Open-Xchange, the leading provider of open source groupware, today announced the ability to consolidate social network communication in one central application with the availability of Open-Xchange Server 6.10.
Open-Xchange 6.10 introduces a new groupware concept called “Social OX,” which aggregates e-mail and contact information in one place — whether personal or business — avoiding time-consuming searching and giving users access to information anywhere, anytime and with any device.
“Social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo and Xing are great tools for business networks. And, Googlemail and Yahoo free mail accounts have changed our way of communicating,” said Juergen Geck, CTO of Open-Xchange. “Before we end up in confusion with lots of e-mail accounts and address books, Open-Xchange overcomes the barriers between the variety of desktop and web applications, where we store and handle our multiple addresses, appointments, tasks and documents.”
“People today use a number of different e-mail addresses and social network tools to store contact information generated from their personal and professional lives,” said Philbert Shih, senior analyst, Tier1 Research. “Social OX is designed to bring the contact information stored in e-mail and social networks closer together, allowing the user to control everything from a single platform. This is a very useful innovation that messaging vendors are only starting to catch on to.”
New features of Open-Xchange 6.10 include:
• Integration of any kind of existing webmail accounts (from Google, Yahoo, etc.) into a folder in Open-Xchange, including merging of data.
• Contact details from social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn or Xing will be added automatically to the Open-Xchange address book – giving users easy access to the latest contact information within their personal network.
• In addition, Open-Xchange users can share their data with other users in a controlled way — without sending the information via e-mail. For example, with Social OX published data can be shared so there is no need to send large documents as an attachment via e-mail.
“Our customers depend on their email to run their business,” said Miguel Ramos, manager of Hosting Product Development at Network Solutions®. “Social OX will give them the ability to engage with their customers and vendors regardless of the social network their contacts are using.”
Anyone can try Social OX for free at this special preview website, http://ox.io.
Open-Xchange is installed by more than 3,500 companies and organizations worldwide. Furthermore, the Open-Xchange Hosting Edition is used by more than 10 million users worldwide as hosted business-class e-mail, along with personal information management (PIM), and full groupware.
About Open-Xchange
Open-Xchange is the innovator of scalable and integrated open source e-mail and collaboration solutions for enterprises, academic institutions, and government authorities. The company provides on-premise versions called Open-Xchange Server Edition and Open-Xchange Appliance Edition, along with Open-Xchange Hosting Edition, which enables web hosting companies to provide an easy-to-use and feature-rich application delivered as Software as a Service (SaaS). The Open-Xchange Hosting Edition is architected to integrate into a hosting provider’s existing infrastructure, such as authentication, provisioning, billing, and e-mail storage and does not require that these systems be replaced.
Open-Xchange AG is a privately-held company headquartered in Nuremberg, Germany with offices in Olpe, Germany and Tarrytown, N.Y. For more information, please visit www.open-xchange.com
Daily Archives: July 30, 2009
9 posts
We announce the creation of Massive Finger (http://massivefinger.com), a video game studio focusing exclusively on new connected platforms such as iPhone and Facebook to provide new game experiences.
iPhone and Facebook platforms, adopted rapidly by users, continue to evolve at a very fast pace, and are providing more and more services to developers and users.
Today’s announcement comes with the development of the studio’s first title : Pinball Ride for iPhone, a pinball game with an online competition system and social features. This game is exclusive to iPhone and iPod Touch product lines, and will be available on Apple App Store.
The goal of the game is to reach the highest score within the limit of a number of given balls. To build this high score, the player must progress through various challenges and unlock Jackpots offered by the table. Precision and focus are key to the player’s success.
The game offers a long list of challenges you will have to pass to maximize your score, using targets, bumpers, ramps. It also provides the classic rewards of “multi-balls” and “extra ball”.
Facebook Connect allows players to compete asynchronously against their Facebook friends. It gives players and friends their rank based on score, and lets players compare their game profiles. It also allows players to share game stories directly through the game itself.
Pinball Ride reproduces the physics of a real pinball machine that will please pinball fans, and runs at a very smooth frame rate to render an authentic feel. For instance, flipper controls are precisely tuned to replicate the feel of real pinball and make the game easy to learn but hard to master.
