"Evolution is fascinating to watch"
Shana Alexander
We are an electronic civilization and as it spreads deeper our family, professional and social lives are getting increasingly electronic. While sms today speaks the language of our personal and professional relationships, the web and internet are increasingly driving our personal and professional lives. Consider the case of social networking. Orkut probably has been the largest facilitator of getting old friends and family together in the recent history. Perhaps Google itself didn't anticipate the revolution Orkut would bring about and has only recently started taking the "Orkut business" seriously. Social networking has become such a huge revolution that by the time I write this there must be atleast a good triple figure clone of social networking sites on the web. It isn't any longer about just a forum where millions of Internet users connect, express themselves and communicate. Social networking is now evolving to another level and getting into areas as interesting as jobs to food and much more. Revenue models unknown before are evolving around social networking sites.
Food on your network - iFood.TV
How about a site where you can connect with other people with diverse backgrounds, ethnicities and countries, make friends, chat about shared interests etc. All this sounds quite mundane for a social networking site, right? Ok then how adding an ingredient of culinary traditions and culinary curiosity. IFood.tv does exactly that. It's probably the only site that focuses on connecting people through food. What's more you can load and create your own videos, you can use text (blogs, comments) or pictures or video to interact with other foodies. Hence people who love food can create their own online food channel, it could be either textual (blogs, comments), pictures or video. There is more you can upload your own recipes along with learning and sharing with others foodies. iFood.tv goes further you can even view multiple channels or simply decide which cuisine you want to focus on. According to the iFood.tv founders Nitin Agarwal, Sharib Khan and Alok Ranjan "The common thread is simple- share and spread your love for food."
Online Recruitment gets a social networking twist
The growth of social networking can be gauged by the fact how it is spreading into our social and professional lives. If iFood.tv was about taking food on the network and a bit on the personal front then on the professional front sites like techtribe.com and yellojobs.com are adding a twist to online recruitment by combining a social networking angle to it.
We all have heard about job sites. Techtribe.com and yellojobs.com have brought the power of personal referrals in recruitment. While techtribe.com has a program called 'frontfoot' which they claim is the world's first referral recruiting service of its kind. A simple successful referral could earn Rs 10,000 plus more for other referrals. Plus they have a quality control mechanism to keep the weed out.
Yellojobs.com on the other hand recently introduced a referral driven online recruitment service, called YelloRewards, under which employers can offer cash rewards to those who refer their friends to the posted jobs. The company hopes to place over 50,000 candidates annually by this model. The revenue model is also a bit different in terms of subscription. While other job portals charge a subscription fee from companies, yellojobs.com allows them to place ads for free, provided they pledge to pay cash reward to the referrer when they hire a candidate. The reward amount could be Rs 5000 or more.
Taking social networking seriously
Social networking is about serious business now. Consider the case of Google renewed emphasis on Orkut and the activities it is conducting there now. Earlier this month Google conducted an opinion poll on the Orkut site to celebrate India's 60th Independence along with its users. The seriousness can be gauged from the fact none other than Google India's Managing Director, Shailesh Rao sent a message to its users saying, " We are proud to be a part of India's 60th Independence celebrations and know that the energy, enthusiasm and conviction so apparent throughout Orkut communities will be on display as we ask users for their opinions through this poll. Orkut has always been associated with youthfulness and zeal and w e are very pleased with the response and affection that Indian users have shown towards Orkut."
On the other hand the success of these sites can be seen from the fact iFood.tv is about to launch a new feature called the ifood explorer based on a p2f2p (person-to-food-to-person) concept. According to the founders "The purpose of this is to simply reflect the interconnections or the links between multiple individuals in the network, a host of foods, food products, restaurants and relevant information."
The Last Word
Social networking with a twist is the new mantra in the world of ecommerce. As our friends, jobs, foods get transformed into their electronic avatar one wonders what's next on the agenda.
Source:www.hindustantimes.com
Showing posts with label Social networking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social networking. Show all posts
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Facebook DMCA Notices Silence Digg and Google
Google has shut down Facebook Secrets, the Blogger blog that gained notoriety when the anonymous author posted code from the recent Facebook server snafu. The mysterious owner of Facebook Secrets is not going down without a fight, however. S/he has posted a new site called Facebook Secrets Again, though the Facebook code is not included.
Instead there are two DMCA notices from Google. The second, which appears to be a response to some sort of challenge about the site removal, reads:
As mentioned in our previous email, we work with a third party to post DMCA notices we receive. The notice we received because of the content on your site can be found here (once the notice has been posted):
http://www.chillingeffects.org/notice.cgi?sID=3836
We have had to remove the content mentioned in the complaint from your blog. If we did not do so, we would be subject to a claim of copyright infringement, regardless of its merits.
The link above leads to a page on Chilling Effect, a site which tracks DMCA notices. The page reads: “DMCA (Copyright) Complaint to Google. The notice is not available.”
But Facebook Secrets isn’t the only site that’s been served with a DMCA takedown. Digg also received a takedown notice and complied. So far, the Digg community has remained oddly silent. Apparently Digg users aren’t as interested in Facebook code as they are in DVD unlocking codes.
Earlier this week, Facebook contacted Wired News to give an official statement about the code leak, which read:
A small fraction of the code that displays Facebook web pages was exposed to a small number of users due to a single misconfigured web server that was fixed immediately. It was not a security breach and did not compromise user data in any way. Because the code that was released only powers the Facebook user interface, it offers no useful insight into the inner workings of Facebook. The reprinting of this code violates several laws and we ask that people not distribute it further. (emphasis mine)
Requests made by Wired News for clarification from Facebook regarding what specific laws were broken have gone unanswered. The complaint filed against Digg cites copyright violations, which isn’t exactly “several laws,” though it is enough to file a DMCA complaint.
Source:www.wired.com
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Well Matched: Facebook on the iPhone
Developers around the world have been building new sites and retrofitting existing ones for use on the iPhone, and the social networking site Facebookslide show posted to Flickr by Citizen Agency's Chris Messina. joined the fun yesterday. To see what Facebook on the iPhone (http://iphone.facebook.com) looks like, check out this
Facebook for iPhone is smartly designed because it keeps things simple. I found that you can perform most of the tasks you'd normally do during a normal Facebook visit (checking mail, checking up on friends, approving new friends, etc.) easily on the iPhone. The four parts of Facebook you use most--the Home, Profile, Friends, and Inbox pages--are organized in tabs across the top of the page. This helps you get to the stuff you need with just a touch or two; this is important because mobile bandwidth isn't always predictable. On a purely aesthetic level, Facebook for iPhone manages to retain much of the clean, uncluttered look you notice at the desktop browser version of Facebook.
Response from tech bloggers and discussion board posters today has been almost completely positive--Michael Arrington at TechCrunch called Facebook the best iPhone-optimized app yet.
The buzz over mobile social networking has been going on for awhile now, but actual user numbers remain low. M:Metrics released new research today saying that only 3.5 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (7.5 million) accessed social networking sites during June. The firm says Facebook’s mobile U.S. audience is about 2 million, and is made up of mainly college-age users.
Still, a lot of people believe that mobile social networking is going to be huge, especially as faster wireless networks become available. Meanwhile, mucho venture capital continues to flow into mobile social networking tech in its many forms.
What is it about mobile devices and social networking that make them a match made in heaven? Is the urge to social-network so strong that we simply can't wait to get home to do it? Or will new mobile social networking services simply do things that static, desktop-based sites cannot? Will mobile devices take social networking to a whole new level? If the future is really "unwired" and "always on" as they tell us, then people will demand it.
Source:www.pcworld.com
Monday, August 13, 2007
Top 5 new Facebook applications: Buffy, Beer Diary, Heat and more...
You can't beat a good Facebook application, although you can bury it with hundreds of rubbish ones - something that due to the popularity of Facebook's development platform, is in danger of happening.
I wonder if the site will introduce proper five-star ratings for apps, so you can sort through them that way. In the meantime, I've been combing through the list of recent new apps to find five worth putting on your profile. Starting with...
1. Buffy Photos, Quotes and Trivia (pictured). It's new, but has already sailed past the 2,500-user mark. Show your Buffy fandom by adding it, and you can even chat to other fans from within the app.
2. Interactive Friends Graph. Another neat app that plots your friends and their interconnections, but the big selling point here is the way you can actually interact with it, sending messages, pokes and add people from within the graph.
3. Beer Diary. Keep an accurate record of just how many units you've drunk, and then show it off to the world (and, er, your boss / mother / AA counsellor).
4. Heat RSS. Simple way to get the latest gossip from Heat magazine's website on your profile. You didn't know Heat had a website? Join the club!
5. Social Chat. The latest Facebook chat app to set up private rooms for friends, or meet random strangers for red hot cyberlove stimulating interaction.
Source:www.techdigest.tv
I wonder if the site will introduce proper five-star ratings for apps, so you can sort through them that way. In the meantime, I've been combing through the list of recent new apps to find five worth putting on your profile. Starting with...
1. Buffy Photos, Quotes and Trivia (pictured). It's new, but has already sailed past the 2,500-user mark. Show your Buffy fandom by adding it, and you can even chat to other fans from within the app.
