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O2 and Bebo?

According to The Business, mobile phone group O2 is talking to social networking website, Bebo, about putting Great Britain's largest social networking site on its mobile phones. Although the negotiations are in the early stages, O2 seems committed to enabling social networking features on its phones.

One interesting argument is tha tthe rapid growth of online social networking sites is taking away teenagers' time to use mobile technology such as SMS or phone calls. Bebo has overtaken MySpace for the number 1 spot for UK visitors. The site also launched a rival music service in response to MySpace's grasp on the music community. Bebo Bands claimed that more than 25,000 musicians and groups uploaded music to the site.

This could be an interesting opportunity. It is apparent that independent musicians are using social networking sites as a low-cost or free marketing and distribution tool for their music. Why not? Most sites offering music upload/download capabilities allow members to have access to this music for free. This could be just as huge as mobile ringtones as more consumers demand higher customization and personalization to their phones. In addition, many phones are now operating as multimedia powerhouses as mobile phone manufacturers are trying to centralize users to one device. Now I even use my phone as as music player because it beats having to bring two different devices with me.

By the way, don't compare this with Helio and MySpace. O2 is a huge company compared to the miniscule Helio. This could be a beautiful and productive partnership.

posted by Koh @ 1:28 PM