MySpace Is Going Mobile
Now, I can take MySpace wherever I go.
USA Today is reporting that the stunningly successful social networking site MySpace is launching a mobile phone and service offering with operator Helio.
MySpace has earned a following among 54 million teens and twentysomethings, who use the site to post blogs, communicate with friends and play games. Users of the mobile service will be able to read and post to MySpace.com from their handsets, for free.
"What our target really cares about, this young consumer, is being connected to their friends and being connected to their world," Helio CEO Sky Dayton told the pub, contrasting Helio’s idea to that of the major carriers, who are expanding sales of music, videos and games. Helio will be an MVNO off of Sprint Nextel’s and Verizon Wireless’ high-speed mobile networks.
In reality, that means Helio doesn’t as much compete with carriers as much as help them segment users. Still, the idea of making MySpace, or any online brand, mobile isn’t about just extending functionality to mobile handsets. Adding in voice/video teleconferencing, and perhaps some location awareness ala Dodgeball, and suddenly a service like MySpace takes on a whole new meaning.
To see what I mean, pick up a copy of BRANDING UNBOUND the book, where I interview Dennis Crowley, the co-founder of Dodgeball, and Howard Rheingold, author of Smart Mobs, on what this type of anywhere, anytime connectivity can mean to social networking.
For more on BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:
For ADWEEK Magazines' recent excerpt from BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:
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