Pinball Ride features a unique table with an original universe and offers story progression through an illustrative style. The style is supported by an original soundtrack created exclusively for the table.
“Pinball Ride has been designed with the iPhone in mind to provide an experience where the player creates content for his social network by playing, and where bringing friends adds value to the game.” – Laurent Mascherpa, CEO of Massive Finger.
For additional material, please visit : http://massivefinger.com/pinballride_press-kit.zip
Transparent Language® today announced the next release of Byki for iPhone (the Language Learning App) with the new Twitter search feature. Byki for iPhone now supports for 4 new languages; Tagalog, Norwegian, Polish and Swedish – bringing the total to 15 available languages for download. The New Twitter search feature works in real time, enabling users to search for words/phrases they are learning with Byki and see how real people are using them in conversation. To start Twittering, users can select a word/phrase they want an example of and simply press the Twitter icon in the bottom right corner of the Byki application. In seconds, live examples from current Twitter posts are displayed on the user’s iPhone (and/or iPod Touch). These live examples can display slang, formal, and informal vocabulary as it is actually used on Twitter. Byki for iPhone (and iPod Touch) App sell for $7.99 per language, and is available from the Apple iTunes Store. For more information, visit http://www.byki.com/iphone/iphone.html.
Byki for iPhone includes approximately 1000 words and phrases in each language, all taught with Byki’s rapid 3-step learning method. Byki’s words and phrases include native speaker sound, and the popular SlowSound function that allows users to slow down the audio to help perfect their pronunciation. Byki’s new Twitter feature works for all 15 languages except Chinese, Japanese, and Tagalog. The Chinese and Japanese Apps come with both transliterated text as well as native script for the user’s convenience.
“We are very excited to announce the new Twitter search feature presented in our Byki for iPhone App.” said Michael Quinlan, CEO of Transparent Language. “Byki for iPhone now enables learners to connect with a wide variety of real world materials, people, and content that consists of natural language for every day use. By doing this Byki provides a great opportunity to practice new words and phrases by the minute.”
ABOUT THE BYKI SYSTEM
Byki, formerly “Before You Know It,” is a 3-Step, rapid learning system employing spaced interval repetition. Experts agree that the key to language learning is to first build a strong lexical foundation – a ready supply of words and phrases locked into one’s memory. Byki is the fastest, most direct path to that goal. Byki takes users through three simple steps to memorize words and phrases in a new language, including their meanings and proper pronunciation, in the shortest possible time. More than 3 million people around the world already use Byki, which currently comes in more than 70 languages.
ABOUT TRANSPARENT LANGUAGE, INC.
Transparent Language is a leading provider of best-practice language learning software for consumers, educational institutions, government agencies, and businesses. Since 1991, Transparent Language has helped millions of individuals learn new languages quickly, easily, and effectively. Transparent Language’s products are also used in more than 12,000 civilian and government educational institutions, including major universities and government facilities, such as the Defense Language Institute and Foreign Service Institute. Call 800-567-9619 or visit www.transparent.com for more information.
The Open Access movement, ushered in by MIT OpenCourseWare, marked a significant shift in the way academics leverage the web to spread knowledge. This trend is set to grow and reach a tipping point among college students in the next academic year.
“Last semester, as thousands of students at hundreds of universities across the US started using GradeGuru, we quickly realized the potential for building a leading community within the academic social web,” said Emily Sawtell, Director of New Business Ventures at McGraw-Hill Higher Education and Founder of GradeGuru.com, a notes-sharing community where college students are sharing class notes, improving their study skills and building their academic portfolios.
“Today’s born digital college students are already heavy social media users with wikis, blogs and online communities forming part of their daily routine,” said Sawtell. “GradeGuru is attracting Facebook and YouTube users who want to leverage social media to built their academic reputation.”
Student and Academic Feedback:
“Note sharing creates critical bonds between students and allows them to build on each other’s strengths in ways that raise the performance level of the entire class,” said Dr. Noelle Stout, Associate Professor of Anthropology at New York University.
