News

Social media can be an effective tool for promoting your business or brand. But without a plan for how you’ll use it, you could lose valuable time trying to keep up with an ever-evolving landscape of new information and tools.

An upcoming workshop, Social Media Jumpstart for Women Business Owners and Entrepreneurs, is catering to time-strapped business women who want to better understand and maximize their use of social media. Hosted by Public Square Communications, the event will be held on Thursday, August 13, 2009 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Haworth, Inc., located at 575 7th Street, NW in Washington, D.C.

“Women business owners face unique challenges. In addition to running businesses, many are also managing households and parental responsibilities,” said Judy Lubin, president of Public Square Communications.

Women-owned businesses also tend to have fewer financial and human resources, which makes social media especially attractive to women looking for cost-effective ways to promote their businesses.

Studies show women already outpace men on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites.

“As more women use social media for both personal and business purposes, there is growing concern about work-life balance and whether time spent on social media sites can really help them meet business objectives,” added Lubin.

Her firm specializes in tracking and analyzing social, health and economic trends affecting women. With this data, Lubin has developed both online and offline communications and outreach strategies for national nonprofit organizations, government agencies and businesses.

An author and speaker on women’s empowerment and work-life balance, Lubin started her first blog in 2004. Now she’s using the insights gained from working with clients and personal experience to shorten the learning curve for business women.

The workshop will help participants develop a social media strategy for improving brand visibility, networking and engaging current and prospective clients. A strong focus of this session will also be on time-management, work-life balance and avoiding social media overload.

Topics to be covered include:

– Trends – Understand the driving forces behind social media so you start off on the right foot

– Branding – How to use Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools for branding and building credibility and trust

– Networking – How to connect and build relationships with industry leaders, key influencers and current and prospective clients or customers

– Tracking – Tools to track and evaluate social media efforts and return on engagement (ROE)

– Time Management – How to best manage time on social media to get the results you desire

– Strategy – Work on a social media action plan during the workshop and leave with concrete steps for action

For more information or to register, visit www.publicsquarecom.com/speakingtraining/smjumpstart/

The new social network Wooxie is now making use of another great feature. You can now comment or “SPEAK” as they call it directly under a users post. You can speak on your own posts too.

Founder and CEO Jeff Knize of Wooxie®, mentions “The speak function is a way to communicate directly to a users post without having to Reply. This new function is important for a few reasons. 1) It unclutters recent posts on the home page. 2) It keeps posts around longer as user accounts grow with more fans. Thus, users don’t miss valuable posts. The feature is user friendly and opens and closes shut (unlike other networks). If users have an issue with a particular comment, they can delete it. Users will know when others are speaking on their posts too. I think it is an efficient way for communication”.

Wooxie’s speak feature is now functioning and being used under posts. The feature is for quick replies. Therefore, the chararacters per “Speak” are maxed at 75. Users can speak back and delete if needed. Speak alerts are being added to Wooxie’s sidebar.

Wooxie is accepting new members and is a free service
http://www.Wooxie.com/register

First there was Facebook, then Twitter, & now Wooxie. Wooxie is unique by allowing you to choose your categories upon sign-up & only allow posts from those categories (up to 155 characters). Wooxie allows you to add your photo, website url, your info. on your profile page, customize your backround and colors, add a photo gallery with a unique title, speak feature under posts and soon SEO/link backs to users blogs and websites.

BluMail (http://www.blumail.org) – the leading online portal that helps people in developing nations find information and resources for improving their lives – now offers three, unique, social media Web sites that enable users to forge stronger, more meaningful connections compared with alternative sites.

Accessible via BluMail’s homepage, Read/Share a Story, What Do You Think? and The Remembering Site enable anyone with Internet access to share his or her life experiences – whether a single, important incident or a complete memoir or something in between. Users can read each other’s postings and then easily connect with those facing similar circumstances, issues and/or challenges. BluMail’s three, complementary formats for sharing something about oneself allow users to get to know each other in a deeper way than is possible on today’s other popular social media sites.

This “trifecta” of social networking Web sites supports BluMail’s broader mission of promoting meaningful connections, cultural understanding and networking among people everywhere throughout the world, regardless of geographic and other barriers.

