Yearly Archives: 2010

130 posts

Kyte Launches Facebook Application Framework

Kyte, the 360° video platform, announced that it has extended its cross-platform support of social video experiences to Facebook.
Kyte’s latest social innovations include the Kyte Facebook Application Framework, which enables media companies and marketers to quickly establish fully branded interactive video experiences on Facebook. This allows publishers to more easily connect with Facebook Fans and monetize content through pre-roll, overlay and companion advertising on branded canvas pages.

Kyte also announced integrated support for Facebook’s new social plugins. Optional inclusion of the new Like Button in the Kyte Player allows audiences to share videos back to their friends on Facebook with just one click, wherever the player is embedded. Kyte customers can also embed a Facebook Recommendations box on their page. Together, these new social tools from Kyte lead to increased video views and viral audience engagement.

“Consumers have become increasingly accustomed to accessing and sharing video content on Facebook and across device platforms,” said Daniel Graf, CEO at Kyte. “Our new Facebook application framework and support for Facebook social plugins provide a powerful set of tools for marketers to not only reach, but deeply engage with these audiences as they interact within the real-time social stream.”

“Consumers are no longer interacting with video content through a single platform, and extending the reach of our Spanish language video experiences to Facebook is a key part of our multi-platform video strategy,” said Guillermo Sierra, SVP, chief content officer at V-me. “Kyte’s Facebook Application Framework provides us with the cutting-edge tools necessary to create and promote viral content that engages our fans while continuing to build the V-me community across platforms.”

“The Kyte Platform allows us to seamlessly integrate engaging video content into our web sites, significantly growing our social capabilities to include commenting, rating and sharing across a broad range of social networking platforms,” said Miguel Castillo, new media manager at Axel Springer España S.A. “Using Kyte’s new Facebook Application Framework, we’re planning to create interactive video experiences on Facebook, plus take advantage of Facebook’s new social plugins to increase the virality of our video content on our Autobild.es and Hobbynews.es websites powered by Kyte.”

The Kyte Facebook Application Framework also promotes virality by updating fans to new videos and allowing them to share and comment on the content, as well as enabling publishers to deliver branded contests and UGC campaigns. Using the Kyte Application Framework, publishers have three ways of distributing their content into the Facebook social stream:

Fan Page Integration: Viewers can easily find new videos when they browse a publisher’s Facebook Fan page, and Fans are notified whenever new videos are published. When clicked, videos play on branded canvas pages.
News Feed Notifications: Fans are instantly notified whenever a new video is published and are able to play video either directly in their news feeds or through branded canvas pages.
Branded Canvas Pages: Canvas pages serve as publishers’ branded video destinations within Facebook, including most recent video content, full monetization, and social features such as multimedia chat, user comments, and live video sharing.
Kyte is quickly becoming the 360° platform of choice for organizations that want to reach consumers with live and on-demand video across multiple screens and devices. In addition to its robust online video platform, Kyte gives organizations the ability to add social and interactive capabilities to video content and to natively distribute that content to mobile, social and emerging devices. Kyte also offers enterprise-class content management, moderation and analytics and offers monetization through built-in integration with leading ad platforms.

Organizations interested in powering their online, mobile and social initiatives with Kyte can visit www.kyte.com.

About Kyte

Kyte is the 360° video platform for live and on-demand content. The Kyte Platform enables media companies and marketers to deeply engage audiences across online, mobile, and social platforms through interactivevideo experiences. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with offices in New York, London, Hamburg and Zurich. Customers include ABC, Armani Exchange, Clear Channel, ESPN, Fox News, HomeAway, MTV, Monster Energy, NATO, NBA Digital, Nokia, Tyra Banks, and others.

IntelBuilder 2.2 – Complete Social Media Website Platform

Vesta Digital LLC announces IntelBuilder 2.2 version update that integrates all aspects of online marketing tools and brings them into one powerful web based application framework.

IntelBuilder Social Media Website Platform is the first platform that offers web content management system (CMS), social media marketing, and sales lead tracking with strong reporting and measuring tools. In addition, this website platform comes with built-in search engine optimization (SEO) and business modules that help generate traffic and retain customers on your website.

