MySpace

Mobile entertainment at a crossroads, again

Jason Ankeny — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:26:47 -0400

Billboard's semi-annual Mobile Entertainment Live! conference, taking place September 9, introduces a new format this time around, promising an event shaped in large part by audience interaction. In addition to staples like keynote interviews and presentations as well as in-depth tracks emphasizing mobile content tentpoles like music, video and advertising, Mobile Entertainment Live! will spotlight product demonstrations, Q&A sessions and moderator-free open feedback forums. Another significant change: The conference is produced in association with handset giant Nokia, whose head of major label relations Paul Smith is among the keynote presenters. Other scheduled keynoters include Warner Music Group's executive vice president of digital strategy and business development Michael Nash, MySpace's senior director of mobile business development Brandon Lucas and MediaFLO's senior vice president of programming and advertising Jonathan Barzilay.

But conspicuously absent from the Mobile Entertainment Live! presenter roster are executives from any of the major wireless carriers, which underscores one of the major questions heading into CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2008: What role do operators play in the fast-evolving mobile content marketplace, anyway? Given the expanding mobile web presence of major media brands and content providers, the continued emergence of off-deck mobile storefronts, and the growing profile of device maker retail platforms like Apple's iTunes and Nokia's Comes With Music, operators are in more danger than ever of finding themselves relegated to dumb pipe status. No less a surefire CTIA Wireless I.T. conversation starter: The economy, and the impact the recession will have on consumer spending on mobile data. According to a recent report issued by advisory firm Chetan Sharma Consulting, the U.S. wireless data market grew 40 percent in Q2 2008 compared to year-ago totals, generating $8.2 billion in data revenues--average data ARPU also increased $0.50 during the most recent quarter. Will subscribers continue shelling out for mobile data in the face of economic hardship? And if not, what does that mean for a wireless industry increasingly dependent on data revenues? Those are the Q's--we'll see if anyone has the A's.

MySpace optimizes social networking for iPhone 3G

Jason Ankeny — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:27:41 -0400

Social networking giant MySpace announced an integrated MySpace Mobile application customized for the iPhone 3G and available via the Apple App Store. The free MySpace app boasts features like instant photo uploading from the iPhone to the user's MySpace profile, a customized iPhone UI, real-time friend and status updates and a full messaging interface. According to MySpace, the service will be available in 12 languages by the end of 2008. MySpace adds its mobile website now receives more than 1.7 million unique daily visits within the U.S. alone.

For more on the MySpace iPhone app:
- read this release

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Orange aggregates social networking sites

Jason Ankeny — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:37:52 -0400

European mobile operator Orange announced it will aggregate leading social networking partners including Facebook, MySpace and Bebo to create a single mobile destination on its Orange World portal. The unified service--which also reins in sites like Skyrock, Pikeo, Flirtomatic, DailyMotion and Meetic--will first launch in France, with Orange's U.K., Switzerland, Spain and Portugal units slated to follow soon. According to Orange, the move heralds an effort to improve the mobile user experience by enabling single-click access to the most popular functions of each site; subscribers will be able to send and receive messages, upload photos and check status updates without browsing individual URLs or logging into separate sites. Orange added there are plans to release the social networking service as an embedded application accessible via the home screen of all Orange Signature phones.

For more on Orange's social networking effort:
- read this Mobile Entertainment article

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Vodafone, MySpace team for mobile music platform

Jason Ankeny — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:52:04 -0400

European telecoms giant Vodafone announced it will partner with social networking juggernaut MySpace to launch Vodafone Music Reporter, a mobile music platform that will share footage from Vodafone-sponsored music events with MySpace users across the U.K., Spain, Italy and Germany markets. The Vodafone Music Reporter interactive profile, hosted on MySpace, will spotlight clips from summer festivals including the upcoming Vodafone Music Unlimited Cologne event--in addition, the platform will feature user-generated content enabling subscribers to share their own music experiences and upload and download photos, videos and additional content related to Vodafone-sponsored events. Participants will also be entered in a contest to report on Vodafone events as part of MTV's online and mobile programming.

For more on Vodafone Music Reporter:
- read this release

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JuiceCaster squeezes location into social networking

Wed, 28 May 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Mobile social networking service provider Juice Wireless announced the addition of location-based geotagging to its flagship JuiceCaster service, enabling users to upload location-specific photos and videos to Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and related sites. The geotagging feature enables users to employ a video's location information as a friend-finding tool--JuiceCaster also immediately notifies users when someone updates their status in a nearby area, and facilitates content searches based on specific location criteria. Location is only viewable by authorized contacts, and the feature may be disabled.

For more on the JuiceCaster upgrade:
- read this release

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How social is the mobile web?

