In a new report, Forrester suggests that social media websites and mobile handset makers will need to work more closely to make social media consumption better on mobiles. This point takes the responsibility of better engagement away from the sole shoulders of web/mobile publishers and provides a more holistic approach. The report essentially is on how mobile will change social computing being the 24×7 device.
Mobile phones’ convenience, improving cameras and location awareness will make the mobile phone the dominant media creation device of the future, states the report. Only handset makers are able to deliver all five social mobile communication experiences due to the tight integration necessary with a phone’s core communication features, such as voice, SMS, and address book. Internet-based social networks must partner with handset makers to extend their strategies into people’s lives 24×7, the report titled ‘How Mobile Handsets Will Deliver 24×7 Social Computing’ adds in its executive summary.
INQ handset (courtesy Engadget and PMP Today)
It certainly is an interesting point of view, and puts the manufacturing layer as much a part of the front end of social media as any other section. And it certainly holds ground. What we have experienced in MVAS as well is how voice, SMS enabled services have the highest potential to engage in mobile phones at the moment. Similarly, social media can gain as much using the power of the devices to drive consumption and digital creation. And it can go beyond alerts to persuading users to drive more content through extremely intuitive but user friendly tools. Say something like an instance where you click a picture on your mobile, and it instantly displays a button to post it on your Facebook album. Smart phones might provide an app for this, however, the majority of users might be using basic phones without an OS as such.
Media Post reports that, some mobile phone makers and social sites are already tying up at this front. It states that, ‘London-based INQ Mobile has been at the forefront of such efforts, with its original S1 model providing Skype access and its followe-up INQ1, better known as the Facebook phone.’
On another tangent for more people to adopt such efforts, handset makers need to see more and clear value to their efforts. They should get to become an active stakeholder in the results that ensue with mobile enabled social computing. In my opinion, this is more a factor of time more than anything else, a case of when and not if.
