Mobile advertising, innovation and the future

Ad Infuse, a San Fran-based mobile advertising firm, launched yesterday the first mobile video ads for iPhone. The first ads out of the gate are from Esurance and the Partnership for a Drug Free America are available on many mobile sites. Unfortunately, given the 2G limitations of the current iPhone, the ads are short, take several minutes to load and mainly detract from the overall mobile experience.

There’s a fact that I’ve come to accept over the years: The early days of a new technology are often underwhelming. I’ve sat through more industry demonstrations that I can count — demonstrations of snazzy prototypes of new devices that promise a lot, but don’t have enough real technology under their hoods to followthrough.

Despite these current limitations, however, the tides are already changing. Static mobile content is on its way out and a media evolution will take place on the Mobile Web, as it was on the Internet before it. Media rich mobile technology is coming and advertising is a large part of that future.

We applaud Ad Infuse for its boldness in plunging first into the rough waters that surround mobile advertising (or any new industry for that matter). Entrepreneurial spirit is an important attribute of the GoLife DNA and a willingness to innovate is a characteristic that we’ll always respect.