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New Media News Every Morning

New filtering software blocks MySpace, Facebook

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myspace-blocker.jpgSolid Oak Software, a company which provides Internet filtering products for parents and others, announced today a new program designed to block access to select popular social networking sites. CyberSitter Social Networking Blocker is available now for free personal usage.

CyberSitter Social Networking Blocker, said Solid Oak, is designed to block unauthorized access to MySpace and FaceBook. It also blocks access to several hundred known Web proxies that can be used to bypass filtering programs.

“We have been doing this longer than anyone else out there,” says Brian Milburn, president of Solid Oak Software. “We have the expertise, we know the web sites, and we know the dangers, and we are stepping up and giving away a tool we hope will help keep kids a little safer and help parents sleep a little better.”

Originally posted on July 31, 2007 @ 7:51 pm

Fotolog becoming extremely popular

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fotologcom.jpgFotolog, which recently announced a multi-year search agreement with Google, showcased a variety of numbers today showing how it is becoming one of the most popular social media networks. This data is drawn from a variety of sources.

Fotolog said that, according to comScore, it now has 4.6 million daily visitors, more than 15 million monthly uniques, 25.4 minutes average minutes per usage day and more than 21 average monthly visits per visitor. These measures rank Fotolog 19th worldwide in average minutes and 11th in average visits. It also now has 10 million members, over 100 million photos and is getting daily around 700,000 photo uploads.

“Fotolog is on a tear – we’re adding 30,000 members a day and have welcomed 5 million so far this year as we continue to make our user experience even more interesting and compelling through our partnerships with Google and AOL,” said John Borthwick, Fotolog’s Chief Executive Officer. “Just 14 days after we launched AOL’s chat service, one-third of all the people who ever signed up to Fotolog enabled Fotolog Messenger.”

Originally posted on July 31, 2007 @ 8:22 pm

Quincy Jones premieres video podcast series

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quincy-jones.jpgLegendary entertainment industry figure Quincy Jones debuted today a new video podcast series through a partnership with podcast distributor Wizzard Media. The video podcast offering is part of a plan by Jones to go more digital as he launches an enhanced personal Web site to host the podcasts and other content.

The new Quincy Jones video podcast series will comprise at least 26 episodes in the first year. It will include “footage of him at work in the studio with some of today’s biggest stars and at exclusive events around the globe. Also featured in upcoming video podcast episodes will be Quincy on film, popular culture, politics and events on the national and international stage.”

The first video podcast shows Jones “in the studio producing Celine Dion’s version of I Knew I Loved You, recorded for the tribute album We All Love Ennio Morricone and slated for inclusion on Dion’s upcoming Greatest Hits album…it allows viewers to experience the recording and production process with Quincy and Celine and hear Quincy sharing candid and personal thoughts on the project.”

Originally posted on July 31, 2007 @ 8:11 pm

Realtor.com now updates listings every 15 minutes

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realtor-com.jpgRealtor.com, which recently added a Windows Mobile offering for those seeking real estate information, announced today they would be more frequently updating listings in participating metro areas. It currently updates listings from nearly half of the 900 MLS systems across the US multiple times per day.

Realtor.com is shooting to increase listing updates every 15 minutes. The company hopes to increase the number of properties being updated in 15 minute increments from more than 500,000 every 15 minutes today to more than a million later this year. Some of the metro areas getting thie more frequent listings include Washington DC and Baltimore, Atlanta, Orange County, Boston, Memphis, Las Vegas, Ft. Myers, Cincinnati, Northern Michigan, North San Francisco Bay area and the Silicon Valley, and San Jose.

“Nothing’s more frustrating than going online to research properties and finding you’re basing a decision on old or out-of-date information,” said Realtor.com President Errol Samuelson. “With 15-minute MLS updates, consumers now have access to comprehensive information on listings in as close to real time as possible. This means a seller’s home will be visible to potential buyers faster and buyers will be able to find new homes or price reductions faster.”

Originally posted on July 30, 2007 @ 3:52 pm

Teletrade to auction online large gold coin

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big-gold-coin.jpgHow would you like to own a pizza-sized gold coin? If you are the highest bidder in the upcoming online auction put on by Escala Group, a global collectibles company in stamps, coins and militaria, you will.

The coin, which will be on auction beginning August 16, is a 100 kilogram coin published by the Royal Canadian Mint. It weighs over 220 pounds contains more than $2 million of gold bullion. The auction coincides with the launch of Teletrade Direct, a new service to sell gold, silver and platinum bullion coins.

“It’s the most valuable coin ever offered in an online-only auction,” said Ian Russell, President of Teletrade, an online rare coin auction company. Teletrade is part of Escala’s Spectrum Numismatics division.

Originally posted on July 30, 2007 @ 4:10 pm