you? What is overrated today?

The first and most annoying one that comes to my mind is 3D. From a scientific standpoint what we “see” today is not even 3D but just an optical illusion. It’s getting hyped everywhere but in the end it will not add any real value to what we are doing. Since the “invention” of the concept back in the 19th century up until now this hype always has always had its cycles. And now is one of these cycles again, just a very technical ones.

6. Who (individual, organisation, company.) will change the mobile world?

If I can define mobile world as a world of new (mobile) devices and services then I think the once who will and should bring the change are the users, the non-users as well as social, psychological and neural and medical scientists. Why I say this? Because I think the time has come for technology to not just be a toy for geeks but to help solve problems within society and to support the quality of life of its citizens. The thinking of engineers need to change and a vital cooperation between developers and the above groups can help to create real new “revolutionary” services and devices. This is already happening in some research institutes but it has to become a mainstream movement in the future.

7. Mobile experts one should read, one should follow?

Heike (@mobilezeitgeist), Lars (@Wireless_Watch), Tomi (@TomiAhonen), Kei (@Kei_Shimada), etc are all great source for mobile developments. But as Jonathan mentioned before I would recommend to look outside of the mobile world. Get a (digital) subscription of New Scientist. Dive a bit into social, neural and psychological science. See what is out there and was issues are out there and how mobile could be used to solve these issues.

8. Who would you recommend to answer these questions next?

Dr. Kawamori from NTT Labs who is now working on the future development of digital media.