“I am glad I contributed because it has improved my study habits” says Mrugesh Patel, a student from the University of Michigan when talking about GradeGuru’s peer review and star rating feedback system.
“GradeGuru makes studying a lot easier because you can check out notes from students at all different schools taking the same class as you,” says Katherine Rambough from Lehigh University. “It gave me a lot more insight into the concepts I was learning.”
For an interactive walk-through of our site and information on our expansion plans for this semester please do not hesitate to contact me. To schedule a phone interview with professors or students using the academic social web, or Emily Sawtell, a thought leader in open access learning, email [email protected].
New social network, Friends Recover, is the latest resource available to the community of those who battle substance abuse in their own lives or in the lives of those they love.
At Friends Recover, there is room for everyone to listen and be heard. The website will host a forum where individuals in recovery, their friends and family, and those who have not yet sought treatment, can all come together to share information, network, seek help, and offer support.
Friends Recover – free to all users – features the well known 12 step recovery program. The 12 step program has been renowned for its effectiveness since the early 1930s. “With this feature those who have taken the 12 Steps can continue their process privately online, as well as sponsoring other members who have not taken steps,” said the founder of the website, who for reasons of privacy wishes to remain anonymous.
Other unique features of the site include a locator for treatment centers and meetings, ability to create events and groups, and specific memberships tailored for those currently in recovery, those seeking recovery, family, friends and recovery professionals. Friends Recover offers a special membership category to those who are in need of urgent care.
While the site may save the lives of some, for others it will be a way to maintain moral support, check in on old friends and meet new people. It will offer online meetings, networking, photo tagging and chat features – all geared towards keeping members sober and practicing the principals of the 12 steps.
The mastermind behind Friends Recover, a recovered substance abuser herself, was inspired to create this online network by the remarkable individuals who supported her along her own road to recovery. “Those of us who have suffered from alcoholism and addiction know that it can’t be done alone,” she said.
Friends Recover recognizes the strength of community support and seeks to make that support readily accessible to all. “I hope to connect parents who have questions to parents who have answers. I hope to connect people who are willing and able to help to people who are in need of it. I hope to connect people who are in recovery with a support group,” said the website’s founder.
“Whether the member chooses a support group of people in the same home group, same state, across the country, or internationally, they will be connected to people they can learn from, help, or simply share experiences with.”
For more information join today at http://www.friendsrecover.com.
Jump Start Social MediaSM (helps organizations accelerate their adoption and use of social media) teams with Ventureneer.com (online education and peer support) to spread the word about a survey to better understand the value and application of small business and nonprofit leaders’ resources (e.g. business association membership, enrolling in classes online or in person, networking, seek advice/guidance from professionals or peers, etc.).
Surveys are an excellent tool to gain insight into a market, but can be time consuming to complete. Knowing how time starved entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders – are, the survey was designed to be only nine questions – taking no more than three to five minutes to complete. The answers to the survey will help small business and nonprofit leaders prioritize their time to be the most successful. Questions cover:
What kinds of resources are used regularly?
How much are those resources used?
How strong an influence do these resources have on an enterprise leader?
What is the impact to their organizations?
“For more than 30 years, I’ve conducted surveys for organization such as The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, MasterCard, Mathew Bender, and the New York City Chapter of NAWBO,” says Geri Stengel, President of Ventureneer. “Recently I’ve become an avid user of social media, especially Twitter, and see it as a fast, inexpensive and effective way to get a read of the market.”
“We’re energized to be joining with Ventureneer to help entrepreneurs and nonprofits take stock of the resources that are of the highest value to them individually and, via the survey results, share that information to help streamline for them how they gather information and act on it,” says Veronica Fielding, President of Digital Brand Expressions, parent company of Jump Start Social Media.
Forwarding the http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=yf1vL9cJGNQSCSlzvB3_2bhw_3d_3d survey to small businesses and nonprofit leaders will help it to spread virally and increase the number of people who complete the survey. “The more responses to the survey the more finely results can be segmented and more insights revealed,” adds Geri Stengel.
