Social Networking Insider

Social Networking Insider #183, January 23rd, 2012

The SNW/SMC Industry Insider is the weekly news summary for the social networking industry
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~ SOCIAL MEDIA CONFERENCE & STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE ~:
January 23-30, 2012 in Miami
Speakers include the Department of Homeland Security, UPenn, US Southern Command, Univ of Miami, Sanitas, Young & Rubicam and others.


Next event will be held in Beverly Hills and is scheduled for June 20-22 2012.

http://www.socialmediaconference.com/form-1-miami.php
______________________________________________________________________

:~ TOP SOCIAL NETWORKING WATCH NEWS ITEMS ~:

The Top Viral Video Campaign, Updated January 20th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/adcampaign143

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Vevo May Switch Hosting To Facebook

CNET NEWS – Jan 20 – Knowledgeable sources today told CNET that music-video service Vevo has met with Facebook at least twice about possibly moving their hosting to the social networking site and away from Google-owned YouTube. Though Vevo still has another year remaining in their contract with YouTube, at least two meetings have taken place with Facebook, most recently within the last two weeks. If Vevo makes the move, Facebook could finally provide a compelling music service to its members that would keep them on the site longer. Launched in 2009, Vevo offers music videos from three of the four major record labels: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Music.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/vevo-may-switch-hosting-to-facebook.html


Google+ Reaches 90 Million Users

MASHABLE – Jan 19 – In a press release issued for Google’s fourth quarter, CEO Larry Page announced that Google+ now has 90M users globally, well over double the 40M announced in October 2011. Experian Hitwise predicts that Google+ may hit 400M by the end of 2012. Introduced in June 2011, Google+ has undergone massive growth, but still falls far short of the membership seen by Facebook, which one analyst predicts will hit 1 billion members by August 2012. Also announced in the press release were some impressive figures for Google – Q4 saw $10.58 billion in revenues and 250M Android devices are on the market, up 50M from Q3 2011.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/google-reaches-90-million-users.html


Twitter Acquires News Aggregate Summify

MASHABLE – Jan 19 – Startup social aggregation service Summify announced Thursday that it has been acquired by Twitter, though it remains unclear how the social networking site will integrate Summify’s business strategy into its own. Launched by two Romanian entrepreneurs, Summify collects and delivers the top five news stories being shared by friends on your social networks and delivers them in a daily summary. Terms of the deal have remained confidential, but Summify has already stopped new account registrations and will remove some of its key features in the coming weeks as it prepares for the merger.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/twitter-acquires-news-aggregate-summify.html

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Accept multiple currency payments through Optimal Payments. Fraud prevention tools, custom reporting, and premier customer support. For more information visit www.optimalpayments.com
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Tagged Claims “Largest”, Forgets About Badoo

TECH CRUNCH – Jan 19 – Recently, Tagged VP of Sales and Marketing Steve Sarner claimed that other companies are only just catching on to 'social discovery' sites like Tagged and his site is "by far the largest" in that sector. Author Mike Butcher threw some numbers out to argue that while Tagged has been growing, Badoo has been around just as long and is boasting larger revenues. Tagged shows a revenue growth of 35% to more than $43M and through a roll up of companies such as Digsby, WeGame, Topicmarks and hi5, now has a registered user base of 330M with active users at 20M. London-based Badoo has 35M+ active monthly users, claims annual revenue of $150M+ and has been profitable for the last 24 months after 64% year on year growth.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/tagged-claims-largest-forgets-about-badoo.html


Orkut App Arrives On iPhone, iPad

MASHABLE – Jan 19 – Google-owned Brazilian social networking site Orkut has finally gone mobile, announcing its app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The app will allow users to post status updates, photos, and chat with others on the go. The announcement comes shortly after it was revealed that Facebook overtook Orkut as Brazil’s most popular social networking site in December. The app is now available for download in the Apple App Store.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/orkut-app-arrives-on-iphone-ipad.html


Zynga Acquires Four Mobile Gaming Companies

CNET NEWS – Jan 18 – San Francisco-based game maker Zynga announced today that in the last five months, it has purchased four mobile gaming companies, increasing its presence across multiple devices. Among the companies acquired by Zynga are German-based Gamedoctors (ZombieSmash), San Francisco-based Page44 Studios (World of Goo), San Francisco-based HipLogic, and New York-based Astro Ape Studios. Zynga declined to say how much it paid for the companies.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/zynga-acquires-four-mobile-gaming-companies.html

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YouTube Agrees To Modify Terms Of Service

GOVT TECH – Jan 17 – After nearly 18 months of discussion with the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), YouTube has agreed to modify its terms of service to help state government agencies with faster adoption and safer usage on the site. NASCIO has had recent success with getting Facebook to update its terms of service last year, and hopes to develop similar agreements with other social media sites, including Twitter. Under the new agreement, state agencies may skip over YouTube’s standard “click through” agreement and instead have the option to adopt the newly developed content license agreement. Under this new agreement, state agencies would not be responsible for paying legal fees in the event that YouTube gets sued.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/youtube-agrees-to-modify-terms-of-service.html


Facebook In Brazil Finally Pushes Past Orkut

TECH CRUNCH – Jan 17 – comScore reports that in 2011, Brazilian Facebook users increased by nearly 24 million to surpass incumbent Orkut in December, reaching a total of 36.1 million monthly uniques. Orkut did see some growth in 2011, from 32.7 million to 34.4 million in Brazil, but still fall behind Facebook. Other social networks that saw growth in Brazil include Twitter, Latin America-focused social gaming company Vostu, Google+, Tumblr and LinkedIn. comScore also noted that woman are now spending more time on the site than man, and younger demographics are more likely to be on than older ones.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/facebook-in-brazil-finally-pushes-past-orkut.html

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:~ TWITTER ~:

Get the Social Networking Watch newsfeed delivered straight to your Twitter account: http://twitter.com/social_news

______________________________________________________________________

:~ DAILY DEALS OBSERVER ~:

Daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social are storming along. We thought it would be nice if there was a news illumination blog for the daily deals industry. So we created The Daily Deals Observer. We hope you like it, and it's useful for you.
http://www.dailydealsobserver.com

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The business conference for the social networking industry @ SocialMediaConference.com

Industry Message Boards @ mb.socialnetworkingonference.com

Conference Organiser, Marc Lesnick, marc@lesnick.net, 212-722-1744

Social Networking Watch, www.socialnetworkingwatch.com or snw1.com

Editor: Mark Brooks, mark@socialnetworkingwatch.com, 212-444-1636

Social Networking Insider #182, January 16th, 2012

The SNW/SMC Industry Insider is the weekly news summary for the social networking industry
______________________________________________________________________

~ SOCIAL MEDIA CONFERENCE & STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE ~:


The next social media conference will be held in Miami and is scheduled for January 23-30 2012. Register before January 6th and save $300!  Speakers include the Department of Homeland Security, UPenn, US Southern Command, Univ of Miami, Sanitas, Young & Rubicam and others.
Register before January 18 and save $225!


http://www.socialmediaconference.com/form-1-miami.php
______________________________________________________________________

:~ TOP SOCIAL NETWORKING WATCH NEWS ITEMS ~:

The Top Viral Video Campaign, Updated December 22nd, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/adcampaign142

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India Drags Facebook And Google To Court

