Social Networking

Korean Social Network Cyworld to Shutter U.S. Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2009 - 9:42am.

Los Angeles - Cyworld, a Korea-based online social network owned by SK Telecom, has decided to shutter its U.S. service three years after launch, having failed to attract a large audience.

tags: Social Networking | Korea | Cyworld | Closures |

Drop in MySpace Traffic to Cut $100M Off Google Ad Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 5, 2009 - 1:00pm.

New York - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace may lose out on at least $100 million of the $900 million it was contracted to receive from a search advertising agreement with Google (NASD: GOOG), due to lackluster traffic to the website, the Financial Times reported.

Offerpal Names New CEO in Wake of "Scam" Allegations

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 5, 2009 - 11:46am.

Fremont, Calif. - Offerpal Media, a provider of monetization services for online game and social application developers, announced that it has replaced its CEO, after a controversy erupted over the past week concerning whether some of its practices qualify as "scams."

CubeTree Raises $8 Million for Social Collaboration Software

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 4, 2009 - 10:54am.

Redwood City, Calif. - CubeTree, a developer of Web-based collaboration software built on a social networking platform, said on Wednesday that it has raised $8 million in its second round of funding, led by InterWest Partners.

Social Games Maker Zynga Acquires Virtual Pets Firm GoPets

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 2, 2009 - 7:31am.

San Francisco - Zynga, a developer of social media games, has acquired virtual pets firm GoPets for an undisclosed sum, Virtual Goods News reported, citing a Facebook post from GoPets founder Erick Bethke.

Facebook Awarded $711 Million in "Spam King" Lawsuit

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 30, 2009 - 9:47am.

Palo Alto, Calif. - Facebook has won a $711 million judgment against an alleged spammer who the company said accessed members' accounts without permission and sent phony wall posts and messages.

CBS's Last.fm to Debut Video Service Last.TV

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 28, 2009 - 11:50am.

New York - CBS-owned (NYSE: CBS) social music discovery service Last.fm is planning to launch a new video service called Last.TV, Music Week reports. The service will reportedly initially cover music festivals in Europe, and is expected to launch in January.

Report: In-Game Currency is Most Popular Virtual Item to Sell

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 28, 2009 - 11:16am.

Santa Clara, Calif. - Nearly one-third (31%) of those who purchased virtual goods over the past year also sold virtual goods, with in-game virtual currency being the most frequently sold item from player to player, according to a report from market research firm VGMarket and PlaySpan, an operator of virtual goods marketplaces.

Google Introduces "Social Search" Feature

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 28, 2009 - 11:01am.

Mountain View, Calif. - Google (NASD: GOOG) has introduced a new experimental search feature from its Google Labs, Social Search, which adds relevant public content from a user's friends and contacts to search results.

tags: Social Networking | Search | Google | Social Search |

Production on Facebook Movie Slated to Begin Next Week

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 27, 2009 - 12:20pm.

Palo Alto, Calif. - A new movie from Columbia Pictures will detail the creation of online social network Facebook, The Baltimore Sun reported.

Co-founders of Reddit Exit Conde Nast

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 27, 2009 - 12:16pm.

New York - The founders of social news service Reddit, who three years sold their company to publisher Conde Nast, have announced that they are leaving the company, PaidContent reported, citing a post on the Reddit blog. Co-founders Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian said in the post that they plan to pursue other interests.

Paramount Debuts "Circle of Eight" Series on MySpace

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 27, 2009 - 12:14pm.

Los Angeles - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Paramount Digital Entertainment on Tuesday announced the exclusive premiere on MySpace (NYSE: NWS) of its original supernatural thriller webisode series, "Circle of Eight." Produce in association with Mountain Dew's Green Label Studios, the 10-part series combines elements of gaming and social media to propel the story. Following the end of its exclusive run on MySpace in December, the series will be made available for rent from Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI).

NIH Grants to Help Develop "Facebook for Scientists"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 27, 2009 - 8:35am.

Washington - The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded $12.2 million in grants to seven universities as part of a project to create what's being called the "Facebook for scientists."

tags: Deals | Social Networking | Investments | NIH |

iLike's Ali Partovi on a New Golden Era for Music

Authored by Jay Baage on October 26, 2009 - 12:17pm.

