I Saw The Future Of Social Networking The Other Day

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1. Morgan
   

   April 9th, 2008 at 12:44 am

   Looks interesting. There’s a really interesting Java-based system being worked on by Go Life Mobile that is more of a platform than just a network. It is an open system that allows different widget developers to use all that phone data like GPS, and your friends list, and user preferences to make any number of cool tools. Time will tell, but it works on just about anything.

2. Ujwal
   

   April 9th, 2008 at 12:44 am

   its just so natural to network on the mobile >… “On the go”….

   while walking, while in subway.. while doing things… and thats where the essence of networking will shine next..

   i.e mobile phones “On the go”..

3. Eugen
   

   April 9th, 2008 at 12:44 am

   The network will have succes. I think so.

4. david amodt
   

   April 9th, 2008 at 12:45 am

   looks awesome as an iphone owner… guess that takes away the social idea that the zune tried… great article…

5. Maik
   

   April 9th, 2008 at 12:48 am

   It’s nothing new, think they got more than inspired by Germany based startup http://www.aka-aki.com/ - they do it for months and it works very well, especially in the Berlin area - and best thing, you don’t need an iphone to participate, that means you actually meet girls

6. Uthfull
   

   April 9th, 2008 at 12:50 am

   Doesn’t Nokia Sensor do the same thing? And its been doing that for a very long time.

7. Rannie Turingan
   

   April 9th, 2008 at 12:51 am

   I’d be the first to jump on that bandwagon. I totally agree with you on this and can definitely see the benefits of such a device/network.

   What would be more interesting to see is how quickly it would catch on among regular folk. It was simply amazing for me to see people on facebook, who I never would have figured would put themselves out there. The question remains, would these same people, open themselves up when an actual face to face could happen in a matter of minutes or seconds?

8. lawrence
   

   April 9th, 2008 at 12:51 am

   the features this post described sounds stunning - and very innovative.
   i assume this is what people will start calling web 3.0…

9. JJamison
   

   April 9th, 2008 at 12:52 am

   no doubt in my mind that mobile sns will be huge. a more personal device with an inherently personalized application.

   nailing cleanly the location awareness and other mobile-centric features, as you mention, will be important.

   i wonder how the stuff i do on my mobile will synch & align with my PC-based SNS on FBK/etc. all doable. I’ll look forward to updates.

10. Dennis Bjørn Petersen
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 12:52 am

    One thing is the application on the device, another thing is connection providers updating their services like better 3G, EDGE, UMTS, 4G coverage and pricing.

    Many Europeans service providers are still charging way too much for data traffic.

11. Michael Arrington
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 12:53 am

    Maik - yes…I wrote about aka aki a number of times, see:

    http://www.techcrunch.com/2007.....-networks/
    http://www.crunchbase.com/company/akaaki

    It’s definitely a great product. I just think the chicken and egg issue is tough.

12. dOgBOi
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 12:56 am

    Ugh, not another social network. Do we really need another one, mobile or not. Are they going to charge a monthly subscription, because I can’t see them monetizing any other way.

    And I know my data network (EDGE) is way too slow. I’d get way too frustrated with this. Maybe when the 3G iPhone finally happens. Otherwise, it’s usability will be limited to WiFi hot spots.

13. Robert Scoble
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 12:56 am

    How does it compare to BluePulse?

14. Uno
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 12:56 am

    Hey Mike,
    I blogged about how boring the new release of Opera Mobile was because it didn’t support anything new or innovative, just the same features as a browser but faster, and smaller.

    The biggest problem with mobile browsers is that they don’t give access to your location, which is something that sites built for mobile need. In the end, they need to dev a java app or similar to get that functionality, and then it’s another app that bloats your phone and comes with a new, typically bad UI.

15. Christine
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 12:56 am

    I agree with Michael. Within one or two years you’ll see phone based socal networks that are better than todays computer based networks.

16. Julian Baldwin
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:01 am

    This is awesome and is definitely going to take off. “They’re passionate and elitist, and will like the idea of being in an iPhone-only club. ” I couldn’t agree more with that statement. It’s a very compelling idea to know as much as possible about the people around you. You can’t socialize with everyone in public settings, but it would be great to know who you want to socialize with out of the bunch.

    I understand this takes away from the natural experience of socializing, which is not always knowing anything about the people you’re interacting with, but I also believe technology is more influential in this case. I think it will encourage more meaningful socializing and that’s the greater value.

17. Daniel Thomaser
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:02 am

    @Michael
    I guess we germans are just a bit sensitive, cause many people think, that we are not innovative enought to do more than just to pluck the chicken and fry the egg.

