OL PORTAL - all social networks and instant messengers in one application. OL PORTAL - all social networks and instant messengers in one application Social networks for computer communication

Moreover, unlimited tariff options, Wi-Fi becoming widespread, the popularization of smartphones and the existing multitude of applications for social networks are literally pushing people into “mobile sociality”.

The whole variety of “social” applications can be divided into two large groups. The first of them includes official applications developed by a particular social network, and the second includes applications from third-party developers. The programs of mobile phone manufacturers stand somewhat apart, and most of them are simply a shortcut to access a mobile social network site, although there are also very functional products.

Official applications

Among mobile platforms, in terms of the release of official client applications for social networks, iOS and Android have been the luckiest, for which all major social networks have released their own applications. Also, official developers usually have plans to create client applications for Windows Phone 7. But other platforms are a little less fortunate. However, this is not surprising - the listed platforms are actively developing, and the majority of their users are relatively active in using the Internet from their mobile devices.

Facebook

The official mobile client of this social network exists in the form of versions for iOS, BlackBerry, Android and webOS. A typical feature set of full-featured Facebook clients includes functions for updating status, viewing feeds, events, walls, user information, sharing links, adding messages, uploading photos, and viewing videos. More recently, Facebook released another official mobile application called Facebook Messenger, positioned as “a fast way to send mobile messages to friends.” Facebook Messenger's functionality is limited to text messaging, and all additional functionality of the application is limited to the ability to add photos and current coordinates, as well as group discussions. But Facebook Messenger will help you communicate with both Facebook users and those who do not have a Facebook account, but through text messages.

Facebook has not forgotten the owners of regular mobile phones, whose functionality can only be expanded with JAVA applications. A program was released, the essence of which follows from its name - Facebook for Every Phone. The application's compatibility list includes more than 2,500 different mobile phone models. They allow you to read your news feed, view and download photos, chat with friends, edit your personal profile, and even create a new account. Also, without leaving the application, you can work with the device’s camera and access the address book.

Our mobile operators did not remain aloof from “socialization”. In particular, for Beeline subscribers, when they use the branded version of the JAVA client of Facebook (Facebook Mobile), the internal traffic of the program will be assessed at reduced rates (until October 5 it was free), and according to the tariff plan only transitions via external links.

"In contact with"

There is an official mobile client for the Russian Facebook, the social network VKontakte. The list of operating systems it supports includes iOS, Android, Symbian^3 and Symbian 9.4. With the help of official clients, VKontakte users can view news from friends and groups, publish new posts on the wall, exchange personal messages, organize and participate in group conversations, look at and add photos, manage photo albums, get acquainted with user profiles, watch videos, listen music and use geolocation services. The program also has its own widget that can display the latest news. In general, the functionality of mobile VKontakte on different platforms is similar, and the main reason for some external differences lies in the features of the platforms used. By the way, in the Beeline and MTS networks you can also use lightweight versions of VKontakte and Facebook for free - 0.vkontakte.ru and 0.facebook.com, respectively, as well as SMS notification services.

An official mobile client has also been developed for the young, but rapidly gaining popularity, social network Google+. Moreover, the search giant has released a client not only for its brainchild - the Android mobile OS, but also for its main competitor - Apple iOS. The official Google+ application for Windows Phone 7 should also soon be released. Mobile Google+ features include viewing updates for this social network, exchanging messages (with the right circle), as well as downloading and viewing photos or videos. In general, the functionality of the Google+ mobile application is quite sufficient for full use of the social network of the same name.

The list of platforms supported by the official client of the Twitter microblogging service includes iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7. The mobile Twitter client provides standard capabilities - reading and writing messages, copying other people's posts (ReTweet), exchanging direct messages, searching, managing lists of followers , sharing photos, videos, links, searching, viewing trends, etc. By the way, using the function of adding photos directly from a mobile phone available in this application is often more convenient than entering pictures through a computer.

Third Party Applications

Among the products of third-party developers there are both applications created for a specific social network, and programs that have access functionality to several services. However, most often such aggregator applications provide their users with only basic functionality, and to get maximum mobile capabilities, preference should be given to specialized clients that are maximally “tailored” to a specific social network. By the way, you should be especially careful with mobile applications for social networks - recently programs have begun to appear on the Internet that imitate software for a particular social network, but their main goal is to steal your login and password for the purpose of further sending spam on your behalf or performing other actions.

