Artilium

Monday, June 15, 2009

Mobile Social Networking

Social networking on the Internet has become massive, Facebook alone has over 200 million active users and the average user has 120 connections to friends (i)! It appears everyone and their granny is using it and the commercial value is being widely recognised. However, it has been difficult to monetize in its current form and this is a problem when so much investment has been made in the enabling technologies and on hosting the systems.

If we now consider mobile social networking and what the difference is between this and “fixed” social networking. Obviously the difference is mobility, but what does that mean in practice. Mobility means that the users’ context becomes more relevant since the social interactions need not be just online but could actually lead to meetings, joint activities and offering of relevant services in real time. The fact that the user may have created a picture of themselves (a profile) means that certain resources around them become relevant in their current context. While they may not know that their friend is nearby and is also shopping, a mobile social networking application could detect this condition and suggest that they meet for a coffee – and perhaps receive a 10% off voucher for Cafe Nero just around the corner. So the system has looked at joint contexts in the region of a subscriber, has connected people and looked for a local resource which might be useful in the current context (meet at a nearby cafe). This is also a revenue opportunity, but is presented as a useful service, not as irrelevant spam. Of course there are other revenue opportunities relevant to the shopping which can also be presented to the users as they plan their day over a coffee.

The most successful web application is the search engine which we all know is used to find relevant information. It seems certain that a successful mobile application may revolve around finding relevant local services, people who are close, and local information. The mobile social network looks to be the right framework for such an application.

Let’s assume a person has subscribed to a mobile social networking application on Artilium’s Mobile Applications Platform which has the necessary permissions to utilise demographic data and certain pieces of personal data. The mobile social networking application might have options such as: “meet friends”, “go shopping”, “dating”, “I’m bored”, etc.

Meet friends: The application can access data about the persons’ registered social network, but may also consider those on a contacts list, those who communicate with the subscriber regularly or either a friend of a friend. This data can be found in the subscriber profile data and through connections via other subscribers data. The location information, if shared by the other subscribers, can be used to find friends who are near. When a list of near friends is established, suggestions to call or send a message can be offered to the subscriber. As part of the service it might be possible to offer the network of close friends some options of things they might like to do in the area. This service can be used to provide relevant adverts, promotions, vouchers not just to the subscriber but to the small network of local friends.

Go shopping: The subscriber profile may contain information about preferences, buying histories and volunteered information about interests. It is therefore possible to guide the subscriber to shopping which is local and might be relevant. There is also the option to provide online content which is relevant, especially if local shops are not of interest. If other friends are near, especially if they are already in a shopping mode it would be a good idea to suggest they meet, with an incentive of some discounts with certain retailers.

Dating: Given that a subscribers profile is known, as are the profiles of other subscribers. If they wish to date, or even just meet new friends, it is possible to match profiles from a defined geographic area and to propose anonymous profile descriptions to see if both parties would like to set up a meeting. Volunteering profile date for dating or meeting new friends will enhance the subscriber profile for use by other applications too.

I’m bored: A teenage cliché and one that a social network and subscriber profile can potentially help to address. Knowing that someone is bored, what they like, who they know and where they are gives great scope to suggest what they might do. There might be local activities that suit their profile and some might have promotions in place, friends might be close so joint activities can be proposed. Retail therapy with a like minded bored friend might be a good solution.

All of these options present scenarios where a revenue opportunity may exist as a relevant response to the current subscriber context, i.e. the supply of a highly relevant service.

(i) http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics, 15 June 2009