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New Media News Every Morning

Social networking applications a $428 million market by 2009

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idc.jpgAccording to IDC report, the social networking applications market is expected to jump from $46.8 million in 2006 to $428.3 million by 2009. As the market develops, social networking functionality will be built into core communication platforms like email and instant messaging (IM) applications and the market, particularly the enterprise segment, will consolidate.

“Social networking is the new must-have communication application and is being used for both marketing and operational efficiency,” said Rachel Happe, research manager for the Digital Business Economy at IDC. “Social networking applications drive engagements, information exposure, and conversions as well as reducing marketing and operational costs.”

There are three social networking segments emerging, IDC’s research indicates. These include: self-service applications used by groups and marketing campaign teams; brand applications that focus on persistent customer engagement; and enterprise applications that provide more effective ways of working with customers, partners, and other external parties.

Originally posted on September 6, 2007 @ 2:37 am

Facebook to open user profiles to search engines

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welcome_3.gifFacebook announced through a blog post that a new feature will open user profiles to search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN.

Philip Fung, a Facebook engineer, said that “the public search listing contains less information than someone could find right after signing up anyway, so we’re not exposing any new information, and you have complete control over your public search listing.”

The move is seen to boost trafic and advertising revenues.

Originally posted on September 5, 2007 @ 12:55 pm

BETA Records UK launches

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betarecords.jpg The success of an online recording company promoting unsigned artists, BETA Records, in the USA, Germany and Mexico has motivated the owners to extend its reach to UK with BETA Records UK. Additional expansion is planned with pending deals in the Netherlands and China expected by year-end.

In case you’re an aspiring artist still looking for a big break, Beta Records will be a big help to you. You can get their personal Web presence together with complete hosting of your songs, biography, contact information, and photos. In addition to that, you can also receive networking, studio appearances, live shows, airplay on BETA Radio (http://www.BETA.fm), and presentation to decision-makers throughout the fields of music, motion pictures, television, radio and live venues.

“BETA Records is opening its online portal to singers, songwriters, instrumentalists, bands and fans everywhere, but with the additional advantage of local land-based operations, expanding global distribution channels and new revenue opportunities across BETA’s multiple ecosystem platforms,” states co-founder Chris Honetschlaeger.

Originally posted on September 4, 2007 @ 11:59 pm

SpinVox Voice Message powers Truemors.com

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truemors.jpgSpinVox announced that its voice-to-text conversion system is now supporting Truemors.com, the news and social networking site that allows people to post time-sensitive rumors, news and sightings. SpinVox enables Truemors’ users to speak entries into any phone which then appear as text on the Truemors site.

“Posting content in real-time is a key to the success of Truemors. News happens anytime and anywhere, most often it’s nowhere near a keyboard and Internet access. SpinVox extends our reach so users can ‘speak’ a sighting or a piece of breaking news into any phone, enhancing the immediate nature of the site and its value,” said Guy Kawasaki, founder of Truemors.

SpinVox currently enables Six Apart bloggers to post entries simply by speaking into a phone and the text appears on their blog sites. SpinVox has also announced a deal with internet calling company Skype, which, once launched, will enable its users to have all their voice messages converted and sent directly to their cell phones as an SMS when they are not at their PC.

Originally posted on September 4, 2007 @ 9:53 am

CareerBuilder.com joins Facebook

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careerbuilder.jpgCareerBuilder.com, the U.S.’s largest online job site, announced it is now offering job and internship matching applications on Facebook Platform. Its smart technology scans the Facebook user’s profile for information such as major in school, hometown and network and then matches it with the most relevant jobs available in its database of over 1.5 million.

CBcampus.com, CareerBuilder.com’s college job and internship search site, also provides an internship matching application for college
students who aren’t quite ready for a full-time, permanent position.

“Building a job matching application on Facebook Platform enables CareerBuilder to interface with a large, highly interactive community dominated by users who are choosing and building career paths. We are making the job search process easier and more convenient for Facebook users while providing employers with a unique way to market their job openings,” said CareerBuilder.com Consumer Marketing Vice President Richard Castellini.

Originally posted on August 28, 2007 @ 11:58 pm