2. Interactive Friends Graph. Another neat app that plots your friends and their interconnections, but the big selling point here is the way you can actually interact with it, sending messages, pokes and add people from within the graph.
3. Beer Diary. Keep an accurate record of just how many units you've drunk, and then show it off to the world (and, er, your boss / mother / AA counsellor).
4. Heat RSS. Simple way to get the latest gossip from Heat magazine's website on your profile. You didn't know Heat had a website? Join the club!
5. Social Chat. The latest Facebook chat app to set up private rooms for friends, or meet random strangers for red hot cyberlove stimulating interaction.
Source:www.techdigest.tv
BigAdda, an Indian Youth Networking Site launched by Reliance ADA Group
Social networking sites are the fad of the present day. They offer entertainment, interaction and a lot more. But somewhere they are becoming so common that one cannot go wrong if they are literally compared to the stereotype reality shows too. Both equally hyped but eventually fizz out as time passes by. And there’s yet another social networking site adding to the bandwagon.
Monday, the 13th of August 2007, saw the launch of Reliance ADA group’s ‘BigAdda.com’ which touts itself to apparently be the ‘Indian Youth Networking Site’. BigAdda.com makes possible networking and self-expression by creating, uploading and sharing of videos, photos in a public, yet private, space. Some of the interesting features of this networking platform includes blogs and scribbles, which help the users express, comment and connect, Addas(communities) and forums - all of these catering to one of the most important needs of the youth today - ‘Self Expression’.
Indian social networking site BigAdda.com, plans to gather a user base of 10 million users by 2010 they have already taken a significant step in this direction by acquiring over a 100,000 customers in the last 6 weeks. The company plans to introduce a Music vertical for uploading, streaming and sharing of user playlists. Web Instant Messenger (IM) and wireless interface would also be introduced shortly, which acknowledges the youth’s asynchronous messaging habits and need for connectivity.
Since BigAdda.com has been made with the prime intention of catering to the youth, the panel of speakers too was celebs that are highly popular in their own respective fields amidst the Indian youth community. Present at the event were 5 youth icons to drive their communities online, namely popular glamour photographer Atul Kasbekar, music maestro Shankar Mahadevan, leading Indian female golfer Irnina Brar, top filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar and stunning Bollywood actress Diya Mirza.
So what exactly are these youth icons going to do on BigAdda.com? As communities are a key driver for growth in the networking business BigAdda has these 5 youth icons joining them for the initiative.
To begin with, Kasbekar will be offering a sneak peak into his shoots and would head a Mobile Photo Contest where users would be induced to shoot and upload photos from their mobiles of which Kasbekar would shortlist the best. And this lucky member would get a chance to work on an assignment with the man himself.
If music is your passion then you can head to Shankar Mahadevan’s Music Adda, who will be encouraging the youth to compose and share their original music. One short-listed member would then get a chance to meet with Shankar and release an album through Big Music Label.
If you prefer being on the golf course, then Irina Brar’s Sports Adda is where you need to be, where she drives a community specially focusing on Girls in Sports. Now this is surely interesting keeping in mind how stereotyped somewhere India is with regards to its choice of sports, sport stars and of course gender too.
Ever dreamt of being Spielberg? If yes, then you can kick start here, not with Spielberg of course, but the Indian directing genius Madhur Bhandarkar, who would steer the Video Category and promote youngsters to share original scripts and video stories.
And if you are simply in awe (just the way our videographer was after seeing the ethereal beauty) of the lovely Dia Mirza, join her Adda, which would steer the Movies category and promote her fan club.
Also present at the event were two leading men from the Reliance ADA Group, namely Rajesh Sawhney, President, Reliance Entertainment and Siddhartha Roy, Chief Operating Officer, BigAdda.
Speaking about BigAdda.com, Sawhney said, “According to the 2007 NASSCOM Report, it is estimated that by 2010 there will be 20 million Broadband subscribers, up from 1 million and 100 million Internet users, as compared to 40 million today. The number of Internet users has witnessed an upswing, and so has their need to socialize online and gain acceptance in the virtual world. Virtual hang-out plays a key role, because it gives them the space to be amongst friends and peers, while sharing an image of their own, which they would like to project. BigAdda.com aims to evolve a youth community, inclusive and aspirational and create a youth culture that will be cool and aspirational for them.”
“Music, Fashion, Movies and Sports are something that cuts across all segments and age groups. The idea was to create a platform where the fans/users can talk/share with their icon. Going forward, we plan to increase our community drivers and supplement it with innovative marketing and promotional activities,” continued Mr. Sawhney.
Giving his take on BigAdda.com Siddhartha Roy, Chief Operating Officer, BigAdda said, “As a society, we are at a moment of transition when social relationships may no longer be restricted to face-to-face interactions in our own immediate surroundings, but also include a large number of relationships conducted over vast geographic distances. Photos, Videos and Music are the key drivers of online consumption today. Hence, we wanted to let our users upload content of their choice, as one of the many features on BigAdda.com, as it gets to showcase and express their personality. Till date, there has not been one particular destination for Indian and International video content, a void which BigAdda will fill. In just 6 weeks of the site being in the test phase, BigAdda.com has over 12000 videos with over 5,000 television advertisements.”
One really wonders that with the likes of highly renowned social networking sites like Orkut, Facebook, MySpace and zillions more, where does BigAdda.com actually stand? Perhaps as the site is banking on the power of the youth, especially keeping in mind the fact that around 54 percent of the present Indian population is below 25 years of age, there may be a bleak possibility that this very youth may consider BigAdda.com as their haven. A place to express, learn and share.
Source:www.techshout.com
Monday, the 13th of August 2007, saw the launch of Reliance ADA group’s ‘BigAdda.com’ which touts itself to apparently be the ‘Indian Youth Networking Site’. BigAdda.com makes possible networking and self-expression by creating, uploading and sharing of videos, photos in a public, yet private, space. Some of the interesting features of this networking platform includes blogs and scribbles, which help the users express, comment and connect, Addas(communities) and forums - all of these catering to one of the most important needs of the youth today - ‘Self Expression’.
Indian social networking site BigAdda.com, plans to gather a user base of 10 million users by 2010 they have already taken a significant step in this direction by acquiring over a 100,000 customers in the last 6 weeks. The company plans to introduce a Music vertical for uploading, streaming and sharing of user playlists. Web Instant Messenger (IM) and wireless interface would also be introduced shortly, which acknowledges the youth’s asynchronous messaging habits and need for connectivity.
Since BigAdda.com has been made with the prime intention of catering to the youth, the panel of speakers too was celebs that are highly popular in their own respective fields amidst the Indian youth community. Present at the event were 5 youth icons to drive their communities online, namely popular glamour photographer Atul Kasbekar, music maestro Shankar Mahadevan, leading Indian female golfer Irnina Brar, top filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar and stunning Bollywood actress Diya Mirza.
So what exactly are these youth icons going to do on BigAdda.com? As communities are a key driver for growth in the networking business BigAdda has these 5 youth icons joining them for the initiative.
To begin with, Kasbekar will be offering a sneak peak into his shoots and would head a Mobile Photo Contest where users would be induced to shoot and upload photos from their mobiles of which Kasbekar would shortlist the best. And this lucky member would get a chance to work on an assignment with the man himself.
If music is your passion then you can head to Shankar Mahadevan’s Music Adda, who will be encouraging the youth to compose and share their original music. One short-listed member would then get a chance to meet with Shankar and release an album through Big Music Label.
If you prefer being on the golf course, then Irina Brar’s Sports Adda is where you need to be, where she drives a community specially focusing on Girls in Sports. Now this is surely interesting keeping in mind how stereotyped somewhere India is with regards to its choice of sports, sport stars and of course gender too.
Ever dreamt of being Spielberg? If yes, then you can kick start here, not with Spielberg of course, but the Indian directing genius Madhur Bhandarkar, who would steer the Video Category and promote youngsters to share original scripts and video stories.
And if you are simply in awe (just the way our videographer was after seeing the ethereal beauty) of the lovely Dia Mirza, join her Adda, which would steer the Movies category and promote her fan club.
Also present at the event were two leading men from the Reliance ADA Group, namely Rajesh Sawhney, President, Reliance Entertainment and Siddhartha Roy, Chief Operating Officer, BigAdda.
Speaking about BigAdda.com, Sawhney said, “According to the 2007 NASSCOM Report, it is estimated that by 2010 there will be 20 million Broadband subscribers, up from 1 million and 100 million Internet users, as compared to 40 million today. The number of Internet users has witnessed an upswing, and so has their need to socialize online and gain acceptance in the virtual world. Virtual hang-out plays a key role, because it gives them the space to be amongst friends and peers, while sharing an image of their own, which they would like to project. BigAdda.com aims to evolve a youth community, inclusive and aspirational and create a youth culture that will be cool and aspirational for them.”
“Music, Fashion, Movies and Sports are something that cuts across all segments and age groups. The idea was to create a platform where the fans/users can talk/share with their icon. Going forward, we plan to increase our community drivers and supplement it with innovative marketing and promotional activities,” continued Mr. Sawhney.
