Cellphone socializing takes off

Mobile social networking is taking off. "Mobile user-generated content will generate revenues of over $5.7 billion in 2012, compared to $572 million this year. And of that 2012 total, 50% will be accounted for by social networking services," TechDigest.tv reports, citing Juniper Research numbers. And mobile research firm M:Metrics just released a "snapshot" of worldwide mobile social-networking: "Of note it is the US audience, which is traditionally hesitant to use the Web browser on their mobile handsets, that is the largest with 7.5 million or 3.5% of mobile subscribers accessing a social networking site with their mobile device during the month of June 2007," MobileMessaging2.com reports. Italy, the UK, Spain, Germany and France follow the US in that order." Also interesting was that US mobile social networkers are more of college age (18-24), while those in other countries were in the 13-18 age group. The most popular sites accessed by phone: MySpace and Facebook in that order, followed by YouTube in the US and Meebo in the UK. Here's CNET on the M:Metrics findings. Let's hope that, while they're social networking by phone, people are doing so safely. Check out some tips that might help parents at ConnectSafely.org. And moblogging (blogging by mobile phone) service Juicecaster has some for cellphone socializers themselves here.