MocoSpace has launched its first mobile applications for Google?s Android devices and Apple?s iPhone and iPod touch to spread the reach of the mobile social network.

Mocospace?s applications are designed around several popular features that are of most importance to its community, including finding friends, sharing photos and chat. Crucial to the creation of the MocoSpace applications was the desire to stay in keeping with the simplicity of the MocoSpace mobile site.

?MocoSpace wants to be where our members are and where they are going,? said Jusin Siegel, CEO of MocoSpace, Boston. ?Our numbers have shown that Android is experiencing tremendous growth inside and outside the MocoSpace community, so I felt it was necessary for us to deliver an option for our members to access the site beyond the current browser site.

?As a result, today I think we offer the best of both worlds for people looking for a great way to make new friends, stay connected and have fun,? he said. ?We actually launched both applications?iPhone and Android?in parallel because that?s where we see our members going as far as devices."

MocoSpace, which is backed by General Catalyst, claims to be one of the largest mobile social networks, with more than 11 million registered users and 3 billion monthly page views.

Mobile chat
The company recently reported in its Mobile Social Graph Report that the number of Android users accessing the MocoSpace mobile Web site had spiked by 40 percent over the past six months and is growing faster than other platforms such as iPhone and BlackBerry (see story).

With chat and photos central to the application, MocoSpace for Android and iPhone features live chat with friends currently on application or on mobile Web site, instant photo uploads, profile viewing and commenting, and message notifications.

?The target demo is for people who are looking for a great way to connect with new people,? Mr. Siegal said. ?Our member base is generally younger than MySpace and Facebook, whose members have been steadily aging."

As for getting the word out about the applications, Mr. Siegal said that MocoSpace has historically been driven by word of mouth, and that will be the company?s strategy here as well.

Soon, the mobile social network will begin offering in-application advertising opportunities.

Here is an example of how ads will be integrated into the applications:

"What will happen post-click on any particular banner mostly depends on the sophistication of the brand or agency developing it,? said Casey Jones, vice president of marketing and music at MocoSpace.

?Some will redirect to their mobile Web site, some to an in-app micro-site and still others will redirect to a brand page within MocoSpace that we develop, as we have done for brands like Kmart, Sony Pictures and the U.S. Census,? he said.