Giving his take on BigAdda.com Siddhartha Roy, Chief Operating Officer, BigAdda said, “As a society, we are at a moment of transition when social relationships may no longer be restricted to face-to-face interactions in our own immediate surroundings, but also include a large number of relationships conducted over vast geographic distances. Photos, Videos and Music are the key drivers of online consumption today. Hence, we wanted to let our users upload content of their choice, as one of the many features on BigAdda.com, as it gets to showcase and express their personality. Till date, there has not been one particular destination for Indian and International video content, a void which BigAdda will fill. In just 6 weeks of the site being in the test phase, BigAdda.com has over 12000 videos with over 5,000 television advertisements.”
One really wonders that with the likes of highly renowned social networking sites like Orkut, Facebook, MySpace and zillions more, where does BigAdda.com actually stand? Perhaps as the site is banking on the power of the youth, especially keeping in mind the fact that around 54 percent of the present Indian population is below 25 years of age, there may be a bleak possibility that this very youth may consider BigAdda.com as their haven. A place to express, learn and share.
Source:www.techshout.com
Facebook and social networking sites drive web filtering technology
The latest internet phenomenon, social networking websites offer an interactive network of photos, user profiles, email and chatrooms.
Unlike MySpace, Bebo, Faceparty, YouTube and most other mainstream social networking websites, Facebook is currently favoured amongst young professionals and consequently take-up of the service within the corporate environment has been extremely swift, with many companies creating their own groups on the site.
Although there are undoubtedly some commercial benefits for using the service, particularly for smaller businesses, Facebook in particular relies heavily on email to inform users of new messages received and other activities taking place on site, thereby incentivising users to return to the site again and again for activity updates. With 40%+ of emails at work being non-business related already (IDC research) this adds significantly to un-required traffic.
The sites represents a number of other risks to business, with many staff choosing to use their time online to discuss their employer and air grievances in the public domain. Moreover, with users of social networking sites freely offering personal details to many, there is also an increased risk of identity theft.
As a result, adoption of web filtering technology is currently being largely driven by the phenomenal take up of social networking sites such as Facebook.
Indeed CTOs and IT administrators are increasingly choosing to specifically block access to Facebook, alongside the other chief time-sapping websites – hotmail and gmail. 47% of Email Systems’ web filtering customers have already blocked Facebook as an implicitly selected site and 83% have blocked it by category (social networking). Additionally, Email Systems has identified a trend for blocking viral video sites, such as YouTube, with over 53% of its customers choosing to block this site during work hours and 64% of customers blocking streaming and download video content from its users.
According to a recent survey, nearly one in five companies has disciplined an employee for violating blog or message board policies in the past year, while 7.1% of companies fired an employee for such infractions and 10% investigated the exposure of financial information via a blog or message board posting in the past year.
With several city firms – including Credit Suisse and Dresdner Kleinwort - having announced a ban on the site earlier this week and many of Email Systems new web filtering customers citing Facebook explicitly as one of the key catalysts for adopting web filtering, the issue is fast becoming a top concern.
It is estimated that over 60% of UK companies have no web filtering in place today. These social sites pose a real threat to business productivity, confidentiality and possibly reputation with many staff often discussing company issues and opinions in public.
According to the DTI: “Inappropriate web and e-mail usage is the second largest cause of reported security incidents”. The same report indicated that 52% of organisations have reported misuse of internet resources with the two most common being access to inappropriate websites (41%) and excessive web surfing (36%).
With child violence sites currently in the headlines as another example of undesirable web-content, Email Systems web filtering service allows customers to block internet access for specific sites, types of sites or users, whilst providing detailed real-time reporting.
Neil Hammerton, CEO of Email Systems commented: “Facebook is a growing concern for many of our customers, mainly because the site is so addictive and encourages constant, repeat usage throughout the day. Clearly many businesses have long considered webmail services to be a significant risk in terms of time, productivity and security – but Facebook is the latest incarnation to really get the industry stirred up.”
Source:www.securitypark.co.uk
Unlike MySpace, Bebo, Faceparty, YouTube and most other mainstream social networking websites, Facebook is currently favoured amongst young professionals and consequently take-up of the service within the corporate environment has been extremely swift, with many companies creating their own groups on the site.
Although there are undoubtedly some commercial benefits for using the service, particularly for smaller businesses, Facebook in particular relies heavily on email to inform users of new messages received and other activities taking place on site, thereby incentivising users to return to the site again and again for activity updates. With 40%+ of emails at work being non-business related already (IDC research) this adds significantly to un-required traffic.
The sites represents a number of other risks to business, with many staff choosing to use their time online to discuss their employer and air grievances in the public domain. Moreover, with users of social networking sites freely offering personal details to many, there is also an increased risk of identity theft.
As a result, adoption of web filtering technology is currently being largely driven by the phenomenal take up of social networking sites such as Facebook.
Indeed CTOs and IT administrators are increasingly choosing to specifically block access to Facebook, alongside the other chief time-sapping websites – hotmail and gmail. 47% of Email Systems’ web filtering customers have already blocked Facebook as an implicitly selected site and 83% have blocked it by category (social networking). Additionally, Email Systems has identified a trend for blocking viral video sites, such as YouTube, with over 53% of its customers choosing to block this site during work hours and 64% of customers blocking streaming and download video content from its users.
According to a recent survey, nearly one in five companies has disciplined an employee for violating blog or message board policies in the past year, while 7.1% of companies fired an employee for such infractions and 10% investigated the exposure of financial information via a blog or message board posting in the past year.
With several city firms – including Credit Suisse and Dresdner Kleinwort - having announced a ban on the site earlier this week and many of Email Systems new web filtering customers citing Facebook explicitly as one of the key catalysts for adopting web filtering, the issue is fast becoming a top concern.
It is estimated that over 60% of UK companies have no web filtering in place today. These social sites pose a real threat to business productivity, confidentiality and possibly reputation with many staff often discussing company issues and opinions in public.
According to the DTI: “Inappropriate web and e-mail usage is the second largest cause of reported security incidents”. The same report indicated that 52% of organisations have reported misuse of internet resources with the two most common being access to inappropriate websites (41%) and excessive web surfing (36%).
With child violence sites currently in the headlines as another example of undesirable web-content, Email Systems web filtering service allows customers to block internet access for specific sites, types of sites or users, whilst providing detailed real-time reporting.
Neil Hammerton, CEO of Email Systems commented: “Facebook is a growing concern for many of our customers, mainly because the site is so addictive and encourages constant, repeat usage throughout the day. Clearly many businesses have long considered webmail services to be a significant risk in terms of time, productivity and security – but Facebook is the latest incarnation to really get the industry stirred up.”
Source:www.securitypark.co.uk
Facebook Source Code Leaked to Internet
Social networking site says the leak didn't compromise user data.
The source code that powers the user interface for popular social networking site Facebook was inadvertently exposed over the weekend due to a misconfigured Web server.
The source code, which was posted Saturday to a blog called Facebook Secrets, was still posted Monday on the blog.
A spokeswoman for Facebook said in a statement e-mailed to Computerworld that "a small fraction of the code that displays Facebook Web pages was exposed to a small number of users" because of a misconfigured Web server that was fixed "immediately."
The incident was not a security breach "and did not compromise user data in any way," the spokeswoman said. "Because the code that was released only powers the Facebook [user interface], it offers no useful insight into the inner workings of Facebook," she added.
However, Pete Lindstrom, a senior security analyst at Burton Group, said that anytime source code is accidentally revealed, "there is potential for an increase in risk." He added that when a company dismisses the security implications of such an incident, there likely really are security issues.
"There are enough folks out there trolling the Web sites and pull that code who will be perfectly happy to try to identify vulnerable areas that could be exploited," Lindstrom said. "If you're release source code to the wild, you're going to have some level of increased risk associated with it. I can't think of a case where you wouldn't."
Nik Cubrilovic, a developer and contributor to TechCrunch, which originally reported the source code leak, blogged that the code could be used by outsiders to better understand how the Facebook application works. With that knowledge, Cubrilovic said, those outsiders can find additional security holes or bugs.
"From just this single page of source code, a lot can be said and extrapolated about the rest of the Facebook application and platform," he wrote. "At a quick glance, I know that I can see some obvious things in the code that both reveal certain hidden aspects of the platform and give a potential attacker a good head start.
"[Facebook] will also need to take some very quick short-term measures to mitigate the risk to users since you can bet that right this minute there are hundreds of potential attackers pouring through the leaked code and probing their systems," he added.
Source:www.pcworld.com
The source code that powers the user interface for popular social networking site Facebook was inadvertently exposed over the weekend due to a misconfigured Web server.
The source code, which was posted Saturday to a blog called Facebook Secrets, was still posted Monday on the blog.
A spokeswoman for Facebook said in a statement e-mailed to Computerworld that "a small fraction of the code that displays Facebook Web pages was exposed to a small number of users" because of a misconfigured Web server that was fixed "immediately."
The incident was not a security breach "and did not compromise user data in any way," the spokeswoman said. "Because the code that was released only powers the Facebook [user interface], it offers no useful insight into the inner workings of Facebook," she added.
However, Pete Lindstrom, a senior security analyst at Burton Group, said that anytime source code is accidentally revealed, "there is potential for an increase in risk." He added that when a company dismisses the security implications of such an incident, there likely really are security issues.
