How to make mobile social networks work

Here's the good news: The U.S. market, which typically lags behind Europe in all things mobile, is actually ahead of the international pace on mobile social networking, according to a new report issued this week by media research firm The Nielsen Company. Here's the bad news: Only about 4 million U.S. wireless subscribers--just 1.6 percent of the total U.S. mobile consumer population--actually access social networks via mobile device. Nielsen reports that the U.K. slightly edges the U.S. on a percentage basis, with 1.7 percent of British mobile subscribers (roughly 810,000 subs in all) visiting social communities during the first quarter of 2008--compare that to Spain (0.8 percent of subscribers, or 291,000 consumers), Italy (0.6 percent, or 293,000 subscribers), France (0.6 percent, or 255,000 subscribers) and Germany (0.2 percent, or 141,000 subscribers).

Despite the underwhelming numbers, Nielsen remains convinced mobile social networking's future is bright, and recent industry trends toward unlimited data pricing plans certainly enhance the social networking market's potential. But while most monetization hopes are pinned to the same targeted advertising model that's supposed to lead conventional online social networking to the promised land, the mobile subscriber totals simply aren't yet big enough to generate significant revenue. Moreover, it seems like a huge mistake to assume mobile social networking is roughly analogous to conventional online social networking anyway--every other media platform is a very different beast on mobile, so why should social networking be any different?

Social networking giant MySpace's forthcoming MySpace Music--a digital retail effort offering consumers free, ad-subsidized streaming content as well as premium downloads--doesn't formally launch until this summer, but its basic approach seems to herald the true future of mobile social networking: Specifically, off-deck content and community destinations where users can make new friends, discover and purchase new music from major and independent labels, and ultimately recommend this new music to their new friends--all within the confines of a single, operator-agnostic mobile website. It's silly to believe that content creation, browsing and sharing ever represented the alpha and omega of the social networking experience--of course MySpace, with its endless numbers of artist websites, would eventually expand its reach into music retail. But especially in mobile, where the user interface makes it so difficult to bounce from one website to the next, the concept of an all-in-one site where consumers can share photos, update their status and purchase a new ringtone in the span of a few clicks carries enormous appeal. Commerce and community belong with each other…and social networking is all about bringing likeminded individuals together. - Jason