This post is based on my base line presentation on mobile communities. I have been working with this since 2001. Just like mobile community evangelists Tomi Ahonen, I have a firm belief in the key role mobile plays for social networking.

Well, this risks being a “duh!-moment”, I know but bare with me. The mobile is a communication device, it is personal and it is on almost always and we bring it everywhere. So it should in theory be a good platform for communities. Well, it isn’t in reality. Not yet.

- It is complex to use a phone for other than voice or sms. It is getting better but it is tricky.

- There is an increased need for cross-platform communities. Phones are very poor interfaces for very rich expereinces and for typing. Take a dating service for instance. It is dificult enough to come up with something creative to write about yourself. Let alone then to type it using T9. Major threshold that is removed with a web interface for input of all types of profile data.

Mobile becomes strong then when it comes to interaction, reaction and capturing content at the point of inspiration to do something. Here I have to give credit to Ajit Jaokar and Tony Fish who where the first persons to put appropriate words to this revelation that I have had for a while now.

With more consumer friendly and transparent pricing there will be a surge in usage. There are still too many muddled pricing plans out there with service premium fees and unknown data traffic charges hitting you on top of that.In short there are a few things one needs to get right to make an impact with a mobile community.

Lack of suitable handsets not a valid excuse for poor penetration in mobile entertainment. Human needs and behaviour explain more than we think/want. The relevant needs here are: to connect, to get thrilled and have fun in an easy way. Key to match these basic human needs with what type of tool a mobile phone is used as.Mobile communities can be built with success if right match of behaviour and interface capabilities is achieved. Most communities are a mix but often have a clear overweight towards either anonymity or publicity. A good example of a balanced mix between web and mobile is the dating service Souldate.

We need revenue share models with market channel on premium fee

We also need low fixed fees for mobile Internet access for the end-user

Well, and in addition to that you need a compelling context, design and functionality on your community. Don’t be afraid to niche your offering as well. Don’t be afraid at all!