Mobile social network
Mobile social networking is social networking where individuals with similar interests converse and connect with one another through their mobile phone and/or tablet. Much like web-based social networking, mobile social networking occurs in virtual communities.
Many web-based social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, have created mobile applications to give their users instant and real-time access from anywhere they have access to the Internet. Additionally, native mobile social networks have been created to allow communities to be built around mobile functionality.
More and more, the line between mobile and web is being blurred as mobile apps use existing social networks to create native communities and promote discovery, and web-based social networks take advantage of mobile features and accessibility.
As mobile web evolved from proprietary mobile technologies and networks, to full mobile access to the Internet, the distinction changed to the following types:
- Web-based social networks being extended for mobile access through mobile browsers and smartphone apps
- Native mobile social networks with dedicated focus on mobile use such as mobile communication, location-based services, and augmented reality
While mobile and web-based social networking systems often work symbiotically to spread content, increase accessibility, and connect users, consumers are increasingly spending their attention on native apps compared to web browsers.History
The evolution of social networking on mobile networks started in 1999 with basic chatting and texting services. With the introduction of various technologies in mobile networks, social networking has reached an advance level over four generations.1999–2004
Technologies used in this generation are application-based, pre-installed on mobile handsets. Features include text-only chat via chat rooms. The people who used these services were anonymous. The services of this generation's mobile social networks can be used on a pay-as-you-go or subscription-to-service basis.2004–2006
The introduction of 3G and camera phones added many features such as uploading photos, mobile search for person based on profile, and contacting/flirting with another person anonymously. Regional distributions of these features include Japan, Korea, Australia, Western Europe and US. The applications are mostly useful for dating purposes. The services of this generation's mobile social networks can be used on a pay-as-you-go or subscription-to-service basis.2006–2008
The experiments for this generation mobile social networks started in 2006. It was adopted widely in 2008/2009. This generation brought tremendous changes and made mobile social networks as a part of daily life. The features include a richer user experience, automatic publishing to web profile and status updates, some Web 2.0 features, search by group/join by interests, alerts, location-based services and content sharing. Technologies include WAP 2.0, Java on the server, MMS, and voice capture. Applications introduced were customized with general interests such as music and mobile-specific content distribution. Regional distributions of this generation of mobile social networks include Japan, Korea, Western Europe, and North America. Advertising and ad-supported content become increasingly important. The services in this generation can be used with pay-as-you-go plans; subscription-based plans were still popular as networks increased their scale to become content distribution platforms.2008–present
Fourth generation began in 2008 and reached in 2010. All the features in third generation are advanced in this generation of social mobile networks. The features of this generation include the features of the third generation, the ability to hide/mask one's presence, asynchronous video conversation, multi-point audio chat conversation with one button, and multiplayer mobile gaming. Technologies which made these features possible are Web 2.0 widgets, Flash Lite, OpenSocial, and Open Handset Alliance. The business model of previous generations continued along with virtual currency – the purchase and trade of virtual goods.
In parallel to the increase of various technologies in mobile networks, the number of hours spent per adult on mobile devices per day has increased dramatically since 2008. As of 2014, mobile devices have surpassed desktop/laptops as the most used device per day for internet usage. A steady increase of mobile application usage over the past few years has contributed to the rise of mobile social networks, as well as to the diversity of usage of mobile social networks.
As the use of mobile social networks has increased, the location-based services within the mobile social network has also been increasing. Social network service companies now provide more location-based services for customers' wide use of the mobile devices and their convenience.Usage
Mobile social networking sites allow users to create a profile, send and receive messages via phone or computer and visit an online version of a mobile site. There were different models which were adapted by different networking sites. Most of these sites have many unique features or special functions, but the main function of the site remains the same as other services. All these sites are categorized according to the following business models and usage.Social network
Similar to there being many online social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, there are just as many social network on mobile devices. They offer vast number of functions including multimedia posts, photo sharing, and instant messaging. Most of these mobile apps offer free international calling and texting capabilities. Today, social networking apps are not just for the social aspect, but are frequently used for professional aspects as well, such as LinkedIn, which is still constantly growing. Along with sharing multimedia posts and instant messaging, social networks are commonly used to connect immigrants in a new country. While the thought of moving to a new country may be intimidating for many, social media can be used to connect immigrants of the same land together to make assimilation a little less stressful.Messaging
This model is focused on the ability to send short, text-based messages to an individual, group of close friends, or even a large group of classmates, simultaneously. This category enables messages to reach the right people as quickly as possible. Many messaging apps are very popular, maybe even more than classical texting. Some social network platforms, such as Facebook, have their own native messaging applications, similar to Facebook Messenger. Different countries have a certain messenger that is predominant, like China with WeChat, Korea with KakaoTalk, and the US with WhatsApp.Media share
This can be viewed as an advanced version of the messenger category. In addition to text messages, audio and video files can be transmitted among a group, such as Skype or Oovoo, which are forms of online video chatting. In the case of Instagram and Vine, photos and videos of personal lives are shared to either friends or to the public. Similarly, Pinterest is used to share photos, but on a more community level. Mary Meeker's KPCB report stated that time spent on short video apps climbed 360% in 2017. The largest media sharing app today is YouTube, which allows people post videos and share with the public. Many of these services store media content online for easy storage and access.Local discoverability
Some mobile social networks, such as Yelp, FourSquare and YikYak, allow users to search for local venues. Many of these apps publish crowd-sourced reviews and tips about restaurants, shops, places of interest and more. Yelp and FourSquare also personalizes each user's database according to their latest search and interest to make searching more efficient.Social gaming
This model is about connecting people through both multi-player and competitive single-player games. Mobile devices are always increasing their capacity for graphics performance and computing power, making them capable gaming devices. The leader in this category is Zynga, creators of Farmville and Words with Friends, though it has suffered a decline. Hearthstone is another popular mobile game where players use monster and spell cards to fight each other. Many games also introduce the idea of having another player as an "ally" during game play. For example, in Naruto Blazing, players can choose one person from a set of players to be on their team while fighting enemies throughout the game. Mobile social networks can also connect people outside of the mobile environment. Pokémon Go incorporated augmented reality to allow players to catch Pokémon while together physically while outside. Players can also battle each other at gyms in various locations in the world. Facebook has also integrated games through its chat messenger. For example, friends can play chess by sending "@fbchess play" to the other person or basketball by sending a basketball emoji and clicking on the emoji.Dating
These are location-based apps that allow users to create a profile and are matched with those who have similar interests. Some of these sites use radar to ping a user if there is a matching single profile within a certain distance. Tinder was the first dating app that started the trend and has one of the largest user base. Other dating apps include Coffee Meets Bagel and OkCupid. These sites are marked with serious security measures, so that no personal details are released without the user's consent. However, there still has been several dangerous incidents that rose questions of whether Tinder-like apps are safe and should be kept around.Music
Music apps connect people by sharing playlists and being able to see what other people are listening to. Spotify, a very popular music site, is also used to social networking in a sense that people can see what their friends are listening to at the moment as well. Users can also follow certain artists or even friends that they want to, which is a form of “liking” a post on Facebook. Other social media music apps include radio stations like Pandora and last.fm.