Social media gains credibility

Seen on: YouTube

Social media gained mainstream credibility in the 2008 election, as a way to engage voters. Barack Obama used it skillfully in his campaign.

Tech-Quotes: Social media

With social media, no one's figured out how to monetize things yet ... In a certain sense, it looks a lot like 1997. The hiccup will be if there is a recession.

Said in /Message

Yelp About!

Jeremy Stoppelman's local-review site is off the business-press radar. That's O.K. He's building credibility. Facebook it's not, but the site was visited by 9 million different users in the past 30 days, up from 5.5 million in November.

Yelp provides a compelling advertising platform. People go there intending to make a transaction—say, find a Thai restaurant in New York. And it's for that very reason that you really should be paying attention to Yelp.

> Something to Yelp About

Social Network: Hi-tech tools

Social networks are moving to make it much easier for developers to write add-ons for popular sites.

Bebo, Facebook, Meebo and Friendster have unveiled plans to help them become more than places to keep in touch. Despite the tie-up on tools, Bebo and Facebook will not become a unified network.

Related Link: 'Exodus' to virtual worlds predicted

In a broader announcement, Bebo unveiled its Open Application platform which will produce a set of common interfaces that developers can use to create applications that will work with the social-network site.

Social Networks - Daily Visitors

1. MySpace - 29 million
2. Facebook - 15 million
3. Friendster - 5.9 million
4. Orkut - 9.6 million
5. Bebo - 4.8 million

Source: ComScore July 2007

TV on Bebo

Bebo may have signed up to Google’s (NSDQ: GOOG) OpenSocial widget platform, but it’s trying to carve out the media platform space for itself.

It has launched Open Media, a system letting content owners publish videos from their shows using their own players and advertising, from which they keep all ad revenue.

It’s a significant move of strategic-direction for the UK’s top social network; to a media destination. Bebo has already embarked on original content production through LonelyGirl15 spin-off KateModern, Sofia’s Diary and now The Gap Year.

Via The New York Times

Image Day - Facebook Social Ads

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg speaks to press and advertising partners at a Facebook announcement in New York.

The online hangout said it plans to let companies target their advertisements on the site based on what its users and their friends buy and do on the Internet.

> Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007, in Washington.

Poppy goes Digital

The Royal British Legion has launched a Poppies Facebook application, which was developed and donated by the Business-Partnership.

Frances Hoy, head of PR and campaigns for the Legion, said that the poppy application contributes to the charity's remit of raising awareness. The Business Partnership is a trade, retail and digital marketing agency based in Covent Garden, London.

> Royal British Legion launches Facebook application

Slide Balance User-Ad

2007 is thought of as the "year of monetization" for the many Web 2.0 companies built on gee-whiz technology and ad-based business plans.

Slide, the top widget maker, which reaches 117 million Web users per month, is taking its first stab at this by starting an ad-network that relies more on user choice.

> Can Slide Balance User-Ad Seesaw?