A summary of the results will be shared on Vistas, Ventureneer’s blog by late August 2009, which you can visit at http://www.ventureneer.com/vblog. Or you can request the full report, by simply submitting your email address at http://ventureneer.com/contact.
Geri Stengel is currently an adjunct professor at The New School. She has served as a mentor for social enterprises entered in business plan competitions at Columbia Business School and New York University (NYU), Stern School of Business, and has served as a nonprofit board member. She honed her online experience at companies such as Dow Jones and Physicians’ Online. She co-founded Women’s Leadership Exchange, an online and conference resource for women-led businesses, and founded consulting practice Stengel Solutions.
Ventureneer provides a new approach to learning that blends traditional formal instruction with informal learning derived from peers using Web 2.0 technology to capture and share this knowledge. Ventureneer’s customized Web 2.0 learning environment: blogs, virtual classes, peer-to-peer learning, coaching, web events and articles, provide the necessary support to make faster, better organizational decisions.
Digital Brand Expressions, the parent company of Jump Start Social MediaSM, specializes in helping brands of all sizes to be found on the Web through customized solutions that typically include search engine optimization, paid search, and social media marketing for F1000 and middle market companies and provides social media educational tools for individuals, HR professionals/hiring managers, and small businesses.
So how important are Social Networks to women? According to 36% of women who participated in a recent research study; they would give up chocolate, their Pradas, or their Mother-in-Law before they gave up their Social Networks. We’re not so sure what that says about their Mother-in-Laws but brand managers for Prada and chocolate companies should pay attention!
ShesConnected Multimedia, a Social Media Advertising Agency who also own and operate www.sheconnected.com a Social Network for women just released a comprehensive research report on how women in the United States and Canada are using Social Networks.
The research report details the kind of women that use Social Networks, why they are using them, which networks they belong to, and what they use them for. They found that women are one of the fastest growing segments on Social Networks. Not surprisingly they found that the three most popular sites are, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
Over two-thirds (67%) of women who participated in the research reported belonging to 3 Social Networks; half belong to 4 or more. Based on previous focus groups conducted by ShesConnected, the predominant reason given by women for joining multiple sites was “no one site meets all of my needs or interests”.
“One thing that did surprise us a bit was the number of women who are using Social Networks and Social media to promote their business”, said Mark Grindeland, co-founder and CEO of ShesConnected. “There is a significant segment of women who either work from home or own small businesses. They are using Social Networks to drive sales and marketing, find employees for open jobs, and network with other women. We found these women to be highly engaged on Social Networks and very sophisticated about the use of Social Media in general”.
Not only are they joining multiple Social Networking sites, they are also joining and creating their own groups or communities on these sites. 56% of the women who participated in the research have started at least one group and have joined an average of 2 to 5 groups. 29% reported belonging to 10 or more groups.
As the classic slogan for Oldsmobile goes, “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile”, the juxtaposition for today is, “this is not your teenager’s Social Network”. 53% of online women use Social Networks at least weekly and the rate of Social Network adoption in the past year has been especially strong among older women. So what are the implications for advertisers, marketers, and social networks? In a word; OPPORTUNITY! Women are one of the most important demographics to advertisers.
“Advertisers know that in order to be successful, you have to follow the money. And the money is in the purses of the women who are spending their time on Social Networks. Women control up to 85% of all household expenditures. They outnumber men online, and are spending a significant mount of time on Social Networks” says Mark Grindeland, co-founder and CEO of ShesConnected Multimedia.
The implications for Advertisers are profound; women using Social Networks are finding such high utility in these sites that they are becoming a central component of their lives online. Marketers need to focus on how best to provide value to the community. A deeper look into Social Network behaviors and attitudes will help guide decisions related to the development and placement of specific marketing tactics.
This has challenged marketers on many levels but there are many potential approaches to consider:
Develop a fan page to drive engagement and collect data
Create promotions with links into the fan page to increase traffic
Integrate offline and online marketing with web addresses on packaging and advertising,
contests that require codes be entered in the website or fan page
Sponsor groups or entire sections of a site
Sponsor newsletters
Create excitement and entertain with content, contests, special offers, and promotions
Post links to popular websites on fan page and request they host links to your fan page
Regardless of the approach used, Advertisers need to make sure they design marketing campaigns that incorporate the context of what women are doing on Social Networks. That is the beauty of Social Networks, they give the Advertiser the ability to tailor their marketing to what is important to the individual or groups.
