Around the world, people are quietly using high-tech to stay in touch with a higher power.
While cutting-edge applications like mobile TV make headlines, simpler, religious-based offerings are gaining ground. Jewish users are sending text messages with prayers or requests to Israeli rabbis who jot down notes to place in Jerusalem’s Western Wall. On-the-go Catholics in some European markets can receive a Papal Thought of the Day from the Vatican.
In the Middle East, followers of Islam used camera phones to snap pictures of the Grand Mosque and send them home during their annual pilgrimages to Mecca. And those who couldn’t make the trip can easily find which way to pray with an LG Electronics Co. Ltd. handset introduced last year that features a compass that points users in the direction of the holy city.
For nearly two years, some Christians in North America have received scriptures delivered to their phones every day through Mfaith, a free text offering from the Southern California-based SMS Media Group. Bible verses are picked by staffers every day and delivered to thousands of users in the United States and Canada, according to Sheri Wells, the company’s chief operations officer and co-founder.
While some may find racier content more compelling in the world of wireless, Wells said religious mobile users represent a vast-and vastly underserved-market.
“We figure that when you look at demographics, about half the population in the U.S. is Christian, and about half have a cell phone,” Wells said. “So it’s a huge market.”
The service is supported by advertising, which sometimes accompanies the scripture, and Mfaith is looking to expand its spiritual offerings to include ringtones, images and, eventually, multimedia messaging services.
Religious organizations are beginning to see a use for wireless as well. When John Paul II fell ill earlier this year, Catholic leaders in the Philippines called on followers to send get-well messages from their handsets. Last month, a German church began selling its own ringtones to fund the restoration of its organ. The Hamburg chapel set up a Web site hawking five tones at about $2.50 each in an effort to raise $282,000 for the organ.
Dwango Wireless, a Seattle-based mobile entertainment company, is in the process of rolling out a slew of content and services in conjunction with Beliefnet, an online community embracing all major religions. The fact that Dwango also offers content from Rolling Stone and Playboy magazines isn’t as contradictory as it may seem, said Chief Executive Officer Rick Hennessey. While the content may differ drastically, the concept is the same for all three brands.
“For us, (the Beliefnet offering) kind of personifies our approach to the marketplace,” said Hennessey, who envisions a channel offering a slate of spiritual offerings. “We’re not about delivering a ringtone or an image. It’s about taking (people from) a particular lifestyle and providing them all the services they can access from a mobile device.”
Carriers are embracing such text message-based applications, which can drive revenue without weighing down infrastructures. And unlike many types of “adult content”-which can include everything from racy music videos to gambling to porn-spiritual content and services are virtually controversy free.
Also, spiritual users seem to be remarkably consistent when it comes to wireless content. Wells said Mfaith subscribers have “a very low opt-out rate” for the service, despite occasional advertisements.
While early adopters sign on for mobile video and full-length downloads, then it appears faith-based content and services are gradually gaining traction among more mainstream users. Hennessey said a wireless device is an ideal platform for delivering content for something as personal as religion.
“The phone is such a major part of your life now, it goes everywhere with you,” said Hennessey. “It’s not unlike God to Christians. The mobile phone is everywhere; it’s omnipresent. It’s a perfect match for mobile services for us.”
