Mobile social networks
Given its roots in communication, mobile has always been a social medium. Yet as voice recedes in importance, social networks increasingly constitute the medium for communicating on mobile devices. They are emerging as one of the primary ways consumers exchange and discuss information, content, and media. As I noted in my recent eMarketer report, around 14 percent of all U.S. mobile phone users and nearly 40 percent of mobile internet users will access social networks from their mobile devices in 2010.
Location-based networks have been around for several years. Loopt and Brightkite, for example, helped establish the mold of "checking in" to find nearby friends, places, and activities. Then Foursquare effectively broke the mold by adding a gaming element that enables users to compete for badges and points based on the number of times they visit a particular location. (Loopt has since acquired Graffiti, which offers a game-playing function similar to Foursquare.)
Layering in social competition has struck a nerve with mobile users and provided the mobile social networking space with some much-needed exposure and momentum. Foursquare has garnered much of the recent publicity, creating something of a herd effect, but the space is crowded with competitors, such as Gowalla, that combine social gaming with the ability to leave tips or reviews for fellow users.
As these services achieve a critical mass, so grows the potential for a powerful word-of-mouth effect or direct marketing opportunities related to favorite locations. Marketers may be interested in aggregators like buzzd, which combines reviews and ratings from buzzd members with feeds from Twitter, Gowalla, Foursquare, Loopt, and Brightkite, plus content from partners that include Zagat, Flavorpill, Citysearch, Metromix, and Upcoming.
Ultimately, though, the stiffest competition might come from established players such as Yelp, which attracts more than 25 million visitors per month and just added a check-in feature to its iPhone app. Whereas location-based mobile social networks first surfaced as friend finders, primarily in urban and ex-urban areas, and subsequently added reviews and ratings as an enhancement to their services, Yelp started out by developing a vast store of local content and layered on networking features, making it a potentially more attractive destination for consumers and marketers alike.
Other mobile social networking companies to watch include: Whrrl, most notably for its couponing partnership with Collective Bias (the social media unit of MARS); Booyah!; MocoSpace; Peperonity; and Rummble.
