Daily Bits

Social Networks

Finally, Facebook Connect Does Something to Compete with Google Friend Connect

by

Even if Facebook and Google won’t admit it, there is an underlying competition between Facebook Connect and Google Friend Connect . The lack of the word Friend on Facebook’s Connect service is not enough to cloak the fact that Google Friend Connect was meant to compete with Facebook Connect.  And the turn of events the past couple of days may have ignited this rivalry. Google recently introduced the Google Friend Connect social toolbar which allows you to add a long strip of gray bar on top or at the bottom of your website. This social toolbar can contain some socialization feature among which is a commenting using a user’s Google Friend Connect account.

Facebook probably knew that Google FC has one upped them with the social bar, so it has announced through the Facebook Developer’s blog that they are rolling out a commenting widget through a Facebook Connect application. You might say that this is nothing compared to Google Friend Connect’s Social Toolbar since it’s only for comments while Google FC’s toolbar can also contain other cool Google gadgets. And Facebook knows we’re going to ask this so it has peppered the Facebook Connect Comment widget with a nice feature that we will all surely love. The Facebook Connect comment widget will also display comments posted on your profile in reference to a given comment thread. Hence, integrating comments made on your Facebook profile and the Facebook Connect comments  on your site. 

We won’t discuss how you can enable the Facebook Connect Comment Widget on your site since this is a bit on the technical side. If you are really interested, you may check out the  Facebook Developers’ site for a detailed instruction on how to do this.

Can Advertising Work on Social Networks ?

by

Can social networks be made advertiser friendly ? This is the top question on the mind of both Web companies and media giants that have bought into the social networking pie. There is still the missing piece to making advertising click and its even being questioned whether companies should attempt to do so.

From the patent side, Bill Slawski at Seo By The Sea has a post on a latest filing from Google on using the details from a user’s profile, contacts and groups to place ads in context on their page. What is interesting is that in case the profile information is scanty, the system will provide advertisements based on the tastes of the contacts of with whom the user is connected.

Technology aside, Facebook’s experience with the Beacon program has resulted in some serious questions on how to make money of social networks in a manner that users find tolerable. The problem here is that social networks are not exactly media that users consume. Unlike search, video or other form of media, there is no immediate tangible motive for a person on a social network. There is also the question as to whether social networks need to be monetized at all. From the point of view of a brand promotion, social networks are great avenues. But move that space over from being company hosted to being a generic online hang-out and brand promotion becomes all so intrusive.

The ideal solution to make money off social networks continues to remain illusive. Constant experimentation by the likes of Google and FaceBook will hopefully result in some sustainable form of revenue generation.

A Music Player from MySpace ?

by

MySpace Music, the one stop for all music aficionados, could be graduating to a mp3 player, a la iPod. The suggestion was made by the MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe at the Web 2.0 summit in San Francisco in a talk with Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. The MySpace Music service has been very successful if you consider the figures.

An excerpt from Reuters:

People streamed music more than 1 billion times in the first few days and have created 80 million playlists since the launch, DeWolfe said. Five million bands upload their music to the site.

But will the service be able to make a dent to the success of the iPod. Several attempts such as Microsoft’s Zune have not made much of difference. What could be the benefit of a MySpace backed mp3 player ? It could provide a platform for young artists to further their fan base. Also, by adding support for syncing with Linux, Windows and other operating systems the music player could boast a wider platform support than iTunes.

Social Network friendly features could be an added plus. With MySpace having initially started as a online space for music artists, this would be more like going back to their old days. The metrics are definitely favorable for introducing mobile devices tailored to social networking use but what MySpace will be figuring out is whether they are better off doing partnerships with handset makers, including direct support for cell-phones with Music Store support. Would you be interested in owning a device that carried your MySpace network too ?

2007: The Year of Social Networking

by

An article at PC World does a great job of summarizing the major developments in social networking space in 2007 and ponders over the prospects and uncertainties for 2008.

One insightful point mentioned in the article is how innovation at start-ups startles tech giants. Google, the great Web firm that one-upped Yahoo in claiming the search crown and hailed as the poster child of innovation was beaten at the social networking front. All the major internet firms such as Yahoo, Google and MS were done in by FaceBook which sort of perfected the concept of applications around social networks.

Social Networking is moving from the domain of an ‘nice add-on’ feature to a must-have even at the enterprise level. Various organizations are now waking up to the possibility that to attract the next generation of talent, it is essential to incorporate the flavor of social networking and connectivity within the enterprise.

While there were major salvos fired at FaceBook’s walled garden approach to social networking apps (which it did counter by licensing the F8 platform), it will be LinkedIn’s progress in the API space that will be really interesting. Being a site for business networking, it is one network that will really see a boost with professional networking going beyond just the website to the Web as such.

But another shift that can also be expected is the increased availability of affordable feature-rich mobile phones and compelling mobile applications. Apart from the enterprise user, the benefits of mobile applications have not really trickled down to the casual user. 2008 will hopefully be the year when mobile applications especially for social networking will really take off. Since Google has made several bold moves in the mobile space, expect a lot of innovation in this front.

Overall, its been a great year for Social Networking and for 2008 there’s a lot to anticipate.

Use Technology To Boost Communication In Your Small Business

by

Communication is an important aspect of any size business. Your business needs excellent internal and external communication. Keeping in touch with your target consumer is just as impactful as keeping your team of professionals connected.

Technology is your most powerful tool when your goal is to enhance communication efforts within your organization. It pays to understand the power you have at your fingertips, so check out a brief look at some of the most efficient ways to use technology to boost communication in your small business.

Utilize VoIP technology

Voice over Internet Protocol technology gives your business the ability to ditch the LAN lines. There’s no longer a need to pay for traditional telephone lines to keep communication open for your operation. Save your funds, and switch to VoIP. [Read more…] about Use Technology To Boost Communication In Your Small Business

3 Things You Didn’t Know Could Be Addictive

by

Everyone seems to know that certain vices can be extremely addictive and require rehab. The most common addictions are drugs and alcohol which most people are aware of as risks. However, what most people don’t realize is that there are many things beyond drugs and alcohol which can be addictive and require attention.

Addictions don’t have to have a physical dependence in order to be considered an addiction. Addiction means not being able to carry through with your day to day life without fixating on a habitual action or desire. The urge becomes so great that a person is incapable of continuing their day without seeking out this thing and in some cases, their lives can spiral out of control as a result. Here are some of the most common things that people didn’t even realize can be addictions. [Read more…] about 3 Things You Didn’t Know Could Be Addictive