The Daily Poll: Are You Suffering from Social Networking Fatigue?
January 31, 2008
Chris Williams from The Reigster has penned a fairly critical piece about the state of social networking, based on some recent data from comScore that shows user engagement (the amount of time people spend on a site) falling at a number of leading sites including MySpace and Bebo. While the numbers are pretty grim for some sites, it should be noted that November and December are typically slow due to the holidays, and some networks such as Facebook and hi5 actually showed user engagement growth year-over-year.
The article is also laced with bubble talk, as Williams quotes Ted Dzuiba of Uncov, “I remember a time, long long ago, when tech companies spent their own venture capital on each other, so revenues were all booked from the same small pool of money. Yeah, as I recall, it didn’t end well,” alluding of course to the tech bubble of the late 90s.
In any event, today’s poll, to our highly unbiased audience of social networking aficionados, web startups, and VCs who back such companies:
16 More Years (at least) of Brin, Page, and Schmidt at Google
January 31, 2008
A brief interview with Fortune Magazine reveals that Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, along with CEO Eric Schmidt, made a pact shortly before the company’s 2004 IPO to stay at the company for at least 20 years. That means that we’ve got at least 16 years left with the trio leading what is currently the world’s biggest search engine.
It also means that they are firmly committed to seeing through Google’s many initiatives outside of search, such as wireless, print advertising, Google Knol, and countless other projects currently sitting in Google Labs.
So, what will the company look like in 2024 when the top Googlers start thinking about retirement? Pontificate in the comments.
Amazon Dishes Out $300 Million for Audible
January 31, 2008
Amazon has announced the acquisition of Audible, one of the biggest online providers of audio content, including audiobooks, radio and TV programme, and audio versions of magazines. Audible.com offers over 80,000 programs, and its roster includes audiobooks from authors such as Stephen King, Thomas Friedman, and Jane Austen. The $300 million dollar deal is expected to close by the second quarter of 2008.
Let’s hear that in marketingese:
“Audible.com offers the best customer experience, the widest content selection and the broadest device compatibility in the industry,” said Steve Kessel, Amazon.com’s senior vice president for worldwide digital media. “Working together, we can introduce more innovations and bring this format to an even wider audience.”
It’s not hard to guess that this acquisition has everything to do with Kindle, Amazon’s not-so-pretty but promising e-book reader, which can also reproduce audiobooks. The Kindle provides users with the ability to wirelessly download 90,000 e-books; together with Audible’s catalog this number is almost doubled. Now, if only the Kindle could be a bit more iphoneish in its next iteration…
KickApps Version 3.0 Released Today; New API Dev Kit Inside
January 31, 2008
KickApps, a Web platform development company that provides tools to a variety of clients - from individuals to big businesses (spotlight partners include ABC Family, The CW, and Vibe) – unveiled Version 3.0 of its SaaS application suite today.
The updates made to its social media utilities are meant to enable publishers and Internet developers “of all levels and experience” easier deployment of creations ranging from online communities (a.k.a., social networks), video players, widgets, and more.
Highlighted in the newly introduced v3.0 suite is the KickApps API Developer Kit. It allows users the option to delve to “deeper levels of integration and customization” than was possible with previous iterations of the software package. The “robust and secure” APIs offer developers the ability to more tightly integrate designs with already existing materials – including both applications and content.
All facets of KickApps software solutions are built with ease of use and openness in mind. With Version 3.0, you’re given the power to establish social media communities in minutes. Registration, choosing templates and themes, and establishing applications ranging from video and audio devices to blogs to message boards are tasks that KickApps now claims requires considerably less effort.
Provided within KickApps Version 3.0 is a WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get) construction environment called “Site Styler,” great benefit for those who wish to work with CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) to perfect their designs if the basic provisions won’t do. A Flex-based Widget Studio is present as well. The WS is also constructed in WYSIWYG fashion, giving users a friendly, drag-and-drop visual development center in which to build small and adaptable applications. A feed management system is provided within the WS, simplifying the organization of RSS preferences as well as optioning “one-click syndication to all major social networks and portals.”
(Widget Studio is in BETA form; a final, official release is schedule for March.)
The most profound addition presented in Version 3.0 is certainly the API developer kit. KickApps has implemented an open standard for its REST-based APIs, effectively offering near complete power to the coder. (That’s you.)