Key Features
IntelBuilder is a content management system and social media platform for publishing and distributing content on the web. It is designed for easy control and maintenance and allows you to effortlessly add content pages, edit existing content and remove outdated material from your website.

With IntelBuilder users are able to automatically distribute and aggregate web content throughout the Internet – on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, WordPress, Blogger, RSS Feeds, Digg, Delicious – and other social networking and bookmarking websites – with the touch of a button. The visibility and exposure of your content increases over 200%.

IntelBuilder 2.2 offers rich reporting tools such as measuring and monitoring of online conversations taking place on the website. A blog module that comes with this platform is built into your website and unlike WordPress, is a branded part of the website. Content and Blog administrators are notified of every new conversation taking place on a blog post and therefore are able to automatically engage with that user, auto-follow and send them custom “thank you” message. This active participation creates more meaningful conversations and builds a “true” audience with users who have taken interest or liking to in the company’s product or service.

“IntelBuilder 2.2 Social Media Website Platform gives you capabilities that no other social media platform has. These new enhancements further enrich a very extensive software program and create a more engaging social media experience for their customers,” says Artem Gassan, CEO of Vesta Digital.

About Vesta Digital
Vesta Digital creates, develops and implements web-based software solutions that help businesses of all sizes to enhance productivity by increasing efficiency and overall profitability.

www.vestadigital.com

2010 Industry Blogger Awards Announced

The winners of the 2010 Design and Remodeling Industry Blogger Awards are: Joys of Home (Best Interior Design Blog), Brookfield Homes (Construction Industry Blog) and Craftsman Home Remodeling (Best Remodeling Blog). Sponsored by Jackson Design & Remodeling, readers voted online for their favorite blog out of 22 nominees in three categories: Interior Design, Construction Business and Remodeling. Winners will receive a $500 cash prize and a JDR Blogger Awards Winner badge to display on their blog.

Sponsored by Jackson Design and Remodeling, the goal of the JDR Blogger Awards is to give recognition to the work of industry bloggers, while promoting the professionalism of the remodeling industry and keeping the public informed about the latest trends in home design.

“With more and more consumers going online for remodeling advice, research and design ideas, we felt it was the perfect time to acknowledge these bloggers who are helping to educate and inspire people who are considering a remodel, looking for design ideas or even taking on their own projects,” said JDR President Todd Jackson. “We want to thank all the amazing nominees this year and offer our congratulations to the winners.”

While we weren’t eligible for our own awards, you can keep in touch with JDR’s award winning team of designers and remodeling experts and find information on the 2011 JDR Industry Blogger Awards on our Blog or through our social network at facebook.com/jacksondesignandremodeling and twitter @jacksondesign.

About Jackson Design and Remodeling
Jackson Design and Remodeling has been serving the San Diego community for 20 years. Todd Jackson, President and CEO, has established an enduring tradition of quality and service in the remodeling industry. Jackson and his team have won numerous awards for their work, including 23 COTY awards, several Chrysalis awards and the 2007 and 2009 Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics. The company has been named one of Inc Magazine’s fastest growing companies for two years in a row, is one of the San Diego Business Journal’s “100 Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies” for a third consecutive year and has also received Remodeling Magazine’s coveted “Big50 Award.” JDR offers design-build services giving clients peace of mind that the entire remodeling process, from start to finish, will be seamless. This approach allows for creative thinking, detailed planning and exceptional project management, and is the reason why JDR has built a trusted reputation in the industry for its quality work and commitment to client service. For more information, visit www.jacksondesignandremodeling.com, call (619) 442-6125 or follow us on facebook: Jackson Design & Remodeling and twitter @jacksondesign.

Twitter Generates Almost One in Ten Social Media Hits to Websites Reports StatCounter

Twitter generates almost one in ten Social Media global hits to websites according to web analytics firm, StatCounter. The firm’s research arm StatCounter Global Stats reports that Facebook is the primary source of traffic to global websites with almost half (48%) of Social Media hits followed by StumbleUpon with almost a quarter (25%).

The data for March is based on 13 billion page views across the global StatCounter network of member sites. StatCounter, which provides free website traffic information, has recently added Social Media to its StatCounter Global Stats, a free online research tool for media, analysts, bloggers, researchers and members. StatCounter Global Stats monitors Internet market share battles including Search Engines, Browsers, Operating Systems including mobile and now Social Media.

