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Submitted by Mike Grenville on Wed, 03 Oct 2007 17:24 |
Over half of mobile content execs don't practice what they preach and use the mobile content they sell according to research by BuzzCity at this week's MoCollywood conference.
BuzzCity, a provider of global wireless communities and consumer services, has revealed the results of research that offers insights into the future of mobile content and mobile social networking.
The research, carried out at this year's MoCollywood conference in London, quizzed show attendees, and revealed that 54% of the 50 delegates surveyed do not use the mobile content that they are marketing. Not a great advert or indication of conviction of their own services. MoCollywood is a leading mobile content event attended by representatives from the mobile content value chain - mobile operators, media players, content owners, developers, retailers and big brands.
Networking Not Mobile
And in the eternal quest for a future killer application, is the mobile industry looking to ride on the back of the user-generated content wave? It doesn't seem so – as 72% of respondents believe that mobile social networking services are only in their infancy as an emerging niche, and nothing more than an extension of existing PC sites, such as Facebook. But is this at their peril?
Today, mobile social networks are taking off in regions where there is not a high penetration of PC and broadband access. This does not seem to be widely acknowledged by the UK mobile content industry, as when they were asked where mobile social networks were likely to take off in the future and be a source of revenue generation, Africa was not chosen by anyone and only 4% mentioned Eastern Europe.
When asked which brands will emerge as the market leaders in the future mobile social networks landscape, the top two choices were those brands which already lead in the PC-based social network world – Facebook and MySpace. However equal ranking was given to Google, alongside a "brand that we haven't heard of yet".
Mobile Internet Lies Ahead
BuzzCity asked delegates for their views on the mobile content and mobile social networking market's prospects in the next three years. The mobile internet is the most popular application used on a daily
basis amongst industry executives (56%) – this will be encouraging news for operators who have invested hefty marketing budgets into take-up of internet on the move. However on the flip side, mobile TV and music downloads were among the highest scores in the "never used personally" category, despite operators continuous efforts to counter this.
When it comes to how money will be made in 3 years time in the mobile content industry, 38.8% of respondents believed that mobile advertising was the most likely source of revenue generation; with a
further 30.5% believing that flat monthly fees would replace current pay per download charges – a shift which is starting to happen already from operators.
Networking Beyond the PC
BuzzCity CEO KF Lai said: "This insight into today's mobile content world by those who are shaping it is fascinating. This industry poll makes interesting reading for everyone in the mobile content value
chain as to how and where revenue will be generated. It is already recognised that the mobile content and mobile social networking markets have fantastic growth potential. However, to fully realise this potential, the UK industry needs to appreciate that mobile social networking services are not simply an extension of PC sites. We know from our experience with MyGamma, our mobile social network, that there are emerging markets, such as Africa and Eastern Europe, who do not have easy access to the internet via a PC and want to be involved in a social network by their mobile phone. With brands like Google rumoured to be developing their own mobile community and the take up that we are already seeing from MyGamma, there is a definite market opportunity in these regions"
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