Social Networking SMS is Coming To Townopocket

Looks like a company called Mobile Signal launched a text based social networking service that combines SMS and location based services (LBS) that will give subscribers the opportunity to communicate with people who share their personal or business interests in their vicinity via their mobile phone or PC. They also expect to boost mobile operator revenues by at least €30 million inside two years.

The technology can be accessed via a java menu that can be either be preinstalled on the handset or downloaded from the Mobile Signal website free of charge. The application can also sit directly on the SIM card in a mobile handset to enable extended features and one-click usages.

Once the tech is in full swing an SMS will alert users when there are people in the same location who share a whole host of similar interests such as sport, music, films, politics or even romance.

Whether it is a young backpacker arriving at an airport in a new country, or a businessman attending a congress alone, by activating Mobile Signal on their phone they will be made instantly aware of those nearby who also like to meet others sharing something in common.

The service will allow any person anywhere the availability to meet people who share things in common. I can just picture spontaneous flash-mob's for the lonely traveler coming out of this. It would be a cool way to meet people when traveling by yourself or with a loved one.

Or as Dan Ake, Mobile Signal's CEO, “Mobile phone users now have the freedom to reach out and communicate with people they’ve never met, according to personal and business interests. This is digital communications with a face, revolutionising the way people get to know each other.”

[via Unstrung]

Technorati Tags: lbs, location based services, mobile, mobile signal, sms, social networks

Posted by Justin at 05:39 PM Posted to Location Based Services Mobile Marketing SMS/TXT/MMS Social Networks
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March 31, 2006
The 21st Carnival Of the Mobilists
Welcome to the 21st Carnival of the Mobilists!!! It is an honor to be hosting this weeks Carnival of the Mobilists here at MOpocket! Its hard to believe that the Carnival is now 21 which means, to remind my European readers, that the Carnival can now legally partake in alcoholic substances and download pornography in the United States! Just in time for the Gathering of the Mobilists over at CTIA in sin city Las Vegas! Which I have just been told by Rudy via Skype is now booked.

Any-who, thanks for all those that submitted articles to this weeks coming of adult age (american version) Carnival of the Mobilists! There is some really top notch writing this time around so lets get started.

MOBILE + SOCIETY

First off, Mr Rheingold over at Smart Mobs posts about a really interesting interview that he and Mimi Ito gave on Keitai (thats japanese for mobile phone) culture, a favorite subject of mine.

MOBILE MARKETING

Troy Norcross over at consumer-preference.com's mobile marketing and spam blog tells it like it is when it comes to concerns over mobile marketing for children. Go Troy! Protect our kids!

While we are on the subject of kids, check out Stowe Boyd's blog in which he, citing two of our very own mobilists) chimes in on the extremes of cellphone identity from both ends of the spectrum.

WOMEN IN MOBILE

Rudy from M-Trends continues the much needed Woman in Mobile series with a tribute to Judy Breck a digital integration genius who is doing many wonderful things for this world. He's got a way with mobile women I tell ya....

OPERATOR/CARRIERS

Ok, there are two really good posts about EU's decision to Ban Roaming charges. The first comes from Ian Wood (aka the Digital Evangelist) in which he discusses what good can come of all this (besides not having to pay tariffs while roaming). Then, Tomi T. Ahonen of the communities dominate blog chimes in with some ideas of his own on what the carriers should be doing now.

MOBILE APPLICATIONS

The boys over at Mobhappy have a nice little piece on the "Free Stuff for Advertising" phenomena and how it is infiltrating the mobile space. Russell thinks its not so pretty.

Debi Jones from Mobile Jones writes about a really interesting mobile 2.0 project called emosive a Flash application that mashes up tunes, song lyrics, and Flickr photos.

T Norcross presents Minimo open source mobile browser new release impressive posted at Walter Adamson.

Newcomer Prashant John over at discobabu analyzes what is needed for a google like location based service.


PURELY SMS