Facebook Platform: The Year Ahead
June 10, 2008 — 12:45 PM PDT — by Adam Ostrow — — Add a Comment
There have been a lot of major announcements surrounding the Facebook Platform in the past several months – fbOpen, Facebook Connect, and Facebook Chat, just to name a few. At the same time, the site is soon set to release a major re-design of its user profiles, pushing the news feed front and center and moving applications to their own tabs, amongst other big changes.
What does it all mean, and what are the implications for developers? I sat down with Benjamin Ling who oversees the developer platform today at Graphing Social Patterns in Washington DC to try and find out.
Facebook by the Numbers
Over the weekend, Facebook passed 80 million registered users worldwide, representing 160 different countries. Amongst those users, more than 98% have installed at least one app. As for the recent reported drop in US-based traffic from March to April, Ling says they’re not seeing that at all internally, though he did not share specific traffic numbers.
Profile Re-Design
At the same time Facebook continues to see record traffic (at least internationally), they are also slated to release their most significant re-design of user profiles to-date. They’ve been actively engaging both developers and the press in the process, releasing screenshots publicly on the site and holding media briefings.
While Ling admits that the upcoming profile re-design is in part about de-cluttering profiles and returning the Facebook UI more to its roots, he also says there are big new opportunities for developers. One such change is the ability for developers to tweak the size of their stories that show up in the News Feed. Another is the ability to create custom tabs, so that if you want a tab just for Scrabulous, you can do just that.
These moves are meant in part to counter the fact that applications themselves will be moved to a new “Boxes” tab – giving developers less real estate to promote their apps on the main user profile pages. This points to an emphasis on the cream rising to the top through more a natural selection process, as Ling was quick to point out when we moved into a discussion of some of the problems that have plagued the platform so far.
Building for the Long-Term
Ling does not hide the fact that some Facebook applications have gained a reputation as being spammy, and creating a better user experience genuinely seems like the company’s goal. The profile re-design changes are part of a broader strategy to address the issue, in addition to some changes that have already put in place to restrict how aggressive developers can be in recruiting new users.
“If developers are taking advantage of users by forced invites, that’s short-sighted. [Facebook] is not a place to come and take advantage of users to try and make some money. And I think that’s a good thing – the ecosystem as a whole should evolve and mature, and we expect to see a lot more useful and great apps,” said Ling.
Ping This!Retaggr: Stepping Up Online Activity with Super Business Card 2.0
June 10, 2008 — 12:34 PM PDT — by Alana Taylor — — 3 Comments
If you enjoy importing all your information into one site, like FriendFeed, then you are going to love Retaggr. It’s a new site that lets you compile all your online activities into one interactive profile. The result is a virtual business card that acts as a widget wherever your name appears on blogs or other Retaggr-enabled sites.
Now, instead of just commenting on a blog with your name, you can use Retaggr to let people see your photo, twitter status, a link to your blog, and links to other social sites like Facebook. You can add any web widget to your Profile Card including Skype, Gtalk, StumbleUpon, Flickr, Youtube, Tumblr and more.
What’s great about Retaggr is that it acts as the ultimate business card 2.0 for internet users who want to let people know who they are on the web as well as expand their personal brand. Likewise, Retaggr works as an ideal tool for bloggers who want their community of readers to get to know each other and participate more frequently.
With Retaggr, there is context around the comments on any given site. Names now become links that expand the Profile Card widget and showcase each owner’s virtual information without ever having to leave the site. Plus, blogs and sites that use Retaggr also get the photo tagging functionality which is similar to Facebook and Flickr, but takes it further by letting you see the names and Profile Cards of people in a picture all at one time.
I have to admit that I instantly became a fan of Retaggr for many reasons. First, my work revolves around social media and any site that offers me the ability to bring it all together all my online accounts has me intrigued. Second, I am always searching for new ways to expand my personal brand other than word of mouth. And lastly, Retaggr has the most seamless aggregation system that I have come across.
During the customization of your Profile Card, all you have to do is type your username from any account you have online and Retaggr automatically finds it for you. No need to type long URL’s. I also enjoy the fact that my Retaggr card has a URL that can be used on any site or e-mail regardless of whether it is Retaggr-enabled.
