Mobile social networks: Loyalty, Publishing, and Revenue: Oh My! You may think that because we have ushered in the digital age there will be fundamental shifts in human behavior. You’d be wrong. Services such as Gowalla, Foursquare, Loopt, and even Yelp are finally at the tipping point of success because they tap into latent human desire. And then make acting on those desires simple. Much like the loyalty programs that offered a tenth sandwich after getting nine purchases punched on a card new social networks are offering benefits for loyalty firmly merging the physical and digital world. The aforementioned services are mobile social networks – allowing users to check-in to locations, earn badges for visiting pre-determined locales, and net loyalty rewards (such as free drinks) for particular achievements. The availability of smartphones and the opening up of mapping API’s will help these solutions succeed where other have failed. For greater insight see David MacQueen’s Insight Nokia Strides Forward in Online Location and Navigation. The most amazing part of these networks is the willingness of brick and mortar companies to participate. Becoming a Mayor (by visiting a place the most) on Foursquare and earning a free burger can only be achieved if the establishment opts in. And they are opting in. But free fare is just the beginning. In the last few weeks Foursquare has partnered with the American television network Bravo – allowing Blackberry users to earn special Bravo badges when they visit pre-determined locations, which one can assume will complement Bravo’s programming. Another Foursquare partnership with Canada’s Metro newspaper will provide location aware content from the newspaper’s nightlife section and eventually other sections as well. Finally, Foursquare most recently partnered with Zagat, allowing users to earn special Foodie badges at Zagat rated restaurants as well as offering restaurant tips. So, what does this all mean? Is it just a passing fad? In short, no. It seems like this is the new era in customer loyalty. While the social networking aspect of it remains new the ultimate goal is to drive user behavior. And open user’s wallets. While the players may change the fundamental merging of the physical and digital world is happening. Just this week OpenTable announced it had seated more than 2 million restaurateurs through its mobile applications. GyPSii is also building location based applications that offer location specific advertising such as coupons. While publishing companies will tout solutions such as the iPad as saving their businesses the truth is, services like location aware social networks could be the true path to salvation by driving consumer to spend identifiable real world dollars on real world goods.

Today, Nokia announced the inclusion of free turn by turn navigation on ten phone models – further enhancing Ovi’s value proposition. The service, which is almost certainly to be seen as a fast follower to Google’s similar launch in late 2009 should in fact be viewed as pushing an industry on the precipice over the edge. But the question is – does turn by turn even matter? From purely a platform perspective – yes, for now. For others such as Apple to follow suit they will need map data, turn by turn licensing agreements, an acquisition perhaps, or take a hit on margins. While Apple may find a way to bring turn by turn to the iPhone in short order, Nokia and Google have laid down the gauntlet by using maps as a competitive differentiator, a difference the companies must hammer home while the advantage is theirs. The proprietary ownership of mapping data is a huge advantage for Nokia (Navteq) and Google. There is a famous saying, wherever you go – there you are. But such antiquated logic demands an update and today we would be trite not to say, wherever you are - there your phone is. If you are not yet prepared to accept this reality you should peruse Yelp, foursquare, Loopt, Aka-Aki, Gree or Gowalla and you will clearly see that the future of mobile is not only about where you are but where you are going. By enabling turn by turn navigation on its devices both Google and Nokia have assured developers that location based services will be available to those seeking to include them in applications while making location based advertising easier. Nokia has two advantages over Google. Firstly its scale - S60 devices are ahead of Android devices, for now at least. Secondly, its navigation solution resides primarily on the device, not on the network. For users who travel internationally and don’t want to pay roaming charges, those with spotty coverage, or those who don’t want a data plan this is a huge advantage. For carriers hoping to offload some network congestion this approach is a relief. Of course, it's threat to carriers hoping to bundle TBT for an additional cost. For consumers (primarily those that do not own stock in a GPS manufacturer) this is a big win. For Nokia, "free" is a significant improvement on its current proposition but the company will have to do more in the long term to be seen as an innovator and not a fast follower. Despite the momentum building towards turn by turn navigation the features are simply a means towards a longer term end. Knowing where people are, where they are going, and how they are getting there is incredibly valuable information and could lead to a plethora of new advertising opportunities in addition to new applications. Related research: Nokia strides forward in online location and navigation Location based services, opportunities within an emerging battleground -Josh M

Today, Nokia announced the inclusion of free turn by turn navigation on ten phone models – further enhancing Ovi’s value proposition. The service, which is almost certainly to be seen as a fast follower to Google’s similar launch in late 2009 should in fact be viewed as pushing an industry on the precipice over the edge. But the question is – does turn by turn even matter? From purely a platform perspective – yes, for now. For others such as Apple to follow suit they will need map data, turn by turn licensing agreements, an acquisition perhaps, or take a hit on margins. While Apple may find a way to bring turn by turn to the iPhone in short order, Nokia and Google have laid down the gauntlet by using maps as a competitive differentiator, a difference the companies must hammer home while the advantage is theirs. The proprietary ownership of mapping data is a huge advantage for Nokia (Navteq) and Google. There is a famous saying, wherever you go – there you are. But such antiquated logic demands an update and today we would be trite not to say, wherever you are - there your phone is. If you are not yet prepared to accept this reality you should peruse Yelp, foursquare, Loopt, Aka-Aki, Gree or Gowalla and you will clearly see that the future of mobile is not only about where you are but where you are going. By enabling turn by turn navigation on its devices both Google and Nokia have assured developers that location based services will be available to those seeking to include them in applications while making location based advertising easier. Nokia has two advantages over Google. Firstly its scale - S60 devices are ahead of Android devices, for now at least. Secondly, its navigation solution resides primarily on the device, not on the network. For users who travel internationally and don’t want to pay roaming charges, those with spotty coverage, or those who don’t want a data plan this is a huge advantage. For carriers hoping to offload some network congestion this approach is a relief. Of course, it's threat to carriers hoping to bundle TBT for an additional cost. For consumers (primarily those that do not own stock in a GPS manufacturer) this is a big win. For Nokia, "free" is a significant improvement on its current proposition but the company will have to do more in the long term to be seen as an innovator and not a fast follower. Despite the momentum building towards turn by turn navigation the features are simply a means towards a longer term end. Knowing where people are, where they are going, and how they are getting there is incredibly valuable information and could lead to a plethora of new advertising opportunities in addition to new applications. Related research: Nokia strides forward in online location and navigation Location based services, opportunities within an emerging battleground -Josh M