Among third-party developers, Twitter has become the most popular social network. Applications to access it have been created for all mobile platforms. Moreover, each platform has its own recognized leaders. For example, for iOS, Twitterrific and Tweetbot are considered one of the best programs. Interestingly, both applications are paid - Twitterrific costs $4.99, and Tweetbot costs $2.99. But thanks to the convenience of the interface (especially carefully designed in Tweetbot), each of these programs has gathered its own, quite large audience. On Android devices, Plume, TweetCaster and Twicca have gained well-deserved popularity. And they are all free. By the way, multi-platform TweetCaster is available along with Android and for iOS, Windows Phone, Blackberry and Bada.

I was not left without a good Twitter client and Windows Mobile - the user-friendliness of the interface and the functionality of moTweets look more than worthy. By the way, on HTC WM smartphones, Twitter support is initially integrated into the proprietary shell. On the Symbian platform, Gravity and Tweets60 are the leaders in creating tweets, with Gravity claiming to be the most functional, and Tweets60 the most convenient and free program with a simple interface. In general, there are a lot of third-party Twitter clients, and, probably, every user of this service can choose a program that best suits their needs.

"In contact with"

Alternative clients for VKontakte are divided into two groups. The first of these includes full-featured applications that provide access to the main functionality of the service. Examples of such programs are VKontakte Amberfog for Android, iVK for iOS and the VKontakte application from GALS Soft, designed for Windows Mobile. The second group includes applications that provide access only to certain functions of the social network, such as messaging and music or video. In particular, video players are popular among users, allowing them to watch videos uploaded to this social network. Thus, this category includes “android” VKVideo and “VKontakte Video” (both utilities are available in the Android Market). There are also “music” clients for VKontakte that can cache music from this network for further offline listening. Applications of this class include, for example, LazyTool for iOS.

A classic example of an all-in-one multiprotocol client is IM+. It helps you use MSN/Windows Live, Facebook, Skype, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, MySpace, Twitter, VKontakte and Yandex IM. Of course, you shouldn’t compare the capabilities of IM+ with the functionality of specialized applications, but this program allows you to combine all accounts in one application, which can be convenient in certain cases. The list of supported platforms includes iOS, Blackberry, Android, webOS, J2ME, Windows Phone and Symbian. This application is available both as a paid Pro version and as a free version that displays advertising.

The advantage of Nimbuzz is the combination of freeness and versatility. The program is compatible with almost all existing mobile devices. iOS, Android, Symbian, Blackberry, as well as most regular phones that can install JAVA applications are supported. Only owners of devices with Windows Mobile found themselves in the “flight” - as of July 1, 2010, this platform was excluded from the list of compatible devices with Nimbuzz. Among the popular social networks, Nimbuzz includes Facebook, MySpace and Hyves, and it is also possible to integrate Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger, AIM, ICQ and Google Talk. In addition, you can enjoy free phone calls.

The UTalk program may be somewhat more universal, which, along with its own protocol, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, iChat/Mobile Me and Gagu-gagu, supports Facebook, VKontakte and Odnoklassniki. The UTalk program is cross-platform - there are versions of the application for smartphones with Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile, iOS and regular mobile phones that support only J2ME applications. UTalk is also available for desktop computers running Windows and Linux (via Wine).

"Mobile Agent"

To gain mobile access to social networks, users of the Mail.Ru mail service can use the Mobile Agent application, compatible with Windows Mobile, Symbian, Android, iOS and regular phones with Java support. Moreover, the capabilities of this application, in addition to sending free SMS messages, supporting Mail.Ru, ICQ and VKontakte accounts, also allow you to communicate on the My World social network and leave entries on the Blogs blog hosting site.

P.S

Of course, it is impossible to cover all mobile applications focused on social networks in one article. There are really a lot of them, and choosing the best one is a matter of subjective preference. And here everyone has their own criteria. Some people prefer official applications, others prefer third-party ones, and for some users the web interface is generally optimal. But the main thing is that there is a choice, and among the available variety, everyone can choose “social” programs to their liking.

What plans to start a new project: a mobile social network. The CPU has prepared a selection of already existing mobile social networks with which Durov’s team may have to compete. The guest of the column today is Social Insight CEO Andrey Podshibyakin.

