PhoneTalk

We asked Bloggers around the Internet about their thoughts on social networking sites for cell phones. We wanted to know what it would take to make them as popular on cell phones as they seem to be on the Internet. Our final post comes from Matt Jansen. To read more from Matt, check out his MetaViper blog or check out Blorge.com:

Social networking sites continue to grow as top destinations on the web. Three out of the top five most visited sites on the Internet are social networking sites: MySpace, YouTube, and Facebook, according to Alexa. Interest in these sites is typically driven by a desire to stay connected with existing contacts and expand social networks.

Just as social networking sites continue to grow in popularity, demand for access to those sites on mobile devices will continue to grow as users manage more of their lives online. That in mind, mobile social networking apps may taking the shape of enhancements for portals to existing sites like Facebook, will be the most popular.

So what compels users to choose one mobile social network over another, and where do additional opportunities for mobile social networking apps exist?

Well-organized contact lists that allow users to quickly separate work contacts from social contacts, and search functionality to find any given snippet of contact information instantly.

Entertainment. Does the site allow for playful or serious interactions between users in a fun and effective way? If not, a mobile social networking app could fill in the gap.

Expanding networks is a key activity for these users, and finding others with similar interests or goals is usually the first step.

Mobile syncing would empower users to access social networking sites while offline. An application that allowed caching and syncing at a later time would provide immense value.

Images, video and text are the primary ways users communicate online, so an application that simplified any of those functions would provide efficiency gains on a daily basis.

Popular local events and destinations help users meet in person, and drawing that information into a social network helps bridge the gap between virtual and real life. After users arrive at a local event, connecting them via Bluetooth would be icing on the cake. For people who don't even know each other yet, bluedating -- matching up users with similar interests when they're within about 10 meters of each other -- is another niche market that could grow. The challenge bluedating faces is a tendency for social networking users to use distance as a convenient and polite reason to reject undesirable new suitors.

Protecting privacy is critical to maintaining trust with users, and coaching them on how much information to make public could be another application opportunity.

Circumspect advertising will present relevant ads to interested users, bring in more income, and prevent frustration by users looking to access their content more quickly-- especially on a mobile device where screen real estate is at a premium. Mobile social networking apps that drive appropriate placement of ads will drive user satisfaction and profit.

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