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 ~:
*NEW*: VIDEO UPDATE ON MOSCOW: http://socialmediaconference.com/T/4.php (includes Visa Info)
*NEW: PHOTOS FROM LA (JUNE): http://socialmediaconference.com/T/6.php
MOSCOW EVENT (SEPT 29-30, 2011):
The next social media conference will be held in Moscow, RUSSIA on September 29-30 2011.
Speakers include Odnoklassniki, Mail.ru, Moneybookers, Kiwi, Megaphone, Sheremetevo Airport, professionali.ru, livejournal.com, erTelecom.ru, IQMan.ru...and others.
Please plan now for your travel.
Visa info: http://www.socialmediaconference.com/venue-moscow-2011.php
Register before July 31 and save $295!
http://www.socialmediaconference.com/form-1-moscow.php
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:~ TWITTER ~:
Get the Social Networking Watch newsfeed delivered straight to your Twitter account: http://twitter.com/social_news
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:~ THE 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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:~ TOP SOCIAL NETWORKING WATCH NEWS ITEMS ~:
The Top Viral Video Campaign, Updated July 21st, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/adcampaign116
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Spotify Hits 70,000 Paid U.S. Users After 1 Week
MASHABLE - July 24 - Spotify reportedly signing up 70K paid subscribers in its first week of availability. Prior to its stateside debut, Spotify had 10M registered users with 1.6M paying for the service.
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/07/spotify-hits-70000-paid-us-users-after-1-week-.html
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Twitter Closing $800M Funding Round at $8 Billion Valuation
MASHABLE - July 21 - Twitter is in the process of completing an $800M funding round that will value the company at ~$8 billion. According to All Things Digital, the funding will be a two-stage deal. The first $400M will go toward the company itself, while the second $400M will be set aside for cashing out employees and existing investors.
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/07/twitter-closing-800m-funding-round-at-8-billion-valuation-.html
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Halve your customer service team costs! Procall knows internet dating, and is ready to help you offshore your customer service center, and compete!
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Vostu Goes on the Offensive Against Zynga
TECH CRUNCH - July 20 - Zynga hit Brazilian gaming startup Vostu with a massive lawsuit last month, alleging that the company was copying Zynga’s games so closely that they even inadvertently included the bugs. Today, Vostu responded with a 368 paragraph document of their own. Vostu’s defense also includes numerous illustrations of how Zynga has copied other games repeatedly over the years. Vostu also suggests the real reason Zynga sued is a failed partnership negotiation and Zynga’s competitive efforts in Brazil.
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/07/vostu-goes-on-the-offensive-against-zynga.html
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MyYearbook.com Sold for $100 Million
PHILLYBURBS - July 20 - MyYearbook.com will be sold to Quepasa Corp. for $100M. Quepasa will pay $82M in common stock and $18M in cash in the deal. Catherine Cook and her brother, David, founded myYearbook.com while they were still high school students. Older brother Geoff serves as the company's CEO. Catherine is director of business development. Together, the two companies had annual revenues of $33.6M and earnings of $5.9M as of March 31.
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/07/myyearbookcom-sold-for-100-million.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+ Reportedly Hitting 18 Million Users
CNET NEWS - July 20 - Google+ may have grabbed as many as 18M users just three weeks after launch. Meanwhile, the Google+ iOS app, which launched yesterday, has already climbed the charts to become the top free iPhone app in Apple's App Store.
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/07/google-reportedly-hitting-18-million-users.html
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Study: Facebook at Bottom on Customer Satisfaction
CNET NEWS - July 19 - Facebook may be one of the most popular sites around, but it doesn't seem to be one of the most loved. Facebook scored dead last in a new study by analytics firm ForeSee Results that tracked customer satisfaction among a variety of Web sites and companies. Although Facebook's reputation actually grew 3% from last year to reach 66 out of 100, the site was at the bottom of the barrel among not only social networks but all companies measured. Wikipedia topped the satisfaction list, with a score of 78, while YouTube took second place, with a score of 74. MySpace failed to make the cut at all.
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/07/study-facebook-at-bottom-on-customer-satisfaction.html
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Don't make your registrants wait for their photos to be manually reviewed. OculusAI uses machine vision technology to automatically scan photos in seconds. This will save you human review costs, improve site quality and boost your registrant to paying member conversions. For more information visit http://oculusai.com/ProductsAIR.html.
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Colunching.com Launched in New York
SNW TIP - July 19 - Colunching.com, a french culinary network, has moved to New York. This free site lets users organize lunches and dinners in small groups and taking advantage of deals from local restaurants.
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/07/colunchingcom-launched-in-new-york.html
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Grindr's Founder to Launch Social Networking App
THE AGE - July 17 - Grindr's founder Joel Simkhai will next month launch a location-based app code-named Project Amicus - amicus is Latin for ''friend''. While Grindr is primarily for gay men looking for spontaneous sex, Amicus is intended as a way for everyone to expand their social circle, Simkhai says. While Simkhai is tight-lipped about how the app will find ''similar'' people, he says it will use GPS technology and leverage off social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. ''Project Amicus is less about dating and more about making friends. It will be a tool to find other people around you that are like you,'' he explains.
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/07/grindrs-founder-to-launch-social-networking-app-.html
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Social Media Conference
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
Media Relations
Press, please contact Mark Brooks
mark@socialnetworkingwatch.com,
212-444-1636
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Social Networking Watch
www.socialnetworkingwatch.com or snw1.com
Editor: Mark Brooks,
mark@socialnetworkingwatch.com,
212-444-1636
