network

This post was updated at 10:18 a.m. PST to add information about Bebo's plans for OpenSocial.

SAN FRANCISCO--When Bebo co-founder and CEO Michael Birch took the stage in a theater at the Metreon complex here to announce the social network's Open Application Platform, he made the eyebrow-raising claim that the new initiative was, "dare I say it, 100 percent compatible with the Facebook platform."

Bebo representatives had hinted at Facebook compatibility last month when the social network officially joined Google's OpenSocial initiative. The new platform officially goes live on Wednesday night. "There'… Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Right now I'm in a theater at San Francisco's Metreon complex, awaiting the official launch of social-networking site Bebo's "Open Application Platform." The announcement has not yet been made, but from what I gather, this will be exactly what we think it is.

The Social Times reported Tuesday that the youth-oriented Bebo, which has made its strongest inroads in the U.K., would be "announcing a number of partners including the usual suspects: iLike, Last.FM, Vampires, Where I've Been, Flixster, Horoscopes by RockYou, My Music by Qloud, Super Comments by RockYou, … Read more

Though they do it with a stiff upper lip, the Guardian reports that the UK's denizens are Europe's most promiscuous social networkers, with Britons more likely to engage in social networking than anyone else on the planet...except for Canadians, who also need friends.

Thanks to their growing obsession and the widespread availability of broadband, the UK leads Europe in using sites such as Facebook and MySpace, according to the study from the regulator Ofcom.

Its analysis suggests more UK adults go on social networking sites than their European neighbours and they visit them more frequently and for … Read more

Rhapsody, the subscription music service owned by RealNetworks, has teamed up with music blog network and social networking site Mog.com to provide, well, music.

Through this partnership, songs mentioned on Mog's blogs are accompanied by a yellow "play" button that allows users to access the full-length streaming file through Rhapsody, which offers a total of about 4.5 million independent and major-label songs in its catalog. "We couldn't be more excited to have Rhapsody enabling music listening on MOG," Mog founder and CEO David Hyman said in a joint press release. "With … Read more

Viacom's MTV Networks unit announced on Tuesday that it has created Digital Fusion, a new-media advertising division designed to bring together the marketing for its oft-disparate digital brands.

Digital Fusion, according to a release from MTV Networks, encompasses both innovation and consolidation. On one hand, it's an efficiency move to give the company an edge in the increasingly competitive online-ad market. But with that renewed efficiency, MTV hopes to go further, using it to "create entirely new digital-ad products, from creative uses of existing inventory to original interactive experiences, including video content, online games, microsites, and widgets.&… Read more

Instead of relying solely on sales and competing with established sellers such as Wine.com or brick-and-mortar stores, where most wine is sold, entrepreneurs are building social networks aimed at wine lovers.

Read the full story at BusinessWeek: "Building a Facebook for wine"

I use LinkedIn quite a bit. I've found that it serves a very effective purpose (something that can't always be said for more chatty social-networking sites like MySpace): recruiting. I've done all my Alfresco recruiting through LinkedIn, and have ended up with excellent employees and no recruiter fees. Zippo.

Now LinkedIn in opening up its platform to outside developers, in an effort to compete with Facebook. The timing couldn't be more opportune, as LinkedIn offers something that the other social-networking sites don't: a place for professionals to get work done, rather than throw poo at each others' "walls," as the New York Times reports:

The move is one of several LinkedIn is making, including launching a beta version of a redesigned home page, to keep its less flashy but more business-minded contacts network site vibrant alongside rivals MySpace and Facebook. LinkedIn said it wants to be a hub for business information.… Read more

Friendster has fully launched its developer platform with more than 180 applications available to its 56 million registered users, the social-networking site said Tuesday.

The company first announced the platform on October 25.

The developer platform was initially piloted by some well-known names in the widget world: Slide, RockYou, Imeem, Jangl, Clearspring, and Gbox. Companies and individual developers participating in the program are allowed to advertise anywhere in the application space and keep all revenue.

According to the social network, the platform is going to be as "open" as possible to make it easy for applications designed for … Read more

The term "god box" has its own definition in the technology industry. For those unfamiliar with the phrase, a "god box" is a single system packed with ridiculous amounts of functionality. Think of an all-in-one television, cable box, TiVo, and home entertainment speaker system and you get the idea. One "god box" always replaces numerous more pedestrian systems.

In the past, it was not unusual for some new company to come to me--an analyst--and spin its new proprietary "god box." But I always remained skeptical. Why? I assumed that a "god … Read more