"There are enough folks out there trolling the Web sites and pull that code who will be perfectly happy to try to identify vulnerable areas that could be exploited," Lindstrom said. "If you're release source code to the wild, you're going to have some level of increased risk associated with it. I can't think of a case where you wouldn't."
Nik Cubrilovic, a developer and contributor to TechCrunch, which originally reported the source code leak, blogged that the code could be used by outsiders to better understand how the Facebook application works. With that knowledge, Cubrilovic said, those outsiders can find additional security holes or bugs.
"From just this single page of source code, a lot can be said and extrapolated about the rest of the Facebook application and platform," he wrote. "At a quick glance, I know that I can see some obvious things in the code that both reveal certain hidden aspects of the platform and give a potential attacker a good head start.
"[Facebook] will also need to take some very quick short-term measures to mitigate the risk to users since you can bet that right this minute there are hundreds of potential attackers pouring through the leaked code and probing their systems," he added.
Source:www.pcworld.com
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Orkut becomes 'media' popular social networking site
Pop singer Paris Hilton promoted her new music album 'Paris' on YouTube. Fashion brands, such Ralph Lauren, Gap, Victoria's Secret, Calvin Klein, Adidas and more are on YouTube connecting with the community through videos, commercials, behind-the-scenes, footage and fashion shows.
India is beginning to witness a similar trend, though it is at a very rudimentary stage. Orkut, a more popular social networking site, is attracting the attention of marketers. Naturally, brand advertising potential is huge. And some are already on board.
Meow 104.8 FM, the exclusive women FM station, is present on Orkut. Anil Srivatsa, COO, Radio Today, who also hosts Between the Sheets on Meow, enters into a discussion with the community and regularly updates audiences regarding his shows through Orkut. "It is an opportunity to engage with audiences, create a viral effect and spread the word about the brand," says Srivatsa.
Besides Orkut provides the ideal environment to promote a channel such as Meow, since it is positioned as a "talk format" radio station.
Srivatsa says he has made 700 friends in 30 days, and through those 700, he now reaches 2000 people. "Being on Orkut creates a buzz." Srivatsa hopes to have a meaningful business partnership with Orkut in the near future and is in talks with prospective advertisers.
Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults, says that social networking websites such as Orkut, YouTube, Fropper and Facebook give marketers a well profiled target audience. This is a golden opportunity for marketers, since traditional media is mostly mass, and one never knows if the money spent is actually leading to conversions.
"Segmentation allows the marketers to get close to its consumers, and therefore, targeting them is easier," says Bijoor
Research findings from JuxtConsult show enthusiasm amongst surfers to network. According to JuxtConsult's India Online 2007 survey communication, online networking is a hot trend, be it social or professional. Mrutyunjay, Director, JuxtConsult, says the popularity of social networking sites such as Orkut, Friends, Tagged, Fropper and Hi5 is a positive sign for Indian marketers.
For one, social networking sites are great way for spreading the word says Sachin Bhatia, co founder and chief marketing officer, MakeMyTrip.com. The travel portal is also present on Orkut.
"Users of social networks are a close-knit community, where opinions are trusted, or at least considered," Bhatia says. In fact, social networking sites can serve as great opportunities for the socially ostracized products such as cigarettes and liquor points out Bijoor.
But despite the potential of the medium, Indian marketers are sitting on the wall observes Bijoor. One worry is tampering of the content. Once the content is online, the brand owner has little control over the matter and could make the brand vulnerable.
Though there are technologies to prevent such a situation, marketers are in no hurry it seems. Another reason for the marketer's lack of enthusiasm is the size of social networkers. "It is small; just 11 million of the total of 30.23 million urban Internet users," says Mrutyunjay.
"Once these sites have the critical mass, marketers will begin to show interest," points out Bhatia of MakeMyTrip.com. On the other hand, Bhatia says that this is the best time to acquaint oneself with the medium, in terms of how best to exploit it in the future. MakeMyTrip has a two-member social networking team in place.
While social networking sites are yet to catch the fancy of advertisers, online communities of different brands such as sunsilkgangofgirls.com, Whisper's BeingGirl.co.in, ITC's website for Bingo Chips or Oktatabyebye.com, continue to get popular.
Source:www.televisionpoint.com
India is beginning to witness a similar trend, though it is at a very rudimentary stage. Orkut, a more popular social networking site, is attracting the attention of marketers. Naturally, brand advertising potential is huge. And some are already on board.
Meow 104.8 FM, the exclusive women FM station, is present on Orkut. Anil Srivatsa, COO, Radio Today, who also hosts Between the Sheets on Meow, enters into a discussion with the community and regularly updates audiences regarding his shows through Orkut. "It is an opportunity to engage with audiences, create a viral effect and spread the word about the brand," says Srivatsa.
Besides Orkut provides the ideal environment to promote a channel such as Meow, since it is positioned as a "talk format" radio station.
Srivatsa says he has made 700 friends in 30 days, and through those 700, he now reaches 2000 people. "Being on Orkut creates a buzz." Srivatsa hopes to have a meaningful business partnership with Orkut in the near future and is in talks with prospective advertisers.
Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults, says that social networking websites such as Orkut, YouTube, Fropper and Facebook give marketers a well profiled target audience. This is a golden opportunity for marketers, since traditional media is mostly mass, and one never knows if the money spent is actually leading to conversions.
"Segmentation allows the marketers to get close to its consumers, and therefore, targeting them is easier," says Bijoor
Research findings from JuxtConsult show enthusiasm amongst surfers to network. According to JuxtConsult's India Online 2007 survey communication, online networking is a hot trend, be it social or professional. Mrutyunjay, Director, JuxtConsult, says the popularity of social networking sites such as Orkut, Friends, Tagged, Fropper and Hi5 is a positive sign for Indian marketers.
For one, social networking sites are great way for spreading the word says Sachin Bhatia, co founder and chief marketing officer, MakeMyTrip.com. The travel portal is also present on Orkut.
"Users of social networks are a close-knit community, where opinions are trusted, or at least considered," Bhatia says. In fact, social networking sites can serve as great opportunities for the socially ostracized products such as cigarettes and liquor points out Bijoor.
But despite the potential of the medium, Indian marketers are sitting on the wall observes Bijoor. One worry is tampering of the content. Once the content is online, the brand owner has little control over the matter and could make the brand vulnerable.
Though there are technologies to prevent such a situation, marketers are in no hurry it seems. Another reason for the marketer's lack of enthusiasm is the size of social networkers. "It is small; just 11 million of the total of 30.23 million urban Internet users," says Mrutyunjay.
"Once these sites have the critical mass, marketers will begin to show interest," points out Bhatia of MakeMyTrip.com. On the other hand, Bhatia says that this is the best time to acquaint oneself with the medium, in terms of how best to exploit it in the future. MakeMyTrip has a two-member social networking team in place.
While social networking sites are yet to catch the fancy of advertisers, online communities of different brands such as sunsilkgangofgirls.com, Whisper's BeingGirl.co.in, ITC's website for Bingo Chips or Oktatabyebye.com, continue to get popular.
Source:www.televisionpoint.com
Social Studies: It's the Interface, Stupid!
A report reveals numerous flaws in popular social networking sites' design for user experience--but also some good processes.
Social networking is a booming medium for online communication, especially among young adults, and therefore a potential gold mine for marketers who can connect to its users. But a new report from Forrester Research shows that even the most popular sites put obstacles in the way of people who wish to sign up and become part of the social networking community--specifically lack of privacy information, poor text legibility, and inefficient task flows.
In the report, "Social Networking Sites Need A Usability Boost," Forrester applied a modified version of its Web-site review methodology to evaluate five social networks--Facebook, Friendster, hi5, MySpace, and Tagged--in terms of how easy it was for a new user to create a profile. Ratings for each of 10 criteria range from -2 (severe failure) to +2 (best practices), leaving a final score between -20 and +20, with +10 considered a passing grade. None of the five sites achieved higher than +4 (Facebook), and the lowest was -5 (Friendster).
According to Forrester, the notable failure points included:
* Lack of privacy and security policies. Four out of the five sites failed to present links to privacy and security policies in context when asking users to provide personal information.
* Text that was difficult to read. Three out of the five sites failed to provide easily readable content and field labels.
* Inefficient task flows. Friendster and Tagged exhibited awkward sign-up processes, with Tagged achieving a severe failure score in this area. Tagged required the user to add contacts to the new profile from a personal email account, and pushed for additional personal information like home address and phone number.
* Poor error recovery. Tagged, Facebook, and MySpace all failed to present users with clear error messages that might have helped correct mistakes. Facebook and MySpace presented error messages on registration forms one at a time, forcing users through multiple attempts at submitting their information.
"Customer experience executives and site managers at social networks should take these scores to heart," writes report author Bruce Temkin, vice president and principal analyst for customer experience at Forrester. "While Gen Y consumers might enjoy fun experiences and seek out entertainment more than their elders, young adults want sites that are, first and foremost, easy to use."
Temkin says that there are two components to consider when discussing social networking sites' usability: the immersive experience and the directed experience. "The immersive experience is the reason people, especially kids, spend so much time on social networking sites," he says. In the Forrester paper, he writes, "For young adults, using social networking sites like Friendster and MySpace isn't just another activity to do online--for many, it is their life online. This is because their friends form the central point of their social networking activities, which revolve around communicating--and not media consumption."