Fri, 23 May 2008 07:00:00 -0400

It's social networking's web--the rest of us just surf on it. In fact, social networking now generates almost 40 percent of worldwide mobile web traffic, even topping 60 percent in markets including the U.S., South Africa and Indonesia, according to browser development firm Opera Software's first "State of the Mobile Web" report. Basing its findings on the traffic patterns of more than 44 million Opera Mini browser users worldwide, Opera reports MySpace is the most visited mobile web destination in the U.S. market, followed in descending order by Google, mobile social networking service MocoSpace, Yahoo and Facebook. (Be sure to check out the Opera report in full: It's fascinating to contrast the U.S. with the other international markets under the microscope. In Indonesia, for example, the most-visited site is Friendster, which if memory serves was last popular in the U.S. at roughly the same time FDR was still in office.)

But percentages and actual numbers tell different stories. Compare the results of the Opera study with a recent Nielsen Mobile report that states only about 4.1 million U.S. wireless subscribers--just 1.6 percent of the overall U.S. mobile consumer population--actually browse and update social network profiles on mobile devices. According to Nielsen, 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, far ahead of 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). Depending on whether your perspective leans towards the glass as half empty or half full, you can conclude either that precious few people are surfing the mobile web for any reason, including social networking, or that social networking at least creates some genuine consumer enthusiasm in the absence of other compelling mobile web experiences.

The growing mobile stature of sites like MySpace and Facebook does underscore a point Opera has been making all along: There's only one web. Consumers expect to surf the same sites and do the same things on a mobile device that they would on a PC, without limitations or compromises. What's unique about social networking is that it promises an even richer experience on mobile by liberating users to update their profiles and check in on friends while on the go, as life happens. It's an experience that demands a full-fledged web platform. Both social networking and wireless technologies are changing the way people communicate…and the mobile web is the bridge that connects them. - Jason

P.S. FierceMobileContent will not publish Monday in observance of Memorial Day, and will resume publication Tuesday. Enjoy the long weekend.

Opera: Social networking 40% of mobile web traffic

Tue, 20 May 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Social networking now accounts for almost 40 percent of worldwide mobile web traffic, topping the 60 percent mark in some countries including the U.S., South Africa and Indonesia, according to browser development firm Opera Software's first "State of the Mobile Web" report. Based on the aggregate, anonymous traffic patterns of more than 44 million cumulative Opera Mini users worldwide, Opera reports that full web surfing represents close to 78 percent of all traffic, far outpacing content on WAP and .mobi sites--in the U.S. market, MySpace is the most visited mobile web destination, followed in descending order by Google, mobile social networking service MocoSpace, Yahoo and Facebook. Among the top 100 sites visited by all Opera Mini users, almost a quarter of all traffic directs to content portals or search engines.

For more on mobile web trends:
- read this Opera report

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How to make mobile social networks work

Fri, 09 May 2008 07:00:00 -0400

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

Mobile social networking tops 4 million users in U.S.

Thu, 08 May 2008 06:59:59 -0400

More than 4 million U.S. wireless subscribers--1.6 percent of the total U.S. mobile consumer population--now access social networks via mobile device, according to a new study released by media research firm The Nielsen Company. Nielsen finds the U.K. leads Europe in mobile social networking percentage, with 1.7 percent of British mobile subscribers (roughly 810,000 of all subs) visiting social communities during the first quarter of 2008. By comparison, only 0.8 percent of Spanish wireless subs (291,000 consumers) access social networks via the mobile web, followed by Italy at 0.6 percent (293,000 subscribers), France at 0.6 percent (255,000 subs) and Germany at just 0.2 percent (141,000 subs).

Nielsen adds that in the U.S., MySpace.com is the most popular mobile social networking site, logging 2.8 million unique mobile users in December 2007 while rival Facebook enjoyed 1.8 million unique mobile visitors. However, in the U.K., Facebook leads all mobile social networking sites with 557,000 unique mobile users per month in the first quarter, followed by MySpace with 211,000 unique mobile users. Facebook and MySpace.com dominated most other European markets as well, although MSN's Windows Live Spaces led in Italy with 154,000 unique mobile users per month.

For more on the Nielsen study:
- read this release

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Frengo intros interoperable mobile social apps

Tue, 06 May 2008 06:59:56 -0400

Social mobile services provider Frengo announced a suite of applications that interoperate across popular sites Facebook, MySpace, hi5, Orkut and Bebo, enabling users to interact with existing contacts as well as discover like-minded individuals regardless of their particular social networking affiliation. According to Frengo, its Flirtable mobile social browsing and dating application--which boasts four million members on Facebook--now spans the MySpace, hi5, Orkut and Bebo networks as well, while LOLz, an app created in conjunction with user-generated photo/caption service I Can Has Cheezburger? is now available on MySpace, Facebook and hi5, with Orkut scheduled to follow later this month.

"We're enabling users to interact with different site users without doing anything different--we've built these applications to be seamless, and we don't demarcate whether you're a Facebook or MySpace user," said Frengo CEO Mahi de Silva in an interview with FierceMobileContent. "Owners of social networks want more traffic, more stickiness and more reason for the user to come back and be engaged. What works well for social networking communities is these kinds of applications that create interactivity."

For more on the Frengo applications:
- read this release

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