Retaggr blows Google’s Profile card out of the water with its extensive features, seamless aggregation, and various functionalities. Anyone who has more than a couple of online profiles, enjoys learning more about the people they come across on the web, and wants to be on forefront of where web 2.0 is heading should try Retaggr. This is one service that I am interested in following and hearing more about.
Disney XD Introduces Weekly Movie Streams
June 10, 2008 — 11:31 AM PDT — by Paul Glazowski — — Add a Comment
Disney, the media and theme park giant responsible for franchising all manner of things real and animated, announced today an expansion of its media offerings on its Xtreme Digital (XD) online network. In conjunction with its 2008 summer movie broadcast schedule for its ABC television network, Disney has introduced a staged rollout of full-length movie streams to Web viewers following their original showing on the Wonderful World of Disney on Saturday nights.
The company is currently displaying “Finding Nemo,” with “Monsters Inc.,” “Haunted Mansion,” “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen,” “Princess Diaries 2,” “Freaky Friday,” and “Peter Pan” to follow on successive weeks. While ABC networks are said to only show movies on Saturday nights, visitors to the XD website will be given the opportunity to view the abovementioned weekly picks on demand the full week after they’re aired, Monday through Friday.
Disney XD, part of the Disney Online division, has, since its debut last May, been conditioned rather well to provide a sizable amount of entertainment for its users. It hosts everything from video clips to games to kid-friendly networking. And this week’s debut of free film streams will likely only add to its allure for the increasingly Web-connected Disney fan club.(The company is also well invested in Club Penguin, a child-oriented virtual networking environment which it purchased in 2007 to the tune of $700 million.)
With young children up to teen age spending more and more time online, building digital characters, playing virtual house, and spending a good amount of parental dollars, there’s definite reason to build greater value into its website. And with movies making up a substantial segment of Disney’s annual revenue stream, it seems only sensible that the company introduce its catalogue to Web viewers, particularly in an environment which packs so many additional functions and services as XD. Movies are just one more piece of the puzzle to get and maintain hold of visitors’ attention.
Of course, Disney isn’t making available with one-click access all of its DVD lineup. It’s only presenting a single movie per week, which is replaced by another as each Monday of the season-specific Wonderful World of Disney event rolls around. But the company’s attempt to fix its release of content to the Web to a schedule may allow XD to maintain a sort of consistency throughout the summer that it can keep long past the departure of WWD broadcasts.
Drop.io Chooses Scribd for iPaper Previews
June 10, 2008 — 11:30 AM PDT — by Kristen Nicole — — 1 Comment
Drop.io is the latest file-sharing service to partner with Scribd for enhanced document-sharing and preview capabilities. Similar to the Box.net partnership, Scribd’s document conversion and viewing tools will be made available within privately shared drop.io “drops.”
The improvement for drop.io comes with the ability to privately share and preview the majority of document file formats, including Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, utilizing Scribd’s recently updated Flash-based iPaper format. Before the partnership, drop.io users could only preview PDF files.
Using Scribd’s iPaper format leads towards a more seamless user experience when it comes to media-sharing, and minimizes the need for an individual PC to have the necessary compatibility software to support multiple document file types. Ever since releasing the Flash-based iPaper format, Scribd has been more attractive as an integrated tool and distribution platform for documents.
As one of the most prominent document-sharing sites, continued upgrades such as iPaper allow Scribd to remain in that leadership position, which better enables the company to establish some standards when it comes to document-sharing across social media sites.
13 Tools for a Geeked Out Summer Camp Experience
June 10, 2008 — 09:22 AM PDT — by Sean P. Aune — — 2 Comments
Summer camps used to be mainly about activities like canoing, hiking and sitting around the bonfire late at night. Times change, and so has the definition of “camp” with more summer activities focusing on learning something in the technology field.
See where you can send your kids to beef up their tech skills, or if you have some other type of camp in mind, check out some directories with tens of thousands of choices.
Unique Camps
Apple Camps - Apple retail stores will be hosting Apple Camp this summer where children 8 - 12 can work with photos, movies, music or presentations. They can sign up for two classes at a time and they will get to take home whatever they create on a DVD so that can share it with their family.