18. adam
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:02 am

    http://tagg.in is a new SMS based network in the mobile space in India.

19. Rushabh Choksi
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:02 am

    Hey Micheal I do agree with you. I personally feel that mobile social networks is “the next big thing.” The main concern to me is the bandwagon..

20. Robert Seidman
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:03 am

    @Maik, I’ve seen a few women with iPhones in the hood, but at least 10 times as many men with them, so that is a good point.

    Michael: I think I agree, but there’s something I don’t have a feel for. The younger generation seems much more comfortable making lots of details of their lives publicly available, but I’m not sure whether that’s the wave of the future or a passing phase. I just wonder if what you’re suggesting crosses the line of “too invasive.”

    If not, there might be 150 people in The Grove all checking each other out and then hooking up without really speaking first. And that seems like a great place to test it out because it does strike me as the “look at me crowd”. For all I know it more or less happens that way there to some degree already. Whenever I walk by there at night it’s lit up by the glow of 100 laptops.

    That glow might be replaced by iPhones and iPod touches instead of MacBooks. That probably won’t bother Apple at all since there’s an Apple Store less than 2 blocks away…

21. Michael Arrington
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:04 am

    Daniel - the important thing to remember is that you aren’t French, so things can’t be that bad.

22. lawrence
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:06 am

    This is big, really big - this is the equivalent of the computers/internet of the mid 90s boom…but now on portable devices, with various features and apps, etc.

    i’m getting chills down my spine thinking about this new frontier

23. Michael Arrington
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:06 am

    Robert - I agree, although I think that the days when people aren’t more than happy to broadcast their resume/personal life electronically are over. People always, always, always trade off privacy for removal of friction.

24. K.Kaviraj
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:08 am

    Mike - I thought this was wat the “Dodgeball” stuff owned by Google was doing …..

25. John Nelson
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:10 am

    Critical mass here is membership, facebook can easily kill it, unless they are stupid.

    If the new tool leverages bluetooth one can make friendships quickly from a conference or social event. Remember palm had option to beam the contacts and profile info.

    Another thing goin here is iPhone devotion, some people even rave about making phone calls from iPhone, as if this was not done before. With that devotion America/world could become more social, that is good thing.

26. John
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:14 am

    This looks like what MyBlogLog has right now:

    http://m.mybloglog.com/

27. Julian Baldwin
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:19 am

    John Nelson,

    Facebook could introduce a great mobile app fulfilling all the features mentioned above, but not easily kill it. There is perpetual issues with Facebook privacy and the majority of users are not content with unlimited exposure. In my opinion, a social network where the majority of users are comfortably public is more effective and that would be iPhone and similar mobile device owners, not the entire Facebook population. Maybe that sounds confusing, but it’s the person behind the device, not the person behind the service for this one (at least starting out).

28. Nhim Long Xanh
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:20 am

    Proclivity in decade to who will be here

29. SearcH◆ EngineS WEB
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:31 am

    This is stupid…

    What we will have is a new generation of insecure people with no real social skills who are totally dependent on their gadgets.

    If someone is interesting JUST SAY HI!!!

    What the fuck is the big deal.

    People often give off vibes with their body language, dress and eye contact etc.
    We do not need this bullshit technology to filter out geeks like they are some special breed
    You end up missing so many great people of all stripes because of this filtering and dependence on the Internet

    You also never really fully develop your social skills and severely limit yourself to those who think just like you and only have shared interests

    Take a chance on meeting others who do not appear to be extensions of yourself - you’d be surprise at what you might learn

    There are many fascinating

30. Chris
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:35 am

    I want that IPhone application now! I need to know launch month, cost, distance it can cover…..it sounds like a market changer!

31. Jay
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:48 am

    What chuckled me the most was this: “It shows you everyone around you who has it installed on an iPhone”.

    Firstly, I don’t have an iPhone, and most likely I will never have one. Secondly, NONE of my friends have an iPhone either. So I can’t really see a future for this kind of application, other than those who decide to be too trendy for their own good.

32. kuldeep
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:50 am

    Mike, u should have gone ahead with your own startup, cause there must be some gap that these guys might not have filled.

33. Uway
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:52 am

    I had a similar idea but instead of your phone it was some gadget that you use in your car. imagine sitting in traffic and meeting new people you never know who your next to in traffic.

34. Daniel Thomaser
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:54 am

    “# Michael Arrington

    April 9th, 2008 at 1:04 am

    Daniel - the important thing to remember is that you aren’t French, so things can’t be that bad. :-)”

    rofl - We always had the Richard Branson quote “Screw it - let’s do it” on the office wall. Now there is a second one to cheer us up….