EMIRATES247 - Jan 16 - India has dragged Facebook and Google to court over ‘offensive material’ posted on its sites. A senior Indian minister has also accused such networks of prioritising US standards over Indian sensibilities. According to the government cases have been registered against 21 social networking sites for insulting its political leaders and religious sentiments. What is really affecting Indian officials are “vulgar” images and texts freely available on social networks depicting India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and ruling Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi and other major religious figures.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/india-drags-facebook-and-google-to-court.html


Online Spending At Deal-of-the-Day Sites In China Skyrockets

BUSINESS INSIDER - Jan 16 - Turnover from deal-of-the-day websites in China grew at a meteoric pace of 550% in 2011 to RMB 11 billion ($1.74 billion USD) according to recent statements from Tuan800.com, a website which collects group-buy offers in China. Although online group buyinghas been around for roughly half a decade in China, in recent years the number of deal-of-the-day websites in China has exploded. As of last year, it is estimated that there are anywhere between several hundred to several thousand such sites currently operating in China; although today the majority of Chinese group-buying marketshare is enjoyed by Meituan.com, 55tuan.com and Lashou.com.

http://www.dailydealsobserver.com/daily_deals_observer/2012/01/online-spending-at-deal-of-the-day-sites-in-china-skyrockets.html


Murdoch On MySpace: “We Screwed Up In Every Way Possible”

SLASH GEAR - Jan 13 - Outspoken News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch has given a blunt summary of the MySpace debacle, describing the company’s attempt at the social networking market as having “screwed up in every way possible.” "We] learned lost of valuable expensive lessons” the exec admitted. Having spent over half a billion dollars on MySpace, News Corp. finally sold the site in June last year for a mere $39m.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/murdoch-on-myspace-we-screwed-up-in-every-way-possible.html

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Accept multiple currency payments through Optimal Payments. Fraud prevention tools, custom reporting, and premier customer support. For more information visit www.optimalpayments.com
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U.S. Man Suing Facebook Fined $5,000 By Court

USA TODAY - Jan 12 - A man who's suing for part ownership of Facebook has been fined $5,000 by a federal judge for failing to fully comply with an order to turn over his e-mail account information. Paul Ceglia was also ordered to pay some of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's legal expenses.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/us-man-suing-facebook-fined-5000-by-court.html


Facebook To Hit 1 Billion User Mark In August

MASHABLE - Jan 12 - Having passed the $1 billion revenue mark some time ago, Facebook is now closing in on 1 billion users. The company claimed 800M users in September, so it’s not surprising that claiming membership of one-seventh of humanity is now within the social network’s grasp. According to Gregory Lyons, a senior analyst at iCrossing, Facebook will reach the milestone in August. Using linear regression on date from 2008 until the end of last year, Lyons created the chart. See full article here.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/facebook-to-hit-1-billion-user-mark-in-august.html


Groupon Partners With Deutsche Telekom

THE REGISTER - Jan 11 - Groupon has signed a partnership agreement with Deutsche Telekom to push out coupon deals to mobile users in multiple European countries. Deutsche said its users will have access to Groupon’s mobile services without having to download a separate app. The roll-out is scheduled to start in the first half of this year.

http://www.dailydealsobserver.com/daily_deals_observer/2012/01/groupon-partners-with-deutsche-telekom-.html

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Increase your online revenues the easy way! With paysafecard your customers pay fast and secure on your website. Without bank account or credit card. And that’s how you reach new target groups.
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Twitter Really Hates Google’s New Google+ Integration

TECH CRUNCH - Jan 11 - This morning, Google began rolling out a major change to its core search engine that intertwines results from Google+ with the ‘normal’ algorithmically-generated results. There have been plenty of critiques of the news on how this isn’t actually integrating ‘Your World’, as Google calls it, but rather just its own social network. Alex Macgillivray from Twitter called it “A bad day for the Internet”. Today’s launch may incentivize publishers and users to pay more attention to Google+ when it comes to sharing breaking news — after all, it’s the only service that’s going to pop up in Google search results. Which would reduce Google’s reliance on Twitter. But Twitter does have a point: people trust Google to serve up the most timely, relevant information possible. And without Twitter’s data, it’s going to have a hard time doing that.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/twitter-really-hates-googles-new-google-integration.html


Myspace Reinvents Itself As An “Entertainment Experience"

VENTUREBEAT - Jan 10 - Panasonic’s big bet in 2012 is Myspace, a social network that has been steadily losing cachet since 2008. Panasonic trotted out Justin Timberlake at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to try and bring sexy back to the pioneering website known for social networking, band promotion and really bad web design, all while making Panasonic TVs more integrated into your social life. Myspace is staking its reinvention on Myspace TV, a service that lets you chat with friends, share shows and internet videos, and discover what’s popular among other Myspace TV viewers. Myspace TV will be integrated into Panasonic Viera televisions, giving the social network a powerful leg up in its reinvention. Myspace TV will launch this spring.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/myspace-reinvents-itself-as-an-entertainment-experience.html

______________________________________________________________________

:~ TWITTER ~:

Get the Social Networking Watch newsfeed delivered straight to your Twitter account: http://twitter.com/social_news

______________________________________________________________________

:~ DAILY DEALS OBSERVER ~:

Daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social are storming along. We thought it would be nice if there was a news illumination blog for the daily deals industry. So we created The Daily Deals Observer. We hope you like it, and it's useful for you.
http://www.dailydealsobserver.com

______________________________________________________________________


The business conference for the social networking industry @ SocialMediaConference.com

Industry Message Boards @ mb.socialnetworkingonference.com

Conference Organiser, Marc Lesnick, marc@lesnick.net, 212-722-1744

Social Networking Watch, www.socialnetworkingwatch.com or snw1.com

Editor: Mark Brooks, mark@socialnetworkingwatch.com, 212-444-1636

Social Networking Insider #181, January 9th, 2012

The SNW/SMC Industry Insider is the weekly news summary for the social networking industry
______________________________________________________________________

~ SOCIAL MEDIA CONFERENCE & STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE ~:


The next social media conference will be held in Miami and is scheduled for January 23-30 2012. Register before January 6th and save $300!  Speakers include the Department of Homeland Security, UPenn, US Southern Command, Univ of Miami, Sanitas, Young & Rubicam and others.
Register before January 18 and save $225!


http://www.socialmediaconference.com/form-1-miami.php
______________________________________________________________________

:~ TOP SOCIAL NETWORKING WATCH NEWS ITEMS ~:

The Top Viral Video Campaign, Updated December 22nd, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/adcampaign140

_______________________________________________________________________


Zynga Slides For Second Straight Day

THE STREET - Jan 9 - Shares of Zynga are sliding again today, down 8.7% to $8.03. Analyst Ben Schachter said he was worried about Zynga being overly dependent on a small percentage of its users for the majority of its revenues. According to Schachter, only 2.2% of the company's 150M users pay for its games.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/zynga-slides-for-second-straight-day.html


Netflix Launches Video Streaming Service In The UK And Ireland

MASHABLE - Jan 9 - After months of preparation, Netflix has launched its online video streaming service in the UK and Ireland. Netflix is available right now for customers in these two countries, who can get a free one-month trial. After the trial, the service costs L5.99 or €6.99 ($8.87).


