Thx 4 Tha Ad(vertising), MySpace
from the why-take-the-toll-road? dept
Much was made yesterday of the announcement that
MySpace will soon be available to Cingular subscribers on their mobile phones. They'll be able to download a MySpace application to their handset, then for $3 per month, plus whatever data charges they rack up, they can add friends and do whatever else they do to their hearts' content, whether they're in front of their PC or not. While surely MySpace is looking at this deal (and mobile in general) with dollar signs in its eyes, there are a few questions. First, do exclusive deals like this really work very well? The idea that one single feature -- particularly when it's data or content -- is attractive enough to get mobile users to switch operators remains unproven (just ask
ESPN). But things get even more complicated as operators carve out exclusive deals to different popular sites. For instance, what if a user likes both MySpace and YouTube? Cingular's got the MySpace deal, but Verizon has exclusivity
with YouTube. The likely answer is that they'll stay with their current provider, and seek out third-party solutions that allow mobile access -- often free of charge -- to these services. For instance, T-Mobile says that MySpace is the most popular web site among users of its Sidekick devices, while compatibility with MySpace and other social sites is a
main selling point of the latest version of the free Opera Mini mobile browser. So by charging for the "official" mobile application, all MySpace could really be doing is raising the profile of mobile data and content services and creating an opportunity for other people to capitalize on it.
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Sidekick
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Sidekick
"While tricky to reach before the launch of the service with Cingular, MySpace already has proved to be a popular destination on cellphones. The site has consistently been among the top five search terms on Cingular's wireless portal. T-Mobile USA, owned by Deutsche Telekom AG, says MySpace is the most popular site among its customers who use Sidekick, a mobile device that allows for relatively easy text messaging and Web browsing."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Sidekick
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Sidekick
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Exactly how is this exclusive?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Thx 4 Tha Ad(vertising), MySpace
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
PhysicsGuy has no friends or social life
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Physics Guy is right
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
PhysicsGuyIsRight has no friends either
You know myspace had more hits than ebay and is right under Google as the most visited website. I don't think there are that many emo kids out there. Maybe some people don't get it because it is a social networking website and they have no social skills anyway.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
not really exclusive
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: PhysicsGuy has no friends or social life
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: non-shallow naysayer
[ link to this | view in chronology ]