inbabble.com

mobikade is a free, off portal social networking service where users can post updates of where they are and what they are doing. These updates can be plain text or with pictures and videos. In addition, there are special interest groups, friends, messaging features. Over and above the social networking service, there is free content available - free games (java games, Flash based games) and free SMS (users can send free SMS to any UK mobile). We spoke with Atul Sasane, Head of New Business about Mobikade and their competitive environment.

mobikade was formed in the Japanese market. Please tell us about the growth experience there?
Sasane: Mobikade was launched in Japan as Ekimoba in February 2007. In six months time, Ekimoba has acquired 500,000 members.

mobikade is now being taken beyond Japan. Is the UK the first new market, and which markets are planned beyond that?
Sasane: Yes UK is the first new market and we plan to expand in Italy, Germany and the US in the near future.

What is the mobikade business model to make money if your platforms are free?
Sasane: mobikade business model is based on advertisements only. This model for social networking services is highly successful in Japan, and we have the experience to replicate that in other markets.

mobikade is owned by Excite Japan one of the worlds most popular web destinations. What was the motivation for Excite to form Mobikade?
Sasane: The main motivation was to replicate the success stories in the Japanese mobile market, which is one of the most advanced market into other territories. We believe that there is high potential for the UK mobile market and want to be one of the first players in this domain.

What is your distribution strategy for Mobikade?
Sasane: We have 3 main distribution channels planned
1) WAP banner and text based advertising on leading WAP sites in the UK
2) Tie ups with major Universities’ student union sites. We offer our free
SMS service on these sites, which students can use if they register on
mobikade.
3) Tie ups with other content providers

User generated content, media sharing and social networking is getting more and more popular on mobile phones. Handset manufacturers are getting involved (Nokia purchase of Twango), mobile carriers are getting involved and internet companies are getting involved. Who do you see best placed to take advantage of the trend and why?
Sasane: Actually anyone who gets this business right can succeed. The challenge for operators and handset manufacturers is that their service will be limited to only a subset of people who use Vodafone or Nokia. The biggest opportunity lies in being available to all users, that is the reason why we have launched off portal. The biggest advantage is for existing online social networking players, including MySpace, Facebook etc. If these players can implement synergies between their online and mobile offerings, they can be very successful. We have experienced the growth of the off portal market in Japan and this puts us in a very strong position to create strategies to capitalize on the opportunities unfolding in the UK market.

Do you see the Japanese and European markets as different in terms of use/ acceptance of social networking/ content sharing?
Sasane: Yes there are a few differences. In Japan, people are well versed with the advanced features available on the mobile internet. Most teens use their mobile as the main platform to access the internet. In Europe, internet access is still mainly limited to the PC. Another difference is the amount of mobile content - in Japan there is a lot of mobile content available and lot of WAP sites. In Europe, the WAP sites and mobile content is still quite limited. With regards to social networking, the main focus in Europe is dating, and the content is mainly text based messages. In Japan, social networking is more widespread and people upload a lot of pictures and videos.

What do you see as the key to making money from social networking/
content sharing?
Sasane: They key is to have a huge audience which generates large page impressions, which can be sold as advertising space. Advertising on mobile really took on a new meaning in Japan after the social networking on mobile became a successful phenomenon.

Richard T.