Line

Download: App Store, Google Play, Windows Phone (free)

The social network, which grew out of the messenger, is very popular in China. The main feature of LINE is the huge number of stickers. The company regularly releases new stickers, tying them to various events.

The user can purchase additional themes. Targeted at a youth (and informal) audience, the social network was already worth about $28 billion last year. And this is far from the limit.

Path

Download: App Store, Google Play, Windows Phone (free)

The Path social network is focused exclusively on mobile devices. From your computer you can see individual posts shared from the application, but nothing more. The program has its own twist: you can add a maximum of 150 people as friends - this is exactly how many constant social connections one person can realistically maintain at the same time - the so-called Dunbar number.

Despite the introduction of stickers and an annual premium subscription, Path is not doing well. This is probably why the application is quite slow and is updated less often than we would like.

Couple

Download: App Store, Google Play (free)

A mobile application for two, formally, is not a social network, because you can interact with only one person in it. But the number of opportunities for communication is impressive. In addition to correspondence, there is a joint to-do list, drawing, a calendar and, of course, stickers.

Over the past year, the service has acquired a web version and it seems to be doing well. But, of course, due to its focus on couples, this application is unlikely to compete with other social networks.

WeChat

Download: App Store, Windows Phone (free)

Standard set: animated stickers, voice chats, video calls, user profiles. With the latest update, WeChat has acquired an online store through which you can purchase some goods for everyday life.

WeChat is confidently winning the messenger war in China and is seriously preparing for international expansion. This particular social network can be considered one of the most promising on the market.

Summary

For this selection, we downloaded and installed a dozen different mobile social networking applications. Most of them are completely unworthy of attention due to strange design or slow operation. Some cannot boast of even minimal capabilities, and some are nothing more than messengers. Pavel Durov will probably first of all have to compete with products from the Middle Kingdom, which rudely take users and sell them sets of stickers worth millions of dollars. These are the strongest competitors of the young Olympic team. However, there are no clear leaders in the mobile social networking market, so Durov’s team has the opportunity to create something new.

Andrey Podshibyakin, CEO and co-founder of Social Insight

I usually use the standard set of modern city dwellers: Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter, plus recently Vivino (by the way, I don’t have Instagram). I would like to tell you something unusual about these applications:

Phoenix HD (App Store - free). This is a hellish shooter in the very Japanese bullet hell genre, which I love with an inexplicable love (if you look at the leaderboard there, I take the first three places in points in Moscow). The essence of the game is simple: you need to move a spaceship across the screen with your finger, dodging a hail of rockets and lasers spewed out by your opponents. Very few people can hold out longer than ten to fifteen minutes, then you need to start over.

iTunes Remote (AppStore - free). There is a story connected with this rather ugly and not the most convenient application. The fact is that about two months ago I lost the remote control from Apple TV - users of this device know that it does not have physical buttons. Therefore, to watch a movie, you now have to launch iTunes Remote. Added bonus: Eminem and Noggano can be played on your home theater speaker system with just one click.

Tribez & Castlez (App Store, Google Play - free). The product of the friendly company Game Insight has already collected a tribute from me in the amount of several hundred dollars - when I ask my friends to give me in-game money, for some reason they laugh, elbow each other in the side and say that their admin panel is broken. Be that as it may, Castlez is such a very beautiful strategy about little people organizing their lives in the so-called Middle Ages. From time to time they are attacked by horned trolls and other evil spirits, but this, in fact, does not matter - it is much more important to monitor the timely sowing of the fields and the harvesting of cucumbers from them.

Applications by Andrey Podshibyakin

Bonus: EDGE(App Store). EDGE is the only publication about video games that is not embarrassing to read if you are over 13 years old. Originally a British paper magazine with a fifteen-year history, its opinion is highly valued by the largest developers and publishers. The iPad version of EDGE recently won some design and usability awards, so believe me, everything is very good there. The only question for the publication is this: they are still too deeply mired in outdated paradigms of AAA development for “large” consoles and do not know how to write about social and mobile games (although, to be fair, almost no one knows how to do this). So, on the eve of the sale of part of Supercell for one and a half billion dollars, EDGE predicted quick death, decay and oblivion for this studio. Believe me, for people inside the industry this is very funny.