The directed experience, on the other hand, is "using social networking for an explicit goal, like finding a friend who knows somebody in the Boston area who works for Microsoft and can get me a job," Temkin says. "A directed goal, like setting up a user profile, is basic to the function of social networking, and it's easier to apply standards and metrics to understand it."
Despite the overall negative evaluation Forrester levied on the social networking sites in its study, a handful of good scores emerged in individual criteria--at least for Facebook, which achieved the study's only four "+2" scores in the following categories:
* Are essential content and function given priority on the page?
* Does text formatting and layout support easy scanning?
* Are form fields and interactive elements placed logically on the page?
* Does site functionality provide clear feedback in response to user actions?
These lessons--both good and bad--can and should be taken to heart for professional communications as well. "According to TechCrunch, it's only a matter of time before Facebook meets the market need and improves its 'relationship' features and becomes more of a business platform," writes Paul Greenberg, author of the book CRM at the Speed of Light, on his blog, "PGreenblog." "What I find interesting is the anecdotal evidence supporting this. I find myself communicating with my business contacts more frequently with Facebook and, more importantly, they answer me a lot faster than either via email or via LinkedIn."
Greenberg also writes that he has "almost [four times] as many contacts on LinkedIn as I do on Facebook, but Facebook seems to do the most important 'business thing' for relationships better--break down the barriers so that the conversations are human. And that is a priceless business benefit."
Source:www.destinationcrm.com
Social networking is a booming medium for online communication, especially among young adults, and therefore a potential gold mine for marketers who can connect to its users. But a new report from Forrester Research shows that even the most popular sites put obstacles in the way of people who wish to sign up and become part of the social networking community--specifically lack of privacy information, poor text legibility, and inefficient task flows.
In the report, "Social Networking Sites Need A Usability Boost," Forrester applied a modified version of its Web-site review methodology to evaluate five social networks--Facebook, Friendster, hi5, MySpace, and Tagged--in terms of how easy it was for a new user to create a profile. Ratings for each of 10 criteria range from -2 (severe failure) to +2 (best practices), leaving a final score between -20 and +20, with +10 considered a passing grade. None of the five sites achieved higher than +4 (Facebook), and the lowest was -5 (Friendster).
According to Forrester, the notable failure points included:
* Lack of privacy and security policies. Four out of the five sites failed to present links to privacy and security policies in context when asking users to provide personal information.
* Text that was difficult to read. Three out of the five sites failed to provide easily readable content and field labels.
* Inefficient task flows. Friendster and Tagged exhibited awkward sign-up processes, with Tagged achieving a severe failure score in this area. Tagged required the user to add contacts to the new profile from a personal email account, and pushed for additional personal information like home address and phone number.
* Poor error recovery. Tagged, Facebook, and MySpace all failed to present users with clear error messages that might have helped correct mistakes. Facebook and MySpace presented error messages on registration forms one at a time, forcing users through multiple attempts at submitting their information.
"Customer experience executives and site managers at social networks should take these scores to heart," writes report author Bruce Temkin, vice president and principal analyst for customer experience at Forrester. "While Gen Y consumers might enjoy fun experiences and seek out entertainment more than their elders, young adults want sites that are, first and foremost, easy to use."
Temkin says that there are two components to consider when discussing social networking sites' usability: the immersive experience and the directed experience. "The immersive experience is the reason people, especially kids, spend so much time on social networking sites," he says. In the Forrester paper, he writes, "For young adults, using social networking sites like Friendster and MySpace isn't just another activity to do online--for many, it is their life online. This is because their friends form the central point of their social networking activities, which revolve around communicating--and not media consumption."
The directed experience, on the other hand, is "using social networking for an explicit goal, like finding a friend who knows somebody in the Boston area who works for Microsoft and can get me a job," Temkin says. "A directed goal, like setting up a user profile, is basic to the function of social networking, and it's easier to apply standards and metrics to understand it."
Despite the overall negative evaluation Forrester levied on the social networking sites in its study, a handful of good scores emerged in individual criteria--at least for Facebook, which achieved the study's only four "+2" scores in the following categories:
* Are essential content and function given priority on the page?
* Does text formatting and layout support easy scanning?
* Are form fields and interactive elements placed logically on the page?
* Does site functionality provide clear feedback in response to user actions?
These lessons--both good and bad--can and should be taken to heart for professional communications as well. "According to TechCrunch, it's only a matter of time before Facebook meets the market need and improves its 'relationship' features and becomes more of a business platform," writes Paul Greenberg, author of the book CRM at the Speed of Light, on his blog, "PGreenblog." "What I find interesting is the anecdotal evidence supporting this. I find myself communicating with my business contacts more frequently with Facebook and, more importantly, they answer me a lot faster than either via email or via LinkedIn."
Greenberg also writes that he has "almost [four times] as many contacts on LinkedIn as I do on Facebook, but Facebook seems to do the most important 'business thing' for relationships better--break down the barriers so that the conversations are human. And that is a priceless business benefit."
Source:www.destinationcrm.com
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Education 2.0: The Best Social Networks for Students
Back when your parents were in school, they actually had to initiate in-person conversations if they wanted a social life. Of course, that was when they weren't walking two miles to school, in the snow, uphill -- both ways.
You pesky kids have it so easy these days with your darn social networks!
Online social networks have certainly made it easier to make -- and stay in touch with -- school friends. Whether you're trying to get back in touch with an old school posse, or looking for a new one, the process is less risky and can often be more fruitful when it happens online. And it can help you find the right group, too. Why be alone this fall when you could be getting together with fellow members of the "Emo Is The New Rad" group on Bebo?
But no matter how big of a slacker you are, you surely won't have time for all the social networks out there. No worries. There is no need to pledge allegiance to just one. At last year's Web 2.0 Summit, Marc Canter, chief executive officer for Broadband Mechanics, estimated that the average user is an active member of five social networks.
So if you're going to choose five, you might as well be judicious in your selection. Here are Wired News' top picks.
MySpace
Despite a reputation for being trashy, ugly and over-hyped, MySpace is still the largest social network out there. In June, the site claimed 70 million active users, with one in four Americans having logged in at some point. Teenage members dominate the site, which is why MySpace has the unfortunate reputation of being a breeding ground for pedophiles. Forrester Research reports that 80 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds use MySpace weekly.
WIRED This year MySpace added a page for the 2008 presidential candidates, as well as a MySpace News page, which could be helpful for your history courses.
TIRED It's doubtful that its users will ever take MySpace that seriously. A quick browse through the site will leave you with more hoochie mamas than you'll ever have time for.
Facebook
Even though Facebook started out for students only, more than half of the site's users are out of college, meaning your membership should still be useful after graduation. Currently, the site has 47,000 regional, collegiate and high school groups populated by 31 million active users. In preparation for the inevitable roommate clash, don't forget to join CouchSwap, a new travel application made specifically for Facebook. It lets you offer, find and rate couches to crash on. Perfect for the urban nomads of the world!
WIRED Within university groups, there are subgroups organized by dorms, colleges, hobbies, food affiliations, political opinion, you name it. If you can't find friends within your groups of interest, your keyboard may not be plugged in.
TIRED As Facebook grows, so does the number of random groups that seem to have no application for your real social life. Unless you really do want to meet other Rubik's cube enthusiasts.
LinkedIn
There is nothing cute or sexy about LinkedIn, but when it comes time to wean yourself from the parentals, you'll be thankful for this more business-oriented network. LinkedIn has over 12.5 million users and is growing at a rate of approximately 200,000 per week. Think LinkedIn is too uncool if you're still in school? Guess again: "Students can use LinkedIn to find mentors and to perform research," said Kay Luo, a spokesperson for LinkedIn. "It's a great place to find industry contacts for research papers and case studies. It's wise to establish relationships and maintain your network before you need it."
WIRED Nearly half of LinkedIn's users are over 34, meaning they have the money and power to get you a job.
TIRED Once you make useful contacts, what do you do with them? You can't share much content on LinkedIn beyond a souped-up resume, so be sure you get real contact information along with your introductions. Then invite your new contacts to Facebook -- it'll make them feel young and hip.
Bebo
When you're ready to network outside of the United States, Bebo is a good place to start. It is the third-largest social network in the space, with the majority of its users in the U.K.
WIRED Bebo is great for music lovers: The site links directly to iTunes music. Bebo Bands, which launched in July 2006, is the home of over 20,000 group and artist profiles.
TIRED It isn't that easy to find friends. Bebo will search through your address book for people you already know, but finding new friends by location or interest is not that easy if you don't join groups.
Hi5
Another way to make friends beyond the 50 states is hi5, a social network with over 60 million registered members. "Since members post photos and content about themselves, new students can get to know each other better using hi5," said Ramu Yalamanchi, chief executive officer for hi5. "They can also stay in touch and see how summer break was spent." The site is the number one social-networking location in Mexico, South America and Central America. Yalamanchi said 30 percent of hi5 members are from Europe, 25 percent from hispanohablantes, or Spanish speaking markets, and 23 percent from North America.
WIRED Most hi5ers are between 15 to 25 years old, making it useful for back-to-school time.
TIRED If you don't habla Español, hi5 may not be for you.
