Social networking updates
Social networking has created new ways to communicate and share information and is now used regularly by millions of people around the world. There are many social networking platforms for both consumers and businesses, with a wide range of networking and information sharing options.
The next step for social networking is to use the mobile channel, enabling subscribers to merge their online and mobile communications. SMS plays a key role in social networking, being used in alerts, updates, uploads and sharing applications, such as:
- Text alerts once a friend or contact has changed their profile.
- Text alerts once there’s new content to be downloaded.
- SMS alerts as part of premium membership value-added services.
- Notifications of new messages, friend requests and comments.
- Profile updates via inbound SMS.
- Sharing of preferences or recommendations in regards to restaurants, movie theatres etc.
- Upload new contacts in social phonebooks.
- Invite friends and contacts to join groups or networks.
- Download applications (with WAP-Push).
- Upload text on discussion boards, forums, and wikis.
As well as pure social networking communities, any online and e-commerce company can create a mobile social networking element by enabling customers to post opinions, comments, customer reviews and ratings for products and services via 2-way SMS.
The importance of SMS for social networking is crystal clear: text messaging is a simple, user-friendly technology, most people are already familiar with it and have their phone close at hand. SMS is a fast, reliable service, with global capabilities. Due to the international nature of social networking, using a global service is essential. 2-way SMS can be easily integrated to power full mobile dialogue and real time communication.
With SMS, social networks can enhance customer retention by offering an innovative, reliable and fast service for end-users, as well as generating revenue from value-added services. Social networks can also further enhance their communication and services with mobile chat functionality, as well as with virtual gifts and micro-blogging & twittering.
