Intruders

Trained as a sociologist, Jyri Engeström co-founded Jaiku a web and mobile based micro-blogging service, with Petteri Koponen in 2006. Jaiku is targeted towards a younger audience that is already familiar and comfortable with services such as mobile SMS, blogging and Instant Messaging.
Jyri believes that micro-blogging, which can be used from almost any device and has a 140 character limit for messages, brings people closer together and is a great way to stay in touch with friends.

Unlike Twitter, another micro-blogging service, Jaiku introduces a concept of a Lifestream or feed that shares your online activity with your friends; such as your recently updated flickr photos, your last.fm music or your mobile location. Jyri Engeström believes that the lifestream concept provides a richer approach to sharing your presence.

Jyri also shared with us how Jaiku is planning to make money. Advertising is one obvious way as Jaiku knows a lot about their users, e.g. their physical location. In addition to advertising, Jaiku is planning to provide premium accounts and generate revenue with “virtual gift”-like services. Finally, Jaiku is exploring revenue sharing partnerships with mobile operators that are interested in the additional SMS messages generated by the micro-blogging service. Berrastream

interview conducted at the Essential Web 07 conference