35. 113.com
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 2:01 am

    An insightful read. Telling the truth.

36. Michael
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 2:29 am

    Michael,

    from what you describe about this app it is not a social network, but more like a mobile find-new-friends app. I do not think it will take off (unless there are other features you did not reveal). If your plans are about a _real_ mobile social network (the one with the friends you already have) I encourage you to give it a shot

    Cheers
    Michael

37. Wayne Schulz
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 2:50 am

    This app will demo well but I question if it will go anywhere.

    Most people being “social” online are not the types to head out to meets in public.

    When was the last Facebook public meet up that you attended?

    It’s one thing to say you want to meet online people, lose weight, get fit, stop procrastinating (etc), and another to actually do it.

    This app will have the same problem.

    Look at the profile pictures on Facebook.

    All posed “cool” photos. Real life takes that “cool photo” element away. People have to interact in person - come out from behind the keyboard. Face the fact that the picture they posted is 20lbs lighter than they are in person.

    I’ll be surprised if this has legs.

38. Yuri Ammosov
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 3:16 am

    @Michael Arrington:

    Michael: one question. Does this iPhone dating application require creating an account with the web service that will support it or does it work as a standalone widget?

39. nils
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 3:21 am

    Michael,

    I agree (partly) - We definitely have a really big lack in MoSoSo and it will definitely come - some of the presented tools like DodgeBall or Aka-Aki as well as others are only the start - the question is: Will it be the net on the phone and the use of some physical features, or will it be the phone itself.

    And yes: From our studies it shows that mobile carriers would take the chance to build networks on their phones and contracts but that was only a study for Europe and China not the US!

    At that point I’m not so sure if we would probably talk about the Web3.0 and not Mobile 2.0!

    Anyhow - Great job of this blog sometimes to much Web Hype - missing a little research and prove!

    Hope to see you in Paris at the Marketing 2.0 Conference

40. kael
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 3:35 am

    @ Arrington,

    You’re still eating “Freedom fries” (sic), ain’t you ?

    Haven’t you realised that Freedom fries had the taste of oil ?

    I tell ya, French fries are the best.

41. Adam Martin
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 3:56 am

    LoMoSoSo, LoSoMoMo, MoSoLoMo, SoLoMoMoMo… plucky Brit who know’s his MoSo from his LoMoSo and has previous experience working with nets seeks gainful employ with secret start-up, who and I’ll let you in on a secret, need a guy like me who has an idea to take this to another level and hypertag the city through a coterie of iPhone users.

42. Sam
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 3:57 am

    Over here at GyPSii - http://www.gypsii.com - we’re doing most of this already, check us out. We run on the iPhone in web format already (just point Safari at our site), Windows Mobile, and Symbian S60, we’re mobile and web, and we’re location-based.

43. More Profitable than Justin.tv
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 4:03 am

    This is a type of service Adult Friend Finder should be all over!

44. PookieBadmuffin
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 4:45 am

    ZKOUT?

45. Dan
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 4:53 am

    MY GOD YOU’RE A GENIUS

46. FredericMartin
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 4:56 am

    I think Nokia has a better concept with Point & Find. The concept is stronger and non proprietary. See under http://fredericmartin.typepad......-in-t.html

47. Davealevine
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 4:57 am

    This is absolutely right. It is almost comical that we still fumble with paper business cards while we spend the rest of our lives entirely connected digitally.

    I want to be able to point my device at others and exchange more than just business cards, but connect, learn, interact and come back.

    This will happen. Glad to see you are on it.

48. Frederic
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 5:01 am

    I think Nokia has a better concept with Point & Find: open and with more power. Details under http://fredericmartin.typepad......-in-t.html

49. Sally
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 5:33 am

    WOW, why does a startup show concepts to blogger for blogger to share to the world so startup will have much more competition.

50. Wes Mahler
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 5:40 am

    Now thats cOOL!

51. Robert Benedict
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 6:12 am

    Theres an assumption here that friendships form around technology choices, which do indicate like mindedness -until they become ubiquitous. No one would think of being friends with some one because they owned just any mobile phone, but an iphone, probably so; as long as it remains a luxury good and is held by first adopters. There is also a market segment of us who doesn’t really care to meet people based on their technology choices, myself, married late 20’s green collar, included. I can’t even keep up with my Facebook account in terms of actually maintaining the relationships I have. Sure its a beginning affinity point, which people need, i.e. dating sites etc, but the primary use for someone like me would be business, and there I would find it useful.

52. Gene
    

    April 9th, 2008 at 6:17 am

    I’m glad iPhone is setting the standard. Maybe all the other car