“We developed these BluMail sub-sites so people could truly benefit from what anyone has learned through both common and extraordinary life experiences,” said Sarah McCue, Founder and Chair of BluMail and its parent organization, BluWorld. “You can’t get that value from most of today’s other popular social media sites where, for example, you only get snippets of often trivial information about things like your friend’s excitement that he got upgraded to first class on his latest business trip, two-sentence review of a new movie or nostalgia for the five toys that remind him of his childhood.”

Read/Share a Story (http://blumail.org/shareastory) is a shorter format option for people who want to share their insights, advice and/or wisdom about a memorable event. This BluMail sub-site is an active repository for the diverse stories of people everywhere of all ages and from all walks of life – sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, artists, entrepreneurs, educators, office workers, political activists, scientists, students, taxi drivers, waitresses and more. Anyone can post his or her own story, along with a photograph, and also see those posted by others. Whether funny, poignant, triumphant, indignant or nostalgic, these stories are invariably powerful and everyone is bound to find some that resonate.

Using a double-blind, secure email system that prevents users from seeing each other’s email addresses, anyone can easily connect via email with people who have posted stories that inspire them. Eventually, BluMail plans to publish a book of the most inspiring memoirs to make these stories even more widely available.

What Do You Think? (http://blumail.org/whatdoyouthink) is geared for the person who is not interested in writing about his or her experiences or memories – who doesn’t want to share a story – but would like to quickly create a snapshot of his or her personality, values and motivations. Based on the renowned Proust Questionnaire, it is a more structured format of 35 thought-provoking questions that the respondent answers in one sentence each. The questionnaire has its origins in a 19th century parlor game popularized (although not created) by the celebrated French writer, Marcel Proust, who believed that an individual’s answers to these questions revealed his or her true nature. Questionnaire respondents can opt to allow others to privately comment on their answers through BluMail’s double-blind, secure email system.

Featured on Senator Bill Bradley’s radio show, “American Voices,” The Remembering Site (www.therememberingsite.org) makes it simple and fun for anyone to write, share, archive, continually update and publish his or her life story. Although not everyone is able to leave money, jewelry or land as an inheritance for his or her children and grand kids, everyone can leave the most precious thing of all – an account of the family history and legacy. Non-relatives, too, will find The Remembering Site valuable because it is an Internet-based anthology of personal histories chronicling life experiences and lessons.

Because most people are likely to be overwhelmed at the prospect of writing their own memoirs and may not even know where to start, The Remembering Site makes it easy by asking users to answer 1,000-plus, evocative questions that elicit key details and memories from their lives. Also, professional writers are available (for a fee) to interview users and help complete their biographies. Upon completion, a user can make his/her autobiography available for others to read on this site or print and distribute quality paperback or hardback copies.

To date, people from all over the world have used The Remembering Site to write their life stories – people from Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Cuba, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Philippines, Sudan, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

About BluMail

BluMail is an online community for anyone, anywhere, especially youth in developing countries, to find information and resources for improving their lives, local communities and countries. BluMail offers free email accounts as well as “make-a-difference” content and a networking and activism portal for the millions of people gaining access to the Internet in coming years as well as for those who are socially responsible in any country. BluMail partners with U.N. groups, other NGOs, nonprofits and technology companies to provide support and Web site content to raise global awareness of their missions. For more information and to register for a BluMail email account, please visit http://www.blumail.org.

DrivingSales (www.drivingsales.com), the auto industry’s leading social media platform and largest online community, today announced a dramatic upgrade to its current platform in response to the explosive growth the site has experienced since its national launch one year ago. Now, dealers and auto industry professionals will be able to instantly find and share information from across the site’s robust library of knowledge – putting the most relevant information they’re seeking – whether ‘best practices,’ blog or forum postings, industry news, vendor ratings, video, etc. – right at their fingertips.

“Given the severe challenges the industry faces, our new platform was expressly designed to make it far easier and faster for the industry to access the best, most targeted mission critical knowledge, to help increase profitability, and survive and thrive in tough times,” said DrivingSales CEO and Founder Jared Hamilton.

The only automotive social media solution specifically built to meet the needs of automotive professionals, DrivingSales’ completely redesigned, proprietary architecture was built entirely from the ground up, unlike most social media sites that run on, and recycle, plug-in apps.

