A Nokia-Facebook combo is a no-brainer

Consumers need a Mobile 2.0 experience and not a Web 2.0 experience shortchanged to mobile phone. In my opinion, Web 2.0 should be leveraged to deliver value but not replicated. You have to work within the constraints of a small screen size and virtually no keyboard. Nokia has better chance to do that (and other software developers) than Facebook and Google - think why people don't use G-Mail or Yahoo Go on mobile ..

While I agree with your opening statement, perhaps think again about your closing statement... many people do in fact use G-mail / G-talk (IM) on mobile devices like BlackBerry... it's less expensive than SMS... can be synchronous or delayed... shows availability... can send voicemail attachments... and so on... sometimes it seems in spite of the OEM...

my apologies for lack of clarity - my previous comment was to poster Anil, not to the original author.

I think 2009-2010 will be remembered as the period when the mobile operators embraced their own competitive and pretty well protected advantages like running the network and having pretty coll services like billing, positioning etc on top of the pure access to offer. This seems like a wiser direction to take rather than trying to beat Google, Facebook or DremWorks at their own games.

I also second Anil about the fact that squeezing a web 2.0 experience into a mobile phone serves no purpose. Creative thinking and developing services freed of the handcuffs that porting licenced properties means will open the floodgates to a pure mobile internet experience that can stand on its own feet and run pretty fast as well. I have discussed these trends in several posts at mobiletribe dot com.

I think that your criticism of Nokia is rather parochial. Facebook is undoubtedly the most powerful Social Networking brand in the majority of developed countries, but on a global scale Nokia is a far more valuable brand. In the emerging markets that Nokia is targeting quite heavily at the moment most people have not yet signed up to any internet-based Social Networking service, and their introduction to such a service will probably come through their mobile phone. This is where Nokia could rapidly sign up large numbers of users to its own network. My expectation is that, in actuality, they will take a 2-strand approach and do both, as appropriate to the local market.

Thanks for that comment (the two-strand approach). That makes a lot of sense because I am not going to sign up on another social network when all of my friends are on Facebook already.

I am not suggesting either that the Web 2.0 experience works in the mobile world. Obviously it has been tried over and over. But Nokia and others need to take the popular elements of Web 2.0 and port it over, ie Facebook, to grow the mobile Internet. End users look for what they know, Google, Facebook etc.

The Facebook web site integrated into Nokia handsets makes a lot of sense. Some informal research I did with my Facebook friends indicates there is some frustration using it on a mobile basis. Everyone checks the site but no one really takes the time to type anything in because it's very time consuming and a bit complicated. So their interaction with it is very limited, unless a user has an iPhone or Storm. It took me forever to sign up on my BlackBerry, and then if I'm really bored, I'll check it on there. But the interface is pretty poor. It seems the company has a lot of opportunity to make the entire Facebook mobility experience a lot better.--Lynnette

Two comments, Lynette. First, just a note that Facebook is at the very top of Nokia's North American portal.
Second, the biggie: Facebook is tempting for the immediate numbers, but as you replied above, as a mobile experience, it's half-hearted, just an afterthought. So, if you're Nokia, do you agree to clean all that up for them and make it functional - while Facebook keeps the user? That makes no sense. Ultimately, Facebook is in control of what Facebook members see and do, and frankly I'm tired of all the crappy little flowers and bumperstickers. I don't want to know when a friend does something with somebody I don't know or care about. So, it's the rules that count. Facebook was just in the right space, right time. They've proved themselves untrustworthy with that advertising fiasco, they clearly make all their rules for maximum $$. Nokia is all about experience - even before there was a Facebook. Thank you Nokia for not opening the trash bag inside.

Two comments, Lynette. First, just a note that Facebook is at the very top of Nokia's North American portal.
Second, the biggie: Facebook is tempting for the immediate numbers, but as you replied above, as a mobile experience, it's half-hearted, just an afterthought. So, if you're Nokia, do you agree to clean all that up for them and make it functional - while Facebook keeps the user? That makes no sense. Ultimately, Facebook is in control of what Facebook members see and do, and frankly I'm tired of all the crappy little flowers and bumperstickers. I don't want to know when a friend does something with somebody I don't know or care about. So, it's the rules that count. Facebook was just in the right space, right time. They've proved themselves untrustworthy with that advertising fiasco, they clearly make all their rules for maximum $$. Nokia is all about experience - even before there was a Facebook. Thank you Nokia for not opening the trash bag inside.