Mobile Social Networking and User Generated Content Market Insight 2009-2014

Mobile social networking is already here on a phone near you. Due to media attention, no one in your industry can have failed to have noticed not only the success but also the hitherto unrealised potential of social networks and user generated content on mobile. You need to react now. If you wait, the opportunity may be gone. Tie-ups with the leading players may have passed you by and potential services and revenue streams may be ineffective. You must have a full briefing about the emerging developments and market dynamics of social networks and UGC on mobile.

Since late 2007, consumer demand for social networking access has fuelled inexorable momentum towards unbridled open Internet access on mobile networks, particularly where some of the market players had already introduced such packages. That year, Vodafone launched MySpace and Facebook on its Vodafone Live! portal with much anticipation.

Within a little over two years, the relevance of social networking for the mobile sector has been cemented, due to its momentum as a driver for consumer mobile web adoption. Social networking has also driven the move from walled garden models towards unbridled open Internet access on mobile networks. Advances in smartphone, browser and web app technologies, particularly on the Apple iPhone and Blackberry platforms, have also boosted the take-up and usage of mobile social networking sites through improved user experience and engagement.

To illustrate the scale of mobile social networking, the number of unique visitors to the Facebook mobile site increased fivefold from 5 million per month in January 2008 to 25 million in February 2009. The latter figure represents 18 percent of Facebook’s 120million-strong user community in February 2009, a proportion that has gradually increased over time and which visiongain believes will continue to do so in coming years. Social networks with an established presence on the fixed line Internet are clearly benefitting from extending their services over mobile channels.

Social communities, or online social networks, can be defined as an online area where people with similar interests meet, such as Twitter, MySpace, Facebook and especially LinkedIn. User generated content is simply content created by the users of a service, such as YouTube. Such sites are immensely popular, with Facebook, MySpace and YouTube amongst the top ten most popular websites globally. Visiongain believes that revenue from mobile social networking and user generated content will grow to around $60 billion in 2012.

Reading this exclusive management report will tell you the following:
• Who are the main players in social networking and what are they doing?
• What different forms of networking and user generated content are available and expected to appear in the future?
• How does mobile social networking compare to online and traditional media?
• Why are social networks and user-generated content so important to mobile?
• What options are available to help in monetising mobile traffic, usage or functionality on social network sites?
• How have these opportunities started to make significant traction in the market? When will it become a mass market proposition?
• How successful will it be?
• How can operators and other companies in the value chain best position themselves?

Issues to be resolved include business models and revenue share, the type, whether to build upon existing fixed-line models or develop alternatives, consumer attitudes and many others. Operators will have to walk a fine line between maximising the revenue potential of social networking, while at the same time not risk alienating subscribers and increasing churn by doing so.

Mobile operators wish to recreate this success, but there are key challenges to be faced in transferring such popular applications from fixed-line to mobile. Mobile user interface and experience differs wildly between different handsets and different operator networks. Other issues faced include ensuring privacy and security in accessing data services over mobile and, perhaps most importantly, how to generate revenue from such services, either directly or indirectly.

Based on interviews with key participants across the value chain, including operators, media agencies, software application providers, access providers, marketing specialists and trade association representatives, this 100+ page report analyses the market drivers and barriers affecting mobile advertising and marketing. It discusses the main market trends and charts the market evolution in the US and Europe.

Find out the answers to these and many other questions by buying this vital industry insight.

Plus other key questions answered such as:
• What % of mobile content use will be on social networking and user generated content by 2014, and what will be the associated revenues?
• Where are the biggest market opportunities?
• What models exist and which ones will account for the biggest market?
• What types of mobile social networking and user-generated content are most likely to succeed?

Globally, mobile social networking is taking off. In India, 56 percent of mobile Internet users regularly access social networking sites, which also constitute a key driver for the mobile web in countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

Why you need to order this report today:

1. Mobile operators: Gain insight into the issues affecting mobile social networking and where revenues can be derived from this new opportunity. Discover regional adoption and usage of new technology and services, as well as market size data. Obtain analysis of the key market participants and their products and services.
2. Brands/ Marketers: Discover what opportunities exist in the mobile social networking channel and what the best strategies are in this space. Learn about market issues specifically related to mobile content and networking including technology, media types, demographics, psychographics, subscriber receptivity and trends.
3. Vendors: Learn what operators’ plans are with mobile social networking and user generated content. Find out how the market will evolve and how you can benefit from this growth.

Mobile social networks have great potential due to the relationship between a mobile subscriber and their handset, where the mobile device is often with the end-user for most of their waking time. With mobile penetration reaching 100 per cent in many developed markets, the mobile phone will soon be in virtually everyone’s pocket. Social networking is currently a major area of growth in the fixed-line world and is set to expand into the mobile realm. Do you understand this market? Do you know how it will develop? Is this an issue that you need to act on and find out about now?

Who needs to read this report?
Directors, VP and Senior managers in:
• Mobile/ Cellular carriers and operators
• Digital and Mobile content agencies
• Mobile Search companies
• Handset manufacturers
• Mobile content providers
• Brands looking to tap into the mobile audience

The report provides global forecasts for future revenue generation and subscriber uptake of services in this area of the industry. The key to success for mobile communities and user generated content is the convergence of fixed and mobile services. Operators need to realise that members of existing communities will still want to interact with those communities and to do this via mobile, they need to be able to access those existing communities.

Visiongain is a trading partner with the US Federal Government
CCR Ref number: KD4R6