Send a friend a moccachino via your mobile phone
Social networking may be the big trend in the United States and Europe in 2007, said Sooyoung Choi of 24/7 Real Media at Stream, but most of what is happening in the West today happened first in South Korea in 2001.
The dominance of the SK Telecom group allowed them to set up CyWorld, a portal that gives every member a virtual living room or ‘minihompy’ that they can furnish and decorate to impress their friends. And South Koreans have been paying real money to do so.
Today almost half the entire South Korean adult population is signed up to Cyworld. And a good looking minihompy is an essential accessory to a sociable South Korean.
And things continue to more on.
Whereas in the West in 2007, people spend their days sending virtual beers and donuts to each other on FaceBook, in Seoul people can send real gifts to each other via their phones.
To do so, they choose a gift on their phone, anything from a Starbucks to a green tea ice-cream, and text it to their friend. The charge goes on their mobile phone bill.
When the friend receives a message, they click on it, and a barcode appears on the screen of their phone.
The shop assistant or barista then merely scans the barcode, and hands over the gift.
It’s happening in South Korea today. So expect this to be the big thing in the U.S. and Europe in about 2010.