www.buzzmygoat.com (BMG) is a new way for people to communicate using mobile video content. BMG allows anyone to create and send a personalised video clip – television sketch, dramatised greeting, announcement or advertisement to a friend, colleague, client or business contact, anywhere in the world, instantly. BMG provides entertaining content direct to someones mobile (most mobile networks are accessible). Its a variation on the prolific growth in slide-show applications such as www.rockyou.com that have been fuelled by the growth in social networking sites. Clearly the main use will be making someone laugh as a joke or prank but other potential uses anticipated by its creators are sending thoughts or ideas, promoting brands or for viral campaigns.

Given the target audience likely to be 16-25 age group the simple billing options using mobile phone networks makes for easy use and should fuel take up. Ultimately the technology offers little protection from “me too” propositions and brand take up will be focused around using the platform for delivering web to mobile promotional mechanics, and will require exclusive and/or premium quality content to be successful either on a peer-to-peer basis or for brand direct to consumer campaigns.

Expect a flood of new players in this space but we’ll have to wait some time before we know the players that will carve out a leading market position. What’s for sure this is not just a technology play but critically depends on great short-form entertainment content and the ability to clearly present the offer to advertisers who will be vital for funding the development of the content and the technology platform so as to achieve the necessary scale.