According to ABI Reseach, the emergence of location-based mobile social networking services such as GyPSii, Pelago and Loopt is revolutionizing social networking and is set to generate $3.3 billion by 2013. However, at the moment it’s not the advertising that generates the revenue for the service providers. Rather it’s licensing and revenue-sharing deals that location-based mobile social networking providers are pushing to reach profitability. In that sense, we’ve recently saw GyPSii announcing deals with Garmin and Samsung, while Loopt has established partnerships with all major U.S. carriers.
On the down side, there are several factors that are hindering mass market adoption of location-based mobile social networking. Privacy concerns are still a major issue, and so is the cost of data plans. At the same time, many small players are struggling to create sufficient brand awareness in a fragmented market, while some major companies like Nokia are also looking for their way to the market.
ABI Research’s recent study “Location-based Mobile Social Networking” offers insight into trends, social networking features, drivers, barriers and includes detailed descriptions of solutions and market players, with special focus on business models. You can read more about it from here.