ABI Research Finds Moblogs Destined for Continuing Niche Status.

NEW YORK -- Unless market conditions change drastically, "moblogging" - the practice of posting personal content, usually photos, from mobile camera phones directly to websites for sharing with friends and the public - will remain a minority recreation for the foreseeable future, according to a new Research Brief from ABI Research.

According to senior analyst Ken Hyers, "At the end of 2006 there will be about 655,000 active mobloggers worldwide. The word 'active' is important, because many people start moblogs, but nearly as many abandon them within weeks. And even in 2011, when there will be some 3 billion mobile subscribers, we expect a mere 2.7 million to be moblogging."

Given the popularity of social networking websites such as MySpace and YouTube, what is holding moblogging back? The generally poor quality of the pictures made by most camera phones is one factor, as well as the sometimes clumsy upload processes. "And," says Hyers, "for most people there's simply not enough going on in their lives that they're going to be uploading pictures on a regular basis."

All this would suggest that moblogging is not, as an industry, much of a money-spinner. However, some kinds of content, and some business models do offer promise. Mobile operators garner revenues from the data services that power every picture upload. Some moblogs feature adult content and that is frequently paid for by advertising. Advertising also supports high-volume photo sharing sites such as Flickr. Moblogging can contribute additional data revenue through heavy MMS use by mobloggers. Operators and handset vendors should work with popular moblogging web sites to encourage mobile subscribers to moblog. "Moblogs should be tied to other types of online communities," says Hyers, "where they can be supported by banner ads on the site, by targeted marketing aimed at the special interests of specialized online communities, and by additional services such as photo printing."

ABI Research's " Moblogging " (http://www.abiresearch.com/products/ research_brief/Mobile_Content_Market_Update/102) (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.) Research Brief analyzes key moblogging business issues and forecasts moblogging user growth, including breakdown by world regions, for the period from 2006 to 2011. It forms part of the Mobile Content Research Service (http://www.abiresearch.com/products/service/ Mobile_Content_Research_Service) (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.), which also includes Research Reports, Market Data, Online Databases, the ABI Vendor Matrix, ABI Insights, and analyst inquiry support.

Founded in 1990 and headquartered in New York, ABI Research maintains global operations supporting annual research programs, intelligence services and market reports in broadband and multimedia, RFID & contactless, M2M, wireless connectivity, mobile wireless, transportation, and emerging technologies. For information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.