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SplashCast, Hulu deliver online video to social networks

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For the first time and for free, social network users will be able to embed and watch entire seasons of popular shows on their MySpace.com and Facebook pages using SplashCast’s “social TV player” technology.

As more TV viewers continue to find their favorite shows online, Hulu.com is teaming with content syndication service SplashCast to distribute primetime television on MySpace.com and Facebook. Whenever new episodes are available on Hulu, SplashCast automatically syndicates the content directly to a viewer’s social network pages. Viewers also have access to the entire network of premium channels after installing a single SplashCast player. Additionally, viewers will be able to meet and interact with other fans watching the same shows.

The SplashCast player includes full episodes and clips from various seasons of each show, as well as interviews with the show’s characters, producers, and more. Fans can even upload their own humorous photos and videos for all to see, as well as view, rate and comment on photos and videos submitted by others.

Originally posted on December 10, 2008 @ 11:55 am

Finding love on social networks costly for some

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PandaLabs, Panda Security’s malware analysis and detection laboratory, has found rising incidence of a new cyber scam that involves a personalized email sent by someone claiming to have interest in befriending the recipient as a means of initiating a fraudulent request for money. While variations of these scams raised a red flag for intended victims many years ago, the rise of social networks has enabled criminals to better target their messages based on publically available profile data.

According to PandaLabs, victims of the scheme are lured in by a female sender that initiates contact by sending the recipient, typically a male, an email stating that she has seen his profile on a social network and would like to get to know him. Once the recipient is engaged in the correspondence, the sender begins asking questions about his interests, establishing a friendship with the intended victim and informing him of the fact that while she currently lives in Russia or an Eastern European country, she is planning to move to the country where the recipient lives. Each email is accompanied by photographs of the girl in question to help assure the recipient of her existence and the validity of her impending requests.

Some years ago, this type of fraud tended to arouse more suspicions, yet now, with so many people participating in social networks, they have become more plausible The next step in this scheme comes just when the girl is about to leave her country to meet her new friend. Last-minute “problems” begin to occur, ranging from holdups with a visa to bribes that need to be paid before she can leave the country. To overcome these obstacles, the girl asks for a small sum of money, never more than $500. Unfortunately for the unsuspecting new-found friend, the girl doesn’t actually exist; she is just a device created in order to steal money from gullible victims.

Originally posted on December 9, 2008 @ 1:54 pm

Friendster receives patent on compatibility scoring of online social networj users

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The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded Friendster a new patent entitled “Cpmpatibility Scoring of Users in a Social Network (U.S. Patent No. 7,451,161).

The latest patent describes a unique methodology used to calculate compatibility based on expressed interests between users of a social network. This includes scoring the compatibility between two members of a social network based on their interests and scoring the correlation between two interests for a given member of a social network.

Prior to this most recent fourth patent, Friendster was granted three social networking patents in 2006 and 2007:

In July 2006, Friendster was awarded its first U.S. patent describing how people are connected in the context of an online social network, titled “A System, Method and Apparatus for Connecting Users in an Online Computer System Based on Their Relationships within Social Networks” (U.S. Patent No. 7,069,308).

Friendster was granted a second U.S. patent in October 2006, which discloses the process of enriching other users’ profiles with text, video, pictures and additional content, titled “Method of Inducing Content Uploads in a Social Network” (U.S. Patent No. 7,117,254).

In March 2007, Friendster added another patent to its portfolio, titled “System and Method for Managing Connections in an Online Social Network” (U.S. Patent No. 7,188,153 B2), which describes a technology that allows members of a social network to manage their connections by, for example, adding friends; personalizing their network through arranging, ordering and classifying connections made in an online community; and managing these connections at will.

Originally posted on December 9, 2008 @ 12:32 pm

SchmartBoard launches social network for electronics enthusiasts

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SchmartBoard has launched Solder By Numbers, a social network and online electronic circuit design lab for electronics professionals, educators, students and hobbyists.

Professionals can find peers within the electronics industry and connect with them to share ideas and discuss electronics issues or employment opportunities. Educators can set up private rooms where they can have students create circuits online and communicate with them via VoIP with web cams to discuss the coursework or teach complete lessons. Students can enhance their learning experience with a plethora of tools and the ability to interact with others from around the world.

Hobbyists of all levels and special interest areas can create and share circuits and learn. Even “newbies” can visit the new site and now build electronic circuits because the site uses the same concept for building circuits as paint by numbers uses for art. With no previous experience users will be able to build electronic circuits. Users who apply for, and are authorized to, publish circuits in a Solder By Numbers format will earn income every time someone builds their circuit.

    Some of the features on the site are:

  • Electronics Lab, Circuit Library
  • Company Directory, Jobs Posting
  • Create Profile, Blog and Make Friends
  • Clubs, Forums, Polls, Event Listings
  • Chat rooms, VoIP, Web Cams
  • Post Photos, Documents, Videos
  • Make Commission on Circuits

Originally posted on December 1, 2008 @ 7:54 am

Rocketron introduces mobile social network Forward to a Friend

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Asyncast Corporation, creators of Rocketron, has released Forward to a Friend, a new way to social network via the mobile phone. Forward to a Friend allows listeners to take any news story they hear on Rocketron and have it forwarded to their friend’s mobile phone. Listeners can choose from many categories such as business, international, technology, entertainment or sports, and network with their friends by forwarding the story with personal comments.

Rocketron is a hands-free, service that enables people to listen to personalized news via their phone anytime, anywhere. Using the latest in voice recognition technology, Rocketron listeners can hear the latest news and information on the go. The Forward to a Friend feature employs this hands-free technology to create a mobile social network whereby users can connect with their friends through sharing the news via mobile phone.

To use this feature:

Listeners identify an article of interest and simply say “forward” into their mobile phones.

Rocketron reads the listener a list of friends that they can send articles to. Once selected, Rocketron will optionally record the listener’s voice.

The next time their friends listen to Rocketron, the forwarded article along with the comment from the sender will be waiting for them. And, they don’t even have to be a member.

As with all things Rocketron, the recipient can say “next article” at any time to move on.

Originally posted on December 2, 2008 @ 10:58 pm