Who said social networks would not be allowed into the White House in 2008? If you are not aware, a few U.S. Presidential Candidates are already using this new social media to connect their supporters together.
Earlier this month, the Republican Candidate Rudy Giuliani launched a social network called Team Rudy. Other candidates are using the social media for their various campaigns also. See Barack Obama, John McCain amongst others. Now, you can share your Ron Paul love with other supporters at RonsPeople.com
As with any social network, you can post music, videos, pictures and more to provide the world with more assurances of your Ron Paul love. (And you can't miss how “EVOL” in “revolution” is highlighted) Read it backwards and you get "LOVE"!
One unique feature of Ron's social campaign site is that it allows supporters to create multiple user profiles so you can get a handle on your privacy. You might wonder what you would have to hide from other supporters, but it's your choice.
Unfortunately, nothing seems spectacular beyond the standard social networking fare of messaging and so on, but this one is going to be driven solely by content and the true ability to network with others who share your common cause.
We'll see if social networks will stay at the White House come next year or if it's just a means to an end.
(Via Mashable)
December 26, 2007
Will the White House Be Housing Social Networks in 2008?
December 19, 2007
Open Web Awards by Mashable: The Finalists
As part of the Open Web Awards, the finalists for the first four categories have been determined by voters according to Mashable. Below are the finalists:
Category 1: Mainstream or Large Scale Network
Category 2: Application or Widget
Category 3: Social News or Social Bookmarking
Category 4: Social Search
The final voting round to find the winner of each category has begun already till Thursday, December 20th at 9:00 PM PST. The winners will be announced shortly thereafter…at Mashable, and the finalists will be covered in the days after.
Update: There will be an award ceremony at the Palace Hotel, San Francisco on January 10th, 2008.
December 13, 2007
Silicon Space Launches Social Networking Solution
According to a press release on December 10, Silicon Space, LLC, experts in customer-facing software solutions that enable companies to grow their businesses, has announced its SocialSpace Business-to-Business (B-to-B) social networking solution. Optimized for enterprise environments, the SocialSpace solution will provide the services and expertise required to bring a social network community to market.
As we know of today, social networking applications provide a new forum for businesses to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration, solicit feedback from internal and external business partners and extend company reach to new channels. Thus, the SocialSpace platform has been designed to be integrated with a majority of the leading social network applications on the internet, including Facebook and MySpace, along with many other networks via the Google OpenSocial interface.
With the SocialSpace platform, Silicon Space partners with enterprises to develop a tailored B-to-B social networking solution based on a detailed analysis of their business model. Based on this analysis, SocialSpace deploys its solid technical platform, along with the launch marketing, moderation services, and long-term management of the community to ensure member engagement.
Via: Silicon Space
December 12, 2007
SocialCrunching Becomes Beta
I started this blog just 4 weeks ago and my experience with blogging about social networking has been very challenging. For one thing, there is always something related to social networking to blog about and even with other projects on my shoulders, this blog has been able to be relatively consistent with quality posts, decent traffic, and just a few readers.
At the moment, I've decided to concentrate on blogging about social network startups only, which I've been doing, except that the blog has covered so more information about existing social networks such as Myspace, Facebook, etc.
I've been reading Mashable and other social networking blogs and I've come to a conclusion that these blogs post practically anything that forms news around social networks and more. Thus, this blog SocialCrunch will now create a niche by posting gists, news and info about new social networks in any industry or field whether, music, fashion, sports, professions, etc, thus profiling them in relation to new and existing trends in the social media webspace.
I have called this new dimension the blog is exploring SocialCrunch Beta!:)
Bode Miller Ventures Into SkiSpace
Bode Miller, the World Ski Champion and Olympic Medalist Skiier has launched a new web 2.0 social networking site called SkiSpace.
SkiSpace is a new social networking and information site just for skiers, snowboarders and winter sports hounds. At SkiSpace.com, Ski enthusiasts can connect with other skiers, boarders and snow sports fanatics, while keeping up to date on the latest news, snow reports. The site also allows users to share photos and videos, even from their mobile phone.
On the flip side, the site is planning to adopt a primo-style site, thus helping users plan their snow adventures, snag the best travel deals and hottest resorts, and outfit them with the greatest selection of gear.
Some other features include weather updates, vacation planning, equipment sales and ski reports, mobile blogging (in case you are on top of the mountain), skiing action videos and ski lifestyle videos. The site is being powered by PathConnect, a Web 2.0 provider of online social networking software.
December 10, 2007
Red Room Writing Society Gets More Funding
The social network site for authors, The Red Room, has raised $1.25 million from angel investors, including Craig Newmark, author Rober Mailer Anderson and Nion McEvoy, CEO of Chronicle Books. With a small army of authors already supporting The Red Room, its social network looks to be going in the direction of a promotional hub for writers.
The site offers tools, such as blogs and book tour calendars for writers to promote themselves and connect with their fans. Thus, we can say that it serves authors the same way MySpace serve bands. Red Room(mates), Alice Walker and Amy Tan are just some of the high profiled authors that have pages on The Red Room.
