Mobile social networking grew by 152% between November 2007 and November 2008 in Western Europe, according to ComScore.

The figures show that in November 34% of mobile social network users in Western Europe accessed social media exclusive of all other mobile web content.

The UK has the highest penetration of mobile social networking at 9%, nearly triple that of Germany, where the activity is the least popular at 3.3% penetration. T

While some say the success of 3G in Japan is mostly hype, the country, which has over 80 percent adoption rates, has become home to a "thriving mobile ecosystem," said Joffe, noting that second-generation (2G) handsets are no longer sold there.

Two of the richest mobile social networking companies in the world are based in Japan, along with a number of other highly profitable firms that have developed cool content and even cooler applications, such as mobile commerce and mobile auctions, for 3G phones.

Similar businesses have begun to emerge in China and are creating mobile platforms aimed at the country's technologically savvy youth, hungry for entertainment on-the-go and turned on by flashy 3G phones.

Mobile phone users are increasingly taking images with their camera phones and sharing them with friends around the block or around the country on social networks. Sharing of images in real-time is one of the reasons the cellular networks in Washington D.C. were strained so much during the recent inauguration of president Obama.

More people than ever shared their contact information and grew their mobile social address books over the holiday season with OnePIN's CallerXchange, a person-to-person contact exchange service. The service saw a dramatic usage spike of over 170 percent during the holidays with notable surges on Christmas and New Years as people met new friends at holiday parties and reconnected with old friends and family. This significant increase in message traffic demonstrates how easy and useful a one click mobile contact exchange service can be, especially at the time when a social connection is made after a phone call.

Social networking and community-based services and applications will drive mobile music services in coming years, according to a new report, “Mobile Content & Services Industry Survey” from Informa Telecoms & Media.

Mobile social networking and community based services and applications have received attention and investment from the mobile industry in the last two years.

In 2008, more than 50 percent of internal mind-share companies focused on mobile social networking.

Of the 307 telecom professionals who participated in the survey, 71 percent believed that social networking and community services will have a meaningful impact on peer-to-peer (P2P) uptake of mobile content.

2009 will undoubtedly be a tough year for many global economies. However, despite uncertain forecasts, messaging company, Acision believes that the changing economic landscape will present many revenue opportunities for service providers. Based on the 2008/2009 New Year SMS figures alone, Acision predicts messaging and its associated revenues will continue to soar globally despite the economic downturn.

Acision has compiled its mobile predictions for 2009 around its core business domains (messaging, mobile broadband, mobile marketing and charging), highlighting ways in which service providers can capture potential revenues and charge for services effectively.

In Real Life (IRL), the only presence-based social networking company that adds presence to social networks and social media, and GeoMe, a mobile phone service that allows users to explore, share and connect via messages on a map, announced today the creation of a central platform for location-based social networking services on both mobile phones and the Web. This is the first time a Web-based social network has partnered with a mobile, location-based social network, providing full access privileges across the two communities of users.

TeliaSonera announced today that they are a first company in the world to sign a commercial contract with Ericsson and Huawei to provide 4G coverage. Both of these companies are located in Europe, such a way first 4G mobile broadband will appear in Nordic and Baltic countries.4G as well as 3G format requires a whole new range of mobile phones.

Tomi Ahonen has recently published his book sharing 50 pearls (advice/ideas/tips) on Mobile Advertisement. Tomi has in past shared his pearls and ideas in many forums in public domain so this is a good chance for anyone into Mobile advertisement to get their hands on. The book costs 9.99 euros so its not expensive if the topic interests you.

Users are increasingly choosing dead simple SMS mobile payments for micro-transactions on social network applications and gaming sites (it fills the void while they wait for more direct options), but super-high transaction fees are limiting growth.

The idea that it's not necessary to know someone's exact location for mobile social networking to work successfully might seem a little bizarre.
Yet Mobiluck's Patrick Lord believes just that. The marketing director for the Paris-based start-up insists a GPS-enabled smartphone isn't needed for location-based networking to succeed.

