Bloggers can update their blogs over a mobile phone using a multimedia phone with a GPRS facility and post content on blogs like Blogger, Ibibo, Rediff iLand, Mblog, Mynewblog,  TypePad, etc.

The word “moblog” is a portmanteau of ‘mobile’ and ‘weblog’ and its origin is credited to Adam Greenfield, who coined the term and later went on to organise the first International Moblogging Conference in Tokyo, Japan, in July 2003.

Although moblog technology became available over a decade ago, it was only during the past couple of years that mobile devices have become user-friendly enough to appeal to consumers, and really hit the global market. Moblogs allow users to share their camera phone pictures, videos, annotations, etc. through email or MMS which can be immediately viewed on the Internet or mobile phone browsers.

However, moblogging is still evolving in terms of technology. Some of the recent initiatives in this area have been Visual Search Technology, on-the-spot reporting about events, daily updates and instantaneous movie reviews while still at the theatre; exclusive video footage and pictures from any event; comments on political or social issues as soon as they occur.  

Mobile sale

Due to moblogging, there is a rise in the sale of cell phones. “Moblogging drives the adoption of camera phones,” according to Chris Hoar, a TextAmerica founder. Sony Ericsson partnered with Google last year to launch a special moblogging website.

Nokia has announced its collaboration last year with blogging software and services firm, ‘Six Apart’, to offer users of Nokia’s N-series, a free personal blogging service by Vox. The two companies aim to make it easier for people to upload video and photos and update their blogs directly from their compatible devices to the Vox blogging service.

“We’re definitely watching (moblogs) and watching what people are doing and trying to figure out how we’re going to fit in,” said Keith Nowak, a Nokia representative.

Moblogging can be used as an effective means of communicating sales and promotional events. It creates immediacy, facilitates sharing of results and broadens event reach for the users. Sales Teams can use camera phones to capture real time buyer behavior and share learning across the organisation. 

Challenges ahead

Moblogging can be a painstaking effort as one has to enter text using a numeric keypad for input. In contrast to an SMS, a blog entry tends to be fairly detailed, with real sentences and multiple paragraphs per entry.
And like all forms of social networking, moblogging is a worry for parents, as children are not aware enough to use this new capability safely. Children have to be extra careful when placing photographs or personal information about themselves on the web.

There is an issue of invasiveness. Mobile devices go wherever people go and so do cameras and the ability to blog from anywhere implies a loss of privacy. Anyone you meet can capture your conversation, picture, etc. and post it on blogs.

Although the popular use of moblogs is personal, analysts expect business applications of Moblogging to increase in the coming days.

In addition, there will be a  proliferation of the possible uses of moblogging.
“Moblogs and cellular operators go together,” said Alan Reiter, president of Wireless Internet & Mobile Computing in Chevy Chase, Md. “The cellular industry is spending billions of dollars worldwide to upgrade their networks to faster data rates and there have to be some reasons to use those faster data rates. The industry is desperate to find applications that people will use.”

Deepak Pawar, Managing Director, Midas Events, said, “We are upbeat about Mobile blogging as the concept has tremendous potential and the unique ability of the user to tailor the application to suit ones needs.”
The technology, according to Midas is fast gaining popularity as a media that offers several possibilities for brands to communicate key experiences to its target audience. At Mobylog (Midas Moblogging initiative) efforts to sustain and increase the user base are being carried out by promoting the addictive nature of the service and encouraging users to frequently stay connected through pictures.

Moblogging is becoming widespread, yet, it’s not clear if they will become the dominant kind of blogs in the coming years. It’s apparent, with the current trend, that moblogs are here to stay for long.