Vodacom goes social

By Candice Jones, ITWeb online telecoms editor

Johannesburg, 04 Dec 2007

Vodacom has released two cellphone-based social networking services.

The first is the Meep instant messaging (IM) service. "Meep can be used on any WAP-enabled 3G cellphone," says Dot Field, Vodacom`s chief communications officer.

According to Field, messages are delivered in real-time and can be controlled to block access from unwanted users. Users can send messages to non-members, but they will be converted to SMS.

Meep is free to Vodacom`s contract, top-up and prepaid customers until the end of January next year, she says.

Vodacom`s new social networking services are a natural evolution, given the global explosion of the market, says Matthew Buckland, GM of Mail & Guardian Online.

"Mobile phones will eventually be the main way people access the Net, surpassing that of desktop computers. We`ve seen this in Japan and we`ll see it here, especially with the high cellphone penetration rates in this country and the continent."

Leave a message

Vodacom`s second service, TheGRID, is a location-based social networking system, which uses network-positioning systems to pinpoint a user and friends in specific locations.

The service allows users to share content with each other and find out if TheGRID friends are nearby. Users can also leave behind virtual notes in locations to share with other users. Other users can pick up notes at a later stage.

Field says virtual notes are linked to a specific location and are stored at that location until the user deletes it.

"TheGRID is currently available in beta only, via invitation from an existing pioneer user." It has been built on an open platform that encourages developers to create add-on features, says Field.

According to Buckland, the company is in a unique position to add location-based services to its mobile content offerings, because it is able to determine where people are via their cellphone masts. "The new services, such as TheGRID, are symptomatic of this evolution. The company is moving more into the media and social media space."

Business use?

BMI-TechKnowledge senior analyst Tertia Smit says these kinds of services could also be leveraged in a business environment. "The Meep service is already showing signs of unified communications ability, with its interaction with both cellphone and desktop.

"Businesses will first need to look at the types of devices being used by mobile workforces, the security of the applications, as well as any privacy concerns that may arise from its use."

However, she says, it may take some time before business takes it up. "Typically, these kinds of services are put to the consumer first to build awareness and teach people the possible uses, and later taken up by business."