Next2Friends is a sociable business and our team will be going to lots of different
events all around the world. The Next2Friends Events Page
will be updated regularly as more dates are confirmed, so make sure to check back often.
Ipsos-Mori recently released a very interesting bit of research on British use of Mobile Technology and the Internet. It mirrors what we at Next2Friends have believed for a long time: that both Mobile and Internet Technology will continue to grow and pervade society.
The study was carried out with more than 2000 participants located throughout Britain. One of the most telling statistics was that since 1998 while the number of people using computers has risen to 47 percent from 35 percent, the number of mobile phone users has risen to a staggering 86 percent from 23 percent. Nearly triple!
And internet use is continually on the rise with 40 percent of Britons having broadband at home and thousands spending as much as 30 hours a week online. Half of people surveyed had bought plane tickets and 21 percent had downloaded music online as well.
The study did not look into rates of online usage from mobile, but there are indicators that these rates are lower than in the US due to the costliness of data plans in the UK. A study by M:Metrics conducted in May of 2008 concluded that people in the UK use their mobile phones to access the internet half as much as people in the US. This can impact the usage of some of the services offered by Next2Friends, particularly Next2Friends Live, but we hope the UK will continue more in the direction of the US by offering cheaper blanket data plans instead of charging by the kilobyte. Clearly consumers in the UK would favor this!
Ok, forgive me, I tried to invent a new word: featureds. I know it isn’t a word, but I needed to pluralize the word ‘featured’. Why not just call them ‘features’ of the week you might ask? We try to reserve the word ‘features’ for the actual features of Next2Friends such as Live Video Streaming and Snap-Up. No, I’m talking about our weekly round up of members, videos and photos.
This week’s video of the week comes from Cyprus. Shot at Limasoll Water Park this place sure looks like a blast!
This week’s Member of the Week is That Boy Kana. He is one of the founders of the Kool Kids Klub. I’ll let him speak for himself:
“I was part of the original crew that started a night named The Kool Kids Klub, with my friends. It originally was just somewhere were we could play tunes to our friends but since our opening night we’ve climbed the ranks to become one of the UK’s coolest underground nocturnal brands, selling out venue’s up and down the coutry and getting support from superstar Dj’s like Sinden, Hervé and Kissy Sell.”
He’s got some great content and seems to throw some killer parties. Check it out!
Here’s the Photo of the week from Next2Friends member Lawrence. Pretty awesome!
The Next2Friends Share Your Summer Contest has been officially launched and we’d like to take this time to introduce you to the contest and the exciting new feature that will help you win!
First off, the contest, which runs until August 15th, 2008, is to see who can get the most people to sign up for Next2Friends this summer. The person responsible for the most new sign ups will receive a brand new Motorola Q! Anyone can participate, all you need is a Next2Friends account. So many members are already sharing their lives from virtually anywhere through great features like truly Live Streamed Video from Mobile, and summer is such a great time to connect with friends, so we thought now would be a great time to run a simple contest around sharing Next2Friends!
Contact Importer
The exciting new feature we’ve added to help you on your way to winning the Motorola Q is the Next2Friends Contact Importer. The Contact Importer is a simple way to send out Invites and Friend Request to contacts that you already have established on various other webmail and social networking sites. You can import information from the following sites:
We continually strive to give you the best possible experience and to that end we have rolled out some exciting new features, all with the aim of bringing you closer to people in your life through mobile and internet technology!
The first feature I’ll highlight is the “Share With Friends” feature. It’s a simple way to highlight videos or photos that you want your friends to see. When you “Share With Friends” a thumbnail of your video or photo appears in all your friends’ dashboard along with a little text saying that you recommend they take a look. Notice the little “Share With Friends” insignia on the right side below the embed links:
The next feature I’d like to highlight is the “Forward To Friends” feature. This is an easy way to share photos and videos with your friends both inside and outside of Next2Friends. It can be found to the left of all photos and videos and simply requires you to type in their email address. Don’t worry, Next2Friends does not collect these emails. They simply receive a little message alerting them that you are recommending they take a look at a photo or video. Have a look:
The last and perhaps most exciting addition to Next2Friends isn’t a feature to the website. It’s the new inclusion of Mobile Sign-Up!
A funny thing happens when someone is walking around streaming video from their cell phone. Other people notice and begin to ask how they can do it too! Until now, these other people have had to head to a computer to sign up and begin using Next2Friends, but not anymore! Now anyone can navigate to the Mobile Sign-Up page from their phone and immediately begin Streaming Live Video, Snapping and Uploading photos and using all the other great applications in our Mobile Suite! And look for even more exciting additions coming soon…
Lately we’ve been getting some exciting coverage in the press that we thought we’d share with you. First was a very favorable review by Paul Glazowski in Mashable following our announcement of Next2Friends Live 1.0. A pretty straight forward piece but from one of our favorite blogs so we were thrilled! Here’s a good quote from the article:
”…Next2Friends is pegged as having surpassed the average live-streaming service in terms of synchronous broadcasting and viewing.”
The other exciting piece that’s come down the pipe is by The Washington Post (.com). Robert Andrews interviewed Next2Friends CEO Roy Shelton on various subjects ranging from our product offering to our soon-to-be-announced round of VC funding. Here’s a great quote from that interview:
“‘We’re not just another one-trick pony,’ Shelton said - and, with such an array of services, that’s certainly the case. “
It’s time for the Next2Friends Members of the Week again. We’ve seen a surge of interest lately and are pleased with all the new additions to the community! Lately one in particular has been standing out. His name is Karizma and he has been very active! He traverses the world of fashion and music and yes, even fine dining?!? Have a look at him “At Work, Not Workin”:
And here is some footage of him hanging with the fashion models at Wimbledon Fashion Week 2008:
Great stuff! Keep it coming!
The picture of the week is an illustration:
More and more people have joined us to do more with their mobile so if you’re not already a member, head over and sign up today! We’d love to have you!
Well, Next2Friends has made it back from the Glastonbury Festival in one piece and we have to say, it was a great time! We were determined to bring you all the excitement of the festival in real time and squarely accomplished that goal! Check out our Glastonbury Profile. We streamed over a hundred real time videos using Next2Friends Live and shot and uploaded nearly a hundred photos using Next2Friends Snap-Up. Have a look through our photos and videos. Here are a few highlights:
And then there are the loads of videos we captured from the event, including a real time stream during the “Amy Winehouse punches fan” incedent. Check it out:
Next2Friends has an exciting weekend ahead. We are partnering with the Pussycat Club to bring you all the excitement of this weekend’s Heatwave Tropical Beach Party! The Pussycat Club is one of the longest running, most highly respected club brands in the UK.
And did I mention that they know how to throw a party?!? Check out this footage from their 13th birthday bash:
The Next2Friends Team will be out in full force for the event, capturing all the excitement using Next2Friends Live, Ask and Snap Up! And rumor has it there will be exclusive videos and pictures only viewable by friends of the Pussycat Club Profile. So head on over to their Next2Friends page and befriend them so you don’t miss out! Don’t have a profile? Sign up for one! See you Saturday and if you can’t make it, well, we’ve got it covered!
