Press Release
A Whole New Social Networking Experience With “C Me On Smart” 3G Service
[May 20, 2007/ Manila] - As of 2005, research has shown that there are over 300 known social networking sites in the worldwide web. These social networks – such as Friendster, MySpace, and Multiply – connect people with different types of interests as well as enable users to stay in touch with old friends while making new ones online.
Research puts the Philippines on top of the list with the most number of Friendster members around the world, proving that Filipinos are indeed social networking fanatics.
In line with the rising popularity of these online social networks, leading wireless services provider Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART) has come up with C Me on Smart, the first 3G video portal community where users can meet new friends, join discussion fora, and build social and business contacts.
“C Me, powered by Smart 3G, presents a new, effective, and fast way of meeting people. The service is also aimed at further promoting the use of 3G technology in the Philippines,” says Danilo J. Mojica, head of the Wireless Consumer Division of Smart.
The service is affiliated with the Worldwide MeetMe Community, in partnership with Ericsson Telecommunications, Inc. (Ericsson) and Ironroad Solutions (Ironroad). Through combined technologies, C Me on Smart will allow users to access a wide range of services using a 3G mobile phone instead of a computer.
One of the services available under C Me on Smart is Find a Friend, a networking service similar to Friendster and MySpace where 3G subscribers can meet new friends and chat with other users via video messaging. A subscriber simply needs to dial *8336 and select ‘Video Call’ to access the C Me video portal, which contains other users’ video profiles. After selecting “Find a Friend”, an instructional video will be sent to the subscriber to assist him on how to create his profile and search criteria. A subscriber is given 30 seconds to record a Video Profile, wherein he can introduce himself and share his hobbies and interests. A C Me administrator will screen the Video Profile before it is uploaded for viewing. Once a subscriber has a Video Profile of himself, he will be able to browse through the video profiles of other users, and also to communicate with them by sending and receiving video messages.
Another C Me feature is the Speed Dating service. While the concept may sound strange, real-life speed dating is what it really sounds: a person is given a certain number of minutes to ask another person of the opposite sex a set of questions, to determine if they “click”. After the assigned time, both persons move to another table to meet another partner in a round-robin scheme.
With speed dating steadily gaining popularity in the country, the Speed Dating service of C Me on Smart presents a whole new dating experience at one’s convenience, whenever one likes, using only the mobile phone. It lets a subscriber meet as many as three people via a single video call, and since it is done over the phone, the hassle of having to go to a bar or restaurant for a speed dating event is eliminated.
Each C Me Speed Dating session will run for 6 minutes, with 90-seconds allocated for each date. A subscriber simply needs to choose the “Speed Dating” feature on the C Me video portal then select a speed dating session. If a subscriber is already booked and would like to change his session schedule, he can do so by choosing the “Rebook” option in the speed dating menu.
For the actual speed dating session, the system will send a reminder via SMS to registered users 15 minutes before the session begins. Each session will be composed of six users – three men will be paired up with three women. The registered user will receive a video call from *8336 to begin the session, then will be given 90 seconds to chat with a date before proceeding to the next date. After the session, a user could rate his dates and view how his dates rated him through the “View previous sessions” section from the speed dating menu. You may also send video messages to the date you liked the most.
Open to all Smart 3G prepaid and postpaid subscribers 18 years old and above, access to the C Me on Smart video portal will be charged P6.50 per minute – allowing subs to search for other users, check received video messages from other users, send video messages to others in the C Me community, booking for Speed Dating, and other features on the C Me portal. A speed dating session, on the other hand, costs P60.
“Smart was the first mobile operator in the Philippines to offer 3G services to the public, and now it is also the first to offer an easy-to-use interactive mobile video application - with the C Me on Smart 3G service,” Mojica adds. Since launching its GSM service in 1999, Smart has introduced other cutting-edge, world-first wireless services, including mobile commerce services such as Smart Money, Smart Load, and Smart Padala.