DMW Vlog: In anticipation of the secretive Oct. 28 event hosted by Google (probably), LaLa, iLike and others at Capitol Studios in LA to DISCOVER MUSIC!, here's a exclusive short video interview DMW's Jay Baage did a few weeks ago with Ali Partovi, CEO & Co-Founder, iLike, at Digital Music Forum West. In it, Partovi talks about a new golden era for music, what iLike will bring to MySpace, which recently acquired the company, and where he sees iLike and MySpace going from here (new verticals etc).

Report: MySpace, Facebook in Talks on Content Sharing

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 26, 2009 - 12:00pm.

London - As News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace looks to rebrand itself as more of a social entertainment destination, the company is in negotiations with rival Facebook on sharing content between the two sites, London's Telegraph reports. "Facebook is focusing on building the best technology which helps people share content, while at MySpace they are focusing on more a content-led strategy. We would like to have their content, as we already do with many other sites, shared across our network because it is good for our users," Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg told the Telegraph.

Watercooler Lands $5.5 Million for Fan Sites, Social Games

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 26, 2009 - 6:06am.

Mountain View, Calif. - Watercooler, a developer of fan communities and social games that claims 26 million users, announced on Monday that it has raised $5.5 million in its second round of funding, led by U.K. online gambling firm Betfair.

Facebook Adds Ability to Gift Song Streams, Downloads via Lala

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 22, 2009 - 9:35am.

Palo Alto, Calif. - Facebook has added the ability to purchase songs as gifts for friends via retailer Lala.com.

Users Spend 8 Billion Minutes on Facebook Daily

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2009 - 10:56am.

San Francisco - Facebook's over 300 million users spend over 8 billion minutes on the site every day, Mark Schroepfer, the company's vice president of engineering, said at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday, CNET News.com reported. Schroepfer also said that Facebook users share 2 billion pieces of content each week, while 2 billion photos are uploaded each month.

tags: Social Networking | Facebook |

MySpace Integrates Meez Virtual World for Teens

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2009 - 10:55am.

Los Angeles - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace has signed a deal with teen-focused virtual world Meez, to integrate the Java-based 3D environment into its own website. A large number of Meez' 13 million teenaged, predominantly female members are active MySpace users, according to the company. The integration will allow Meez users to import their 3D avatars, and play online games and congregate in a MySpace-based version of the virtual world. It will also allow Meez users to purchase virtual goods with the company's Coinz virtual currency.

Microsoft to Add Facebook, Twitter Data to Bing Search Results

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2009 - 8:54am.

San Francisco - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) announced on Wednesday that it has signed separate deals with Facebook and Twitter, to bring real-time status updates from the services to its Bing search engine. While financial terms of the nonexclusive agreements were not disclosed, PaidContent cited earlier reports pegging Twitter's take as "several million dollars," in addition to a share of ad revenue.

Korean Social Network Cyworld to Shutter U.S. Service

Drop in MySpace Traffic to Cut $100M Off Google Ad Deal

Offerpal Names New CEO in Wake of "Scam" Allegations

CubeTree Raises $8 Million for Social Collaboration Software

Social Games Maker Zynga Acquires Virtual Pets Firm GoPets

Facebook Awarded $711 Million in "Spam King" Lawsuit

CBS's Last.fm to Debut Video Service Last.TV

Report: In-Game Currency is Most Popular Virtual Item to Sell

Google Introduces "Social Search" Feature

Production on Facebook Movie Slated to Begin Next Week

Co-founders of Reddit Exit Conde Nast

Paramount Debuts "Circle of Eight" Series on MySpace

NIH Grants to Help Develop "Facebook for Scientists"

iLike's Ali Partovi on a New Golden Era for Music

Report: MySpace, Facebook in Talks on Content Sharing

Watercooler Lands $5.5 Million for Fan Sites, Social Games

Facebook Adds Ability to Gift Song Streams, Downloads via Lala

Users Spend 8 Billion Minutes on Facebook Daily

MySpace Integrates Meez Virtual World for Teens

Microsoft to Add Facebook, Twitter Data to Bing Search Results

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