Mobile Social Networking, The Next Frontier

Recently I read a blog entry that discussed how consumers with cell phones are beginning to use their down time or in between meetings/appointment time to read or write books on their cell phones. I believe it was referred to as ‘cycle time’. It seems that more and more people are using their spare time and their cell phone to do things like write books or manage their portfolios during the day while waiting for a bus or a lunch date. As cell phones become more integral to every day life, the natural extension is social networking.
Moreover, since most teens and young adults don’t go anywhere with out their cell phone, it make sense that there are more applications that would be used if popular Web sites offered mobile functionality. Early signs suggest there could be demand, particularly from teens and young adults. Already, 33.2% of 18- to 24-year-old Americans post photos to Web sites via mobile phones, according to mobile consultancy M:Metrics. By contrast, only 18.7% of these young adults play downloadable mobile games, one of the most successful forms of mobile content to date — and a $600 million market in the U.S. last year, according to consultancy IDC. “This suggests to me there’s absolutely interest in participating in mobile social networks,” says Mark Donovan, an analyst at M:Metrics.
Many companies are starting to bridge out beyond pcs to connect. So, how practical is that? Well as you might imagine, the two most well known social networks MySpace and Facebook are trying to figure that out. MySpace and AT&T/Cingular make it easy for customers to view friends’ profiles and post comments and photos.
Wireless social networking could mean big bucks for the service providers that charge $5 or more a month for Web time. MySpace users spend an average of 215 minutes a month on the site.
Within two years, at least 5% of all text messages sent through wireless networks may relate to social network interaction, estimates Tole Hart, an analyst with Gartner. Today, SMS is a $3 billion market in the U.S. The application could also encourage more users to buy unlimited data plans, allowing for mobile Web access. This is where mobile advertising gets interesting because you can target clusters with relevant advertising, making your advertising dollar go farther. This might allow mobile advertisers to charge a premium for mobile ads.
Judging from the earlier successes internet social networking, transferring social networking to the mobile phone may not be a very tough sell at all.