Orange Gets Social

Orange has launched Social Life, a mobile social networking aggregator which brings together activity on Facebook, MySpace and Bebo in one place. Accessible from Oranges mobile Internet portal,Orange World, Social Life allows customers to view and post updates and get in touch with friends and family across all three social networks at the same time, through a single log-in.
Available to all Orange mobile customers, the Social Life home screen allows users to:
upload photos; update their status;keep track of friends status updates from all three leading social networks; view social network notifications, including messages, events, pokes and friend requests; and send and receive messages.
Customers have full control over which information they provide to each of their social networks they can update their status and upload photos to some or all of them through the Social Life home screen. Social Life also enables users to keep on top of social network activity through SMS, with the ability to set up free text alerts on specific social network activity, and to send updates via text message. All Social Life SMS alerts are free for pay-as-you-go and pay-monthly customers. Texts sent by customers to update their status are included in the customers text bundle if they have one, or charged at their usual rate.
Orange says that while the service initially offers access to Facebook, Bebo and MySpace, it will look to incorporate more social networks and Web 2.0 sites in 2009.
Orange says its focus on mobile social networking is bearing fruit, with the most recent Orange Digital Media Index revealing a 129% increase in monthly page impressions and a 48% increase in monthly unique users for social networking sites.
Orange has also announced the launch of Orange Widget Player, a customisable interface which provides fast access to useful content and favourite applications from the Orange home screen on Orange Signature devices. Using Widget Player, customers can instantly access news, weather and sport updates, along with applications such as search, Wikipedia, a world clock and others from a widgets catalogue that will grow throughout 2009. Currently available on the Nokia 6303, Widget Player will be rolled out on further devices through the course of 2009.
With Social Life and Widget Player were making it simple for customers to manage their favourite content, applications and social networks at the touch of a button, says Orange UK Head of Product Management, Mark Watts-Jones. Over time, we will be looking to add more sites to the service – helping users to stay in touch in touch with the people and content that matters most to them.