PTOLEMUS Consulting Group

Rediscover M.S.N.

Frederic Bruneteau - May 15, 2009

Strategies for Mobile Companies

Strictly confidential 2 Dec. 2008PTOLEMUS

From MSN to M.S.N.

• It started with teenagers

• It was addictive

• It impacted -mostly- their virtual life

• It was - mostly -about how to lose time

• It was with friends

• It arrived from the US

• It is an island

• It was replaced by Facebook

• It starts with geeks (on mobile at least)

• It will be addictive

• It will impact their real life

• It’s about how to lose time and gain some time and money

• It can be with everybody

• It partly arrives from the US

• It is -often- not in an island

• It will be used by Facebook or replace it

M.S.N. stands for Mobile Social Networking

M.S.N.

PTOLEMUS Strictly confidential 2 Dec. 2008

Dozens of companies have been created around M.S.N.

• Fantastic amount of innovation and… imitation

• Most sites have a web and a wap interface

• Interests can vary from dating, meeting friends, sharing trip destinations, sharing hot spots

• Most have been created in the US, Germany and Spain

M.S.N.

PTOLEMUS

These pioneers are making new user experiences possible

Mobiluck, a friendfinder and communication

platform

CitySense, a live hot spot finder

TellMeWhere, a graded placefinder

M.S.N.

PTOLEMUS

GPS users will remain a minority

For mobile, a number of barriers to take-off remain

3.1 billion

5.6 billion

2007 2013

0.2 billion0.7 billion

Mobile phone users

GPS-enabled mobile users

• Battery life uptime is still an issue

• The need to have a data bundle reduces addressable market

• No data bundle abroad. Most applications require a large data plan and cannot be used abroad, when you need it most

• The biggest customer base owners (mobile operators, Yahoo!, etc.) have not developed / leveraged MSN applications

• Business models are not mature

• Speed and accuracy of location are often not sufficient

Other obstacles exist

Sources: ABI Research, Juniper Research, PTOLEMUS

Number of users worldwide

M.S.N.

PTOLEMUS

Virtually all high tech leaders have invested in acquiring M.S.N. companies or enablers

• Companies have invested to gain- Technologies (e.g.

Keyhole)

- Assets / brands (Multimap)

- Time (Panoramio)

•Mobile operators seem to join

M.S.N.

PTOLEMUS

Tech giants also want to put you in the map

We expect R.C.S. to also include location

mid-term

With Latitude, Google leverages its Google Maps investment and its Gmail contact

database

With Vine, Microsoft brings the location to Windows

Live

M.S.N.

Strictly confidential 2 Dec. 2008PTOLEMUS

Within a few years, we will be able to make dynamic people search

People

M.S.N.

Strictly confidential 2 Dec. 2008PTOLEMUS

People

Eric Montagne

Within a few years, we will be able to make dynamic people search

M.S.N.

Strictly confidential 2 Dec. 2008PTOLEMUS

Eric Montagne est à l’Hȏtel Raphaël. Eric est occupé en ce moment:- Laisser un message- Aller à l’Hȏtel Raphaël. Envoyer sur Latitude.

1

Within a few years, we will be able to make dynamic people search

M.S.N.

Strictly confidential 2 Dec. 2008PTOLEMUS

However, all players need to solve the first problem, i.e. reach a critical mass of users

M.S.N.

Strictly confidential 2 Dec. 2008PTOLEMUS

Gaining the trust of users to give you your location is the 2nd huge barrier

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M.S.N.

Strictly confidential 2 Dec. 2008PTOLEMUS

We believe most applications mostly centered around location will struggle on their own

• It is easier to create a M.S.N. application than to gain a customer base of several millions of customers

• People give their trust only when - They know and trust already the provider

- They have heard about it from colleagues, friends and family

- There no other psychological barriers (paid-for, risk)

- There is something in it for them

• In the case of the location, you need to be «whiter than white»- Giving your location to Google or Microsoft appears frightening to most people

- You need to have a well-understood interest that does not scare people: TomTom Map Share

M.S.N.

Strictly confidential 2 Dec. 2008PTOLEMUS

Instead, successful applications of M.S.N. will enable the satisfaction of concrete user cases

TripIt, a temporary community that forms when you are travelling

M.S.N.

PTOLEMUS

Instead, successful applications of M.S.N. will enable the satisfaction of concrete user cases

Coyote, a temporary community that forms whenever you are on

the road

• There is a clear benefit that is shared by the community

• Users’ location is kept secret

• Usage is not a terminal that you have on a permanent basis

• Target users are ready to buy a custom fit device and to pay a subscription

M.S.N.

Strictly confidential 2 Dec. 2008PTOLEMUS

Geomate.jr offers a geocaching device for $69.95

Geocaching, a global treasure hunt in which participants hunt down hidden objects using satellite navigation and Web-posted coordinates and replace the items with something else

• 250,000 geocaches in the US

• A temporary community around a game

• Users’ location is kept secret

• Usage is not a terminal that you have on a permanent basis

Instead, successful applications of M.S.N. will enable the satisfaction of concrete user cases

M.S.N.

Strictly confidential 2 Dec. 2008PTOLEMUS

Multiple players can develop social networks

Meetic could go much further

What is needed- A large community of users that trust you

- The possibility to ask them to use their mobile

Mobile operators have clear levers to pull

• Introducing location on communities used by teenagers such as chat

• Create an open location enabler / environment using your community

• They can give away location-based services to generate more revenues from data bundles

M.S.N.

PTOLEMUS

M.S.N. is more than meeting friends and dating

• Existing social networks, i.e. Facebook, LinkedIn, Viadeo, are best placed to leverage M.S.N. but have been slow

• Other customer base owners, notably mobile operators, can also leverage their own base with voluntary services

• Breakthroughs will come from - Best-in-class management of privacy options

- Automatic background reporting of location

- Linkage to very large customer bases (think about SMS interworking), i.e. partnerships

M.S.N.

Strictly confidential 2 Dec. 2008PTOLEMUS

Recipe to succeed could be to remain pragmatic and use what is available

• Use ad hoc social networks, not necessarily permanent ones

• GPS accuracy is not always necessary. Cell-based location is generally good enough for most applications.

• Social networks need not be live or even dynamic for the start. A database can be good enough (cf. Panoramio).

• A SIP (Simple Important Problem) needs to be solved first before controlling the whole life of your customer!

• Don’t hesitate to use (and build) any kind of mobile devices - M.S.N. on mobile will really start in 2009 but most

of «normal» customers will be out

- Specific, on-purpose devices can reduce usage constraints

• Try to educate your customer base about these services by giving them for free at the beginning

M.S.N.

PTOLEMUS Consulting Group

Thank you

Strategies for Mobile Companies

PTOLEMUS Consulting GroupSarphatipark 84-II

Amsterdam 1073 EB

Tel.: +31 6 42 69 50 66contact@ptolemus.comwww.ptolemus.com