http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/netflix-launches-video-streaming-service-in-the-uk-and-ireland.html


Facebook, Twitter Protecting Users From Spammers

CNN - Jan 5 - Spammers are targeting Facebook and Twitter. In November 2011, 70% of all email was spam. The good news is, that was down from 92% in August 2010. But here's the bad news. Spammers are moving to social networks. Spammers hit 4M Facebook users a day. But Facebook is fighting back. Each day the site blocks 200M malicious actions, such as links to malware. As for Twitter, 1.5% of all tweets in 2010 were spam content. Facebook has a team of 30 workers who spend hours combing the site for user-reported spam. It also has become stricter on user identity and has made it harder for hackers to create fake profiles. Twitter, on the other hand, has only two programmers fighting spam.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/facebook-twitter-protecting-users-from-spammers.html

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Accept multiple currency payments through Optimal Payments. Fraud prevention tools, custom reporting, and premier customer support. For more information visit www.optimalpayments.com
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Social Media Threat To Adopted Children Grows In UK

REUTERS - Jan 5 - British youngsters adopted after abusive childhoods are at risk of fresh emotional turmoil as some birth parents turn to Facebook and other social network to track them down. Under British law, birth parents cannot access the adoption records of their children and usually, in the days before social networking, it was very difficult for them to make contact.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/social-media-threat-to-adopted-children-grows-in-uk.html


Google Gets 200+ IBM Patents

MASHABLE - Jan 4 - Google got 217 patents, acquired by way of IBM. While the patents cover a variety of topics, one in particular could give the search giant a new tool for its social network, Google+. The patents cover many different technologies, but they mainly deal with data services like email management, online calendars and transferring web apps between devices. Google had previously received ~ 2,000 patents from IBM over the past year. Social-media watchers might be interested in U.S. Patent 7,865,592: “Using semantic networks to develop a social network.” The patent details how a social network could be leveraged to lead users to find “experts” or like-minded enthusiasts on specific topics.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/google-gets-200-ibm-patents.html


Hitwise: U.S. Google+ Traffic Leaps 55%

CNET NEWS - Jan 3 - Google+ usage by people in the United States surged 55% from November to December, according to Experian Hitwise. The growth lifted Google+ to 49M visits.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/hitwise-us-google-traffic-leaps-55.html

_______________________________________________________________________

Increase your online revenues the easy way! With paysafecard your customers pay fast and secure on your website. Without bank account or credit card. And that’s how you reach new target groups.
_______________________________________________________________________


'Clean Up Your Website': Indian Court Orders Facebook And Google

DAILYMAIL.CO.UK - Jan 3 - Google and Facebook and 20 other SN have been ordered by an Indian court to remove all 'anti-religious' and 'anti-social' content within six weeks. The order will raise serious questions about how users' posts and opinions will be edited, censorship and freedom of expression.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/clean-up-your-website-indian-court-orders-facebook-and-google.html


Teachers Warned Over Facebook And Twitter Use

BBC.CO.UK - Jan 2 - Scottish teachers are being warned that their use of social networking sites could put their careers at risk. The Scottish Secondary Teachers Association believes teachers can reveal too much personal information. The union also fears they could become overly familiar with pupils. Jim Docherty, assistant secretary of the SSTA, told BBC Scotland that teachers should follow his advice: "First thing is don't bother telling anybody else about your social life. Secondly, never make any comment about your work, about your employer, about teaching issues in general. There is always a possibility it will be misinterpreted."

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2012/01/teachers-warned-over-facebook-and-twitter-use.html

______________________________________________________________________

:~ TWITTER ~:

Get the Social Networking Watch newsfeed delivered straight to your Twitter account: http://twitter.com/social_news

______________________________________________________________________

:~ DAILY DEALS OBSERVER ~:

Daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social are storming along. We thought it would be nice if there was a news illumination blog for the daily deals industry. So we created The Daily Deals Observer. We hope you like it, and it's useful for you.
http://www.dailydealsobserver.com

______________________________________________________________________


The business conference for the social networking industry @ SocialMediaConference.com

Industry Message Boards @ mb.socialnetworkingonference.com

Conference Organiser, Marc Lesnick, marc@lesnick.net, 212-722-1744

Social Networking Watch, www.socialnetworkingwatch.com or snw1.com

Editor: Mark Brooks, mark@socialnetworkingwatch.com, 212-444-1636

Social Networking Insider #180, January 2nd, 2012

The SNW/SMC Industry Insider is the weekly news summary for the social networking industry
______________________________________________________________________

~ SOCIAL MEDIA CONFERENCE & STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE ~:


The next social media conference will be held in Miami and is scheduled for January 23-30 2012. Register before January 6th and save $300!  Speakers include the Department of Homeland Security, UPenn, US Southern Command, Univ of Miami, Sanitas, Young & Rubicam and others.


http://www.socialmediaconference.com/form-1-miami.php
______________________________________________________________________

:~ TOP SOCIAL NETWORKING WATCH NEWS ITEMS ~:

The Top Viral Video Campaign, Updated December 22nd, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/adcampaign140

_______________________________________________________________________

Nearly 40% Of Facebook Use Is From Mobile Apps

TECH CRUNCH - Dec 29 - The number of monthly active users of Facebook’s mobile apps recently passed the 300M mark. This is primarily due to heavy use of the iOS and Android apps, but it also takes into account apps that run on BlackBerry, Symbian, Windows Phone, iPad and feature phones. That number equates to ~40% of Facebook’s currently disclosed 800M active users.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/nearly-40-of-facebook-use-is-from-mobile-apps.html


Google+ Gains Traction, Researcher Says

NY TIMES - Dec 29 - Google’s mission to compete with Facebook in social networking may be gaining speed. Google+ has reached 62M registered users. More important, one-quarter of all users signed up in December alone. In July, Google said Google+ had 10M members. In October, the number was 40M.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/google-gains-traction-researcher-says.html


Who Owns Your Twitter Account?

CNET NEWS - Dec 26 - Who really owns your Twitter account? That's the question at the heart of a lawsuit that could redefine the right of employers to seize and make use of employees' social-media accounts. For four years, writer Noah Kravitz produced reviews and video blogs for the mobile-phone site phonedog.com. During the same period, he also posted on Twitter and gathered 17K followers. When Kravitz left PhoneDog he continued using the account--with PhoneDog's blessing. Eight months after Kravitz lef, PhoneDog sued him, claiming that Kravitz's Twitter followers represented a customer list, that Kravitz had failed to relinquish the Twitter account when asked, and that he had therefore misappropriated trade secrets and interfered with PhoneDog's business to the tune of $340,000--$2.50 per follower per month.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/who-owns-your-twitter-account-.html

_______________________________________________________________________

Accept multiple currency payments through Optimal Payments. Fraud prevention tools, custom reporting, and premier customer support. For more information visit www.optimalpayments.com
_______________________________________________________________________


Social Networking Is The Most Popular Online Activity

THE NEW WAGE - Dec 26 - 1.2 billion users worldwide -- 82% of the world’s internet population over the age of 15 -- now log on to a social networks. Facebook, the third largest web property online, is king of all social networks. Visits to Facebook accounted for one in every seven minutes internet users spent online in October and 75% of all time spent on all social networks. Close to 65%of all smartphone users in the US visited a social network in October; two in five used their mobile device to connect to a social network nearly every day.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/social-networking-is-the-most-popular-online-activity.html


