LBS vs. SBS (Status Based Service)

LBS vs. SBS (Status Based Service)

Author: Leo Wang (王利杰) | Founder of Mobile2.0 Salon China & Changyou.cc

Notes: Status Based Service can also be recognized as Presence Based Service (PBS), Presence/Status is just like MSN, Gtalk, AIM, Yahoo Messenger or Jabber...

First, I'd like to claim that I think SBS would make an earlier success than LBS...

Here's what makes me think so:

----------------------------------------

Last mobile2.0 salon was great, everybody's talking about LBS (Location Based Service), it's really a hot topic, but seems like nobody knows how to make money with LBS, that's a big problem - a hot concept without mature buniness model, just like SNS...

When people are talking about LBS, what I'm thinking mostly are Mobile SBS (Status Based Service), which was inspired by my Adviser - CEO of Wealink (Biggest SNS on Chinese Speaking World, Chinese Linkedin), I think status based services, applications, advertisements make more sense!

Basic idea:

Defining users by business and entertainment are not so precise, because business man also need to relax, to have fun and entertainment users also need to do business, to be serious, even teenagers are not playing game all the time, they need time to date, to read, to sleep, to talk, to shopping...

The better way to define users are their "status / presence" on diffenent time, at different location, in different environment, with different people, under different situation...

With different "status / presence" users need different applications and services, and that's where profitable business should be triggered.

Jobs need to be done:

To collect users "status / presence", we need to:

1. Offer mobile users an easier (or automatic) way to change / mark / select their "status / presence".
   
2. Upload users' "status / presence" to the server and get ready to be noticed by users' "buddies"
3. Offer mobile users an easier (or automatic) way to "add / find / get connected" with their "buddies" who would be allowed to check their "status / presence".

Profitable business:

With the presence of status of users, we can trigger lots of diffenent kind of "business" such as:

1. Advertisements: When users change / mark / select their "status / presence" as Super Boring", then you could push proper advertisements to him somehow - with hot news, via SMS/MMS/WAP PUSH; Marker will pay for the precise advertisements;
   into "
2. Friend Finding: When users change / mark / select their "status / presence" as "Feel lonly", then you could trigger a friend finding application and get two matched "lonly heart" connected anonymous via SMS / embedded IM client; Find a friend is free, but chat with him/her would charge a bit;
   
3. Ringtone: When users change / mark / select their "status / presence" as "Middle of Meeting", then you could automaticly change this users ring-back ringtone into a voice like "Sorry I'm in the middle of a meeting, if it's not an emergency, please wait and I'll call you back after the meeting", but the phone is still "ringing / vibranting / Flashing" (means callee can still pick up the phone); Unique ring-back ringtone is actually a juicy application already;
   
4. Mobile e-Commercial: When users change / mark / select their "status / presence" as "Want to Shopping", then you could open some mobile-online-shopping WAP site; When users find anything they want to buy, they could click-to-call and make the vender deliver goods to their door; We can get the commission fee at least;
   
5. Mobile Coupon: When users change / mark / select their "status / presence" as Hungry / feel like eating", then you could push some restaurant coupon for them to use; We can get the commission fee after they used the coupon;
6. ......
   

Maybe you want to say: LBS + SBS would be better!

Sure, I totally agree, Location based SBS would make more sense, but Location information has a inherent weakness: privacy...And Status information is not so sensitive. That's why I think SBS will make an earlier success than LBS...

That's what I'm thinking mostly lately, TELL ME what do you think?

Betashow2006 @ gmail dot com