Social Networking Watch: News on the Social Networking and Social Media Industry

Facebook Users Can Afford To Pay

BUSINESS WEEK - Sep 30 - Facebook should charge. A recent study by Nielsen Claritas indicates that the top third of lifestyle segments measured by the researcher relative to income were 25% more likely to use Facebook than the bottom third. Meanwhile, less-wealthy segments were 37% more likely to use MySpace. Facebook's COO Sheryl Sandberg said, "We are not planning on charging a basic fee for our basic services". But the site may have plans to put a price tag on services, such as photo prints. It could also charge a nominal fee ($1/month) to let members avoid ads. FULL ARTICLE @ BUSINESS WEEK

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Facebook Looks To End Orkut’s Hold On Brazil

MASHABLE - Sep 30 - Facebook is now the most popular social network in most of Europe, with strong growth in Asia and South America too. But in Brazil Orkut remains one of the most popular sites overall in the country (#2 according to Alexa; Facebook is #25). Now, Facebook islaunching a tool to help users find their Orkut friends that are already on Facebook. The feature is similar to the contact importer that Facebook offers US users that allow them to find Gmail, AIM, and Windows Live Messenger contacts that are already on the social network. FULL ARTICLE @ MASHABLE

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Facebook Spreads Its Crowdsourced Translations Across The Web

TECH CRUNCH - Sep 29 - Facebook has long relied on its own users to help translate the site into more than 65 different languages. Now, Facebook wants to unleash its army of volunteer translators on other sites and apps across the Web. Any site or app that use Facebook Connect can now tap into the Facebook community to get help translating their site into any language that Facebook Translations supports. FULL ARTICLE @ TECH CRUNCH

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Zong Chosen As Mobile Payment Platform For Mochi Media

BUSINESS WIRE - Sep 29 - Zong, the mobile payment service used by online gaming and social networks, has as partnered with Mochi Media, the online gaming property. Mochi Media has integrated Zong’s mobile payments platform into its recently launched Mochi Coins micro-transaction and distribution platform for Flash Games. FULL ARTICLE @ REUTERS

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Google And YouTube Now Serving 10 Billion Videos Per Month

MASHABLE - Sep 29 - With YouTube accounting for 99% of its video views, Google was able to rake in more than 10 billion video views in total for the month of August in the US. comScore also credits the internet giant with nearly 40% of the total market share for all online video views. FULL ARTICLE @ MASHABLE

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Google Integrates Content ID And YouTube Insights

READ WRITE WEB - Sep 28 - Google is integrating its Content ID system, which alerts YouTube's partners when one of their videos or audio tracks is being used without authorization, and YouTube Insight, the analytics package that gives uploaders usage stats for their videos. Content ID gives copyright owners the ability to block a video or audio track, but most importantly, it also allows them to make money from these uploads by selling ads against these new videos. FULL ARTICLE @ READ WRITE WEB

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Dopplr Confirms Being Acquired By Nokia

TECH CRUNCH - Sep 28 - So finally the official word is in, with a very short blog post by CEO Marko Ahtisaari: Dopplr has been acquired by Nokia - no word on price. The acquisition does not change the current Dopplr service which is available at Dopplr.com and on platforms where Dopplr is integrated, like Flickr and Twitter. FULL ARTICLE @ TECH CRUNCH

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Second Life Claims Social Network Crown

THE INDUSTRY STANDARD - Sep 27 - Second Life Residents spend an average of ~100 minutes inworld per visit. The equivalent of more than $1 billion has been transacted between Residents in Second Life, who purchase virtual goods and services from one another. The inworld economy grew 94% YOY from Q2 2008 to Q2 2009. Now at ~$50M each month in user-to-user transactions, the Second Life economy is on an annual run rate of more than a half billion US dollars, making Second Life the largest virtual economy in the industry. FULL ARTICLE @ PC WORLD

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Source: VisibleMeasures.com

Online Buddies Acquired Majority Stake In Dlist.com

PRESS RELEASE - Sep 25 - Online Buddies, the parent company of Manhunt, has acquired a majority stake in a social networking site for gay men under age 30, DList.com. As part of the deal, Online Buddies will take over all marketing efforts for Dlist.com. Dlist.com launched in 2006 and similar to MySpace, the site allows members to share music, art, and photos, and build their personal pages.

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This post also appears on OnlinePersonalsWatch.

Time Spent On Social Networks Triples in Past Year

DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE - Sep 24 - Internet users in August spent 17% of their surfing time on social network and blogging sites, nearly triple the percentage of time spent on such sites a year ago, according to Nielsen. Ad spending on the top social network and blogging sites also increased 119% during the period, from ~ $49M in August 2008 to $108M last month. FULL ARTICLE @ DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE

Twitter To Raise $100 Million In New Funding

MASHABLE - Sep 24 - Twitter is about to close a deal for $100M in new venture capital from multiple investors that will value the company at $1 billion. FULL ARTICLE @ MASHABLE

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Jumbuck Launches Power Chat For BlackBerry Smartphones

PR NEWSWIRE - Sep 24 - Jumbuck's mobile chat and flirt service, Power Chat, is now available on BlackBerry smartphones. Carriers already offering Jumbuck's Power Chat include: AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile, Alltel, Bell Mobility, Rogers, Telus, Virgin Mobile, and more. FULL ARTICLE @ PR NEWSWIRE

Nokia To Acquire Dopplr

TECH CRUNCH - Sep 23 - Nokia has been on an acquisition tear lately.  They’ve just acquired travel social network Dopplr. The purchase price, we’ve heard, is between €10M and €15M. FULL ARTICLE @ TECH CRUNCH

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Fotolog Partners With Viximo

VIXIMO - Sep 23 - Viximo, the provider of virtual goods solutions for social networking, dating, and casual gaming sites, partners with Fotolog, the photo-blogging site. Combined with Viximo’s Content Marketplace, Fotolog’s storefront will have a robust, fresh inventory of premium content including licensed content from brands, celebrities, and musicians. FULL ARTICLE @ VIXIMO BLOG

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Med Students 'Crossing Line' On Social Networks

FOX NEWS - Sep 23 - A new study finds that 47 of 78 medical school deans surveyed said they were aware of students posting unprofessional content online, including photos of drug paraphernalia and violations of patient privacy. "Medical students are no different from other young adults", said Anastasia Goodstein, an expert who tracks youth trends on her Ypulse Web site. Medical schools should address professionalism online in classes and develop policies for the digital age. FULL ARTICLE @ FOX NEWS

Quepasa Introduces Virtual Gifting

PRESS RELEASE - Sep 22 - Quepasa, the Latino social network, has released its virtual currency, QDollars and QPoints, to be used for virtual gifting. Quepasa users can now buy QDollars or earn QPoints on the site and use that currency to send virtual gifts from the Quepasa storefront. FULL ARTICLE @ PR NEWSWIRE

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