Critical features of the all-new platform include greater scalability, a sleek new interface including much more dynamic profiles and “friending,” significantly faster processing, and advanced filters that allow users to drill down to find the precise knowledge they’re seeking. For instance, a user can now select a category like ‘Fixed Ops,’ ‘New Cars,’ or “Marketing,’ then select an action like ‘Grow Sales’ or ‘Cut Costs’ and the technology isolates, categorizes and presents all the site’s rich information on that topic.

“With its new functionality, DrivingSales will serve an ever greater role in putting information, solutions and 20-group style networking and collaborative problem-solving right at the fingertips of dealers and other industry professionals – and without them ever having to leave the office or showroom floor,” concluded Hamilton.

Created as a private automotive business community in 2003 by Hamilton to network his NADA Dealer Academy class, and opened nationally in 2008, DrivingSales’ mission is to marry the power of technology with the power of community to provide dealers, dealership managers and other industry professionals with a vendor-neutral, online environment where they can collaborate and share best practices, industry trends and news.

About DrivingSales

DrivingSales.com (www.drivingsales.com) is the largest and premiere online community for the auto industry, where its thousands of members, including dealers, dealership managers, manufacturers, industry experts and vendors, collaborate and share best practices in a 20-group style setting. At DrivingSales, members create profiles and communicate with each other; build their networks and knowledgebase; share and rate proven strategies, and have access to relevant content contributed by fellow industry experts, including blogs, videos, interviews, a social news feed and more. Dealer members rate and review vendor products – sharing their experiences with the DrivingSales community – while vendors have the opportunity to provide feedback on reviews and showcase their products and services. DrivingSales was created and built from the ground up in 2003 by Jared Hamilton, a third generation auto dealer, as a private automotive business community to network his NADA Dealer Candidate Academy class. The site opened nationally in 2008 and is the auto industry’s leading social media custom platform.

Professional Social Networks, Inc.(TM) today announced the launch of CFOZone(TM) (www.cfozone.com), the first and only professional social network for chief financial officers (CFOs).

CFOZone(TM) facilitates and fosters the top-level information and knowledge sharing that can be critical to a CFO’s success. It is the only web site that provides CFOs with an interactive meeting place where they can seek out and instantaneously network with their peers to exchange ideas and experiential learning, solve critical business problems, remain current on emerging trends and technologies, uncover business leads, and advance their careers.

Powered by an award-winning team of business editors, CFOZone(TM) also offers features beyond its professional social networking platform. These include expert and user-generated content, financial industry information, research and analysis, tools and benchmarks, case studies, a calendar of key online and offline gatherings for CFOs, and a Reuters news feed.

“We think there’s a real need out there for CFOZone(TM),” says Ronald Fink, CFOZone(TM) editor. “CFOs absolutely want the latest finance news – and our sort of no-holds-barred analysis of that news.” John Goff, CFOZone(TM) managing editor, adds, “But they also want to chime in on things like SEC rules, tax changes, and raising cash. And they want to be able to network with other finance managers and see what they think.” According to Matt Quinn, CFOZone(TM) senior editor, “Networking with their peers gives CFOs the kind of business intelligence they can’t get in a newspaper article or from a piece of software.”

CFOZone(TM) is also unique in that it is the only corporate finance information source that qualifies and organizes its members by peer groups. While anyone involved in the corporate finance profession can join – CFOs, senior finance executives, controllers, treasurers, accountants, financial analysts, investment managers, aspiring corporate finance professionals, members of organizations, associations and professional societies interested in advancing corporate finance – its tiered structure allows CFOs exclusivity from all other non-CFO titles. CFOs have the option of interacting, networking and engaging solely with peers of their same level, or they can choose to interact with the CFOZone(TM) corporate finance community at large.

“We have been eagerly awaiting the launch of the sister site to CIOZone(TM),” states Ron Kost, VP of Sales, Professional Social Networks, Inc.(TM). “Professional networks are becoming more important to us all, and vertical ProSocial(TM) networks like CIOZone(TM) and CFOZone(TM) are becoming extremely useful tools to senior executives around the world. CFOZone(TM) represents a great opportunity for vendors in the financial community to insert themselves into the conversation and help bring to light the solutions and products they are offering the community. We will see the network of ProSocial(TM) sites grow over time, and through both professional and user-generated content on the sites, we anticipate that the exchange of information will take place at a rapid pace. This provides marketers with a unique opportunity to engage the audience of users for these sites in new and valuable ways.”