Google Is About To Enter The Social Enterprise Space

TECH CRUNCH - Dec 25 - The social enterprise has been growing as more and more companies look to incorporate Facebook-like communications among workers. It looks like Google will be entering the space soon. Google’s Vice President of Enterprise Amit Singh tells us that Google will soon bring a more in-depth Google+ social experience to businesses and institutions using Google Apps. Part of 2012 will entail bringing the Google+ social experience to businesses.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/google-is-about-to-enter-the-social-enterprise-space.html


Google+ Grows Worldwide Users To 67 Million

TECH CRUNCH - Dec 23 - According to comScore, Google+ grew from 65M unique visitors in October to ~67M in November. This is purely based on traffic to the plus.google.com subdomain, comScore’s Andrew Lipsman said. So it doesn’t include the many Google+ feature injections that the search company has administered to its other properties over the last months.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/google-grows-worldwide-users-to-67-million-.html

_______________________________________________________________________

Increase your online revenues the easy way! With paysafecard your customers pay fast and secure on your website. Without bank account or credit card. And that’s how you reach new target groups.
_______________________________________________________________________


Investors Dumping Social Networking Stocks En Masse

FORBES - Dec 20 - Zynga, which went public Friday at $10 a share, and dropped 50c by the close of the first day of trading, today fell another 45c, or 4.7%, to $9.05. Groupon on Monday fell $1.04, or 4.5%, to $22, still 10% above its November IPO price. LinkedIn was down 90c, or 1.4%, to $64.94. Pandora dropped 56c, or 5.3%, to $9.99. ;HomeAway fell $2.42, or 10.4%, to $20.88.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/investors-dumping-social-networking-stocks-en-masse.html


Social Networking Continues Gender Stereotypes

IB TIMES - Dec 19 - Women tend to use social networks to compare themselves with others online, whereas men tend to use the sites to look at profiles and search for more friends, concluded a study. Further, women tend to post face pictures, while men post full body shots, according to a survey published in the December issue of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. In general, men sought out information about others as women sought out personal enjoyment, the researchers concluded.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/social-networking-continues-gender-stereotypes.html

______________________________________________________________________

:~ TWITTER ~:

Get the Social Networking Watch newsfeed delivered straight to your Twitter account: http://twitter.com/social_news

______________________________________________________________________

:~ DAILY DEALS OBSERVER ~:

Daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social are storming along. We thought it would be nice if there was a news illumination blog for the daily deals industry. So we created The Daily Deals Observer. We hope you like it, and it's useful for you.
http://www.dailydealsobserver.com

______________________________________________________________________


The business conference for the social networking industry @ SocialMediaConference.com

Industry Message Boards @ mb.socialnetworkingonference.com

Conference Organiser, Marc Lesnick, marc@lesnick.net, 212-722-1744

Social Networking Watch, www.socialnetworkingwatch.com or snw1.com

Editor: Mark Brooks, mark@socialnetworkingwatch.com, 212-444-1636

Social Networking Insider #179, December 26th, 2011

The SNW/SMC Industry Insider is the weekly news summary for the social networking industry
______________________________________________________________________

~ SOCIAL MEDIA CONFERENCE & STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE ~:


Next social media conference will be held in Miami and is scheduled for January 23-30 2012.
Register before December 31st and save $325!

http://www.socialmediaconference.com/form-1-miami.php
______________________________________________________________________

:~ TOP SOCIAL NETWORKING WATCH NEWS ITEMS ~:

The Top Viral Video Campaign, Updated December 22nd, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/adcampaign139

_______________________________________________________________________


LinkedIn Eyes Growth In Asia Pacific In 2012

PC WORLD - Dec 22 - Professional social network LinkedIn which started its Singapore office 7 months ago is set to double its staff strength in the country in 2012. LinkedIn currently has 8 people in leadership positions in Singapore. In the region LinkedIn now boasts 20M plus members compared to the 17M about half a year ago. Worldwide, LinkedIn has now 135M members and two new members are joining the network every second.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/linkedin-eyes-growth-in-asia-pacific-in-2012.html


Facebook To Change European Service After Data-Privacy Probe

BUSINESS WEEK - Dec 21 - Facebook will overhaul its service in Europe over the next six months as a result of an investigation into how the social network handles personal data. Facebook agreed to improve the information users get on what happens to deleted or removed content and to simplify explanations of its privacy policies.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/facebook-to-change-european-service-after-data-privacy-probe.html


Yahoo Expands Sharing Of Stories Through Facebook

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - Dec 21 - Yahoo will enable Facebook users to share more of their activities on Yahoo's websites, including which stories they are reading. Yahoo introduced the Facebook-sharing option in its main new section three months ago. The same feature will now be available in 26 other parts of Yahoo's site, including its "omg" service for entertainment news and sections devoted to television, movies and games.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/yahoo-expands-sharing-of-stories-through-facebook.html

_______________________________________________________________________

Accept multiple currency payments through Optimal Payments. Fraud prevention tools, custom reporting, and premier customer support. For more information visit www.optimalpayments.com
_______________________________________________________________________


2011: The Year When Japan Went Global Over Social Networking

JAPAN TIMES - Dec 21 - A report on Japanese social network usage issued by Nielsen/NetRatings on Nov. 18 made a huge impact in Japan, as the statistics indicated that the number of Mixi users (8.39M) has fallen below that of Facebook users (11.31M). This news was widely picked up by the Japanese media — forcing Mixi to issue an official statement that it has 15.16M active users. According to Mixi, the Nielsen research only includes traffic coming from personal computers, which accounts for half of Mixi's users. Mixi states that 80% of the traffic to the site is coming from mobile phones. Nielsen always says that the report is based on PC traffic only. On Dec.14, Twitter confirmed that Japanese users had once again recorded the highest number of tweets per second.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/2011-the-year-when-japan-went-global-over-social-networking.html


Appconomy Raises $10 Million

STATESMAN - Dec 19 - Austin-based Appconomy, which helps customers provide commerce capabilities in their smartphone apps, has raised $10M to accelerate its business in China. Appconomy was founded last year and its software lets large retailers, merchants and brands build apps that include daily deal, coupons, rewards and loyalty programs as well as social networking and mobile payments. Appconomy previously raised $1.5 million from True Ventures and private investors.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/appconomy-raises-10-million.html


Zynga Shares Down 5%

TECH CRUNCH - Dec 19 - Zynga, which debuted the largest technology IPO since Google on Friday, saw shares drop in early morning trading on the second day listed on the Nasdaq. On Friday, Zynga closed 10% below its opening trade of $11 per share, after pricing on Thursday evening at $10 per share. This morning, Zynga opened at $9.36 but dropped as much as 5% in morning trading.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/zynga-shares-down-5.html

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Mobile Social Media Users To Reach 650m In 2011

MARKETWIRE - Dec 19 - A new report from Juniper Research finds that the continuing increase in smartphone adoption and the rise of geosocial networking will push the number of mobile social media users from 650M this year to 1.3 billion by 2016; more than the total number of social media users on all platforms today.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/mobile-social-media-users-to-reach-650m-in-2011.html


