14 DAY TRIAL // Hi5, the third largest social network in the world, according to a comScore study, announced that it had expanded to include the mobile platform as well. Users from all over the world will have the possibility to login to their favorite (or maybe not favorite, if we’re to believe the numbers, but close enough) social network by using a mobile phone. Moreover, hi5 assured that the 26-language support available on computer access to the network would also be included with the new platform.
“Mobile use represents a huge opportunity for social networking and this functionality is particularly relevant to hi5's international user base who are more advanced than their U.S. counterparts in terms of mobile device usage. We are providing the tools for users to connect and share information with their hi5 network from almost anywhere in the world,” said Ramu Yalamanchi, CEO of hi5.
Moreover, the global mobile market is offering greater opportunities, since, in the US, mobile phone sales are reportedly on the decrease. A couple of weeks ago, the NPD Group released a report that showed that the mobile business had just registered its lowest peak – a 13% drop in sales during the second quarter of 2008 compared with last year. In other parts of the globe, the accessibility to mobile devices is under development, so the chances are greater for hi5 to enlarge its non-US audience.
The company will also get contracts with local advertisers, which, in turn, will offer better quality ads to hi5 subscribers. “In addition, as we see the number of users accessing hi5 via their mobile phones increase, it will open up the opportunity to roll out hyper-localized advertising.”
hi5 seems to understand that the US market is allotted to rivals MySpace and Facebook. This is the main reason for which the company is trying to make the most of its localization business method. “Because we've focused on the international opportunity from the start, we've developed a very acute sense of the unique behaviors and needs of users in different countries,” Yalamanchi underscored on a previous occasion.