Friendster
Poor Friendster has a bit of a social-network-that-was reputation, but it still has over 47 million users in 75 countries. It may not dominate the American social-networking market but it has a strong international presence. The site had 9.5 billion page views in June, with the average user staying online for 208 minutes.
"In the back-to-school period, it kicks into overdrive," said Jeff Roberto, a spokesperson for Friendster. "On the homepage, you can add up to three schools and three colleges to your profile. Every time you add a school, we go and find the same people that went to that school during the same years and pull all those profiles to you so that you can discover new people and new content relevant to your school."
Since Friendster requires users be at least 16 to sign up, it is less useful for high school students than for college and post-college students.
WIRED School-centric profile searches makes it easy to find new friends at your new school -- or old friends at your old school.
TIRED Users in the United States tend to use Friendster less for communication, and more for simply posting updates about themselves and their friends. Comments are more of an ode to your friends than an actual timely message.
Craigslist
If all else fails, there's always craigslist. Lonely? You can post a personal this morning and get a couple dozen come-ons from strangers by this afternoon. Plus, you can also use the site to find activist groups, arts events, theater companies desperate for your juggling skills or that single-speed Bianchi you've been craving.
WIRED No photos, songs, blogs, friends, recommendations, pokes, walls, groups, videos, widgets or background graphics to distract you.
TIRED No photos, songs, blogs, friends, recommendations, pokes, walls, groups, videos, widgets or background graphics to entertain you.
Source:www.wired.com
You pesky kids have it so easy these days with your darn social networks!
Online social networks have certainly made it easier to make -- and stay in touch with -- school friends. Whether you're trying to get back in touch with an old school posse, or looking for a new one, the process is less risky and can often be more fruitful when it happens online. And it can help you find the right group, too. Why be alone this fall when you could be getting together with fellow members of the "Emo Is The New Rad" group on Bebo?
But no matter how big of a slacker you are, you surely won't have time for all the social networks out there. No worries. There is no need to pledge allegiance to just one. At last year's Web 2.0 Summit, Marc Canter, chief executive officer for Broadband Mechanics, estimated that the average user is an active member of five social networks.
So if you're going to choose five, you might as well be judicious in your selection. Here are Wired News' top picks.
MySpace
Despite a reputation for being trashy, ugly and over-hyped, MySpace is still the largest social network out there. In June, the site claimed 70 million active users, with one in four Americans having logged in at some point. Teenage members dominate the site, which is why MySpace has the unfortunate reputation of being a breeding ground for pedophiles. Forrester Research reports that 80 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds use MySpace weekly.
WIRED This year MySpace added a page for the 2008 presidential candidates, as well as a MySpace News page, which could be helpful for your history courses.
TIRED It's doubtful that its users will ever take MySpace that seriously. A quick browse through the site will leave you with more hoochie mamas than you'll ever have time for.
Even though Facebook started out for students only, more than half of the site's users are out of college, meaning your membership should still be useful after graduation. Currently, the site has 47,000 regional, collegiate and high school groups populated by 31 million active users. In preparation for the inevitable roommate clash, don't forget to join CouchSwap, a new travel application made specifically for Facebook. It lets you offer, find and rate couches to crash on. Perfect for the urban nomads of the world!
WIRED Within university groups, there are subgroups organized by dorms, colleges, hobbies, food affiliations, political opinion, you name it. If you can't find friends within your groups of interest, your keyboard may not be plugged in.
TIRED As Facebook grows, so does the number of random groups that seem to have no application for your real social life. Unless you really do want to meet other Rubik's cube enthusiasts.
There is nothing cute or sexy about LinkedIn, but when it comes time to wean yourself from the parentals, you'll be thankful for this more business-oriented network. LinkedIn has over 12.5 million users and is growing at a rate of approximately 200,000 per week. Think LinkedIn is too uncool if you're still in school? Guess again: "Students can use LinkedIn to find mentors and to perform research," said Kay Luo, a spokesperson for LinkedIn. "It's a great place to find industry contacts for research papers and case studies. It's wise to establish relationships and maintain your network before you need it."
WIRED Nearly half of LinkedIn's users are over 34, meaning they have the money and power to get you a job.
TIRED Once you make useful contacts, what do you do with them? You can't share much content on LinkedIn beyond a souped-up resume, so be sure you get real contact information along with your introductions. Then invite your new contacts to Facebook -- it'll make them feel young and hip.
Bebo
When you're ready to network outside of the United States, Bebo is a good place to start. It is the third-largest social network in the space, with the majority of its users in the U.K.
WIRED Bebo is great for music lovers: The site links directly to iTunes music. Bebo Bands, which launched in July 2006, is the home of over 20,000 group and artist profiles.
TIRED It isn't that easy to find friends. Bebo will search through your address book for people you already know, but finding new friends by location or interest is not that easy if you don't join groups.
Hi5
Another way to make friends beyond the 50 states is hi5, a social network with over 60 million registered members. "Since members post photos and content about themselves, new students can get to know each other better using hi5," said Ramu Yalamanchi, chief executive officer for hi5. "They can also stay in touch and see how summer break was spent." The site is the number one social-networking location in Mexico, South America and Central America. Yalamanchi said 30 percent of hi5 members are from Europe, 25 percent from hispanohablantes, or Spanish speaking markets, and 23 percent from North America.
WIRED Most hi5ers are between 15 to 25 years old, making it useful for back-to-school time.
TIRED If you don't habla Español, hi5 may not be for you.
Friendster
Poor Friendster has a bit of a social-network-that-was reputation, but it still has over 47 million users in 75 countries. It may not dominate the American social-networking market but it has a strong international presence. The site had 9.5 billion page views in June, with the average user staying online for 208 minutes.
"In the back-to-school period, it kicks into overdrive," said Jeff Roberto, a spokesperson for Friendster. "On the homepage, you can add up to three schools and three colleges to your profile. Every time you add a school, we go and find the same people that went to that school during the same years and pull all those profiles to you so that you can discover new people and new content relevant to your school."
Since Friendster requires users be at least 16 to sign up, it is less useful for high school students than for college and post-college students.
WIRED School-centric profile searches makes it easy to find new friends at your new school -- or old friends at your old school.
TIRED Users in the United States tend to use Friendster less for communication, and more for simply posting updates about themselves and their friends. Comments are more of an ode to your friends than an actual timely message.
Craigslist
If all else fails, there's always craigslist. Lonely? You can post a personal this morning and get a couple dozen come-ons from strangers by this afternoon. Plus, you can also use the site to find activist groups, arts events, theater companies desperate for your juggling skills or that single-speed Bianchi you've been craving.
WIRED No photos, songs, blogs, friends, recommendations, pokes, walls, groups, videos, widgets or background graphics to distract you.
TIRED No photos, songs, blogs, friends, recommendations, pokes, walls, groups, videos, widgets or background graphics to entertain you.
Source:www.wired.com
Wired: A Social Network Primer
Here's a good quick read from Wired for the social networking uninitiated and newbies alike. Natalie Del Conte takes a thumbnail look at Wired News' top social network picks: MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, Hi5, Craigslist, LinkedIn, and Friendster.
• MySpace gets props for its 2008 presidential candidates page and news page, though "it's doubtful that its users will ever take MySpace that seriously."
• Since half of Facebook's users are out of college, it will remain useful for connecting with friends long after college is over.
• Nearly half of LinkedIn's members are over 34, so they are in a position to hire you when you need a job. Once you make contact with them, Del Conte recommends that you "invite your new contacts to Facebook—it'll make them feel young and hip."
• Bebo is for music lovers, Friendster still has 47 million users in 75 countries despite its rep as a has-been social network, and Hi5 is the number-one social network in Mexico, South America, and Central America.
Source:www.yahoo.com
• MySpace gets props for its 2008 presidential candidates page and news page, though "it's doubtful that its users will ever take MySpace that seriously."
• Since half of Facebook's users are out of college, it will remain useful for connecting with friends long after college is over.
• Nearly half of LinkedIn's members are over 34, so they are in a position to hire you when you need a job. Once you make contact with them, Del Conte recommends that you "invite your new contacts to Facebook—it'll make them feel young and hip."
• Bebo is for music lovers, Friendster still has 47 million users in 75 countries despite its rep as a has-been social network, and Hi5 is the number-one social network in Mexico, South America, and Central America.
Source:www.yahoo.com
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Zamano in strategic link-up with Bebo
Irish consumer-focused mobile software company Zamano has developed a new mobile video messaging widget for Bebo users and has confirmed that it is investigating strategic deals with other social networking players, including MySpace and Facebook. “Our angle on it is that we think there’s a great need now to build on the confluence between mobile and fixed line,” explained John O’Shea, chief executive of the AIM-listed company.
“Most people spend time online but would like to stay in contact with their social networks when they’re away from the desk, and the mobile phone is the way to do that. We are investing in creating linkages with social networking sites.
“We’ve developed a widget you can download on to a Bebo profile and you can send and receive video, voice and text messages. It’s beginning to be as popular as text messaging.
“It’s the next step forward and people are leaving video messages all the time. It’s a free upgrade to a widget that more than 20,000 people are using. They can leave a video or voice mail on your Bebo page. The future development will see them be able to leave these messages on your mobile,” O’Shea explained.