China Imposes New Rules On Social Networks

MERCURY NEWS - Dec 18 - For many users, the most striking of the new rules requires people using the sites, called microblogs, or weibo in Chinese, to register with their real names and biographical information. They will still be able to post under aliases, according to a report by Xinhua, the state news agency. The real-name registration could dampen some of the freewheeling conversations that take place online, and that sometimes result in a large number of users' criticizing officials and government policy.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/china-imposes-new-rules-on-social-networks.html

______________________________________________________________________

:~ TWITTER ~:

Get the Social Networking Watch newsfeed delivered straight to your Twitter account: http://twitter.com/social_news

______________________________________________________________________

:~ DAILY DEALS OBSERVER ~:

Interview With Noah Kagan, Chief Sumo At Appsumo.com
http://www.dailydealsobserver.com/daily_deals_observer/2011/12/interview-with-noah-kagan-chief-sumo-at-appsumocom.html

______________________________________________________________________


The business conference for the social networking industry @ SocialMediaConference.com

Industry Message Boards @ mb.socialnetworkingonference.com

Conference Organiser, Marc Lesnick, marc@lesnick.net, 212-722-1744

Social Networking Watch, www.socialnetworkingwatch.com or snw1.com

Editor: Mark Brooks, mark@socialnetworkingwatch.com, 212-444-1636

Social Networking Insider #178, December 19th, 2011

The SNW/SMC Industry Insider is the weekly news summary for the social networking industry
______________________________________________________________________

~ SOCIAL MEDIA CONFERENCE & STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE ~:


Next social media conference will be held in Miami and is scheduled for January 23-30 2012.
Register before December 31st and save $325!

http://www.socialmediaconference.com/form-1-miami.php
______________________________________________________________________

:~ TOP SOCIAL NETWORKING WATCH NEWS ITEMS ~:

The Top Viral Video Campaign, Updated December 8th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/adcampaign138

_______________________________________________________________________

Zynga IPO Prices At $10

TECH CRUNCH - Dec 16 - Zynga priced its IPO at $10 a share. The IPO, which is set for tomorrow, will be in the upper end of the $8.50 to $10 price range the company indicated previously in SEC filings. Zynga will sell at least 100M shares, raising $1 billion at a $7 billion valuation.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/zynga-ipo-prices-at-10.html


MySpace Out Of Top Ten Most Visited Social Networks

MARKETING MAGAZINE - Dec 15 - MySpace is continuing to slump, falling out the UK's top ten most visited social networks for the first time ever, according to Experian Hitwise.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/myspace-out-of-top-ten-most-visited-social-networks.html


Tagged Acquires hi5

TECH CRUNCH - Dec 14 - Social network Tagged has acquired the social game network hi5, doubling Tagged’s monthly active users to 20M. The combination will also increase the total number of registered users to 330M, up from 100M. The deal’s terms were not disclosed, but include the hi5 website and user base.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/tagged-acquires-hi5.html

_______________________________________________________________________

Accept multiple currency payments through Optimal Payments. Fraud prevention tools, custom reporting, and premier customer support. For more information visit www.optimalpayments.com
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Facebook: Social Sharing Champion - Infographic

MEDIA BISTRO - Dec 14 - AddThis has released a new infographic that looks at the sharing trends. In 2011, Twitter was responsible for 13.5% of sharing, growing 576.9% YOY. Twitter also makes up 52% of all sharing in Japan. Facebook accounted for 52.1% of all sharing on the web over the past 12 months – that’s four times the size of Twitter.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/facebook-social-sharing-champion-infographic.html


Memory Lane, Formerly Classmates.com, Cuts Staff

GEEKWIRE - Dec 14 - MemoryLane, the social network formerly known as Classmates.com, has cut an unknown number of jobs at its operations in Seattle. Earlier this year, United Online repositioned its content and media unit with the launch of MemoryLane.com, described as the “largest archive of nostalgic content on the Internet.” At the time of the move, United Online changed the name of the unit from Classmates to Memory Lane.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/memory-lane-formerly-classmatescom-cuts-staff.html


Viadeo In Venture With Russian Unit Of Sanoma

WSJ - Dec 13 - Viadeo, which competes with LinkedIn, has agreed to enter a joint venture with a Russian subsidiary of Finnish publisher Sanoma Oyj to create a professional networking site in Russia. Paris-based Viadeo said that a new platform created in partnership with Sanoma's Sanoma Independent Media will be available in Cyrillic, including services offered locally, in Russia at the beginning of next year.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/viadeo-in-venture-with-russian-unit-of-sanoma.html

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Zynga Now Has The Top Five Games On Facebook

TECH CRUNCH - Dec 12 - This is a big week for Zynga, as the gaming giant readies for its debut on the public markets at the end of the week. The company’s offering is expected to price this week and will raise ~$1 billion in the IPO. Currently, Zynga has the top five games on Facebook using daily active user numbers, with Words With Friends edging out EA’s Sims Social. CityVille took the top spot with 10.1M DAU, followed by CastleVille (8.1M DAU); FarmVille (7.2M DAU); Texas HoldEm Poker (6.3M DAU) and Words With Friends (5.7M DAU).

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/zynga-now-has-the-top-five-games-on-facebook.html


When It Comes To Mobile Devices, Focus Will Be On Location

WASHINGTON POST - Dec 12 - It’s almost impossible to separate the rise in location-based technologies from the popularity of smartphones. One locally developed smartphone app, called Sponto, promotes social gatherings by showing when users congregate in large numbers. The StrEats app, also being developed by locals, will track the District’s food trucks. But inherent in these technologies are questions about privacy, particularly when a consumer’s location is tracked by default or without his or her explicit consent.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/when-it-comes-to-mobile-devices-focus-will-be-on-location.html

______________________________________________________________________

:~ TWITTER ~:

Get the Social Networking Watch newsfeed delivered straight to your Twitter account: http://twitter.com/social_news

______________________________________________________________________

:~ DAILY DEALS OBSERVER ~:

Daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social are storming along. We thought it would be nice if there was a news illumination blog for the daily deals industry. So we created The Daily Deals Observer. We hope you like it, and it's useful for you.
http://www.dailydealsobserver.com

______________________________________________________________________


The business conference for the social networking industry @ SocialMediaConference.com

Industry Message Boards @ mb.socialnetworkingonference.com

Conference Organiser, Marc Lesnick, marc@lesnick.net, 212-722-1744

Social Networking Watch, www.socialnetworkingwatch.com or snw1.com

Editor: Mark Brooks, mark@socialnetworkingwatch.com, 212-444-1636

Social Networking Insider #177, December 12th, 2011

The SNW/SMC Industry Insider is the weekly news summary for the social networking industry
______________________________________________________________________

~ SOCIAL MEDIA CONFERENCE & STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE ~:


Next social media conference will be held in Miami and is scheduled for January 23-30 2012.
Register before December 15 and save $400.

http://www.socialmediaconference.com/form-1-miami.php
______________________________________________________________________

:~ TOP SOCIAL NETWORKING WATCH NEWS ITEMS ~:

The Top Viral Video Campaign, Updated December 8th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/adcampaign137

