Amazingly, there are over 400 million social-networking users worldwide - a figure growing by the hour. But those taking part no longer want to wait until they get home to check how many new friend requests they've received, or to upload pictures to their blog. They want instant access and they want it now.
In the mobile phone networkers have the perfect tool for achieving this. And a number of services have sprung up with the aim of being the mobile MySpace. So, in no particular order, who are the main contenders for the crown?
1. Blogger
Blogger was always going to be huge in the mobile world for two very good reasons. One, it's owned by Google; and two, it's been added as standard by Sony Ericsson on many of its new imaging handsets. It's the first time a manufacturer has provided the tools to blog directly from the handset.
And it couldn't be much easier with the software actually creating a blog for you if you don't already have one. Go to http://www.blogger.com to find out more. Or if you have a compatible Sony Ericsson phone just press 'Send to blog' after you've taken a picture to give it a go.
2. Kyte
One of the strongest of the current crop of mobile social-networking services, Kyte offers users the chance to start their own broadcast network using their phone. With the Kyte software installed on your handset, you can email pictures and videos to be broadcast instantly on your very own Kyte channel.
Viewers can then tune in either on their PCs or mobiles, while LiveChat enables them to message the broadcaster directly. And if you're not quite ready to let go of MySpace just yet, you can even embed your channel on your MySpace profile.
3. Twitter
Another service successfully piggybacking on the desire to act on impulse and share anything and everything is Twitter . It lets members broadcast SMS messages from their phones to an online community of Twitterers.
The service has fans all over the globe, ranging from students to politicians. And it recently integrated with fellow online network Socializr to share details on parties and events. Like MySpace, simplicity is the key to its success, so the community could prove a major hit. Check out http://twitter.com .
4. Flurry
San Francisco-based Flurry aims to help people bridge the gap between the internet and their mobile phones by making blogs easier to read on handsets. The service lets bloggers place an RSS widget on their site, which when clicked on prompts the reader to enter their mobile number.
They will then receive a text message installing the new Flurry with that RSS feed pre-installed. This means blog updates arrive in real time and are better formatted than in Wap browsing mode. Go to http://www.flurry.com to sign up.
5. ShoZu
Another application showing commendable concern for its usability is ShoZu's Share-It. This enables users to upload video and pictures to the web from their mobile in just one click. Admittedly, if you want to add a tag or description there'll be a few more thumb presses involved, but the same principle applies.
Users can upload media to as many different destinations as they like, with over 20 of the main video and photosharing community sites supported. You're also kept in the loop 24/7 with regular text alerts letting you know when someone has commented on your images. To sign up for Share-It, point your browser to http://www.shozu.com .
6. Facebook
And then there's Facebook . The mobile community that, only a few months ago, nobody had ever heard of. Now, according to comScore, there are over 3.5 million UK users. And you can follow the action on your mobile, too. You can browse the latest friend news at m.facebook.com, while you can also upload photos using your phone, too - providing you register your phone first. You can also get profile updates sent to your phone as texts - but this is only available in North America at present.
Miriam Brent