“From a business perspective the findings suggest that there is merit in having a corporate Facebook page or Twitter account,” commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter.

“The surprise packet is StumbleUpon, which over the past year has been consistently in the top two Social Media sites in terms of generating global website traffic. Indeed, in the US in March StumbleUpon was number one ahead of Facebook in terms of website traffic generation.”

The top Social Media sites to generate global website traffic after Facebook, StumbleUpon and Twitter are YouTube (6%), reddit (4%), Digg (2%) and MySpace (2%).

Mr Cullen added, “Social Media market share fluctuates a lot more than browser or search statistics. For example, Facebook peaked over Christmas and the New Year with almost three quarters of the total, perhaps reflecting its important role in communications between families and friends.”

He also noted that professional Social Media site LinkedIn was ranked at 12 with 0.34%. “This does not reflect its importance as a business site as it is not directly comparable to the more consumer focused sites.”

Note: Data includes 25 of the main Social Media sites but excludes the recently launched Google Buzz.

About StatCounter Global Stats
For individual country analysis go to:
http://gs.statcounter.com/#social_media-ww-monthly-200903-201003

Further information on our analysis is available at:
http://gs.statcounter.com/faq

Kiva.org Announces New Facebook(R) Social Plugins

Kiva.org, the world’s first micro-lending website, today announced it has embedded two new Facebook Social Plugins to create a more personalized, social experience on Kiva.org. The new features on Kiva.org will allow users to connect with friends and share their Kiva experience with others.

“Kiva was created in an effort to alleviate poverty by connecting people around the world,” said Premal Shah, President of Kiva.org. “The web is an inherently social platform, and is more powerful when experienced with other people and with friends. Our integration with Facebook will enable us to connect more people across the globe, increasing Kiva’s reach and capacity to help those in need.”

Kiva.org has integrated Facebook’s new Social Plugins to bring friends, social activity, and relevant Facebook interactions directly to Kiva.org for Kiva users that are also on Facebook. When Kiva.org users visit the website, they will see the Facebook Like Button above the make a loan box on all borrower profiles, and an Activity Feed streaming recent Facebook activity on Kiva.org. When the user is simultaneously logged into Facebook, the features are automatically personalized, showing loans that friends have liked or shared.

“Facebook is about connecting with the people, places, and things that are important to you, and sharing information and content that you post with your friends and others,” said Ethan Beard, Director of Facebook Developer Network. “Kiva does a great job of connecting people for social good, and we are thrilled to see them spread the word more broadly with our new Social Plugins.”

These Social Plugins allowed Kiva developers to create this immediate social experience, quickly and easily, with just a few lines of code.

Kiva and Facebook are committed to respecting user privacy and providing users with a trusted experience. As always, users will have controls to manage how their information is shared through controls on their Facebook privacy page.

About Kiva.org
Kiva.org is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. Founded in 2005, Kiva.org’s mission is to connect people, through lending, to alleviate poverty. Over 585,000 people have loaned more than $100 million to 249,000 entrepreneurs in 49 countries. Currently, loans made through Kiva.org have a 98% repayment rate. Kiva.org is headquartered in San Francisco.

SOKULE Social Media Platform

SOKULE.com, a new social media network, offers small businesses a forum that allows them to save time while marketing their brands using the popularity of social media marketing. Business owners who are committed to utilizing a smart, profitable, and streamlined social media platform are now turning to SOKULE to help them quickly meet their online marketing needs.

SOKULE is a uniquely designed social media platform that operates in a similar fashion to Twitter, but includes additional features that streamline the process of social media marketing for small businesses.

Members of Sokule.com have the opportunity to “squeek” messages of up to 500 characters through Sokule.com, while simultaneously posting the same message to 38 additional social media profiles as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter, while also pinging blog sites like WordPress and Blogger with just 1 click.

This multi posting and pinging process ultimately provides better marketing exposure, because the messages will get indexed by search engines much more quickly than if a business owner were to update each site individually.

The primary goal of SOKULE founder Jane Mark and developer Phil Basten was to create a profile for small business owners that worked in the same way as other popular social media platforms.