As the social networking fever is gripping web enthusiastes, it is not surprising to see a growing trend for authors seeking networking and promotional tools on the web. Meanwhile, sites like Helium, StoryLink,TurnHere, BooksConnect , BookTour, Shelfari, amongst others continue to create online spaces for writers and authors to promote themselves with more web 2.0 tools.
The founder of The Red Room, Ivory Madison, also started the Red Room Writers Society - a place for writers to work on their projects and take part in seminars and workshops.
LinkedIn Launches Intelligent Application platform
LinkedIn, the social networking site for business professionals is finally unveiling a new application branded LinkedIn Intelligent Application platform that would allow third-party developers to build applications that work within the social network.
Using the API, developers will be able to create widgets and integrate LinkedIn data into other applications, as well as create applications that will integrate with LinkedIn. Google’s OpenSocial platform is sure to be supported, and some others are also planned.
The company has also announced an application with BusinessWeek. The application will let readers of a BusinessWeek article search their LinkedIn networks of personal connections for people associated with companies mentioned in the story in a mouseover popup style. Something Mashable thinks is not the best way to introduce the API. View a preview of the application here.
LinkedIn says it will take a more cautious approach, looking for companies that add value to the site instead of throwing open the doors to everyone. Hmm, what does that suggest? That they want only business productivity applications and anything that doesn't fit that description (perhaps Facebook's applications) will not be welcomed?
December 07, 2007
Open Web Awards 2007 by Mashable
Now that the first phase of the Open Web Awards by Mashable is officially over, speaking of the nominations, you can now vote for your favorite large social network.
From the results so far, you will notice that Netlog.com has more votes (37.8%), with Facebook following behind (23.7%) and Vois.com on third position (10.1%). LinkedIn grabs 8.9% while Myspace gets 6.2%. I would be following the voting process as the day goes by. You will be able to vote up until 11:59pm PST on Sunday, December 16th.
December 06, 2007
Twitter Gets Banned in the United Arab Emirates
Twitter has joined the hallmark of social media sites banned by the United Arab Emirates due to its content being inconsistent with the religious, cultural, political and moral values of the United Arab Emirates. With this ban, the UAE has decided that its residents shall tweet no more.
But whether or not these social media sites are banned or blocked, as the case may be, users would continue to be loyal to them.
December 04, 2007
Oddpodz Networks With The Muzeum
Oddpodz, is a social networking site for creative people. Oddpodz launched its Beta site earlier this year and in six months, the network has grown rapidly with creative thinkers. What could be the attraction to Oddpodz?
Well, Oddpodz social networking members are not teenagers, in fact, their average age is 37. They are from all over the world; they're super creative and they primarily work as professionals in creative service industries, such as ad and marketing agencies, PR firms, and many are business entrepreneurs. They want more purposeful content that provides information to help grow their businesses; they need help locating trusted resources; and they would like to have a place online to go to be inspired to tackle creative challenges. And that has not been a challenge for Oddpodz.
But could there be something else? My curiousity paid off as I found out a place where creatives from around the world meet new friends, socialize, find inspiration, collaborate, express themselves, get entertained and do business - The Muzeum.
The Muzeum has interesting features such as the lobby, lounge, auditorium, triage, exhibits, pod garden and basement. There is also Cash for Creative, where members can get cash for their creative ideas.
Oddpodz, LLC was founded in January 2006 by entrepreneurs Karen Post and Jocelyn Ring. Karen is an international branding expert, consultant and speaker. She has been featured in a broad range of media outlets -- including Bloomberg TV, CBS Early Show, The New York Times, The New York Post, NPR, Fast Company and The Boston Globe, and her writing is published internationally, including a monthly column she's been writing for FastCompany.com since 2004. She is also the author of Brain Tattoos: Creating Unique Brands That Stick in Your Customers' Minds (AMACOM 2005). Jocelyn Ring is a former investment banker and brand strategy consultant.
December 01, 2007
Can Safe, Clean Online Communities Be Good Alternatives?
I recently wrote a post about a new social network called ConnectHit, launched on November 1 which claims to offer a safe, clean, fun alternative to popular sites such as Myspace and Facebook. But due to the huge attention that these popular social sites are gaining, it seems that little has been said about ConnectHit especially in the media.
After one month of launch, ConnectHit is having 12 members, 5 up from when I wrote the post on November 12. That's not really bad for a new social site. The site's got a user friendly interface and an interesting look. So what is really up? Is there a problem with the marketing? I'm hoping that David Zoffer, the founder of ConnectHit is asking these questions and more.
While we wait to see an increased traffic and membership strength from ConnectHit, an eye into another social network that also offers a safe, clean online community called our-social.com shows that the site is gaining popularity. I peeked into the site after I received a detailed profile from the social site's founder, Theresa Adams. The site's traffic by Alexa is increasing rapidly and it's forum currently has over 250 members.
Our-Social.com's goal is to provide a community free of profanity and pornographic material, a user friendly environment, a great place to meet friends and a place to share stuff with your friends and family.
In the meantime, I'll be following the trend of these safe, clean social networking alternatives and hoping that they really make great alternatives to the really popular sites .