The messenger interface is beautiful and unobtrusive; it will help even a beginner understand how to use it. The “Stasus” tab allows you to update your status, share it with everyone or your favorites, edit and send pictures or GIFs. The Calls tab allows you to call a contact from a chat and see missed calls. In the “Chat” tab, correspondence with a contact is available with the ability to send photos, videos, documents and PDF files.

FriendVokrug is a free popular chat room similar to social networks. Communicate not only with friends, but also make new acquaintances even with those who are nearby.

In the Russian market, this program has long gained popularity due to its accessible interface and wide possibilities of use. You can not only upload your account, but also watch and comment on others, rate photos, track friends' updates and chat.

LoviVkontakte is a free utility for downloading files from the VKontakte social network, with its own player and downloading multimedia in one click.

Many users search and listen to music and videos in the multimillion-dollar file database of the VK social network. The software we are considering will make it easier to find and download the content you like, since all the necessary actions are performed in one program and with one click.

Instagram for Windows 10 is a free application for accessing the social network of the same name, viewing publications and stories, exchanging comments and personal messages, as well as creating and editing photos for further publication on other social networks.

Using this program, you can register on Instagram without installing third-party software and emulators, like photos, send Direct messages, apply various effects and filters to photos and videos, and also share your publication on Foursquare, Twitter, Flickr, Facebook or Tumblr.

LINE is a free application with a built-in messaging function and social networking elements. It has about 400 million fans and is distributed for Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Nokia Asha, Windows Phone, Windows and Mac OS.

Japanese developers, after the catastrophic earthquake in 2011, are creating a messenger to constantly connect people with each other and emphasize the importance of communication. The ability to determine the geolocation of a contact, exchange various files and simple voice or video communication have made the program so popular.

VKMusic is a convenient free program for downloading music and video files from VKontakte to your computer. Supports the ability to save files from well-known video hosting sites.

Today, VK contains a huge database of various music and new videos. The user often has the desire to download his favorite song, funny cartoon or new movie to his device. Then the tools we are considering come to the rescue. In addition, downloading VKMusic for free to your computer is very simple.

ICQ is a legendary communication program that combines the basic functions of a messenger and the ability to make voice and video calls. Integrates with various social networks and other chat rooms.

In the era of the popularity of social networks and a large selection of various instant messengers for communication, the well-known ICQ has not lost its significance. Mail.ru Group, which owns the program, constantly monitors updates and analyzes the user's needs for decent operation of the program.

This convenient utility allows you to download files from the above-mentioned social network in a few clicks, without opening a browser. In addition, without going to the page, you can watch the video and download it immediately. The developers took care of the quality of their product and fan feedback, so the songs are automatically downloaded in high-quality resolution and with the best bitrate.

A convenient program for downloading media files from the VKontakte social network. Allows you to search and sort audio and video recordings, and then save them to your computer. In addition, it provides downloading of clips from popular video hosting sites.

The social network VKontakte has become the largest repository of music and video on the RuNet. And if you are an active user of it, probably from time to time you have the desire to download some track or clip to your computer. The VKMusic application will allow you to do this without any problems. You can download this wonderful development for free on any version of Windows. With it you can easily find the media file you are interested in (you can specify what quality you need) - just enter the name in the search field.

Here is a program for quickly and conveniently downloading media files from VKontakte. You can download any audio and video recordings of the most popular social network on the Runet without opening your browser. And also listen and view them in the built-in player.

You will say that there are many such applications now. But will they offer to find and download the album in a couple of clicks? How about watching a video from a social network in the built-in player, without going to the page, and downloading it immediately?

The latest version of LoviVkontakte includes a fully functional music player that can play songs before, during or after downloading.

Friend Around is a popular messenger with social network elements among Russian-speaking users. Allows you to quickly find new friends and receive notifications about events in their busy lives.

The application is available on all platforms common in Russia - you can download DrugVokrug on your computer, iPhone or tablet. At the same time, the capabilities of the desktop and mobile versions are identical.

An extension for the most convenient downloading of audio tracks and videos from the VKontakte social network. It is integrated as an add-on into any popular browser, after which it is able to provide amazingly fast downloading in a couple of clicks.

The plugin allows you to download to your computer any audio and video recording that you see on the most popular social network on the Runet. It could be a movie recently released in the cinema, a new music hit, or just a video someone shot on camera.