The other day I got an email from the folks at San Francisco-based Zannel regarding a preview of the company’s now-released CityWatch application for the iPhone. If you’re not familiar with Zannel, it’s a microblogging network that allows you to upload pictures and video, make friends, and share conversations. It also won a Webby for 2008’s Best Mobile Social Network. I had a chance to test the service out on my Blackberry last weekend and I liked it. Very easy to use.
The CityWatch app for the iPhone takes Zannel to a whole new level. Not only does it have an attractive user interface thanks to the iPhone’s large touchscreen, you can also geotag your posts adding another level of relevancy to the networks content. With the addition of location information you can see what’s happening in your area with other CityWatch users in virtually real-time. You can see each post as a pin on a map, then with one-click you can access the exact location of the pin, the connected post and any included multimedia. You can also click on any pictures or video to make them larger and easier to see. One of the other handy features is threaded commenting–conversations that begin around a particular post are easy to track.
If you’re familiar with microblogging service Twitter–follow me here–you know it can be tough to track conversations back in time. With CityWatch you can go back in history and see what a person said or uploaded days earlier. Right now the history feature isn’t capped, but with more extensive use it could be in the future. Content shared on CityWatch can also be pushed to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and the other major social networks making it very easy to keep your various profiles updated with your latest endeavors.
On the business side of things, Zannel makes money a variety of different ways. While it does rely on some advertising, the company is beginning to focus on premium partnerships in order to make a buck. It has already completed some successful brand promotions–called brandcasting–aimed at engaging its predominantly 16 to 34 year old user base. Being a private company I wasn’t able to get any specific numbers, but I was assured Zannel wasn’t facing the same social network brand promotion problems as some other companies. Proctor & Gamble come to mind here.
Zannel’s other side of the premium coin is fancasting. Basically fancasting is engaging users with premium content, usually being video-related. The company has partnered with over 50 media companies in order to provide the Zannel network premium content. Before the recent completion of the United States election, Zannel launched two politically-oriented channels–PoliticsRed and PoliticsBlue–each dedicated to Republic and Democratic perspectives with a focus on citizen journalism. Fancasting has been a tremendous success in terms of engaging Zannel’s users.
Interestingly, Zannel’s users almost always use the service via mobile. While the company has a dot-com presence, even tasks like joining the service are usually completed on mobile phones. It really is easy though–from any mobile phone in the US you just text “Join” to 58888 to set up your own mobile channel. I’m in Canada and I had no problems using the service on my Blackberry. CityWatch for the iPhone is also now available as a free download from the iTune’s app store. Check out the thumbnails of CityWatch below.