_______________________________________________________________________


Google To Add Local Deals To Google+ Mobile Check-ins

VENTURE BEAT - Dec 9 - A Google spokesperson confirmed that location-based deals will be coming to Google+ next week. The Google+ social network may be adding features to its mobile app that will allow users to claim deals when they check in at locations.  One year ago this week, Groupon rejected a $6 billion buyout offer from Google. Even without the daily deals acquisition, Google has been attacking local commerce from all sides. Google Offers launched soon after the Groupon deal went pear-shaped, and the company continues to buy smaller deals sites, such as TheDealMap.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/google-to-add-local-deals-to-google-mobile-check-ins.html


Spotify Launches Spotify Radio

TECH CRUNCH - Dec 9 - Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has just announced its beefed up Radio feature. Ek however did not mince words when describing the feature, “It’s kind of like Pandora with unlimited skipping and unlimited stations.” Pandora, which is now an achingly public company, currently limits users to 100 stations and eight song skips.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/spotify-launches-spotify-radio.html


Zynga Said To Receive Enough Orders To Cover All 100 Million Shares In IPO

BLOOMBERG - Dec 8 - Zynga, the biggest maker of games on Facebook, received enough orders to cover all the shares being sold in its IPO.  Zynga plans to sell 100M shares for $8.50 to $10 apiece, according to regulatory filings. The high end of that price range would value Zynga at $7 billion.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/zynga-said-to-receive-enough-orders-to-cover-all-100-million-shares-in-ipo.html

_______________________________________________________________________

Accept multiple currency payments through Optimal Payments. Fraud prevention tools, custom reporting, and premier customer support. For more information visit www.optimalpayments.com
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US Virtual Goods Market To Hit $2.9 Billion In 2012

TECH CRUNCH - Dec 8 - The overall market for virtual goods in the US is headed towards $2.9 billion for 2012, according to the Inside Virtual Goods report. That’s up from $2.2 billion this year, and $1.6 billion in 2010. Virtual goods on Facebook are continuing to comprise more than half of that, going from $835M in 2010 to $1.2 billion this year to $1.6 billion next year. The report estimates that mobile virtual goods (for games only) made $350M this year, and will grow to $500M next year.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/us-virtual-goods-market-to-hit-29-billion-in-2012.html


LinkedIn Opens First Latin American Office

SOCIAL BARREL - Dec 6 - Professional social network LinkedIn, which staged its IPO in June of this year, opened its first office in Latin America, in Sao Paolo, Brazil. LinkedIn’s opening of its  Sao Paolo office is part of broader efforts to expand internationally. The company started operations in Japan last month and in May launched its Asia headquarters in Singapore.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/linkedin-opens-first-latin-american-office.html


Gree Aims To Have 1 Billion User Accounts Within Five Years

BUSINESS WEEK - Dec 6 - Gree, Japan’s second-biggest social-network, aims to have 1 billion user accounts in 3-5 years. The Tokyo-based company acquired Burlingame, California-based online-games network OpenFeint for $104M in April as it seeks to expand overseas. Gree has 150M user accounts globally, with overseas operations in nine countries.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/gree-aims-to-have-1-billion-user-accounts-within-five-years.html

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Japanese Mobile Social Gaming Startup Gumi Raises $26 Million

TECH CRUNCH - Dec 5 - Mobile gaming publisher Gumi, which has been growing very rapidly lately, raised $26M last week in a series F round. Gumi has 140 employees. Its growth started taking off this year. The company expects to sell more than $50M worth of virtual in-game coins this year which can be used by players to outfit their characters and level up. The company currently has eight games, including Yakuza Wars, Pirate Wars, and FIFA World Class Soccer. It has 10M registered users in Japan, and 1M active users per month. The average revenue per user in Japan is between $2.50 and $4.00, with some players paying $50 to $100 a month in virtual goods.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/japanese-mobile-social-gaming-startup-gumi-raises-26-million.html


Facebook Has Acquired Gowalla

TECH CRUNCH - Dec 2 - Facebook has acquired location-based startup Gowalla. The terms of the deal haven’t been reported, and Gowalla declined to comment. Facebook says it doesn’t comment on rumor and speculation. According to CNN’s report, the Gowalla team will be working on Facebook Timeline, with most of the team moving to Facebook’s Palo Alto headquarters and some remaining in Gowalla’s hometown of Austin, where Facebook has an office as well. Gowalla, which has raised $10.4M to date, first launched at SXSW 2009 — going head-to-head against Foursquare, with a stronger emphasis on virtual goods than their competitor.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/facebook-has-acquired-gowalla.html

______________________________________________________________________

:~ TWITTER ~:

Get the Social Networking Watch newsfeed delivered straight to your Twitter account: http://twitter.com/social_news

______________________________________________________________________

:~ DAILY DEALS OBSERVER ~:

Daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social are storming along. We thought it would be nice if there was a news illumination blog for the daily deals industry. So we created The Daily Deals Observer. We hope you like it, and it's useful for you.
http://www.dailydealsobserver.com

______________________________________________________________________


The business conference for the social networking industry @ SocialMediaConference.com

Industry Message Boards @ mb.socialnetworkingonference.com

Conference Organiser, Marc Lesnick, marc@lesnick.net, 212-722-1744

Social Networking Watch, www.socialnetworkingwatch.com or snw1.com

Editor: Mark Brooks, mark@socialnetworkingwatch.com, 212-444-1636

Social Networking Insider #176, December 5th, 2011

The SNW/SMC Industry Insider is the weekly news summary for the social networking industry
______________________________________________________________________

~ SOCIAL MEDIA CONFERENCE & STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE ~:


Next social media conference will be held in Miami and is scheduled for January 23-30 2012.
Register before December 15 and save $400.

http://www.socialmediaconference.com/form-1-miami.php
______________________________________________________________________

:~ TOP SOCIAL NETWORKING WATCH NEWS ITEMS AND WEEKLY INTERVIEW ~:

The Top Viral Video Campaign, Updated December 1st, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/adcampaign136

_______________________________________________________________________


Twitter Launches Self Serve Ad Platform

SEARCH ENGINE JOURNAL - Dec 2 - Although it is in beta testing and currently only available to ~ 20 advertisers, Twitter has finally launched its self-serve ad platform. The new platform, which enables advertisers to use a self-serve system to purchase advertising without speaking to a human, currently allows the purchase of promoted accounts and promoted tweets. Twitter has indicated the new platform will be rolling out to a much larger group of advertisers in the coming weeks.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/twitter-launches-self-serve-ad-platform.html


Senzari Prepares To Take On Pandora

TECH CRUNCH - Dec 2 - Senzari, the new music streaming service, recently launched into private beta in the U.S. and Brazil, with plans to expand further into Latin America, Spain and Australia in the future. Where Pandora currently offers a catalog of 900K songs, Senzari has launched with over 10M. It also includes Facebook integration, including live chat with Facebook friends. The new startup is backed by $2M in funding from undisclosed angel investors.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/senzari-prepares-to-take-on-pandora.html


Zynga To Go Public At $10 Billion Valuation

CNET NEWS - Nov 30 - Zynga's highly anticipated public offering is expected to value the company at $10 billion, well below a recent analyst estimate. The game developer, which is expected file its IPO plans with regulators on Friday, intends to raise $900M based on a share price range of $8 to $10,

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/12/zynga-to-go-public-at-10-billion-valuation.html

