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American Express Partners with Foursquare to Attract Customers

Connie Madon — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 10:10:00 EST

Filed under: Competitive Strategy, Marketing and Advertising, American Express (AXP)

The mobile revolution is spawning a variety of business relationships to attract new customers. The latest is the partnership between credit card holder, American Express (AXP) and the social network Foursquare Labs Inc.

Both companies are capitalizing the growing segment of online purchasing. American Express had roughly $100 billion in online transactions last year. Online spending is growing at a 20% rate, compared to15% for overall spending, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

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Facebook Edges Google as Most Visited Site in the U.S.

Connie Madon — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), News Corp'B' (NWS), Entrepreneurs, Technology

The world of Internet traffic moves at lightning speed. So, too, do the moods and preferences of users. Back in 2007, News Corp's (NWS) MySpace was No. 1. Google.com (GOOG) took the No. 1 spot in 2008 and 2009. In 2009, Facebook has taken the No. 1 spot, with 8.9% of U.S. visits, edging Google.com, which had 7.2% of visits, Reuters reported, citing online measurement service Experian Hitwise.

Facebook was started by Mark Zuckerberg and a few classmates in 2004. Facebook users can create profiles with photos, lists of personal interests, contact details and other information. Users can communicate with friends and other users through private or public messages and a chat feature. They can also join interest groups and "like pages."

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Facebook Edges Google as Most Visited Site in the U.S. originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AOL Snaps Up About.me

Connie Madon — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Deals, Products and Services, Technology, AOL (AOL)

When they say tech is hot, it's hot. Aol (AOL) bought About.me just four days after it began its public debut. The terms were undisclosed.

About.me allows users to create a profile from all of their social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Linkedln -- like an online business card. It has a built in dashboard to track social networking interactions and influence.

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AOL Snaps Up About.me originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Buys Angstro to Boost Its Social Networking Ambitions

Tom Taulli — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 12:40:00 EST

Filed under: Deals, Competitive Strategy, Google (GOOG)

Google (GOOG) has gone ga-ga over social-networking acquisitions, with deals for Slide, Like.com, Metaweb and Jambool. Desperately trying to go beyond its advertising business, the company sees big-time growth opportunities in the sector. However, Google is late to the game -- and its home-grown efforts have been lackluster, such as Buzz, Google Wave and Orkut.

Well, the latest social networking deal for Google is a tiny startup, Angstro. Actually, it's not a social network. Instead, the company has a system to pull information from various sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and so on. With this, Angstro can do things like improve Caller ID, as well as create a real-time social address book.

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Google Buys Angstro to Boost Its Social Networking Ambitions originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 28 Aug 2010 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Looks to Strike Gold with Jambool Deal

Tom Taulli — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Google (GOOG)

While an M&A strategy has its risks, the payoffs can be significant. No doubt, this approach has been critical for the success of Oracle (ORCL). Also, M&A turned Cisco (CSCO) into a tech giant.

Well, it looks like Google (GOOG) wants this magic as well. And one of the big targets is social networking, which means taking on Facebook.

For example, Google recently purchased Jambool, which operates a virtual currency for online gaming. The company's service is known as Social Gold.

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Google Looks to Strike Gold with Jambool Deal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LinkedIn Says Ninjas Are on the Loose in the Jobforce

Tom Johansmeyer — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 16:40:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, Technology

Have sword, will travel.

The number of ninjas on LinkedIn is on the rise. According to the latest post on the company's blog, new job titles are popping up on the popular business social networking site. From 2002 to 2007, the percentage of job titles including the word "ninja" spiked, according to LinkedIn. The company is quick to explain that these people aren't the assassins of old. "They are more likely to throw Java exceptions rather than steel stars," writes Monica Rogati.

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LinkedIn Says Ninjas Are on the Loose in the Jobforce originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Off-Platform Key to Social Media Survival and Success

Tom Johansmeyer — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, News Corp'B' (NWS), Technology, AOL (AOL)

Twitter has struggled to bring more users onto its website. Approximately 70% of end-user interaction with the microblogging service takes place away from Twitter.com. As the company moves toward its search-based ad model, expected to be released later this quarter, website traffic is becoming increasingly important. Yet, it's this gap between use and on-site action that might protect the company going forward ... at least if Facebook can be used as an indicator.

With Facebook Connect, members of the social networking site can interact with their profiles "remotely." If you want to share this blog post on Facebook, for example, you can do it without opening a new browser, plucking www.facebook.com on the keyboard and pasting the URL into the status field. This connection, even though it costs Facebook a pageview or two, reinforces the user's relationship with the site, increasing the likelihood that he or she will remain active overall. It also provides fodder for other members, fueling more clicks, comments and likes ... and ultimately cash in the Facebook till.

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Off-Platform Key to Social Media Survival and Success originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Latest Zynga Valuation Estimate: $5 billion(!)

