But that hasn't stopped mobile video startup Buzzwire from launching an ad-supported mobile community site where people can share content from around the Web. Through m.buzzwire.com, users can post links to stories, videos, photos, music and other content, with the most popular ranking the highest. Anyone with a Web-enabled mobile phone will be able to access the site.

Users will be able to submit content via email sent to post@buzzwire.com, text messaging 28999 (Buzz9) or by clicking a "Buzzie" button on mobile Web sites. TV Guide and AskMen.com are among the initial publishers to feature such a button on their mobile sites.

Founded in 2006, Denver-based Buzzwire has powered mobile video for wireless operators and content providers including Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Alltel and MobiTV. Last summer, it created a mobile channel offering entertainment-oriented coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in partnership with Web sites Barely Political and Political Lunch.

Now, the company backed by investors including Matrix Partners and Spark Capital aims to establish itself as the mobile equivalent of social news services such as Digg or Yahoo Buzz. "Given the growth of the mobile market, especially mobile Web traffic, there's not only a need to create good content, but a way for users to engage with it," said Andrew MacFarlane, Buzzwire's founder and chief product officer.

He added that the Buzzwire site will also have a team of editors curating content, which will be organized by categories such as news, sports and health and wellness.

The proportion of U.S. mobile subscribers who access social networks on their cell phones nearly tripled to almost 10% in the last year, according to a recent study by The Kelsey Group and ConStat. By 2012, eMarketer projects that more than 800 million users worldwide will participate in social networks via their mobile device, up from 82 million in 2007.

When it comes to competing with established social media properties, MacFarlane believes the company has an edge through its work adapting video and audio content for mobile devices over the last two years. "I think mobile is a totally new territory," he said.

The site will debut with a roster of brand advertisers through a deal with Deutsch Inc. Agency clients including DirectTV, Kodak, Under Armour and the Michael J. Fox Foundation will have exclusive advertising rights during the beta period expected to last two to three months. Marketers will be able to experiment with formats including click-to-call and click-to-video banners as well as pre-roll video spots.

"There's tremendous interest in mobile as an advertising medium, but the quality of the delivery has been a challenge to date," said Peter Gardiner, partner and chief media officer at Deutsch, Inc. New York, in a statement. "Buzzwire brings a unique and high quality brand building experience to mobile."

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