_______________________________________________________________________

Accept multiple currency payments through Optimal Payments. Fraud prevention tools, custom reporting, and premier customer support. For more information visit www.optimalpayments.com
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Twitter Teams Up With Japanese SN Mixi

ASSOCIATED PRESS - Nov 30 - Twitter and Japan's biggest homegrown social network mixi joined forces to strengthen their ground against a rapidly expanding Facebook. Japanese was Twitter's first foreign language platform, and it opened its first overseas office in Tokyo earlier this year.  For mixi, the announcement couldn't have come at a better time. Data released this week from Nielsen NetRatings Japan showed that mixi stood in third place behind Twitter and Facebook in terms of unique visitors in October.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/twitter-teams-up-with-japanese-sn-mixi.html


Facebook In Talks To Open Platform For Real-Money Gambling In The UK

TECH CRUNCH - Nov 30 - According to eGaming Review, Facebook is engaged in exploratory talks with a number of UK operators to open its platform to real-money online gambling, maybe even as soon as in the first quarter of 2012. In the United States, online gambling is essentially considered to be illegal in most states, though legalization efforts are underway.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/facebook-in-talks-to-open-platform-for-real-money-gambling-in-the-uk.html


Flavors.me Spins Into A Social Network

NY TIMES - Nov 28 - Flavors.me started last year as a place where people with an array of social networking profiles could pull information from each of their accounts into one polished page. Flavors.me has attracted 750K users. ~6% of those have signed up for the $20-a-year version of the service, which offers additional features. The company has raised $4.5M from angel investors.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/flavorsme-spins-into-a-social-network.html

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Facebook Will IPO As Early As April 2012

MASHABLE - Nov 29 - Facebook will make its long-anticipated move to go public between April and June 2012. Facebook is considering raising $10 billion in an IPO that could value it at more than $100 billion.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/facebook-will-ipo-as-early-as-april-2012.html


SmartDate CEO Starts Daily Deals Site

DDO - Dec 4 - We've noticed quite a few dating company founders are foraying into the daily deals space. The latest addition is Fabrice LeParc, the founder of troubled (that's being kind) dating site SmartDate. Squarechic.com offers 2 for 1 deals, on "WHATever, and WHENever", starting with New York, London and Paris. An iPhone & Android app will give users a subscription based 'virtual pass' which pinpoints their exact location to show participating deals around them. The app is due to launch December 2011. Fabrice has teamed up with Daniel Kershaw who was formerly country manager for the UK based electronics retailer Dixons. Great business model, but a lousy name. 'WHATever, WHENever' is amusingly laissez-faire. Hopefully this business will fly more smoothly, and contractors and employees will get paid.

http://www.dailydealsobserver.com/daily_deals_observer/2011/12/smartdate-ceo-starts-daily-deals-site.html

______________________________________________________________________

:~ TWITTER ~:

Get the Social Networking Watch newsfeed delivered straight to your Twitter account: http://twitter.com/social_news

______________________________________________________________________

:~ DAILY DEALS OBSERVER ~:

Daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social are storming along. We thought it would be nice if there was a news illumination blog for the daily deals industry. So we created The Daily Deals Observer. We hope you like it, and it's useful for you.
http://www.dailydealsobserver.com

______________________________________________________________________


The business conference for the social networking industry @ SocialMediaConference.com

Industry Message Boards @ mb.socialnetworkingonference.com

Conference Organiser, Marc Lesnick, marc@lesnick.net, 212-722-1744

Social Networking Watch, www.socialnetworkingwatch.com or snw1.com

Editor: Mark Brooks, mark@socialnetworkingwatch.com, 212-444-1636

Social Networking Insider #175, November 28th, 2011

The SNW/SMC Industry Insider is the weekly news summary for the social networking industry
______________________________________________________________________

~ SOCIAL MEDIA CONFERENCE & STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE ~:


Next social media conference will be held in Miami and is scheduled for January 23-30 2012.
Register before November 30 and save $500.

http://www.socialmediaconference.com/form-1-miami.php
______________________________________________________________________

:~ TOP SOCIAL NETWORKING WATCH NEWS ITEMS AND WEEKLY INTERVIEW ~:

The Top Viral Video Campaign, Updated November 24th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/adcampaign135

_______________________________________________________________________


Cyworld Hopes To Make Comeback With Redesigned Global Service

KOREA TIMES - Nov 27 - Cyworld, once a social networking phenomenon in Korea before losing ground to Facebook and Twitter, vowed to make a comeback. Cyworld believes there still is a need for a new social network that cares less about information, and more about people and users.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/cyworld-hopes-to-make-comeback-with-redesigned-global-service.html


Social Networking Apps Bring The Close Closer

SYDNEY MORNING HERALD - Nov 25 - Blendr enables users to check their smartphones and then text other users a few metres away. If they hit it off, they can meet up for a date within minutes. Blendr is the heterosexual version of Grindr, which has more than 2M gay users in 192 countries. Joel Simkhai, who founded Grindr and Blendr, says the main difference between the two apps is that the straight version is less focused on casual sex. Other geosocial networking apps, such as OkCupid Locals and HowAboutWe are popular.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/social-networking-apps-bring-the-close-closer.html


Twitter Gains Popularity In Arab Nations

AFP - Nov 25 - Online Twitter messages in Arabic rocketed from 99K a day in October 2010 to over 2M last month. Arabic is now the eighth most popular language on Twitter. Tweets in Japanese -- the second most popular language on Twitter -- account for 14.2% of the daily total, down from 19% a year ago.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/twitter-gains-popularity-in-arab-nations.html

_______________________________________________________________________

Accept multiple currency payments through Optimal Payments. Fraud prevention tools, custom reporting, and premier customer support. For more information visit www.optimalpayments.com
_______________________________________________________________________


Facebook Buys Baltimore Company That Sued It

BALTIMORE SUN - Nov 23 - WhoGlue, a small Baltimore company that sued Facebook two years ago, was reportedly acquired by Facebook earlier this month for an undisclosed amount. The lawsuit that he had filed against Facebook -- for infringing on a patent titled "distributed personal relationship information management system and methods" -- was settled last year in a "very positive" way, WhoGlue founder said, and he and Facebook execs kept in touch.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/facebook-buys-baltimore-company-that-sued-it.html


MyHeritage Has Acquired FamilyLink

TECH CRUNCH - Nov 22 - Israeli company MyHeritage, which operates a huge family-based social network has acquired FamilyLink, the developer behind family history content sites FamilyLink.com and WorldVitalRecords.com. While financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed, this is MyHeritage’s seventh and largest acquisition since 2007. Past acquisitions include Germany’s OSN, Poland’s Bliscy.pl, Dutch Family Network ZOOOF and most recently BackupMyTree.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/myheritage-has-acquired-familylink.html


Zynga’s CastleVille: 5 Million Users Less Than A Week

MASHABLE - Nov 22 - Zynga‘s CastleVille has had a solid opening. In just under a week, the game has garnered 5M daily active users — meaning it’s growing faster than any other Zynga game did at this stage.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/zyngas-castleville-5-million-users-less-than-a-week.html

_______________________________________________________________________

iTelebill is offering mobile recurring billing which leads to higher conversions at no additional cost to site. Perfect for members where credit cards are not possible. Visit www.itelebill.com.