With social media users sharing everything from what they’re reading to where they’re eating and when they’re going to sleep, it’s no surprise that social sites such as Twitter and Facebook have become a place to voice ones beliefs and faith. Crosswalk.com, the largest online destination for Christians, has seen how valuable these sites can be for ministry and the sharing of Christian Faith.

“Facebook and Twitter have created an open forum for people to share their faith beyond what traditional forms of communication provide,” said Chad Nykamp, Vice President of Operations for Salem Web Network. “Social media has become a new medium for evangelism and the spread of Christianity, and we’re excited to see our content and resources being used for that purpose.”
Tweets and Facebook statuses such as ‘check out Crosswalk.com – I guarantee you will not be sorry!!! You can subscribe, it makes you feel real good in the morning!’, ‘Feeling down? Read this devotional from Crosswalk.com, so amazing, all about attitude’ , and ‘Is it possible to get your article on my ‘profile’ and not on my ‘wall’? I would like to share it with my other friends’ have helped Crosswalk.com fulfill their mission to equip people with practical application for the living out of their Christian faith.

“We at Crosswalk.com are always looking for opportunities to encourage Christians to apply their faith to the many difficult issues they will face in this life,” said Stephen McGarvey, Executive Editor of Crosswalk.com. “Christianity means so much more than simply going to church on Sunday. Websites like Twitter and Facebook provide a tremendous opportunity for Christians to share the many ways our Christian worldview helps us answer the questions of life that come up during the rest of the week.”

Visit Crosswalk.com on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/crosswalkcom

Follow Crosswalk.com on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/crosswalk_com

About Crosswalk.com:
Crosswalk.com was acquired by Salem Web Network on October 4, 2002 and has expanded to be the largest Christian destination online. The website slogan ‘The Intersection of Faith and Life’ portrays the site’s mission of ‘offering the freshest and most compelling biblically-based content to Christians who take seriously their relationship with Christ.’ Crosswalk.com is built around four primary content areas – Faith, Family, Fun and Community. Each category is further subdivided into areas of significance to many Christians, including Bible Study, Devotionals, Marriage and Parenting, Music and Movies, News, and more.

About Salem Web Network:
Salem Web Network, the online division of Salem Communications, began in 1999 with a single website – OnePlace.com. Today, SWN consists of 12 national sites, including the most well known brands in the faith marketplace, such as Crosswalk.com, BibleStudyTools.com, and Christianity.com. Additionally, more than 50 radio station websites are part of SWN’s platform, which now reaches more than 7 million users every month. Visit: http://www.salemwebnetwork.com

About Salem Communications:
Communications (NASDAQ: SALM) is a leading U.S. radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher targeting audiences interested in Christian and family-themed content and conservative values. In addition to its radio properties, Salem owns Salem Radio Network(R), which syndicates talk, news and music programming to approximately 2,000 affiliates; Salem Radio Representatives(TM), a national radio advertising sales force; Salem Web Network(TM), an Internet provider of Christian content and online streaming; and Salem Publishing(TM), a publisher of Christian-themed magazines. Upon the close of all announced transactions, the company will own 93 radio stations, including 59 stations in 23 of the top 25 markets. Additional information about Salem may be accessed at the company’s website, http://www.salem.cc.

Attention Internet wallflowers: the days of keeping your opinions to yourself are over. At least that’s the hope of Cody Caudill, developer of the new social networking website OurConvo.com. As the latest entry into the blinding assortment of social networking sites on the Internet, OurConvo.com invites users to share their views on any and every topic. And he promises to keep Internet bullying and abuse (known as “flaming”) out of the conversation.

free speech without the abuse “Far too much mean-spiritedness surfaces during online comment threads,” observes OurConvo.com developer Cody Caudill. “We want to encourage people to express themselves, but we don’t want them to suffer the abuses that you see every minute on YouTube, Facebook, and even Craig’s List,” states Caudill, adding, “Frankly, there’s no reason for that kind of nastiness, so we’re not going to put up with it.”
According to Caudill, OurConvo.com was designed to provide a “kinder, gentler” place for people to communicate online with a vast audience, build private groups for discussion, or simply to glean insight into public opinion. And while the site is not about Political Correctness, it is Caudill’s hope that people will express the widest possible variety of views and insights without having to endure the “snarkiness” and insults of those who disagree with them. Which means, he hopes, that people will feel free to offer opposing viewpoints.