In Real Life (IRL), the only presence-based social networking company that adds presence to social networks and social media, and GeoMe, a mobile phone service that allows users to explore, share and connect via messages on a map, announced today the creation of a central platform for location-based social networking services on both mobile phones and the Web.

Twitter, which has still not taken steps to monetize its API based microblogging social network nor add the Twitter search box to its web based user home pages, has received a cash infusion from IVP (Institutional Venture Partners) which valuates the company at $250 million.

According to a WashingtonPost.com version of a TechCrunch story, a source tells Michael Arrington that Twitter is likely to be raising a good bit more than the $20 million they have raised previously.

With their reliance on social networks and their 'leftfield' monetisation methods, the Mob would have felt right at home in the 21st Century world of Web 2.0..

Now PlayMesh is seeking to straddle the mobster/mobile 2.0 divide with iMafia, an innovative gangster game.

According to Venture Beat, iMafia takes the basic social gameplay of online titles like Mob Wars, leverages social networks like Facebook and Twitter, and adds a clever twist to enable PlayMesh to profit from a game given away for free on the App store.

The recent emergence of location-based mobile social networking services offered by providers such as GyPSii, Pelago and Loopt is revolutionizing social networking allowing users to share real-life experiences via geo-tagged user-generated multimedia content, see where their friends are and meet up with them. This new technology-enabled social geo-lifestyle will drive the uptake of Location Based Services and provide opportunities for location-based advertising in the future. This study describes product features, trends, barriers, drivers, and the overall location-based social networking ecosystem including detailed descriptions of solutions and market players. Special focus is given to business models. It also provides recommendations to all major players and shipment and revenue forecasts per region and per location-based social networking type.

Six Degrees Events is staging the 'Mobile Social Networking Forum' in London from 9 - 10 March. The event features speakers drawn from mobile operators, handset manufacturers and mobile social networks. Operators will share mobile social networking success stories, and discuss how they plan to benefit from the growing interest in mobile social media.
Speakers include: Bjorn Laurin, Director of Mobile for MySpace Europe, Middle East and Africa; Sarah Evans, Head of Mobile Advertising and Social Networking at O2; Sean Kane, Head of Mobile at Bebo; Gerrit Mueller, Senior Director of Mobile Products, Connected Life forYahoo! Europe; and Mark Watts-Jones, Head of Development and Innovation for Orange UK

A study carried out by research firm YouGov on behalf of mobile messaging and social networking firm Colibria has revealed that mobile users want social networking services pushed straight to their mobile, making the experience more interactive and allowing them to communicate with all of their social networks from one single access point. The survey of 1,995 online respondents in Great Britain found that 39% of 18-45 year olds believe that if updates were pushed directly to their device, it would greatly improve their experience of social networks via mobile.

Qualcomm will leave the challenges and opportunities of creating LBS (Location Based Services) driven mobile social media experiences to social networking companies and start ups...

That mobile is increasingly used for browsing is undisputed however it’s my firm belief that the rise and rise of social networking is a key factor inspiring more and more people to browse on mobiles, hand-helds and other devices. As Opera’s State of the Mobile Web Report said back in April 2008 “…almost 40% of traffic worldwide is to social networks. In some countries, such as the United States, South Africa and Indonesia, the social Web accounts for more than 60% of the traffic.”

A Colibria survey of 2,000 people in the UK has found that 39 per cent of 18-45 year-olds believe that if updates were pushed directly to their device, it would greatly improve their experience of mobile social networks.

Of those who already access their social networks via their phone, 65 per cent prefer to do it through an internet browser, while 28 per cent use a dedicated application.

Colibria says the interactive limitations of browser-based access may explain why 43 per cent of users only describe their experience as average, with a further 20 per cent rating access as poor or very poor.