Strive Notes

I was gripped when I came across the post by Lee Hopkins entitled ‘Social networks on mobiles will dwarf Facebook’ he goes on to explain that “the days of clunky old social computer-based social networks and joining in the conversation whilst wearing garden gloves and pretending to barbecue your flower stand are long gone. Thankfully.” I know that my fascination with Facebook would have most likely faded long ago if it had not been kept alive by the direct feeds I receive to my Blackberry.
The ability to keep my friends informed of my every mood and location is irresistible especially while I’m standing in a long shopping queue or waiting endlessly for teenagers. Updating my status or checking those of my friends kills many a bored moment, mainly due to my BB’s speed and ease of use. The free social networking communities such as Facebook and Twitter are making a big impact in terms of PR and social networks online.

But this is just a drop in the ocean in terms of the predicted impact social networking communities will have once the mobile phone companies join the game. It seems that mobile phone companies are quickly wising up to our need for constant communication with our virtual worlds, and the race is on to produce the technology we need to satisfy our imaginations. There are now some 30 or more companies dueling for this top seat, it’s obvious these numbers will quickly dwindle down to just a handful in no time at all. At present, according to a recent NY Times article, there are 50 million people accessing social media via their mobile phones, but this is nothing compared to the 3.3 billion global mobile phone subscribers more than double the 1.3 billion Internet users world wide.

The marketing and communications potential that will become available with the introduction of mobile networking seems endless. Therefore securing that premiere market position means reaping massive rewards for the victor.

Filed under: public relations