Part of what can make running an e-commerce website difficult is the task of getting the message seen and heard by others online, especially in the beginning stages.

SOKULE makes this process simple and easy by alerting various blogs and social media sites in a manner that causes search engines to take notice of posts that originate from SOKULE.

This, in turn, offers fast and widespread exposure and faster search engine indexing for those who need traffic to their websites in order to get their businesses up and running.

SOKULE has also pioneered a mobile platform that allows members to post updates and send out messages while they are on the go and away from the office.

However, the main difference between SOKULE and traditional social media sites is that business owners can profit from using SOKULE to promote their own individual brands and products.

Though a base membership at SOKULE is free, another factor that makes SOKULE special is the ability for SOKULE upgraded members to earn commissions each time they refer a new upgraded member to the service.

Developer Phil Basten says that “This is the perfect membership for a business or individual who is really serious about using social networking to dominate their industry.”

For further information, please visit http://www.SOKULE.com

My Twitter Toolbox Web Site Launched

My Twitter Toolbox is a brand new site that provides members with all of the Twitter tools available on the market. The site was developed to help business owners be more effective and markedly increase their productivity with the fastest growing and most popular social networking site out there – Twitter.

Months of programming and thousands of hours have gone into making My Twitter Toolbox the most powerful and comprehensive set of Twitter tools on the market. Here is some of the recent feedback My Twitter Toolbox has received:

“This is a one-stop shop product to effectively use Twitter.” – Felicia Grimes, FGI Solutions

“For less than the cost of fast food meal, we provide you with all things Twitter in one location” said David Perdew, the owner and creator of My Twitter Toolbox. “Each month, we add to the current bucket of Twitter applications” he said, “to ensure that our members have the edge when it comes to using Twitter”

“Talk about comprehensive…I have never before seen a more complete and helpful compilation of Twitter tools, thanks!” – Rob Richards, JVCashAnytime

My Twitter Toolbox is available 24/7, and it consolidates all essential Twitter applications in one easy-to-use location and organizes them by useful categories such as:

Account Management
Analysis
Better Blogging
Better Business
Better Health
Better Living
Better Networking
More Info
Productivity
Sharing

There are over 200 Twitter tools for members. The site includes Twitter training, which covers an introduction to Twitter, Twitter Tips, how to leverage Twitter with HelloTxt, and how to follow a Twitter Mind Map. In addition, My Twitter Toolbox offers forums where members can interact with one another. Membership in My Twitter Toolbox is available for $5.99 and comes with a 30-day, no-questions asked, money-back guarantee.

After months of work, My Twitter Toolbox is now open to the public at http://MyTwitterToolbox.com.

Social Media Network Analysis Workshop

Social Media Network Analysis: Next Practices in Social Network Analysis, Tools and Media Friday 30 April 2010, 8:30am – 5:00pm Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, California USA

Social media, communities and collaboration are defined by dynamic network structure. The success of social media is determined by underlying social networks. Success is not determined by technology, applications or social networking sites. Social networks are the complex, omnipresent foundation of all social media, communities and collaboration. Comprehension, visualization and optimization are critical to social media.

Social media network analysis visualizes, interprets and optimizes the complex network patterns and flows of social media, online communities and enterprise collaboration. Comprehension and mastery of social media network analysis fundamentally advances the success of applied social media and achieves the most favorable outcomes.

Like the spreadsheet in the 1980s, the process diagram of the 1990s, social graphs and network analyses are the critical tools of 21st Century organizations, economies, the environment and civil society. Mastery of social media network analysis is critical to comprehension, performance and prosperity in all the new economies.

This workshop uses NodeXL. It is a free, open source network analysis package for Excel. In the workshop, a range of pervasive Internet social media including Facebook, discussion groups, Twitter, enterprise collaboration, communities-of-practice, blogs and email are presented, analyzed and visualized. Comprehensive network patterns are explored to illustrate the scope of variation among applications and between types of contributors. These patterns reveal steps to achieve continuous success with social media, communities of practice and enterprise collaboration.

About

The Social Media Network Analysis workshop is practical, hands-on, low-cost and high-value. SMNA is highly germane to commercial concerns, the enterprise, non-profit organizations, small/medium sized companies, startups, investors, consultants and entrepreneurs. Your SNMA workshop is a small-group, close-in configuration of authentic conversation, hands-on experience, skill development and participant collaboration. It is designed for all levels. All are welcome.