Tom Johansmeyer — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Technology

I already had trouble wrapping my head around a $3 billion valuation from Zynga back in February. But the latest big number is just inconceivable. SecondShares, which is run by former private equity analysts to determine how much private equity companies would be worth if they went public, pegs the value of this social games company at $5 billion, approximately 75% above its current trading in illiquid secondary markets for private companies.

Several factors are used to determine a private company's valuation, including prices for employee stock options. Of course, private company valuation can be squishy under any circumstances, but fast-moving social media companies with penchant for secrecy make the process more difficult.

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Latest Zynga Valuation Estimate: $5 billion(!) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Apr 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook to Block Pre-IPO Trading

Tom Johansmeyer — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 10:20:00 EST

Filed under: Internet

Facebook is putting the brakes on early employee stock sales. The social media company implemented a new policy last Friday, claiming that the prohibition on trading the company's pre-IPO shares is intended to keep employees out of legal trouble, reports Inside Facebook.

This may come as an unfortunate development to employees eager to get a taste of publicly traded riches in advances, as Facebook's shares have been shooting higher in the secondary markets where they can be traded.

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Facebook to Block Pre-IPO Trading originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Teneros Blows a Chill over Social Networks

Gary Sattler — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Products and Services, Internet, Next Big Thing, Workspace, Technology

There may soon be a chilling breeze blowing through the halls of Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. The reason for this coming chill is a just released application intended for monitoring employee communications on social networks. The new application, called Social Sentry, is being fielded by information technology powerhouse, Teneros, which has raised $92.5 million in venture capital over five rounds of funding.

Social Sentry differs from it's counterparts in that when employees leave their employer's computer network, this new communications monitoring software can follow those employees home, or to the library, or to an Internet cafe, or just about anywhere. Under the auspices of protecting proprietary business information, Social Sentry steps across the Fourth Amendment and goes where even law enforcement treads lightly.

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Teneros Blows a Chill over Social Networks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Social Games Player Zynga Is #2 on PayPal

Tom Johansmeyer — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:40:00 EST

Filed under: eBay (EBAY), Citigroup Inc. (C)

The fact that eBay (EBAY) is PayPal's largest merchant isn't exactly surprising. The auction market is huge, and it's also the online payment company's parent. Yet, the word out of the 2010 Media Summit in New York last week is that Zynga, the social media games company, is the second largest merchant for the payment environment. Social games are growing rapidly, bolstered in large part by the rise of Facebook, which now boasts around 400 million users.

As social media companies realize they need to move to the next level -- from adoption to revenue -- the virtual goods market has emerged as a substantial revenue stream, and Zynga's environment appears to have been designed to capitalize on it. According to an estimate by Citigroup (C) analyst Mark Mahaney, PayPal took care o$500 million in virtual goods payments last year.

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Social Games Player Zynga Is #2 on PayPal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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News Corp. Not Having Fun with MySpace

Steven Mallas — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, Google (GOOG), Walt Disney (DIS), News Corp'B' (NWS), Media World

Do you remember when MySpace was all the rage? Of course you do. Then came Facebook; then came Twitter. Something else will come along, too. Unfortunately, though, News Corp. (NWS) committed itself to MySpace by buying it back in 2005. What a mistake that was.

I'm sure everyone knows about the growth problems at the social-networking site. This recent article at Reuters discusses them. Morale at the company appears to be waning. Unique visitors aren't what they used to be. An ad agreement with Google (GOOG) is about to expire; any new transaction on that front may not be as valuable now that MySpace has been relegated to not-as-cool-as-it-used-to-be status.

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News Corp. Not Having Fun with MySpace originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Twitter Getting Six Figures a Month for Data

Tom Johansmeyer — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Media World, Technology

Nobody's naming names right now, but Social Times reports from SXSW that "a number" of companies are paying Twitter hefty fees for unrestricted access to the "firehose." While some Twitter data is accessible free through the company's developer program, the full data set is only available to those willing to write a check - and, it turns out, a substantial one.

Back in October, Twitter inked high-profile data-licensing deals with Google (GOOG) and Microsoft (MSFT), which brought in $25 million and put the social media service on the revenue map. Since then, it has brought more clients into the fold through its data-licensing program, including Kosmix and Scoopler, by opening up what it calls the "firehose"; i.e., unfettered access to the Twitter data stream.

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Twitter Getting Six Figures a Month for Data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook Growing, Not Killing, Foursquare

Tom Johansmeyer — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:20:00 EST

Filed under: Google (GOOG), New York Times'A' (NYT)

When Facebook announced its new location-based capabilities after Twitter has already enabled it, the future looked pretty grim for Foursquare. Though wildly popular with the nerd crowd (of which I'm a member ... the nerd world, not Foursquare), could a year-old location-based game go head-to-head with the 400 million-user-strong behemoth of the social media industry? In a strange twist, Facebook is actually breathing life into the killer app many expected it to kill.

