AT&T debuts mobile social media applications

By Dan Butcher

June 18, 2008

Juicing things up

AT&T Inc. has launched two mobile applications to make it easier for customers to access social networking Web sites and streaming video and audio content from their handsets.

The telecoms giant introduced JuiceCaster 6.0 and Buzzwire to its wireless network. Subscribers can access the applications by texting JUICE to 386 or by entering “Go to Media Mall” via a WAP or Web URL.

“AT&T is a communications company at its core and social networks have become a core form of communication for many people,” said Jenny Parker, a spokeswoman for AT&T, San Antonio, TX. “Many of our customers are members of multiple social networking sites and use different communities for different times.

“With these apps and  a slew of other apps we are planning to onboard, we will extend the accessibility and ease of accessing content and updating status, videos and pictures to a multitude of communities,” she said.

“Mobility adds a new dimension. The notion of constant status updates is made more compelling by mobile because you can update all day long, wherever you are, which has changed the impact of the status features of social networks.”

Creating buzz for AT&T

JuiceCaster 6.0 lets AT&T wireless customers share and post mobile videos and photos onto online social networking communities, such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Flickr.

Buzzwire lets customers access a media library of more than 5,000 video clips and create their own media channel with streaming video, audio and live radio content.

These new mobile applications will help AT&T reach subscribers ages 14-29 with active involvement in social networking and online communities.

JuiceCaster and Buzzwire are compatible with many of AT&T’s 2G and 3G handsets.

AT&T’s marketing efforts will include various SMS and WAP pushes, direct mailings, bill inserts and a couple of other promotions throughout the rest of the year.

“People are creators and publishers - this is a trend we’ve seen in the PC world but which mobile has taken to a new level,” Ms. Parker said. “Now that everyone is carrying a camera or video recorder at all times, more content is created. With JuiceCaster, AT&T is making it easy to get the content off the phone and to the sites you care most about.

“AT&T has historically been a leader in this space, from the days of MySpace alerts to providing the exclusive MySpace Mobile application and Facebook Developer program,” she said. “The advent of location is going to create an interesting dynamic.”