Secure, discount check-in for the Social Media Network Analysis workshop is open and filling up fast. Registration in advance is required. Registration ($299) includes meals, parking, refreshments, materials, Wi-Fi access, reception, group workspace and discounts.

FreeConference.com Launches Facebook Application

FreeConference® application takes communication in the virtual world to the next level with audio conferencing. FreeConference provides the tools and shortcuts to schedule a conference and invite friends to join right from a user’s Facebook page.

“Once people realize that conference bridges can be used any time to bring two or more people together to talk, it opens up a new world for family and friends to gather and chat about anything,” said Ken Ford, CEO of Global Conference Partners, parent company of FreeConference. “FreeConference is not just for business discussions, but for anyone that needs to bring people together for communication.”

The FreeConference application can be easily added from Facebook, and existing FreeConference account holders can just enter their current User ID and Password to access their existing dial-in numbers and access codes. For those without an existing FreeConference account, there is a FREE sign-up process within Facebook that gives users a dial-in number and dedicated access code that can be used anytime. Premium features such as Toll-Free and Conference Recording can be added for a nominal fee.

FreeConference’s Facebook application lets users:

Schedule conferences within Facebook
View upcoming and past conferences
Manage invitee list from Event page
Share pictures, videos and links
Allow friends to invite more friends or create “Secret” Event
Share conference history with friends
Use anytime for business or to talk with family and friends
Use your conferencing number anytime outside of Facebook without a reservation
About FreeConference®

FreeConference originated the free teleconferencing concept with highly automated, enterprise quality conferencing services for businesses, organizations and individuals requiring top-tier performance at little or no cost. FreeConference continues to lead the industry with innovative value-added audio and web conferencing options that let users customize the conferencing features they need, just when they need them. FreeConference is a service of Global Conference Partners™. For more information, visit www.freeconference.com or www.globalconferencepartners.com

MyTwitterToolbox.com Gives Business a Competitive Edge

Businesses today need every competitive edge they can find because they are competing with an ever-growing and large number of savvy internet marketers who take full advantage of all the options available to them.

Twitter is one of the fastest growing and most popular sites for social networking today and those who aren’t already using it for their businesses they should be. It can propel their sales results into a whole new level of success.

My Twitter Toolbox (MyTwitterToolbox.com) is a new site that provides literally everything needed to learn how to Twitter effectively while increasing productivity.

Thousands of hours and months of programming have gone into making My Twitter Toolbox the most powerful resource for learning how to Twitter to enhance a business’s bottom line. ”For less than the cost of fast food meal, we provide you with all things Twitter in one location,” said David Perdew, the owner and creator of My Twitter Toolbox. ”Each month, we add to the current bucket of Twitter applications, to ensure that our members have the edge when it comes to using Twitter.”

Available 24/7, My Twitter Toolbox consolidates all essential Twitter applications in one location and organizes them by usage categories such as Better Living, Better Blogging, Better Business, and several more.

After months of work, My Twitter Toolbox is open to the public at MyTwitterToolbox.com.

NewsUSA Launches Social Syndication Service

The social areas of the web continue to expand, creating new opportunities for communications professionals daily. With more than 400 million active Facebook users, 50 million tweets daily and nearly 1 million blog posts published every 24 hours, social channels harbor consumer influence and reach.

For some in the PR and marketing industry, it has been a struggle to keep up, but a one-of-a-kind solution from NewsUSA – Social Syndication – confidently answers the question of how communications professionals seeking to embrace social media should begin.

Social Syndication from NewsUSA includes content creation, distribution, promotion and accountable reporting, providing a turnkey solution for those wanting to engage in social media PR and marketing.

In addition to reaching consumers directly, Social Syndication from NewsUSA also reaches key media influencers. According to a recent Cision and George Washington University study, 85% of journalists turn to blogs and 65% use social networking sites for story development. By leveraging NewsUSA Social Syndication, brands can reach media in the places they are already searching for content.