(more…)
EchoTopic: Semantic, In-Text Ads
June 10, 2008 — 06:01 AM PDT — by Kristen Nicole — — 3 Comments
A new vertical from Exponential’s Tribal Fusion proves that online advertising networks are researching and seeking out new technologies built on existing capabilities in order to diversify their core functions as platforms for marketing purposes. EchoTopic is the latest service from Tribal Fusion, and it’s an in-text advertising solution that aims to provide highly targeted and relevant ads to readers.
The EchoTopic system works, on the reader’s end, in a similar manner to Snap Link Bubbles, in that highlighted words will pull up a scroll-over window with sponsored links. These links are determined on parent company Exponential’s semantic model, which scans the entire page of the publisher’s content, along with incoming and outgoing links. This scanning enables EchoTopic to determine the most contextually-based words in which to highlight for advertising purposes.
When it comes down to execution, I’d personally feel more comfortable with the EchoTopic service if it provided information in addition to the sponsored links. There are a number of possible implementations for such in-text advertisements–for instance, Snap Previews offers a preview image of the website a particular link is directed towards, and Answers.com has a feature that provides word definitions in its popups. But for now, it’s the semantic, contextual technology behind EchoTopic that’s of most importance to Tribal Fusion, so it can have a good foundation on which to build.
Add to Any Knows What You Like, Dives into Recommendations
June 10, 2008 — 06:01 AM PDT — by Kristen Nicole — — 2 Comments
Social media is all about sharing, and the latest release from Add to Any, the bookmarking and sharing widget, makes it that much easier for users to share content across their favorite websites. Called Smart Menus, this Add to Any upgrade automatically adjusts to individual users, placing the most used services first in the expandable Add to Any widget.
For example, if you often share web content on Digg, Facebook, Netvibes and iGoogle, these four services will appear first in your Add to Any drop -down box. If there’s no browser history for Add to Any to work from, then it will recommend the most popular based on all user activity.
Such a personalized media-sharing tool opens up the potential for an even more personalized browser add-on that could offer even more tailored sharing capabilities based on each user’s behavior. But even without individual customization, the collecting of such data across all users dives into common web activity, sharing behavior across a widening demographic, and is being used in Add to Any’s release as a recommendation tool for users.
This may come in handy for new users that may not know where to start when faced with an Add to Any menu, as its complete list covers 200 sites on which to share web content. As services like Add to Any and ShareThis continue to evolve, such recommendations and furthered personalization will become more important integrated features for users, sites and brands alike. In terms of recommendations for branding and tracking, ShareThis is already moving in that direction, having provided a reporting tool for clients.
Kontera Ads, Just One-Click Into Blogger
June 10, 2008 — 04:58 AM PDT — by Kristen Nicole — — 1 Comment
Not too long ago Kontera’s in-text advertising solution was chosen by Microsoft to deliver contextual ads on LinkedIn. Today, Kontera offers something for the everyday, regular user. One-click plug-ins for Blogger.com. From your Kontera account, you’ll now notice a new button presenting you with the option of adding the Kontera in-text ads to your Blogger page.
What’s particularly attractive about this new feature is that it simplifies the process of adding ads to your blog for the non-technical crowd. Given the growing interest in mainstream culture in relation to blogging for profit, such simplistic tools are quite necessary for those starting out with little experience.
In addition to Kontera’s one-click support for Blogger, there’s also one-click solutions for WordPress, and improved plug-ins for CMs like Joomla and Drupal, which also eases the process of implementing Kontera across social media venues.
Will the platforms themselves eventually offer such simplified integration for advertising solutions across other platforms? I wouldn’t be entirely surprised. Google Ads is utilized on some platforms in a similar manner, even if not always as a direct and easy option for the end users (content creators) themselves. And as more blogging and life streaming platforms offer simplified redistribution options across multiple sites and networks, we’ll likely see a similar evolution for advertising, to some degree, as web content becomes more fragmented, shareable and intertwined with social media.
PaltalkExpress: Embeddable Video Chat
June 10, 2008 — 04:58 AM PDT — by Kristen Nicole — — Add a Comment
Video-chat service and community Paltalk has just announced the beta launch of PaltalkExpress, a Flash-enabled video chat platform, with plans for an official release next month. What does this mean? For one, it’s compatible with Macs. Until now, Mac users didn’t have full access to Paltalk’s core features, but PalalkExpress lets Mac users use the real-time video chat community tool.
