search marketing blog: ambergreen

AOL is to trial a revolutionary new mobile application designed to make the process of capturing and sharing images online a whole lot simpler.

Created by Juice Wireless, the JuiceCaster servicettp://www.juicecaster.com/juicecaster/ enables users to easily upload photos, view user generated images and videos, as well as create videos and connect with friends online. A viewer can search for and stream user-generated videos and images directly to a mobile phone.

AOL Europe’s Mike Moore, head of monetisation services, praised the new service saying: “JuiceCaster is exactly the type of application our users want — an easy-to-use social networking service that connects mobile phones to the web. This is a leading product delivering open, post-anywhere, mobile picture and video blogging.”

The free service gives users the JuiceCaster application and the associated mobile to web publishing tool known as MediaBox, a simple Flash plug in which the user adds to their online locations, enabling images to be automatically distributed each time they are taken. AOL is already the top referrer to online video sites in the UK, being 39% more responsible for a click through to a video site (11%) than it is to anywhere else (7.9%), and JuiceCaster could be a great way for AOL to push themselves as the social media ISP.

JuiceCaster works on most camera-enabled mobile phones and while uploading their content, users can quickly provide relevant information such as title, keywords, location, topic and community.

With more and more photos being uploaded to the web every day in countless social media locations every day, AOL may have a great product on their hands here, and one which appeal to a young market. Already very popular in the US, JuiceCaster has received huge amounts of financial backing and has secured deals with sites such as College Tonight, a social network that helps college students stay in touch.

AOL plans to launch the application in early 2007.

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