This past Friday, I was finally able to get Apple to take my entire summer’s savings for an iPhone. After a year of regretting that I had not jumped on the first generation model, I had no choice but to take the plunge when the opportunity offered itself with the iPhone 3G’s July 11th release.
The wild mobile west
The acquisition of this new device has really opened my eyes to a new area of the web I’d only previously heard about, rather than experienced directly: the mobile web. It’s a vast, incredible, uncharted domain, with numbers growing at impossible rates and new innovations emerging with every step– and the Western world’s conception of ‘mobile’ pales in comparison to the technologies available in Asia, where authors write novels on mobile phones.
There’s only one sticky wicket to this tale of mobile promise, however: as with anything tech-related, the mobile web’s playing field is uneven, unpredictable, and unfair.
Personal, yes, interpersonal, no
ReadWriteWeb, probably my favorite blog, touts the iPhone as the new personal computer. I’m inclined to agree with them: it’s great for taking notes, checking e-mails and phone messages, browsing the internet, and more, all while entirely untethered from a home machine.
When it comes to the social web, however, the problems of home computer-based social networking are amplified even further.
An example: one of the first mobile social networks to be released for the iPhone was Loopt, the network that “transforms your mobile phone into your social compass.” It definitely looks super-slick, I’ve got to say: integration with Yelp, a fantastic map interface, and what appear to be robust social utilities. However, there’s only one problem: nobody I know owns an iPhone, and my friends that use cellphones don’t use Loopt. And the case is the same with Whrrl, Plum, zintin, and a myriad of other great-looking but narrow-reaching applications in the Apple store. They just aren’t being used by the people that matter to me.
What can we do?
Adoption of the mobile web really must jump so many hurdles: financial and time barriers, technical know-how requirements, internet and cell service limitations, the list goes on and on. So how do we even the mobile web’s playing field? Here are a few ideas.
- Go back to the past. If a technology isn’t obsolete, don’t build a social network around it. Right now, in the U.S., text messaging is pretty much universally available to those with the resources to be social and mobile (albeit unreasonably overpriced). Make SMS the backbone of the service.
- Be social with other mobile users. Perhaps the solution is to follow in the vein of iFob, a service that automatically introduces you to other iFob users using the same wireless network. A little unsettling, yes, but still promising.
- Integrate mobile and desktop into the same network. Just like Facebook for Mobile realizes, there are advantages to making your networks available to both mobile and non-mobile users. There’s no reason to exclude someone just because they’re not carrying an overpriced phone.
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7 Comments
Good points; you’re right that mobile social networks need to include more than iPhone users to be successful right now. Whrrl actually does this–it’s available on the Web (http://www.whrrl.com), via SMS, on BlackBerries, and on several other non-iPhone phones. It’s also pretty useful even without friends, just to see interesting places around you, although it gets much better as you grow your network.
Andy and Jason, I think you make important points. It’s hard to gain critical mass around mobile social networking (MSN). People simply won’t bother unless they see value immediately, they are not likely to invite people either. Whrrl content, beyond MSN, is a move in the right direction, however whether the experience is sufficiently strong in comparison with Google maps, is questionable. Then there is the network effect, are people going to contribute, I have a couple of times, but not everyone will. People hate SMS charges, so I’m not sure if this is the best vehicle. I’m interested to see where iFob goes. This may have a chance, particularly as nobody as dared introductory services so far. I fear they may fall into the same chasm for lack of content.
Julian Bourne
CEO & Founder
Proxpro Inc.
You’ve completely left out the iPhone-only social site iRovr.com. It used to use nothing but email … so you could do everything from ANY device that sent emails. It’s been a good six months since I’ve visited the site, but it looks like it now includes a “compose” screen on the site.
Simplicity is king. For me, a social site makes it easier to connect with people and track what my “friends” have posted. I prefer sites that track conversations and comments around a post (like Pownce or Plurk). Both have a strong mobile web site presence. Pownce also has an iPhone app and desktop app … but I don’t see any added value in those over visiting the web site via a browser.
Again, simplicity is king … web-based apps will rule for a long time because they can be accessed from so many different devices and give almost the same experience.
Hi Jason, thanks for your comment! Good to hear that about Whrrl, I’ll definitely need to play around with it some more– as soon as I get out of this steel bunker and get my GPS functioning again, that is!
Your comment reminds me of an important point, and that’s that sending an SMS/etc. to a friend enticing them to join a network seems so much more personal than shooting them a short e-mail. A phone is such a private thing. And since I don’t know which of my friends tote mobile-ready devices, how do I know which ones to invite?
You’ve encouraged me to give iFob another shot. The concept made me uncomfortable at first, and the merely average look and feel of the application had me uninstall it pretty quickly after installation, but perhaps it could benefit me one of these days, especially if it’s a bit of a “fire and forget” type thing.
Especially if it introduces me to cute girls, eh!? Of course, chances of that are a bit low, considering the iPhone userbase…
Whoops, my bad. The name definitely feels familiar but I’d forgotten about it in the wash of downloadable app excitement. You’re absolutely right, though: some of the web apps are absolutely fantastic.
I just want something that will help me be mobile with my friends on campus, in town, or in the neighborhood.
Good point. On Whrrl, you can send invitations to new friends by
either SMS or email. If you won’t want to bother your friends with
SMSes, just use their email addresses instead of their phone numbers.
This is especially easy on the web, since whrrl.com lets you import
your email address book.