One can customize just about everything, from the workflow to design to management. If you wish to leave it up to the default systems KickApps provides in Version 3.0 to help you get the CSS, the HTML, the Flash, and all else out the door, you may of course do so. But if you want all controls firmly under your command, the API kit is built to give you that freedom.
And we can’t forget to mention the new KickApps 3.0 Affiliate Center. That’s where developers handle everything from deployment to monetization. The new version of the AC delivers real-time data readings, “essential to growing audience and engagement.” All major advertising networks may be accessed from which the AC’s advert manager.
Check out KickApps.com to give Version 3.0 a spin.
Also, KickDeveloper.com is a great information resource and support center that can help you make the most of the software suite.
Hookups Get More Random, with Jangl on Plenty of Fish
January 31, 2008
What’s this? Plenty of Fish is doing something somewhat innovative? The very successful , “no-gimmicks” dating site run by one man in his apartment is not known for its great user interface design, or even for its feature set. So it’s a noteworthy thing when we find out that Plenty of Fish is the latest to integrate Jangl VoIP services in order to offer click-to-call options for its dating users.
I’m already imagining in what direction Plenty of Fish could potentially head towards with such integrated calling options, but I don’t think the users, or PoF owner Markus Frind, will mind.
Speaking of hookups, the match between Jangl and Plenty of Fish seemed like one made in heaven, considering PoF is very much involved with the promotion of a free, ad-supported network and Jangl is just now beginning to get its feet wet for running ads on its phone service.
Aside from that, we’ve had a front seat to Jangl’s wild ride of growth this past year. The VoIP service worked hard to get its calling features in front of as many faces as possible, with an integrated solution that presented a call to action that was irresistible–putting its call buttons on social networking profiles around the world. From Facebook to Bebo, and even PoF competitor Match.com, Jangl is achieving its goals.
Meebo Rooms Launches API and an Ad Network to Monetize It
January 31, 2008
Meebo is adding an API to Meebo Rooms, as well as launching what it calls the Meebo Network so partners can share in revenue from advertising.
While Meebo already had an API and offered Meebo Rooms for integration with Facebook applications, this latest option from Meebo lets developers use the Meebo Rooms API for combining applications with the their existing user base. This means that if you run an online community and want to add Meebo chatrooms, your users will be able to seamlessly use their existing usernames and passwords.
As for the ad network, the revenue split for the Meebo Network is 50%, and a licensing option is available for those that would rather have an ad-free chat room. As with many other integrated, media advertising options, Meebo will be testing ad placement within its new network in order to further automate the process with additional features of implementing optimal ad placement for future use.
Meebo has announced five partners for the launch of these two new programs: Piczo, Revision3, RockYou, Social Project and Tagged.
1-800-FREE411 Sells Out Half Its Ad Inventory For the Year, Growth Steadies.
January 31, 2008
What’s not to love about free 411 calls? Jingle Networks, which operates 1-800-FREE411, says it has sold out its entire inventory of sponsorship ads for 2008. These are ten-second audio spots that you listen to before you get your free directory assistance from national sponsors like AMC Theaters, Earthlink, Cablevision, McDonald’s, Miller Brewing, and Nationwide. Jingle has actually sold only half of its inventory, though, since there are two ad spots per call—one for national sponsors and one for local/targeted ads. It is the first spot that is sold out. But selling half of your inventory for the year by the end of January is not a bad place to be.
1-800-FREE411 is getting 20 million directory-assistance call a month, which is up 18 percent from last March. The company says that gives it a 6 percent market share of the 3.8 billion total 411 calls placed in the U.S. annually (up from 4 percent about a year ago). 1-800-FREE411 is more of a mobile and pure telephone play. It’s Website, where you can also get free directory numbers and is integrated with Skype, is basically an afterthought. Traffic to the site has declined from a peak of about 850,000 U.S. visitors a month a year ago to less than 100,000 a month, according to comScore. But then, you can get phone numbers on the Web simply by searching Google.
Parent company Jingle Networks has raised nearly $75 million in four rounds from First Round Capital, Goldman Sachs, IDG Ventures Boston, and Hearst.
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KickApps Wades into Ning Territory with Version 3.0
January 31, 2008
KickApps is implementing a lot of new features and capabilities with its newest release, version 3.0, which debuts today. For a complete list of the improvements, you can check out the company’s official release (see the summary in the second half).