O’Shea said the ability to leave Bebo voice and video messages on mobiles is currently being held up by high data costs among mobile operators. “But from what we’re seeing Irish mobile operators are following the lead of UK operators and are reducing the costs of mobile data. Soon people won’t have to think too much about their WAP usage on handsets.
“They will soon be spending lots of time browsing on their handsets without fretting about costs.”
O’Shea described Zamano’s relationship with Bebo as a commercial relationship whereby Zamano’s activity helps to drive advertising to its site. “The widgets we develop cost only €2 to buy as well as revenue from premium SMS traffic that is generated.”
O’Shea concluded by confirming that Zamano is investigating similar arrangements with social networking sites MySpace, YouTube and Facebook.
On Friday Zamano reported strong trading and expects to report approximately 15pc EBITDA growth for H1 2007 versus the same period last year. EBITDA in H2 2007 will benefit from a full six months’ contribution from the successful integration of mobile firm Eirborne, which is performing ahead of expectations.
Source:www.siliconrepublic.com
“Most people spend time online but would like to stay in contact with their social networks when they’re away from the desk, and the mobile phone is the way to do that. We are investing in creating linkages with social networking sites.
“We’ve developed a widget you can download on to a Bebo profile and you can send and receive video, voice and text messages. It’s beginning to be as popular as text messaging.
“It’s the next step forward and people are leaving video messages all the time. It’s a free upgrade to a widget that more than 20,000 people are using. They can leave a video or voice mail on your Bebo page. The future development will see them be able to leave these messages on your mobile,” O’Shea explained.
O’Shea said the ability to leave Bebo voice and video messages on mobiles is currently being held up by high data costs among mobile operators. “But from what we’re seeing Irish mobile operators are following the lead of UK operators and are reducing the costs of mobile data. Soon people won’t have to think too much about their WAP usage on handsets.
“They will soon be spending lots of time browsing on their handsets without fretting about costs.”
O’Shea described Zamano’s relationship with Bebo as a commercial relationship whereby Zamano’s activity helps to drive advertising to its site. “The widgets we develop cost only €2 to buy as well as revenue from premium SMS traffic that is generated.”
O’Shea concluded by confirming that Zamano is investigating similar arrangements with social networking sites MySpace, YouTube and Facebook.
On Friday Zamano reported strong trading and expects to report approximately 15pc EBITDA growth for H1 2007 versus the same period last year. EBITDA in H2 2007 will benefit from a full six months’ contribution from the successful integration of mobile firm Eirborne, which is performing ahead of expectations.
Source:www.siliconrepublic.com
The global face of social networking
A new report from comScore reveals that several of the major social networking sites have experienced dramatic growth over the past year, and the trend is global.
Social networking continues to rise in popularity with Internet users across the globe. Recent figures released by comScore reveal huge rises in the number of visitors to the largest of the social networks. What was once considered a fad now attracts audiences that put it in the mainstream.
"Typically we see that, whenever that happens, advertisers will follow the eyeballs,” said comScore’s EVP Jack Flanagan, via Clickz.
Tagged.com experienced the highest rate of growth, up 774 percent, visitors rose from 1,506 last June, to 13,167 this June. During the same period Facebook achieved a 270 percent growth rate, Bebo 172 percent and MySpace 72 percent. MySpace attracted almost 114 million visitors during June, 2007.
The popularity of a social networking site appears to be dependent on the audience's geographic region. Both MySpace and Facebook attract predominately North American audiences, around two-thirds according to comScore.
Bebo is the choice of European social networkers with 63 percent of its users coming from that region and Friendster attracts 89 percent of its audience from Asia-Pacific.
Orkut is the darling of users in the Asia-Pacific and Latin American countries, according to the report.
"Literally hundreds of millions of people around the world are visiting social networking sites each month and many are doing so on a daily basis," said Bob Ivins, ComScore’s EVP of international markets.
"It would appear that social networking is not a fad but rather an activity that is being woven into the very fabric of the global internet," added Ivins.
Source:www.bizreport.com
Social networking continues to rise in popularity with Internet users across the globe. Recent figures released by comScore reveal huge rises in the number of visitors to the largest of the social networks. What was once considered a fad now attracts audiences that put it in the mainstream.
"Typically we see that, whenever that happens, advertisers will follow the eyeballs,” said comScore’s EVP Jack Flanagan, via Clickz.
Tagged.com experienced the highest rate of growth, up 774 percent, visitors rose from 1,506 last June, to 13,167 this June. During the same period Facebook achieved a 270 percent growth rate, Bebo 172 percent and MySpace 72 percent. MySpace attracted almost 114 million visitors during June, 2007.
The popularity of a social networking site appears to be dependent on the audience's geographic region. Both MySpace and Facebook attract predominately North American audiences, around two-thirds according to comScore.
Bebo is the choice of European social networkers with 63 percent of its users coming from that region and Friendster attracts 89 percent of its audience from Asia-Pacific.
Orkut is the darling of users in the Asia-Pacific and Latin American countries, according to the report.
"Literally hundreds of millions of people around the world are visiting social networking sites each month and many are doing so on a daily basis," said Bob Ivins, ComScore’s EVP of international markets.
"It would appear that social networking is not a fad but rather an activity that is being woven into the very fabric of the global internet," added Ivins.
Source:www.bizreport.com
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Social networks: what goes out, what goes in
“Social Networking 3.0″ was on the agenda this afternoon at the AlwaysOn Stanford Summit. This one was a “must watch” for me, as will be Dan Farber’s later today on “The Democratization of Media.” You can follow along with the conference’s live Webcast here.
Moderator Charlene Li, senior analyst for Forrester Research, was joined by Travis Katz, senior vice president and general manager of MySpace International; Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Facebook; Rich Rosenblatt, CEO of Demand Media and former MySpace executive; Gina Bianchini, CEO of Ning; and Karl Jacob, CEO of Wallop. Dan blogged the panel on Between the Lines, and as he writes most of the discussion focused the future of social networks. I was most interested in the comments concerning social networks and identity, attention, and intellectual property.
On the identity front, Charlene Li stated the truism that maintaining identities across different social networks is “a pain,” and wondered when the social networks we see today will become more open. Facebook’s Dustin Moskovitz recognized that portable identities are necessary, but didn’t go into particulars of how Facebook is or will be addressing this. Rich Rosenblatt said they talk internally at Demand Media about “the portable profile,” and says Demand Media is working on letting users log in with a single profile then select from a mix of options as to where they want to be. (My impression was he was not talking about navigating out of the Demand Media environment.) MySpace’s Travis Katz is interested by the notion of OpenID and a single, portable identity, but thinks it’s “complicated” to make it happen. And Gina Bianchini challenged the notion that social networking users want a single, inflexible identity to follow them around: “Your wakeboarding social network is fundamentally different from your independent journalist one. People in the real world have different sides of themselves that they show to different groups, different people, different communities.” She makes a good point, and I think the digital identity community is on top of that nuance. (Though Tantek Çelik Twittered me to ask about their plans, if any, for using microformats as an open portability standard, sadly I didn’t get the nod from the microphone handler.)
On the attention front, in response to the question “Where’s the money going to come from?” the panelists answered with nearly a single voice: targeted advertising. But transactions based on user desires and intentions are on the radar as well:
Travis Katz: the advertising model on social networks is going to be here a long time. Other models will probably emerge too. MySpace is looking at ecommerce models. You always feel better buying from a trusted source. When you talk about transactions between individuals, there’s a commerce opportunity there too.
Karl Jacob: Wallop is all transaction, no advertising. We believe there’s a world down the road where you buy the things you need to dress up your profile and the applications you want to use. Akin to the ringtone market.
Gina Bianchini: If I had to choose between the ringtone market and targeted advertising, I’d choose targeted advertising. There’s a huge opportunity to bring what is happening with AdWords into social networks. If you take a monetization model that’s working today and generating significant amounts of money, and apply it to a market that is only going to get bigger and more sophisticated as far as targeted advertising, it gets very interesting.
Finally, on the subject of intellectual property, when asked what was missing from the social networking ecosystem and what he would invest in if given the opportunity, Rich Rosenblatt commented on the need for what I would call a “third estate” of media: outside the copyright and use limitations of the products of the big studios, labels, and publishing houses, and yet a step above one person’s photos, films, etc. made primarily for personal use. A class of media produced and designed for Web distribution. Gina Bianchini challenged the notion that “amateur” media can’t comprise this third estate:
Rich Rosenblatt: We’d like to see more content actually made for the Internet. There are two layers of content. Studio generated (lots of trouble and fighting there), and user generated but not usable (one guy’s photos of himself). We’d like to see content that more than a few people want to see.
Gina Bianchini: I would argue that that’s happening today. On YouTube some of that gets lost in the crowd, but put it in a community of really interested people, and it’s very powerful.
Rich Rosenblatt, to Gina: But if you could buy wakeboarding content for your wakeboarding social network, wouldn’t that be great?
Gina Bianchini: From my perspective, one of the benefits of social networks is you and your friends can watch your own stuff. Another benefit is the good stuff rises to the top. I would rather have the material be truly user generated.
Karl Wallop: the good content and the good applications will all come from the current and up and coming generations of users.
