Mobile social networking has really taken off in the last year and it’s only going to grow in the years to come. The leading site at the present time is Twitter, the micro-blogging site whereby you send “Tweets”, or text based 140 character messages over SMS to your profile page. It’s not the only mobile social networking site however, and for those people frustrated with the increasingly unreliable service from Twitter, perhaps its time to check out a few of the below…

1. Wattpad.

Are you the kind of person who had to have the Amazon Kindle Reader as soon as it was released? If you’re literary – or you happen to be in the business of writing and promoting e-books – then this is the mobile social network that you’ve been seeking. It’s a network specifically designed for the purpose of sharing your writing and reading the works of others. You can find everything from short stories to novels. You can also input your own stories to be seen by others. Books written on mobile phones have really taken off in Japan and we’re starting to see the trickle-down effect in mobile social networks like Wattpad. Even if you don’t use it all of the time, it’s a great site to remember when you’re traveling and have only your phone for entertainment.

2. Bebo.

This social networking site is poised for significant growth after recent announcements that it’s going to be acquired by AOL. The price that Bebo was determined to be worth was $850 million which tells you how well the site is doing in the modern social networking business. Bebo is a traditional social networking site but they’ve joined the ranks of sites that are creating mobile-friendly versions of themselves. Just head to m.bebo.com on your mobile phone in any of the countries which offer Bebo and you’ll be able to stay on top of your online social networking without the drain of an overloaded site on your cell.

3. Zingku.

This is another mobile social networking site that’s been picked up by a big company: Google. Zingku lets you share information with your mobile social network via text, image, voice and instant messaging. You can also send invites, take polls, create fliers and design mashups to share with the community. Unfortunately, while the acquisition is going on, no new users can sign up but those people who already had Zingku can still enjoy the mobile site. With Google dipping its fingers in to all areas of the mobile world, there’s really no telling what’s going to happen with Zingku in the near future.

4. Groovr.

This mobile social networking site takes advantage of the ability to use geo-location services on the phone. You can locate events and friends in your area using this mobile networking tool. It can be used on different phones but this site is particularly popular amongst people who use the iPhone.

5. Loopt.

This is another popular site that’s based around the idea that being mobile could mean that you want to know what’s going on in the locations that are near you. The goal of the site is to turn your phone into a “social compass” which will point you in the direction of the people and places where you want to be. This mobile phone networking site also lets you share recommendations about places with others on the site; this type of user-generated information is increasingly common on mobile phone social networks.

6. Socialight.

This mobile networking site also lets you make recommendations to your network. It’s more extensive in this area than Loopt in the sense that this site is specifically designed for the traveler so people are more likely to tag locations here. It integrates with other major social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace so you can use your phone to send sticky note updates about your travels to your PC networking sites. You can create a “channel” for your content which is akin to an RSS feed that your network friends can subscribe to and then receive updates from. This is a great tool for people interested in developing a travel blog or a profile following through a mobile social network.

7. Friendstribe.

This is a youth-oriented mobile social networking site that is really simple to use. You can “blast” your entire network a message; the example given by the company is to send “anyone want to go to a movie?” You can tell the network where you are located or find where other people and businesses are located in relation to you. And you can use the camera phone to create a photo gallery for sharing on the mobile site. If you’re seeking the easiest site to get started on with social networking, this one is a good one to try.

8. Peepsnation.

This site combines the best of mobile social networking with the features of a social bookmarking site. You can tag and rate people on the network; it’s basically a big popularity contest. As a result it’s preferred by people who are younger rather than by professional users. However, it can be a useful site if you’re in the business of working with teens and young adults; it’s a great way to keep track of their activities and the things that others have to say about them. They’ve just switched over to a .mobi version of the site so you can do it all from your mobile phone.

9. Mobango.

Unlike the other mobile social networking sites which are designed primarily to share information (and sometimes bonus things like photos), this one is specifically designed to share mobile content. You create a network of friends on the site and then you can all share different ring tones, cell phone themes and mobile videos. It’s probably not a site that you would use solely from your mobile phone (although you could) but it’s the one that has the most features specifically designed to improve your phone experience.