user-generated content (UGC) space by 2013, according to a new report from
Juniper Research.
networking, dating and personal content delivery (PCD) services - will rise from
nearly $1.1 billion in 2007 to more than $7.3 billion in 2013, with social
networking overhauling dating to become the largest revenue generating segment
by 2009. The report also notes the increasing importance played by advertising,
which will account for nearly one-third of total revenues in the UGC space by
the end of the forecast period, and more than half of mobile social networking
revenues.
According to report author Dr Windsor Holden, "It's clear that
we have seen an industry wide shift regarding the implementation of business
models in this area. Whereas initially there was a perception that users would
pay a small mobility premium to access social networks on their handsets, it
rapidly became clear that to achieve truly mass adoption, it would be necessary
to offer free membership and then to augment that with advertising and the sale
of premium content."
The Juniper report also observed that, while the
iPhone had substantially increased public awareness of mobile content services,
there was significant scope for improvement with regards to the marketing of
such services within the industry as a whole. It also stressed the need for
operators to reduce data costs outside of bundles to encourage casual use of
social networking and dating services.
Other findings from the report
include:
• The number of active users of mobile social networking sites
is expected to rise from 54 million in 2008 to nearly 730 million in 2013
•
The Far East & China region will be most popular in terms of mobile user
number for mobile social networking and PCD throughout the forecast period, but
the Indian Sub Continent will become the largest region for mobile dating
services by 2010
• There will be more than 9 billion downloads from PCD
sites by 2013, of which 32% will be ad-supported
Juniper Research
assesses the current and future status of mobile user-generated content based on
interviews, case studies and analysis from representatives of some of the
leading organisations in the growing mobile user-generated content
industry.
White papers and further details of the study 'Mobile User
Generated Content: Dating, Social Networking & Personal Content Delivery
2008-2013 (Second Edition)' can be freely downloaded from
http://www.juniperresearch.com