The good news, as I’ve written in past posts, is that new ways to devour video—online, via mobile phones, etc.—are rising in popularity among consumers. Even better news is that TV-viewing continues to rise along with it—making it easier for old-style marketers to toe the digital waters while keeping a foot on firm land (aka traditional media).

The Nielsen Company last week reported that the average American spent 127 hours and 15 minutes per month in front of the (traditional) tube in May 2008. That was up from 121 hours and 48 minutes the same month in 2007.

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I went to Chicago last week for the long-weekend family reunion that my mom’s side holds every other year. The coolest thing this time ‘round was the yellow school bus my cousins and I rented to go from the ‘burbs to barhopping in downtown Chi-town! The second-coolest aspect of the weekend was the dominance of text-message marketing. Sure, it’s nice to really get away from work and anything related therein. But I gotta be happy when my industry is doing well, especially with the impending recession.

What I encountered, I think any marketer, in any industry, can adapt for his or her own purposes. Read on!

Text-message mileage
On my way up I flew US Airways. During the free beverage distribution, I noticed the paper napkins were emblazoned with the phrase, “Everyone is texting—including US.” The copy then explained that passengers could send a message to the airline’s own short code (which spells out “textUS”—get it?) in order log their latest mileage points. The short code is apparently used to help customers with other things, too, like flight information. And even though “everyone” is using SMS these days, the airline has a cute step-by-step animated explanation on its website for people who aren’t sure how to text.

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When Google’s Android platform—the technology behind so-called Google Phones—was announced late last fall, I immediately thought about the open-source implications affecting the mobile space overall. As I said in this post, because the technology is open to all developers, Android-powered phones could eventually boast superior software and become the top handsets in the market.

Recent events, however, might be even better for consumers and marketers trying to reach them. Nokia, the world’s top cell phone maker, on Tuesday announced it is buying software-maker Symbian, whose operating system of the same name is on the majority of mobile phones all over the globe (not counting the innumerable flavors of Linux in Asia), and is on two-thirds of smartphones alone.

The kicker? Nokia plans to offer Symbian royalty-free to all handset makers, and will create an organization of phone manufacturers, carriers, and semiconductor companies to create an open-source platform “with wide industry appeal.”

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During Macworld 2007, filmmaker Kevin Smith gave a well-attended speech in which he related Apple to his own screenwriting; apparently the Mac was the user-friendliest computer alternative to his trusty Smith-Corona. Mr. Smith also noted the big news of that day, which was the debut of the iPhone. “Now that you can make phone calls from your iPod, the only thing left to do is [make love to] it,” he told the crowd, suggesting that Apple come with a new product called the i-… well, since we don’t want anyone getting in trouble for reading this blog at work, you can read more here.

Mr. Smith’s suggestion just came closer to fruition. According to Time, pornography companies are preparing to leverage the next-gen iPhone for their own industry. They’re launching mobile sites, interactive campaigns, and clips that are all optimized for the handset’s two-inch screen. (Nope, I won’t take the easy shot here.)

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