MySpace, Friendster, Club Penguin, Facebook - social networks are everywhere.
And as if this is not enough, mobile social networks are starting to take off
(Or as some call them MoSoSos - for mobile social software).
Everybody is talking about Twitter but there are others out there that serve different needs, such as Rave Guardian, Jaiku, Loopt and Sociallight.
These platform-agnostic mobile social networks have become the favorite of the Web 2.0 community and give users the opportunity to quickly communicate with friends and family about their immediate reactions and what they're doing/feeling at this moment. And one can access these platforms through any device and, if your PDA/laptop is GPS-enabled, you can be informed when friends are close by (Loopt) or share comments about businesses/locations through Sociallight.
MoSoSos will really take off when people don't have to type their messages anymore and can just convert them from voice to text. And allow for even quicker interaction.
The need to stay connected is everywhere: at work, with friends and family. I see a major shift from personal connectivity to business connectivity. When IM's enjoyed their time in the sun, they were mostly used for personal reasons. This has shifted in the last few years to a much more business-driven approach. We'll see the same shift in MoSoSos in the next few years and this will change the business of mobile social networks as well: Opportunities for real-time, geo-located marketing opportunities will allow for new ways to connect with consumers in a very valuable way.
It's hard to say if Twitter, Loopt or others will be the major players in this field. It depends on how they continue innovating their sites (see Friendster) and where the masses will ultimately end up and spend their MoSoSo time. In the mid-term future, only geographically mobile solutions that help us connect with our affinity groups or friends will be the winner because they allow for stickiness and valuable content.
No comments:
Post a Comment