Thirty-three percent of Foursquare's traffic comes from Facebook, according to data from Hitwise (EXPN), followed by Google (GOOG) at 22% and Twitter at 8%. The remaining one third of traffic, from everyone else, is fed in part by partnership with major brands such as the New York Times (NYT), Bravo and Zagat.

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Facebook Growing, Not Killing, Foursquare originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook Gains U.S. Traffic, Led by Men

Tom Johansmeyer — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Consumer Experience, Internet

Where there are plenty of women, you're bound to find more and more men. Though the gain was small, the number of men on Facebook grew faster than women in February 2010, making the social networking site look a lot like every hot club in Manhattan -- men chasing women.

Facebook picked up an additional 5 million users in the United States last month, reaching 113 million. Since the middle of last year, the social media site has gained users every month. Though every demographic is showing increases, men are leading the charge. In January, women owned 56.07% of Facebook use, a share of activity that fell to 55.6% in February. Among users age 18 to 44, new male users outpaced females by approximately 2:1.

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Facebook Gains U.S. Traffic, Led by Men originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook Saved by One Line of Text

Gary Sattler — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 10:10:00 EST

Filed under: Law, Internet, Politics

An interesting piece of legislation is now blasting its way through the chambers of the Maryland legislature. This legislation threatens to lay waste to Internet social networking as we know it, if not for the inclusion of one solitary line of text.

While it appears honorable and well-intentioned on it's face, Maryland's HB65 (pdf file) is meant to place severe restrictions on the practice of international marriage brokering. If signed into law, the bill will place strict and deeply invasive disclosure requirements on the clients and providers of international match making services. This legislation does not bode well for the likes of eHarmony and Match.com.

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Facebook Saved by One Line of Text originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 28 Feb 2010 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zynga Valuation Said to Top $3 Billion

Tom Johansmeyer — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, Microsoft (MSFT), Electronic Arts (ERTS), Media World, Technology

Are you still suspicious of the $6.5 billion Facebook valuation that resulted from Digital Sky's $100 million investment last July? And doubtless, the $15 billion valuation implied by Microsoft's (MSFT) 2007 investment in the company was, to say the least, aspirational. Well, the insanity is continuing to mount - throughout the Facebook ecosystem. A recent report by Global Silicon Valley Partner's NeXt Up Research organization puts the price tag of Zinga, the Facebook application developer, at a whopping $3.3 billion ... half of Facebook's!

Granted, Zynga has done a few things to wow social media market-wachers and investors. NeXt Up Research forecasts 35% growth for this company over the next four years and just upped its 2014 revenue projection to $1.1 billion. The previous estimate was only $460 million. What could possibly justify these numbers? Well, Zynga has grown from 30 million users to 230 million in only 10 months, largely as a result of the strength shown by Facebook over this period. Farmville has been the company's engine, with close to 80 million monthly active users.

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Zynga Valuation Said to Top $3 Billion originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook Rises in Search Market

Tom Johansmeyer — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Technology, AOL (AOL)

Facebook is becoming a powerful force in the search engine market. It's still far behind search behemoth Google (GOOG), but the social media platform's U.S. search traffic ticked higher by 13% last month, according to data from comSore (SCOR). From 351 million search queries executed on Facebook in December, the number grew to 395 million in January.

Google still owns 65.4% of the U.S. search market, having received 14 billion search queries last month. Yahoo! (YHOO), Microsoft (MSFT), Aol (AOL) and Ask share the remainder of the market. Among these competitors, market share changed little month-over-month. So, for Facebook, this month's growth bucked the trend.

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Facebook Rises in Search Market originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Five Social Media Marketing Stats That Will Blow Your Mind

Tom Johansmeyer — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 11:40:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, News Corp'B' (NWS), Media World, Technology

The December 2009 data from comScore (SCOR) were released Tuesday, and the results for the social media sector are nothing short of staggering. Fifty-four percent (112 million) of the 205 million-strong U.S. internet-user population are on Facebook, with 27% (57 million) still using News Corp.'s (NWS) MySpace. But according to data from both comScore and Experian Hitwise (EXPN), the most active users were on Tagged, MyYearbook and Orkut. And Facebook users were more active than those on MySpace.

There's no doubt that plenty is happening in the social media space, but there are some facts that just might surprise you, either because of the speed of change or the discovery of players that may not have occurred to you.

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Five Social Media Marketing Stats That Will Blow Your Mind originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Retailers Lagging in Social Media Rush

Tom Johansmeyer — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), News Corp'B' (NWS), Media World, Technology

You'd think retailers would flock to any place where they could find 400 million people. With the sixth anniversary of Facebook closing in, its robust user base still hasn't opened the eyes of many retailers.

Despite all the Black Friday social media engagement this year, a substantial 75% of the top 100 online retailers don't have a formal presence on Facebook, according to a study by ForeSee Results. Another 25% haven't even hit 10,000 fans.

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Retailers Lagging in Social Media Rush originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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