Mobile Social Networks

Social networking sites like Myspace, Facebook, and LinkedIn have been popular for a couple of years now. But lately, a new breed of social networking is on the rise – mobile social networks. Mobile social networks allow you to use your mobile device to communicate with your friends while on the go. Some of the bigger names at the moment are Twitter and Blue Pulse. In my neck of the woods, I’ve been hearing about Twitter. Out of curiosity, I’m taking the opportunity to learn more about it.

The way Twitter works is that you login to the site, and leave short, “blurb-type” messages about what you’re doing at the moment. Then people who follow you receive these messages in their account. The more followers you have, the more people know what you’re doing. You too can follow people. It’s only fair, after all. If you register your phone or IM with them, you can also use that to post your messages. This is where things get interesting. I can use the shortcode for twitter to send the system a number of commands. For instance, you could turn off the updates you get from other people temporarily. This is great example of a mobile application that takes the context of the user into consideration.

I’d be interested in talking with a developer from Twitter or any other mobile social network to discuss the opportunities and challenges of building the app, particularly the interaction with SMS. So I have a few questions for you, the reader. Do mobile social networks interest you? What is your favorite, and why? In your experience, have they enhanced your relationships?