Digital Media Buzz > Pinpointing Popularity: Social Networking Gets Physical

Pinpointing Popularity: Social Networking Gets Physical

By Ron Callari

The future of social media will literally reside in our hands. We can’t always be in front of a computer but we can always have access to our handhelds. The omnipresent cell phone is addictive and attached at the hip, and in many respects has taken the place of desktop computing. A Harvard Business Publishing report claims that with approximately 70 percent of organizations banning online social networks in the workplace it’s likely that employees will rely more and more on their

Based on this dependency, new types of social networking sites have surfaced to solely focus on the integration of mobile phones’ smaller display screens, lower processing powers and now its ability to add location-based input to the mix. With the ability to locate people on-the-go with similar interests, relevant and tagged content, location-based social networks are developing exponentially to capitalize on the new monetization, marketing and advertising opportunities.

In the past several years, online social networks like MySpace and Facebook were the only networks to grab our attention while attracting billions of total users worldwide. Recently, location-based social networks have emerged to address the ‘mobile’ need for connecting with people within close proximity. According to an ABI Research report, “fully-fledged mobile location-based social networking sites will gain momentum with more than 82 million subscriptions expected by 2013.”

The same report asserted forecasted “location-based social networks like Brightkite, GyPSii, Pelago and Loopt could reach revenues as high as $3.3 billion by 2013.” According to ABI research, most of these networks will make their money from licensing and revenue sharing with network providers or handset manufacturers.

A logical assumption is that once the LBS field reaches critical mass, the larger online social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter will enter the LBS space. Based on this dynamic, there will be a jockeying for position where consolidation, acquisition and partnership deals could be struck.

Nathan T. Wright, founder of social media strategy firm Lava Row, believes Facebook will become a major player in LBS. “They’ve already got a platform of 300 million-plus users. They are the ubiquitous social utility. They’re going to sit back and watch what develops, and then make a move - either through their own technology or an acquisition.” Google has already entered the space with Latitude, the company’s geotagged social network.

Others feel that it remains to be seen whether or not these mega networks will enter the LBS field. Shane Lennon, GyPSii’s senior vice president marketing and product development notes, “without naming names, we’ve noticed some of the big players struggling to enter the mobile and LBS field essentially because their value proposition is not inherently mobile.”

On the flipside, Facebook et al might not view location-based networks as an attractive proposition since users might feel uncomfortable with disclosing their whereabouts, or perhaps mistakenly thinking that a LBS app is tracking them for duplicitous reasons.

On the mobile phone manufacturer side of the equation, Nokia just acquired two LBS networks and is partnering with one major social network already. “The acquisitions of Plazes and Dopplr are important building blocks for the company,” states Vesa Luiro, Nokia’s navigation director.

Lifecasting is the location-aware application that enables users to publish their location details when updating their Facebook status directly from Nokia smartphones. “With the launch of Lifecasting, we introduced a service in Nokia World in cooperation with Facebook. This is a prime example of how Nokia is connecting people wherever they are using location-based technology.”
Lennon thinks it’s too early to determine where consolidation might go. “We are definitely seeing unlikely bedfellows establishing relationships out of need and in reaction to the fast moving changes in the mobile value chain and in reaction to the new entrants like Apple’s iPhone and Google-backed Android.”

With the inherent challenges in developing a mobile version of a big screen experience, Facebook and others may not be able to develop a satisfying user model on mobile devices. This is where Lennon believes GyPSii may have an advantage. “As an inherently mobile experience, we actually feel we have a leg up on some of the larger, traditional Web-based players moving into the field,” he says. “Many Web-architected applications do not scale well or economically into the broad range of mass market mobile devices and operating systems.”

ABI Research principal analyst Dominique Bonte agrees and states that “initiatives like GyPSii may ultimately reach a status comparable with existing social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace.”

The potential of LBS lies in the hands of the major players who have been developing this technology for the last couple of years. GyPSii just recently announced a deal with China Unicom to have GypSii application on-deck at the impending launch of iPhone in China. “With over 687 million mobile subscribers in that country, the future of connectivity in China is mobile NOT traditional computers,” Lennon notes.

Whether or not ‘location’ becomes the must-have service for online social networks to entertain and potentially absorb will most likely be based on monetization. And based on the forecasted numbers around the globe, it looks like LBS is a sure bet for many players for many more years to come.