Google Mobile versus Microsoft Mobile : what about Adobe, Mr Chairman ?

The beauty of being a student in journalism in the Silicon Valley is that you can meet and talk to many icons of the high-tech world. Here is one, with a giant footprint left for ever in the sand, the brilliant and approachable John Warnock, and a paper I wrote after Warnock's conference at the Xerox PARC last Thursday about the past, present and future of media.

What if your name was given to a new typeface ? John Warnock, inventor of Postcript, Adobe’s co-founder and now chairman, has received this original mark of distinction. « I was flattered, » he said modestly. « I am using it, it’s a beautiful one, I know the designer, he words for Adobe, he did a good job. »

Adobe’s Postcript technology was the base of the first publishing revolution in the computer world in the 80s.

And yes, Adobe does intend to be part of the next one, the mobile content revolution.

While Google’s entry in the telecom and social world regularly generates an over-PRed stream of news, Warnock is not necessarily impressed : watch Microsoft, he said. « Microsoft has always been a strong second.»

What about Adobe ? You can already view Pdf and Flash-Lite documents on a cell phone, so must be going somewhere ?

« Adobe has a strong play, » Warnock said, smiling, noting at the diversity and the volume of the platforms where Adobe formats are present.

Indeed, Flash and Pdf represent a de-facto force of compatibility for anyone whose ambition aims at bridging the gap between computers and phones. 99.3% of desktop computers play Flash, according to Adobe.

In that perspective, Adobe’s acquisition of Macromedia in 2005 represents the most strategic acquisition of the group and the most influential step towards the « rich internet-mobile content.»

Contrarily to other highly mediatized acquisitions with doubtful so-called long-term synergies, Flash graft on Adobe may quietly grow into fruits sweeter and earlier in the mobile content season than most expect. No wonder Warnock has a big smile when talking about Flash.

How else could it be, when interactivity and animation is the key word to entertain a generation that cites the cell phone as the most important object of their life?

Today less than 20% of the traditional US broadcast media audience is below 35.

Warnock is aware of the change in democgraphics and the « denial » of the newspapers and film producers. « I kept on telling them, you are in the news business, but they believed they were in the news paper business. »

« The only two problems not solved by the internet are branding and awareness, » Warnock said. You still need a piece of paper or a billboard that redirects to the web site. « Adobe does not make any printed advertising anymore, or only for brand awareness,» like flyers in colleges – as well as dramatically discounted Adobe software available for the future designers.

Even the newspapers who embraced quickly enough to the internet with their own web site did not understand how to approach the new generation. The newspapers named their web site after the news print, without any appeal to the youngters, Warnock said. Warnock also advises the company Salon Media Group (Salon.com), a 10-year-old pioneer in online journalism.

« I don’t know about the future of TV, but it cannot be good, » Warnock said. The same denial can be heard from film producers, although the theater audience declined down to 27 million people a week or 9.7% of the population.

The advertising model of the traditional media is simply out-of-date, Warnock said. When Google’s free analytic tools gives you real-time analysis on which blogger refered which web site, « the newspapers are still doing surveys to konw how many people picked up the newpaper that day.»

« The cost of delivery matters, » Warnock said. Traditional media cannot compete with high costs of publishing and distribution, compared to almost zero cost on the internet.