In ABI Research online study,
nearly half (46%) of those who use social networks have also visited a
social network through a mobile phone. Of these, nearly 70% have
visited MySpace and another 67% had visited Facebook. No other social
networking site reached 15% adoption mobile adoption.
"As in the online social networking space, there is clearly a large
gap between the big two (MySpace and Facebook) social networks and the
others," says research director Michael Wolf. "ABI Research believes
this is because consumers do not want to recreate entirely new and
separate social networks for mobile, but rather want to tap into their
existing social network and have it go with them via the mobile phone.
For most, this means MySpace, Facebook, or even both."
So what are these consumers doing when they access their mobile
social network? The biggest features consumers use when accessing a
social network on their phone is checking for comments and messages
from their friends, with both of these features registering above 50%
for mobile social network users. Posting status updates also has proven
popular, with over 45% of mobile social users letting others what they
are up to via their phone.
"The social network is increasingly becoming a central hub for
communication across online and mobile domains for many consumers,"
said Wolf. "To a degree, it allows them to centralize messaging,
communication and even digital media consumption through a centralized
property on various screens. We believe this centralization of a
consumer's digital lifestyle through social networks will only increase
adoption of mobile social networking in coming years."
"Mobile Social Networking User Snapshot" provides an insightful
snapshot of current attitudes and perceptions relating to the mobile
social networking landscape, as well as a few counterintuitive results.
It forms part of two ABI Research Services: Consumer Video
Technologies, and Mobile Content.
*(Survey conducted 2Q, 2008, of 500 users of online social networks.)