Thx 4 Tha Ad(vertising), MySpace

from the why-take-the-toll-road? dept

Tue, Dec 19th 2006 11:26am — Carlo Longino

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.

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15 Comments

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Dave Kaufman - Techlife, 19 Dec 2006 @ 11:53am

Sidekick
As a Sidekick user who reads Techdirt a ton (why is the mobile vers. not available as an rss feed??), I would love to see your link/source for the Sidekick data. I am not a MySpace user (gasp) but I also thought it didn't work much at all with the Sidekick either.
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Carlo, 19 Dec 2006 @ 12:15pm

Re: Sidekick
Sorry, I should have cited this WSJ story there.

"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."
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Jeff Gladnick, 19 Dec 2006 @ 12:29pm

Exactly how is this exclusive?
doesn't Helio already have this?
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PhysicsGuy, 19 Dec 2006 @ 12:37pm

my space is for egotistical losers who think having "friends" on a list makes them cool. aside from the handful of people who actually use it to contact old friends (which can be done in a number of other ways), there's no real point to myspace except to polish one's delusion of grandeur. it's all about the stage in life that occurs prior to realizing that superficial relationships are meaningless.
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PhysicsGuy needs a hug, 19 Dec 2006 @ 12:45pm

Re:
Myspace is also for ninjas and the ghosts of famous baseball players from the 20's.
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VintageCoronado, 19 Dec 2006 @ 1:03pm

Thx 4 Tha Ad(vertising), MySpace
just what we need. emo kids emotionally attached to myspace, their looks, and cell phones.
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Dave Kaufman - Techlife, 19 Dec 2006 @ 1:05pm

Re: Sidekick
BTW after some testing, I was not able to get into many deep link pages, browsing etc on the Sidekick 3. Just for accuracy purposes.
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Dave Kaufman - Techlife, 19 Dec 2006 @ 1:06pm

Re: Re: Sidekick
Sorry...that was for Myspace.com, that I was unable to really view the more than the homepage on my Sidekick.
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Dick, 19 Dec 2006 @ 2:04pm

PhysicsGuy has no friends or social life
I know him personally and he really doesn't. It is sad. And he had a girlfriend in 1987 but she broke up with him because she didn't want to talk about angular momentum and its use in planetary motion. She just wanted to watch 21 Jump Street.
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PhysicsGuyIsRight, 19 Dec 2006 @ 2:26pm

Physics Guy is right
Physics Guy is right - his naysayers are just to shallow to ever understand. Yes, You.
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non-shallow naysayer, 19 Dec 2006 @ 2:33pm

Not all users of MySpace are egotisical losers. Some people use it to keep in touch with their friends. Not all of us have the same luxury to be friends with other losers that never moved away from home, live in the basement and pleasure themselves to physics textbooks.
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Dick, 19 Dec 2006 @ 2:56pm

PhysicsGuyIsRight has no friends either
I know this guy too and he is a tool. No one likes him and he never can get a joke. He smells and his mom dresses him funny.

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.
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MrShoop, 19 Dec 2006 @ 3:11pm

not really exclusive
It is exclusive like Winning 11 is exclusive on Xbox - for a limted tim in a limited region. Article says, "MySpace says the partnership with Cingular, a joint venture between AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp., is exclusive for several months. MySpace says it is likely to roll out partnerships with the other major wireless carriers next year."
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PhysicsGuy, 19 Dec 2006 @ 3:16pm

Re: PhysicsGuy has no friends or social life
...and that's why to this day i despise 21 jump street. planets sweeping equal distance in equal time due to gravity is far more interesting. :)
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PhysicsGuy, 19 Dec 2006 @ 3:57pm

Re: non-shallow naysayer
didn't you read Dick's post above? i don't have any friends... i do enjoy the occasional fervent and angry masturbatory session over QED though... :P
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