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I quickly checked the latest comment on my wall before I went in for a
meeting. Little did I know then, that millions of people (sixty-five millions to
be precise, as of last month) have something common with me. That something
happens to be the Facebook Phenomenon just that all 65mn of us have extended
it a little furtherto our mobile devices.
Facebook, the most popular social networking site across the world, is indeed
serious about giving itself the mobile push, as Henri Moissinac, head mobile,
for Facebook makes it clear.
Although Moissinac is going through extreme jet lag phase, ask him about
Facbooks mobile plans, and you can see him bubbling with enthusiasm. He is
quick to point out that close to 60% of Facebook users access their accounts
both on web and on mobile. Only the remaining 40% are completely web dependent.
With so many users graduating to anytime, anywhere access, a mobile roadmap
assumes supreme importance.
Device Like that
According to Moissinac, most crucial part of embarking on the mobile journey
is the device. For any device, according to Moissinac, task can be divided into
two parts: applications and integration. He says that while applications remain
the same for most of the devices, it is the integration that differs as per
device specifications.
Facebook has charted some IT strategies for device to device discrepancies.
The most crucial point here is to ascertain lowest common denominator of all
devices. So same apps will be floated on all devices, integration is based on
capability of the device.
For people with touch screen phones , there is good news. Facebook has now
dedicated special focus on touch phones and has even clearly demarcated products
for keypad handsets and touch screens. Since the future seems to be touch based,
focus on touch-screens is obvious.
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| Applications remain the same
for most of the devices, but it is the integration that differs as per
device specifications
Henri Moissinac,
head mobile, Facebook |
Facebooks go-to-market strategy includes alliances with three pools:
operators, device manufacturers, and developers. Currently having tie-ups with
more than 180 operators across the world, Facebook also enjoys strategic
relationships with Nokia, Apple, Samsung, etc. Moissinac says that his primary
job is to make facebook penetrate to the lower devices.
They are trying hard to be developer friendly as welldevelopers can
integrate Facebook access with any application that they are developing. Athough
there are different mobile platforms used by different OEMs, Facebook has made
sure that it provides detailed tutorials and guidelines for developers.
The I-factor
Something about India had to be different. This time it is something that
has resulted in a change of policy of sorts for the social networking giant.
While Facebook ties up with one operator per country, it has gone ahead and
forged relationship with every single operator in India. The reason is the ever
growing SMS population of India.
Other extra efforts that have been put in for India lighter and faster apps,
since bandwidth is a huge challenge here. However, Moissinac believes that real
action will happen only when 3G makes a debut in the Indian market.
Mehak Chawla
With inputs from Karan Bajaj
mehakc@cybermedia.co.in
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