More importantly, it also means that the video chat tool is embeddable and doesn’t require a download. Paltalk is seriously removing its barriers to entry with the Flash-enabled PalatalkExpress, and opens the service up to a lot more users. Paltalk has also stated that this release is the first of a series of announcements, so we’ll be looking out to see what else the video chat tool has to offer. With PaltalkExpress, the video chat capabilities of Paltalk are expanded, and made more accessible to more users. The embedding features also allow the distribution potential of Paltalk video to grow.
Given Paltalk’s existing focus on traditional media-sharing, social networking an an interactive video service, there are some intriguing ways in which Paltalk could take its upcoming releases. Now that the video chat capabilities of Paltalk are being widened, perhaps additional integration of other social and media-enhanced features will be layered into the furthered development of PaltalkExpress and the Paltalk community.
We’ve already seen some partnerships for Meez avatars and Vumber VoIP services. I imagine more integration with more services such as this, and perhaps an even furthered integrative move that allows Paltalk to be included within other network services, are possibly in the plans for Paltalk’s future.
KickApps and Clearspring Team Up to Monetize Social Widgets
June 10, 2008 — 04:57 AM PDT — by Kristen Nicole — — 1 Comment
This is one great week for widgets. RockYou received a hefty round of funding yesterday, and today marks a dually beneficial partnership between white label network solutions company KickApps and widget maker and distributor Clearspring. This partnership is especially focused on the marketing potential of joining forces, as it provides a full-circle approach to widget advertising.
The result is a platform on which to internally create and distribute distribute Clearspring widgets, and a KickApps’ directive within Clearspring’s platform as well. On Clearspring, you’ll find a KickApps WYSIWYG creation studio along with management tools, and on KickApps you’ll find one-click distribution for Clearspring widgets, along with tracking and analysis. So when you’re creating a network on KickApps or a widget on Clearspring, you can do so with either service in mind.
Equally as important, the advertising options available on Clearspring’s widgets are still included, so the broadening of Clearspring’s reach for its own advertising network is achieved, and KickApps too gets to offer extensive widget capabilities with tracking for its publishers.
What’s happening is a combination of widgets and social networks, which pushes widgets as a fully integrated advertising solution, as well as a channel for content distribution. Such a piecemeal approach has been in development for some time, especially as experimentation with widgets and their potential for advertising has emerged these past couple of years, and open platforms enable a highly integrated approach for third party integration and the insertion of accessible content and ads.
As most other major widget networks like Widgetbox, Gigya and Widgetbucks have also moved successfully into the advertising realm, there will be a lot more solidification of widgets being leveraged for advertising purposes. It’s also interesting to see some of the larger trends for widget companies becoming advertising networks, as the effort to provide an all-inclusive approach to advertising, distribution, tracking and analysis mirrors the process we’re still seeing formulate with other online advertising networks, especially as web publishers begin to move online ads to in-house operations.
Userplane Plug-Ins Now Support WordPress, Drupal, and More.
June 10, 2008 — 04:00 AM PDT — by Kristen Nicole — — 1 Comment
Userplane has been adding to its roster of available community-building tools for some time, with free API options for things like chat and Webmessenger. The plugins for these Userplane additions are now available as plug-ins for VBulletin, WordPress, Drupal, Mambo, Joomla and phpFoX.
The point is to make it even more simple to create communities around these newly supported platforms with Userplane’s plugins. It’s all rather out-of-the-box on the development side, and aims to take better advantage of open source platforms all together. With more sectors having a need to build communities, there’s a driving interest in doing so around existing open source and platform offerings where the likelihood of a continuing community will easily take shape.
To that end, Userplane is offering these white label social applications beginning this week. The applications include Webmessenger, Webchat and Webrecorder. The ability to add single purpose applications to existing platforms is not a new trend, but it is one that’s being more readily supported, as we can see with Userplane’s new community-building plugins.
From desktop applications to Open Social applications, Userplane is creating a wide range of ready-made community tools to be used in a variety of ways, addressing a number of existing platforms that are already out there.