Source:http://blogs.zdnet.com
Moderator Charlene Li, senior analyst for Forrester Research, was joined by Travis Katz, senior vice president and general manager of MySpace International; Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Facebook; Rich Rosenblatt, CEO of Demand Media and former MySpace executive; Gina Bianchini, CEO of Ning; and Karl Jacob, CEO of Wallop. Dan blogged the panel on Between the Lines, and as he writes most of the discussion focused the future of social networks. I was most interested in the comments concerning social networks and identity, attention, and intellectual property.
On the identity front, Charlene Li stated the truism that maintaining identities across different social networks is “a pain,” and wondered when the social networks we see today will become more open. Facebook’s Dustin Moskovitz recognized that portable identities are necessary, but didn’t go into particulars of how Facebook is or will be addressing this. Rich Rosenblatt said they talk internally at Demand Media about “the portable profile,” and says Demand Media is working on letting users log in with a single profile then select from a mix of options as to where they want to be. (My impression was he was not talking about navigating out of the Demand Media environment.) MySpace’s Travis Katz is interested by the notion of OpenID and a single, portable identity, but thinks it’s “complicated” to make it happen. And Gina Bianchini challenged the notion that social networking users want a single, inflexible identity to follow them around: “Your wakeboarding social network is fundamentally different from your independent journalist one. People in the real world have different sides of themselves that they show to different groups, different people, different communities.” She makes a good point, and I think the digital identity community is on top of that nuance. (Though Tantek Çelik Twittered me to ask about their plans, if any, for using microformats as an open portability standard, sadly I didn’t get the nod from the microphone handler.)
On the attention front, in response to the question “Where’s the money going to come from?” the panelists answered with nearly a single voice: targeted advertising. But transactions based on user desires and intentions are on the radar as well:
Travis Katz: the advertising model on social networks is going to be here a long time. Other models will probably emerge too. MySpace is looking at ecommerce models. You always feel better buying from a trusted source. When you talk about transactions between individuals, there’s a commerce opportunity there too.
Karl Jacob: Wallop is all transaction, no advertising. We believe there’s a world down the road where you buy the things you need to dress up your profile and the applications you want to use. Akin to the ringtone market.
Gina Bianchini: If I had to choose between the ringtone market and targeted advertising, I’d choose targeted advertising. There’s a huge opportunity to bring what is happening with AdWords into social networks. If you take a monetization model that’s working today and generating significant amounts of money, and apply it to a market that is only going to get bigger and more sophisticated as far as targeted advertising, it gets very interesting.
Finally, on the subject of intellectual property, when asked what was missing from the social networking ecosystem and what he would invest in if given the opportunity, Rich Rosenblatt commented on the need for what I would call a “third estate” of media: outside the copyright and use limitations of the products of the big studios, labels, and publishing houses, and yet a step above one person’s photos, films, etc. made primarily for personal use. A class of media produced and designed for Web distribution. Gina Bianchini challenged the notion that “amateur” media can’t comprise this third estate:
Rich Rosenblatt: We’d like to see more content actually made for the Internet. There are two layers of content. Studio generated (lots of trouble and fighting there), and user generated but not usable (one guy’s photos of himself). We’d like to see content that more than a few people want to see.
Gina Bianchini: I would argue that that’s happening today. On YouTube some of that gets lost in the crowd, but put it in a community of really interested people, and it’s very powerful.
Rich Rosenblatt, to Gina: But if you could buy wakeboarding content for your wakeboarding social network, wouldn’t that be great?
Gina Bianchini: From my perspective, one of the benefits of social networks is you and your friends can watch your own stuff. Another benefit is the good stuff rises to the top. I would rather have the material be truly user generated.
Karl Wallop: the good content and the good applications will all come from the current and up and coming generations of users.
Source:http://blogs.zdnet.com
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Facebook continues its rise, but not in Asia
A regional breakdown of social networking sites shows how hard the major players will have to work to catch 'copycat' sites in China
Facebook has continued its inexorable rise as the social networking site of the moment, but questions remain about its ability to tap the Asian market, where other sites are significantly more popular.
Facebook's audience grew by more than 270 per cent to 52.2 million users in the 12 months to June – far outpacing the increase at Bebo (a rise of 172 per cent to 18.2 million) and MySpace, which grew by 72 per cent to 114.1 million.
But a breakdown of the sites' users by region shows that just 7.1 per cent of Facebook's audience, or 3.7 million people, is in the Asia Pacific, whereas Friendster has 21.9 million members in the region, according to comScore.
More than two thirds of Facebook's audience is in the US and Canada, with 17 per cent in Europe. MySpace has 62 per cent of its users in North America and 25 per cent in Europe.
By comparison Friendster, a site which, like Facebook, is based on finding old friends and building a network of people, now has 24.7 million unique users, 89 per cent of which are in the Asia Pacific.
A spokesman for comScore said Friendster's strong performance in the region was largely due to its popularity in Malaysia, where the site has set up tie-ins with local pop singers.
"Paying attention to the subtleties of each country is absolutely critical for these sites," Bob Ivins, vice president of international markets at comScore, said. "It's a problem any multi-national company faces. Just because you've got a strong brand in one country doesn't mean you'll succeed in others."
Rebecca Jennings, an analyst at Forrester, said that there were significant difference in the way countries adapted to social networking, and the success of sites often depended on how well they catered to local needs.
"Obviously in China and Japan, part of the problem is language and question for Facebook is: do you launch a local language site?" she said.
"Germany has not taken particularly well to social networking, because people there are less willing to sign up for those types of services. In Brazil, however, where the culture is much more about how many friends you have, they're huge, and Orkut, a site which tailors to those needs, is doing very well there."
An additional problem for companies considering the Chinese market was the propensity for authorities to control the use of the internet, which has led many to focus their energies elsewhere, she said.
MySpace has launched a 'beta site' in China – owned and operated by a Chinese company – and the company has also introduced a site in Japan, as has YouTube.
Facebook is yet to launch an Asian-language site.
Earlier this month, Tudou.com, a site similar to YouTube on which 40 million Chinese users watch an estimated 1.2 billion videos a month, announced it had secured $19 million (£9.4) in venture capital funding and would start selling ads.
Other sites to have entered the video-sharing space in China include www.mofile.com, www.5show.com, and www.56.com.
Last year, one of the largest college-based networking sites in China, www.xiaonei.com, was acquired by Oak Pacific, a Chinese company backed by US venture capital firms. According to Venturebeat.com, the site will merge with Oak Pacific's own networking site, 5Q, to form "a giant Facebook copycat."
Source:http://technology.timesonline.co.uk
Facebook has continued its inexorable rise as the social networking site of the moment, but questions remain about its ability to tap the Asian market, where other sites are significantly more popular.
Facebook's audience grew by more than 270 per cent to 52.2 million users in the 12 months to June – far outpacing the increase at Bebo (a rise of 172 per cent to 18.2 million) and MySpace, which grew by 72 per cent to 114.1 million.
But a breakdown of the sites' users by region shows that just 7.1 per cent of Facebook's audience, or 3.7 million people, is in the Asia Pacific, whereas Friendster has 21.9 million members in the region, according to comScore.
More than two thirds of Facebook's audience is in the US and Canada, with 17 per cent in Europe. MySpace has 62 per cent of its users in North America and 25 per cent in Europe.
By comparison Friendster, a site which, like Facebook, is based on finding old friends and building a network of people, now has 24.7 million unique users, 89 per cent of which are in the Asia Pacific.
A spokesman for comScore said Friendster's strong performance in the region was largely due to its popularity in Malaysia, where the site has set up tie-ins with local pop singers.
"Paying attention to the subtleties of each country is absolutely critical for these sites," Bob Ivins, vice president of international markets at comScore, said. "It's a problem any multi-national company faces. Just because you've got a strong brand in one country doesn't mean you'll succeed in others."
Rebecca Jennings, an analyst at Forrester, said that there were significant difference in the way countries adapted to social networking, and the success of sites often depended on how well they catered to local needs.
"Obviously in China and Japan, part of the problem is language and question for Facebook is: do you launch a local language site?" she said.
"Germany has not taken particularly well to social networking, because people there are less willing to sign up for those types of services. In Brazil, however, where the culture is much more about how many friends you have, they're huge, and Orkut, a site which tailors to those needs, is doing very well there."
An additional problem for companies considering the Chinese market was the propensity for authorities to control the use of the internet, which has led many to focus their energies elsewhere, she said.
MySpace has launched a 'beta site' in China – owned and operated by a Chinese company – and the company has also introduced a site in Japan, as has YouTube.
Facebook is yet to launch an Asian-language site.
Earlier this month, Tudou.com, a site similar to YouTube on which 40 million Chinese users watch an estimated 1.2 billion videos a month, announced it had secured $19 million (£9.4) in venture capital funding and would start selling ads.
Other sites to have entered the video-sharing space in China include www.mofile.com, www.5show.com, and www.56.com.
Last year, one of the largest college-based networking sites in China, www.xiaonei.com, was acquired by Oak Pacific, a Chinese company backed by US venture capital firms. According to Venturebeat.com, the site will merge with Oak Pacific's own networking site, 5Q, to form "a giant Facebook copycat."
Source:http://technology.timesonline.co.uk
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