Vodafone blasts off into MySpace

07-02-2007

by Ciara O'Brien

The next killer app for mobiles could be social networking on the move as Vodafone teams up with teen favourite MySpace.

With PCs in only 59 percent of Irish homes, but mobile phone penetration at 104 percent, perhaps Vodafone has hit a winner with this new mobile application. The link-up could be set to be a winner, given Irish teens' addiction to texting and their prolific use of social networking websites such as MySpace.

Now MySpace addicts will be able to access their pages through their mobile handsets, leaving the rest of us twiddling our thumbs and wondering just what the appeal of online social networking really is?

The new service will allow MySpace junkies to use their phones to edit their personal profiles, find and add friends, post photos and blogs or send and receive MySpace messages.

MySpace for mobiles will be initially launched in Britain, with April put forward as the earliest date it may be available. But be warned -- mobile MySpace could be coming to a phone near you sooner: Vodafone intends to offer it pre-loaded onto selected handsets in the near future, and will also provide it as a free download for Vodafone Live customers -- meaning there will be no escaping its reach.

However the mobile network is remaining tight-lipped on the timescale for rolling it out to the rest of Europe, including Ireland.

The move marks MySpace's attempt to break out of the online world and extend its reach into the lucrative European mobile market.

The announcement may cause concern among parents who previously monitored their children's use of the social networking sites on the home computer -- monitoring mobile phone usage is much more difficult.

The National Centre for Technology in Education's internet safety project officer, Simon Grehan, believes mobile social networking will be hugely popular among teenagers, and rather than kill traditional social networking skills, it may actually improve them.

"It's helping teens to create social bonds with other people," he said.

However, Grehan is not glossing over the risks, and warned that people need to be careful about giving out too much personal information to strangers online, and advised against meeting up with online friends alone.

Irish teenagers might be a little more impressed if Vodafone did a similar deal with Bebo -- according to The National Centre for Technology in Education. Less than 3 percent of Irish teenagers currently use MySpace as their primary social network. In Ireland Bebo is the bee's knees.

However Grehan believes that this might be what MySpace needs to entice users from Bebo and other rival sites. "It's compelling enough that people will move," he said.

Vodafone, on the other hand, sees its new offering as a way of "empowering" their customers, and allowing them to make the most of their time.

"This partnership brings together the world's number one lifestyle portal and the world's leading mobile operator," said Colin Digiaro, senior vice president for international corporate development, at MySpace.

"Millions of people use MySpace as their primary means of communicating with family and friends, so it's vital we make this available on the move."

Not everyone considers MySpace and other social networking websites as a clever use of time. The sites have been banned from use in certain colleges and schools, and concerns have grown about the use of sites like MySpace and Bebo to bully students in schools.

In the US, MySpace has outlined its plans to keep sex offenders out of the network, by compiling a database of "banned" e-mail addresses that criminals must register with the authorities.

It is also facing legal action from the parents of teenagers who were allegedly assaulted by people they met through the social networking site.