Livingston Communications Client and FindWhere CEO Jaap Groot and I co-authored a manifesto for mobile and location-based social networks outlining eight requirements for a successful mobile endeavor. Early reactions here and here. The reality is that social networks like BrightKite, Loopt, and Livecontacts represent steps in the right direction, they don’t work well.
Before I get called a flat out schill on this, I co-authored GSM Superphones, wrote an analyst report on the diffusion of wireless Internet services for the now defunct Strategis Group and was a former wireless telecom reporter. In addition, I have written a book on social media, Now Is Gone.
I feel like a lot of the problem occurs because folks are approaching this converging social network form from either a web only standpoint or a mobile basis. Here’s the main gist of the manifesto:
The true local, mobile and social breakthrough requires a completely converged product that will be so intuitive and robust that community members won’t have to wrestle with such a service. Instead, it will be so easy and fun, online community members will clamor to be a part of the craze. They will actively engage, and voluntarily spread the word about their experiences, in hopes that their friends will join them online. The winning service will be so compelling that it will be viral.
What’s it going to take to make this homerun combination happen? Ironically, the early successes have already revealed that it will take the right combination of mobile, local and social assets. To succeed, mobile social networking needs to embrace eight fundamental qualities:
1. Provide a base offering free of charge. Today’s social network user does not tolerate paid-for services.
2. Work on a wide selection of phones.
3. Offer an intelligent, simple user interface for accessing information.
4. Use GPS rather than force users to manually enter their location every time.
5. Integrate intelligently into existing social networks rather than further inundate people with a new one.
6. Allow users to share and use their location data in as many ways as possible.
7. Enable individuals to set various levels of privacy control for personal security.
8. Monetize in an intelligent, non-intrusive way
The full manifesto goes into each of these eight reasons in depth.
One additional point I’d like to see is context sensitivity. Let’s say you leave work early to go to a bar. You want a select group of individuals to know where you are. Using this service you outlined, the bar should be tapped in so that when you decide to post to your service/site of choice, you don’t have to type anything. It will pull contextual info from the bar, so your select followers will know your location, the time, and that it’s happy hour.
This will require an easy way for businesses to provide their context, but could be part of the monetization element.
Agree, Goeff. Sounds like common sense. Hopefully, you have the ears from all the marketing geniuses in the space.
Dear George, the link to the full Manifesto is broken. Can you put it back online again? This appetizer post served well its purpose! :)
Best regards
Andre Araujo
Brasil