About ShesConnected Multimedia Corp.
ShesConnected Multimedia is a social media agency designed to leverage the power of Social Networking and social media to engage women in meaningful and relevant ways. ShesConnected combines agency expertise with an online community of women to deliver gender-smart marketing for leading Advertisers.
For more information, please visit http://shesconnectedmultimedia.com/ or http://www.shesconnected.com
Those who have been waiting for a social network that is totally dedicated to students now have good news. Student Talk comes as a great gift for students that are interested in having high standard social utility website. Students Talk helps students from all over the world to interact with one another and spend time online with people who share the same interests.
As of now, there is no social network site with all the latest features and tools that is totally dedicated to students. Student Talks comes to fill this gap and it has done a wonderful job in filling that gap. Student Talk is not only a good source for students, teachers too can benefit from this student community website. Teachers and tutors are able to interact with their students through this social network.
Students can now easily get in touch with other students and their friends in any part of the world. Student Talk allows students share ideas, do homework, exchange essays and clarify doubts using this social network. As such, this social network can help the students a great deal in their education .
Students share their creative work, Word Presentations, PowerPoint projects or photos by uploading and downloading in the site Files section. As Student Talk is an active hub for students from all over the world, all schools, colleges, universities, student organizations and even bookshops can use this social network to reach out to the students mass. This network helps students in expanding their services and programs in the easiest and the most effective way. In no other website educational institutions and organizations find such a focused group. Students can now also enjoy the Facebook like social utility and Twitter like micro blogging facilities and Social Bookmark all from within Student Talk.
No other student community site brings together all these features. There are many students’ network but they are very limited in their service offerings. Student Talk is an absolutely free social networking site. Students are able create profiles which can be seen by others. To join Student Talk and to find out more about this Global Student Network, visit http://www.studenttalk.com
Poet Larry Jaffe has been using his art to promote human rights his entire career. As an official Ambassador for Youth for Human Rights as well as their Poet Laureate, Jaffe has been featured in poetry venues and festivals both throughout the U.S. and abroad. But in today’s “Brave New World” Jaffe is speaking for peace on Twitter, by tweeting each of the 30 articles of Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 140 characters or less.
Jaffe is excited about his poetry foray into Twitter and despite having read his work in such distinguished locations such as the Japanese American Museum, the Jewish Museum and the Museum of Literature in Prague he says Twitter has more ability to reach the mainstream.
Born out of the atrocities and enormous loss of life during World War II, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created by the United Nations to provide a common understanding of what everyone’s rights are. It forms the basis for a world built on freedom, justice and peace.
“Tell the world about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and make everyone you know aware of them, says Larry. “Get these rights taught to our children so they know their birthright.”
Larry still loves to read in a variety of bookstores, coffeehouses and bars to keep his roots intact. He says his Twitter tweets will be no different than his usual poetry and will always integrate a strong sense of humor along with a tough stand on human rights and freedom.
Follow Larry via his poetic tweets on Twitter @larryjaffe.
About Poet Larry Jaffe:
From the sensually romantic to humor and social commentary, Larry Jaffe impacts audiences with a rich emotional range, masterfully crafted. His poetry appears in numerous anthologies, magazines, and on the Internet where he has pioneered poetry web sites. Passionate about his purpose to bring Human Rights to the forefront of our youth’s minds, Jaffe said, “Every day I read about various human rights violations and in my heart I know we can make a better world. It is my great hope that we as poets lead the way to a new and better civilization.” His poem OWNED has been adopted as the official poem on human slave trafficking. In addition to his Poet Laureate status for the Youth for Human Rights International, Jaffe is also the co-founder of Poets for Human Rights, an international coalition of poets and human rights advocates. Visit Larry at www.reverbnation.com/larryjaffe