“Today, it’s not just bloggers and end users searching for information online; it’s traditional media as well. Specifically, the social web is increasingly being used to find relevant, informative content,” says Rick Smith, founder and CEO of NewsUSA. “The NewsUSA Social Syndication service takes the guesswork out of leveraging the social web to create buzz and get found by media and end users.”

Social Syndication from NewsUSA involves the following innovative process:

Content Creation:
The SEO and social media savvy NewsUSA team of writers and editors create high quality content optimized for both search engines and the social web.

Distribution
NewsUSA ensures maximum reach by distributing content to a mix of popular social destinations.

Promotion
NewsUSA aggressively, yet tactfully, promotes content providing both SEO and social media benefits.

Reporting
As part of Social Syndication, NewsUSA provides comprehensive, accountable reporting of success metrics.

“With NewsUSA and its unique approach to content distribution, client content is placed up front and center on the most relevant and popular destinations,” Smith says. “Today there is no better solution than NewsUSA Social Syndication for boosting digital reach, improving online visibility and building a brand.”

About NewsUSA
NewsUSA was founded in 1987 to offer a qualitative and cost-effective alternative to traditional media advertising campaigns. Today, NewsUSA is the nation’s premier social media distribution service receiving millions of media impressions each day. NewsUSA has provided media placements to more than 3,000 clients in a variety of fields, including public relations, communications, nonprofit, government, health care, automotive, and health and beauty. Thanks to its long-standing relationships with more than 16,000 media outlets, NewsUSA has successfully delivered more than 5 million online, print and radio placements and billions of dollars of media ad space nationwide. To learn more about NewsUSA, visit http://www.newsusa.com/

XibYa Groups-Explorer App for Facebook

XibYa Groups-Explorer application greatly improves the understanding of shared interests and offers a new interaction tool with friends on Facebook. You can now view Facebook groups and pages in a revolutionary 2D map that enhances interactions.

XibYa, a developer of productivity and collaboration applications for social networking on Facebook, has launched today a new version of their successful Facebook social mapping application, Groups-Explorer, ideally designed for those wishing to explore friends’ groups and fans’ pages.

The unique Facebook app, which can be accessed from this link http://apps.facebook.com/xibya-group-explorer/ allows users to view their Facebook groups and pages in a revolutionary 2D map and enhances interaction between friends and other members of that group / page.

The innovative software is specifically designed for users in Facebook who want to browse or analyze groups / pages without wasting precious time or feel that the current Facebook UI for groups / pages is limited. The application also allows users using the welcome wizard to choose among several friends and generates a map that graphically shows which groups or pages you share.

Groups-Explorer quickly locates the groups you have in common with your friends and can show you what is currently “HOT”. Users can also browse specific groups’ members in a full new screen that manages poke, sends messages and adds to favorite actions. This gives a new usability that can be harnessed for meeting new people with common interests.

“With options like list groups by categories, direct group browsing, filtering of friends and hot groups’ list, you can gain new insights of what is going on in your circle of friends,” said Alon Kor, XibYa Co-Founder and Chief Architect.

XibYa Groups-Explorer transforms Facebook groups and pages into viewable metrics of shared interests and enables Facebook users to browse groups and pages with ease by using a unique graphical interface that overrides current limitations with the groups / pages view.

“XibYa develops social mapping tools for collaboration from within your Facebook profiles. The Groups-Explorer app presents users with a graphic layout (map) of their Facebook groups. In addition, it offers an easy and fun way to browse Facebook groups’ members. By enabling superior viewing of different members, including large profile pictures, one can easily find new people and potential friends,” said Ilan Kor, XibYa Co-Founder and Chief of Product.

Other XibYa Top Facebook Applications
Match-Friends: play a matchmaker and match your Facebook friends, or ask your friends to match you with one of their friends.
Jobber: find job openings and potential employers within your social network on Facebook. See what jobs your friends are into, what openings are available, and which contacts will help you get your dream job.

About XibYa
XibYa is recognized as a leader for productivity and collaborations tools for Facebook applications. The company’s applications help accelerate users’ success in their personal interactions with focus on jobs, match and dating solutions for friends in Facebook.

To use the free XibYa Groups-Explorer app in Facebook please visit Groups-Explorer page on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Groups.Explorer. To learn more about XibYa Jobber and Match-Friends applications, please visit http://www.xibya.com.