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 ~:
Next social networking conference will be held in Miami and is scheduled for January 23-30 2012.
Register before October 31 and save $575.
http://www.socialnetworkingconference.com/form-1-miami.php
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:~ TOP SOCIAL NETWORKING WATCH NEWS ITEMS AND INTERVIEW ~:
The Top Viral Video Campaign, Updated September 29th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/adcampaign126
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PassMyWill Is a Will For Your Online Assets and Passwords
TECH CRUNCH - Oct 3 - PassMyWill distributes your social network passwords to your trusted loved ones after you die. You create an account with your name and enter who your next of kin is and their email address. You also enter an encryption key that the recipient would know. And then you enter the data, passwords and more that you want your next of kin to takeover once you pass. When you die, this information will be passed on to the recipient.
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/10/passmywill-is-a-will-for-your-online-assets-and-passwords.html
Blendr Social App Raises Fears
BOSTON HERALD - Oct 3 - Blendr, a new location-based app, is raising concerns that it could be used to prey on teens. Blendr, which doesn’t bill itself as a dating app like Grindr, lets users know how close they are to others by relying on a smartphone’s GPS or Facebook’s location software. But child advocates aren’t viewing the new app as just a way to make friends and review places. When asked for its position, the company pointed to a 2010 statement: “As an added protection, we encourage parents to add Apple’s parental controls to their children’s iPod Touches, iPhones and iPads to help ensure that their children cannot access 17-and-over sites and apps. Grindr strongly condemns the inappropriate and criminal use of our service and actively cooperates with local authorities on any alleged illegal activity on our service.”
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/10/blendr-social-app-raises-fears.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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Twitter Revenue to Hit $400 Million by 2013
MASHABLE - Sep 30 - The success of Twitter‘s Promoted Products will propel the company into $400M in revenue in 2013 compared to $45M last year. Twitter will earn $139.5M this year, a 210% YOY, according to eMarketer. Twitter has 100M active users compared to 800M for Facebook.
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/09/twitter-revenue-to-hit-400-million-by-2013.html
Google in Talks to Acquire Katango
TECH CRUNCH - Sep 29 - Google is in talks to acquire Katango, the Kleiner-backed startup that uses algorithms to automatically sort your friends into different groups, with very little effort required on the user’s part. Katango would be a very obvious fit for Google Because Google+ revolves around grouping your friends into different Circles.
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/09/google-in-talks-to-acquire-katango.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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Facebook Wins First Round in Fight With Teachbook
PAID CONTENT - Sep 28 - A federal judge refused to dismiss its complaint against Teachbook, a site for teachers. Teachbook markets itself as a “professional online community for teachers” where educators can enjoy social networking and share resources in a student-free forum. In response to a trademark complaint from Facebook, the company tried to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that the two sites look nothing alike. Teachbook also argued the word “book” is generic, and called the court’s attention to Facebook groups with names like “Catbook” and “Faithbook.” Facebook has recently grown more aggressive in defending perceived threats to its brand. Earlier this year, it succeeded in taking down a website run by Friendfinder called FacebookOfSex and is suing to recover damages. It is also moving to take down another “adult dating” site called Shagbook. And in August, it settled its case against parody-site Lamebook, allowing the website to remain online provided it disavow any association with Facebook.
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/09/facebook-wins-first-round-in-fight-with-teachbook-.html
Yammer Raised $17 Million
TECH CRUNCH - Sep 27 - Yammer, an enterprise social network and communications platform, has raised $17M in new funding led by The Social+Capital Partnership, a new fund established by former Facebook VP Chamath Palihapitiya. Previous investors Charles River Ventures, Emergence Capital and U.S. Venture Partners also participated in the round. Palihapitiya will have an observer’s seat on Yammer’s board of directors. This brings Yammer’s total financing to $57M.
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/09/yammer-raised-17-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+ Has 43 Million Users
MASHABLE - Sep 27 - Google+ was grabbing a record number of new users. According to Paul Allen, Ancestry.com co-founder and unofficial Google+ statistician, Google+ is up to ~43.4M users — and ~30% of them have been added in the few days since Google+ opened itself to the public.
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/09/google-has-43-million-users.html
Renren Buys Video Sharing Site 56.com for $80 Million
TECH CRUNCH - Sep 27 - Chinese social network Renren has purchased China-based video and photo sharing site 56.com. The deal size is ~$80M. Founded in 2005, 56.com is a Chinese video sharing site where users can upload, view and share videos, similar to YouTube. Renren has ~30M active monthly users and ~100M registered users in total. The social network recently went public earlier this year.
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/09/renren-buys-video-sharing-site-56com-for-80-million.html
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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
