If you want more networking, that is...

If this could get a technologically-challenged person as yours truly more than mildly interested, you bet this is good for techno geeks.

February 1, 2008

H/l: Coming soon: Social networking on your phone

Intro: World's only complete mobile phone networking application launching in India; allows real time, safe use

CORRESPONDENT

Mumbai: The world is about to become really small. A new mobile phone application called JuiceCaster, the world's first complete social networking site, is soon going to help you become 'visible' to the world even though you are miles away and on the move.

If a friend texts you, "Where r u now?", instead of texting back, simply photograph yourself at a busy traffic junction, add text to the picture, saying, 'I am at Deccan,' and send the picture and text as your reply. Alternatively, you can shoot a short video of yourself, add sound and text, and post it to your friends.

This revolutionary application is formally launching in India on March 15, 2008. Founder and CEO of Juice Wireless, Nick Desai, and technical adviser and partner Dan Paik are in Mumbai currently for talks with service providers Airtel, Vodafone, BSNL, Tata and Reliance to provide a platform for the service, which is currently operational only in the US and some parts of Europe.

"JuiceCaster is the only mobile phone-based, complete social networking and user-generated application. It is easy to use and automatically connects a user's pictures and videos with web-based social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Orkut, as well as blogs," says Desai.

So you can now have social networking on your mobile phone, literally on the move. "Apart from immediately sending pictures and videos, you can check out other people's profiles to make new friends, or publish pictures directly from your phone to an online site," says Desai.

Apart from the networking aspect, however, is the self-security one. Such an application can have huge implications for women travelling alone or with strangers, or for people working on projects from different locations. "The content is broadcast with a maximum time lag of about three minutes after it is posted," says Desai.

The most significant aspect, however, is the application's safety policy. "We have a security cell based in Hyderabad that works on the 24x7/365 model. Whatever content you post, text or imaging, is first scanned by this cell. If any inappropriate content is posted, the cell rejects it automatically," says Desai, adding that JuiceCaster has so far won three international awards with the security feature as a key aspect.

In fact, the Hyderabad cell is to be the centre of operations for the entire world. A business development office is to come up in Mumbai this year, apart from the India server to be set up at Navi Mumbai.

"We are offering JuiceCaster as a premier download application through operator partners. We will not be offering a subscription based package in India, and we are working out how best to offer the service without hiking up costs," Paik says. Desai says, "We are launching in India first in English. By the third quarter of 2008, we should come out with Hindi. With over 50 million mobile users in India having internet access on their phones, we are looking at a growth above Rs 40 per user per month."

Box:

The juice on JuiceCaster:

- The application bars pornographic, hate content and over 2,000 English words

- Repeated posting of banned material can get the user barred from the application

- Users can create groups, private accounts, access others' accounts on phone or computer

- The application controls the mobile phone camera so separate hardware is not required

- Users have complete control over where they want to broadcast

- Inbuilt 'search' option for quick access of content