_______________________________________________________________________


Social Networking Use Among Mobile Users Grows In Europe

PC WORLD - Nov 21 - The number people accessing SNS in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. using their mobile phone has grown by 44% in the last year, according to comScore. In Sep, 55M users in the five countries accessed SNS or blogs on their mobile device, representing about one in four of the total mobile audience. Twitter and LinkedIn more than doubled its audiences, but Facebook is still the biggest by a wide margin. Facebook's audience grew from ~25M to ~39M.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/social-networking-use-among-mobile-users-grows-in-europe.html


61% Of Top Brands Have Google+ Pages, No One Is Following

TECH CRUNCH - Nov 16 - SEO firm BrightEdge is reporting that 61% of world’s top 100 brands have already created Google + Pages. 94% of the Top 100 brands have a presence on Facebook. BrightEdge says that only 12% of the brands that created these pages displayed a link to them on their home page. About 53% of the Top 100 brands display a link on their home page to their Facebook page. Coke, McDonalds and Verizon have only dozens of fans (but have millions of Facebook fans).

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/61-of-top-brands-have-google-pages-no-one-is-following.html

______________________________________________________________________

:~ TWITTER ~:

Get the Social Networking Watch newsfeed delivered straight to your Twitter account: http://twitter.com/social_news

______________________________________________________________________

:~ DAILY DEALS OBSERVER ~:

Daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social are storming along. We thought it would be nice if there was a news illumination blog for the daily deals industry. So we created The Daily Deals Observer. We hope you like it, and it's useful for you.
http://www.dailydealsobserver.com

______________________________________________________________________


The business conference for the social networking industry @ SocialMediaConference.com

Industry Message Boards @ mb.socialnetworkingonference.com

Conference Organiser, Marc Lesnick, marc@lesnick.net, 212-722-1744

Social Networking Watch, www.socialnetworkingwatch.com or snw1.com

Editor: Mark Brooks, mark@socialnetworkingwatch.com, 212-444-1636

Social Networking Insider #174, November 21st, 2011

The SNW/SMC Industry Insider is the weekly news summary for the social networking industry
______________________________________________________________________

~ SOCIAL MEDIA CONFERENCE & STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE ~:


Next social media conference will be held in Miami and is scheduled for January 23-30 2012.
Register before November 30 and save $500.

http://www.socialmediaconference.com/form-1-miami.php
______________________________________________________________________

:~ TOP SOCIAL NETWORKING WATCH NEWS ITEMS AND WEEKLY INTERVIEW ~:

The Top Viral Video Campaign, Updated November 17th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/adcampaign134

_______________________________________________________________________


Interview with Neil Steinhardt, GM Of PaysafeCard
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/interview-with-neil-steinhardt-gm-of-paysafecard.html

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Google+ Traffic Rises By 25% Last Month

COMPUTER WORLD UK - Nov 18 - Google+ has had a recent traffic boost, recording its third-largest week of visits since the site launched in June, according to Experian Hitwise. It had ~6.8M US visits in the week ending 12 November. That's a 5% increase compared to the week before and a 25% increase compared to a month ago. Now that Google + has 40M+ users, people are finding more friends and colleagues on the site than they were when it launched last summer.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/google-traffic-rises-by-25-last-month.html


Yelp Files For IPO To Raise $100 Million

TECH CRUNCH - Nov 18 -  Local recommendation site Yelp has finally filed an S-1 to IPO, wanting to raise $100M. The site generated $58.4M net revenue in the first nine months of 2011, 80% growth over the same period in 2010. It operated at a net loss however, of $7.6M. Revenues have grown pretty fast, from $12.1M in 2008 to $47.7M in 2010 but it is still not profitable.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/yelp-files-for-ipo-to-raise-100-million.html


PayPal Launches Facebook App For Sending Money

IT WORLD - Nov 17 - The app, named Send Money, features a greeting card component for accompanying the money transfer with an e-card containing a message, photos and videos to mark occasions like birthdays and anniversaries. Cards are posted to recipients' Facebook Walls, although the message is kept private. Users can also opt to just send someone money, without posting an e-card to their Wall.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/paypal-launches-facebook-app-for-sending-money.html

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Accept multiple currency payments through Optimal Payments. Fraud prevention tools, custom reporting, and premier customer support. For more information visit www.optimalpayments.com
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LinkedIn Shareholders To Offer Shares

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES - Nov 16 - LinkedIn said shareholders will unload ~6.7M shares in a planned equity sale. LinkedIn will pair the stock from the selling shareholders with its plans to sell another $100M in equity, which the social networking company first unveiled earlier this month. Yesterday, LinkedIn said it would sell a minimum of about 1.3M shares, or roughly $100.4M worth at its latest closing price.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/linkedin-shareholders-to-offer-shares.html


Two-Thirds Of Online U.S. Adults Use Social Media

MASHABLE - Nov 16 - The most common reason U.S. adults use social networks is to stay in touch with friends and family members, A Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project study reveals. Older users (ages 50 to 64) are more likely than younger users (ages 18 to 29) to use social media to find others with similar interests or hobbies. Only 3% of respondents say finding potential romantic or dating partners is a “major reason” they use social media. Conversely, 84% say it was “not a reason at all.”

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/two-thirds-of-online-us-adults-use-social-media.html


Quepasa's Last Horrendous Quarter

THE MOTLEY FOOL - Nov 15 - Quepasa revenue plunged 46% to a mere $1.5M. The drop occurred primarily due to a 32% plunge in monthly active users of its website. The quarterly deficit widened to $3.5M. Quepasa also served up 579M page views during the quarter, 29% ahead of where it was a year ago. In short, there may be fewer users around but they're more engaged even if they're not being monetized more effectively.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/quepasas-last-horrendous-quarter.html

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iTelebill is offering mobile recurring billing which leads to higher conversions at no additional cost to site. Perfect for members where credit cards are not possible. Visit www.itelebill.com.

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Google Joins $250 Million Social Network Fund

ITPRO PORTAL - Nov 14 - Google joined the $250 Million sFund for investing in "small social networking startups" which was started by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), a world leading venture capital firm last year.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/google-joins-250-million-social-network-fund-.html


IAC Launches Crowded Room To Help Users Make Real Friends

VATOR.TV - Nov 14 - IAC's new app Crowded Room aims to make that very online/offline social networking bridge by helping users connect with people who frequent the same hangout spots. The service is clearly geared toward those who are looking for love…or something like it. Users can even meet people at places they plan to go, such as a party, via the “Go” button, which allows them to sync up their check-ins with Facebook, Foursquare, or Twitter.

http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/11/iac-launches-crowded-room-to-help-users-make-real-friends.html

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:~ DAILY DEALS OBSERVER ~:

Interview with Jajoop's CEO, Kelly Kampen - Thailand’s Daily Deal Site
http://www.dailydealsobserver.com/daily_deals_observer/2011/11/interview-with-the-ceo-of-jajoop-kelly-kampen-thailands-daily-deal-site.html

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The business conference for the social networking industry @ SocialMediaConference.com

Industry Message Boards @ mb.socialnetworkingonference.com

Conference Organiser, Marc Lesnick, marc@lesnick.net, 212-722-1744

Social Networking Watch, www.socialnetworkingwatch.com or snw1.com

Editor: Mark Brooks, mark@socialnetworkingwatch.com, 212-444-1636