As social networking sites become more popular, new companies are trying to break away from the computer to create a more mobile, web-based network.  A recent article in the New York Times highlights two new websites that have brought social networking websites to users’ cellphones.   

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/technology/30social.html

The first site is called Kyte (http://www.kyte.tv/home/index.html).  It allows users to instantly upload videos and pictures from a cellphone to the internet and share them with anyone that has access to their Kyte Channel.  It is even possible to send live streaming videos to the site.  Additionally, anyone who is watching a channel can interact directly with the user through their cellphone.  While some websites have offered these features on mobile phones (uploading photos to facebook mobile, talking on AIM), this is the first time that users can communicate and share multimedia with the same service. 

The second site is called Twitter (http://twitter.com/).  Several blog posts on this site have already discussed the features of this site.  It is basically a website that allows people to text message their current status to a webpage. If one sets up an account, a list of their friend’s statuses will appear every time they log on. 

Mr. Dorsey of Twitter.com makes a very interesting point on page 2 of the article.  “We have a few business models in mind right now. But they’re not interesting until we have a massive number of users,” he said. “We are entirely focused on growth right now.”  Instead of using a business model that most websites have used in the past, Dorsey believes that a large user base is more important than focusing on advertising and marketing.  This has become very true for social networking sites because the only way that they will survive is if they have a large number of users.  Dorsey is essentially waiting for an information cascade to turn Twitter into the next facebook or myspace.

With more and more social networking websites popping up all over the internet, it has become very important to create new, innovative pages that will attract a large user base.  These two websites do just that.  They allow anyone with a cellphone to stay in touch with all of their friends at all times.  Additionally, they allow the user to break free from an office chair and explore the world while still feeding their social networking addiction.  However, some may consider this another step towards avoiding actual social interaction.  In the days of email, instant messaging, and facebook, it is already too easy to talk to someone for days without ever seeing them in person.  It is even possible that people will become less social by relying on small, grainy videos and away messages to substitute actual interaction.