The upgrades are largely divided between those that appeal to advanced publishers and those that appeal to novice consumers. The API Developer Kit, which we covered just a little while ago but is still considered as part of this release, certainly appeals to the technically advanced by allowing them to access KickApps’ architecture directly. More sophisticated network activity reporting will also appeal to advanced users who need to track the “performance” of their online communities.
In the other camp, we have new tools that help non-technical people build social networks with KickApps. As the press release puts it, “anyone can launch a full-featured social media community in minutes.” This was always true with KickApps, strictly speaking, but until now the company has never made it easy for people lacking HTML and CSS skills to make attractive, non-standard sites.
Now the platform provides not only a selection of site themes but also a WYSIWYG Site Styler that lays on top of your site and lets you point and click your way to a new look. The Affiliate Center (KickApps’s term for a site’s control panel) has also been redesigned to hold the hands of novice users a bit more. If you haven’t created a video, added a forum, or loaded a profile picture, it will suggest you take these steps to foster your community. A new Flash-based widget studio, announced in beta today but not yet available publicly, will also make the creation of advanced widgets more feasible for regular consumers.
KickApps has always differentiated itself from competitor Ning by focusing on content publishers and media companies. While Ning appeals to individuals who want to easily set up social networks for their various interests, KickApps appeals more to organizations who are looking for ways to publish and market their content online through social media. KickApps insists that its new tools are targeted at its own long tail, not Ning’s; that is to say, intended for smaller yet still serious content publishers. However, the more accessible KickApps makes its product - and this release is predominantly about making it more accessible - the more it will overlap with Ning and compete directly with that company.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
What Does The Future Hold For The Pirate Bay?
January 31, 2008
Although many BitTorrent users will testify that The Pirate Bay is not, and has never been the best BitTorrent search engine/tracker around, it’s definitely the most prominent one. Besides being “just another torrent site,” The Pirate Bay has been a vocal opponent of the entertainment industry’s practices, sometimes bordering on activism; most notably when they acquired the domain name IFPI.com, which had previously belonged to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
Today marks the start of a new chapter in the history of The Pirate Bay; soon, the team behind the popular site will be charged by the Swedish authorities with aiding or facilitating copyright infringement. Although they seem quite confident in their victory, their latest statements reveal a dose of pessimism. For example, their latest blog entry says the following: “In case we lose the pending trial (yeah right) there will still not be any changes to the site. The Pirate Bay will keep operating just as always. We’ve been here for years and we will be here many more.” The servers that host the site are not located in Sweden anymore; they’re scattered all around the world in such a way that even the site admins aren’t sure where they are.
However, regardless of whether the site stays live, the court’s decision in this case might determine many future cases similar to this one. Swedish laws and authorities have so far shown that they’re willing to listen to both sides and that they don’t easily break under the pressure from big media companies. But this time, the 4620 page long document of “evidence” against The Pirate Bay shows that the prosecutors are determined to break the site once and for all. If they succeed, it will spell trouble for all sites similar to the Pirate Bay; if they fail…well, the illustration that’s currently replacing The Pirate Bay’s standard pirate boat logo displays one possible scenario.
*Update: the news on the case is in; the four admins of The Pirate Bay have been charged with “assisting copyright infringement” for several software applications, films and music tracks. The prosecutor asks for a $188.000 fine for each of the four admins, as well as confiscation of their computers.
The Pirate Bay Makes $4 Million a Year on Illegal P2P File-Sharing, Says Prosecutor
January 31, 2008
When it comes to peer-to-peer file-sharing, as soon as one site is shut down, another takes its place. The current darling of the P2P world is the Pirate Bay, a search engine for BitTorrent files across the Web. It doesn’t actually host any of the files, but that is not stopping Swedish prosecutors from dragging them into court on behalf of Warner Bros., Colombia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Sony BMG, Universal and EMI.
According to one of those prosecutors, the Pirate Bay makes $4 million a year from advertising on its site. That site is currently tracking one million BitTorrent files, has 2.5 million registered users, and has peaked at more than 10 million simultaneous users downloading files at one time. That comes to $1.60 per registered user per year in terms of what they are worth to advertisers. Not a very high rate.
But then, this is a volume business.
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