“There isn’t just one audience for the site,” says Caudill. “OurConvo.com invites everyone to engage in conversation, and is the first site of its kind to promote free speech without tolerating the flaming that happens everywhere else,” he observes.

“We anticipate true diversity of content. The conversations that have begun range from intelligent discussions about someone’s favorite book to controversial topics,” Caudill says.

OurConvo.com’s goal is to make it easy for anyone and everyone to join in The Conversation. The site allows visitors to join OurConvo.com by using their Facebook profile, simply by clicking the Facebook Connect icon and posting. In fact, most people come to the site through a link shared on Facebook, according to Caudill, who notes that there were 1,378,028 impressions of one of its advertisements on Facebook.

OurConvo.com is straightforward, so that people can jump into any conversation, immediately. “I found myself drawn into the site. I had joined and was replying to a conversation within a matter of minutes,” says OurConvo.com user Layna Evans.

The site’s “free speech without the abuse” concept came to Caudill more than eight years ago. The site has been in development over the past nine months. And, while its functions were finalized on April 1, this is no Fool’s Paradise. To date, there have been…

1,970 visits, averaging four pages per visit, and spending 4minutes/5 seconds each

973 absolute unique visitors (more than half of these have returned at least once)

Visitors from all 50 states, including Romania, Vietnam, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, and Qatar

7,059 page views

49% new visits from 41 countries.

OurConvo.com represents a central marketplace for ideas and topics to come together, and it offers topics that will prompt nearly anyone to start talking. And, while it is meant for users to offer their opinions on a wider range of topics, as OurConvo.com user John Andres put it, “Ideally, this will become like an unedited version of Wikipedia: just the facts.”
OurConvo.com’s simple, crisp site closely resembles most other discussion forums, without the complicated interface. Each conversation is assigned a unique URL, for easy sharing and quick access. Replies are displayed on a single, continuous page, making them easy to follow. Users can choose to receive email updates when any or all conversation strings are updated. Users may also choose to receive RSS feeds whenever the site is updated. OurConvo.com adheres to a strict no SPAM policy and privacy policy.
www.OurConvo.com.

Mplayit (formerly Mpowerplayer), the leading provider of online mobile game discovery and social merchandising solutions, announced today the launch of the Mplayit iPhone Arcade on Facebook.

Building on Mplayit’s award-winning Mobile Arcade service, Facebook users can now discover and preview iPhone and iPod Touch applications, post news feeds, bookmark their favorites and share them, as well as see the apps their friends have recommended.

Mplayit’s iPhone Arcade features a growing selection of apps for consumers to discover and share – any developer or publisher is welcome to submit their app for inclusion. In addition to the enhanced merchandising and social discovery experience that the iPhone Arcade delivers, Mplayit partners also have access to the Mplayit Dashboard, the company’s online social analytics tool, which provides data on the performance of apps on the service and tracks users’ sharing behavior to help tune their marketing activities.

“There are so many great apps for the iPhone, and the App Store will never be able to show you all of them to their best advantage,” commented Michael Powers, CEO of Mplayit. “People are looking to their friends to find the really cool stuff that is personally relevant, and our iPhone Arcade is the way they’ll do it. We socialize mobile content discovery.”

Mplayit’s iPhone Arcade joins the company’s successful Facebook-verified Mobile Arcade play and discovery service on the social platform. It also follows partnerships with Sprint and AT&T in the US. Mplayit is partnered with the world’s leading content publishers and their services are also fully integrated with other key social media services like Twitter, MySpace and Bebo.

“We’ve made a name for ourselves with full, playable discovery of mobile games for mass-market handsets, and we’re delighted to bring the same opportunity for rich discovery and sharing to iPhone users all over the world,” added Powers.

Discover the Mplayit iPhone Arcade for yourself! Visit http://apps.facebook.com/iphonearcade Developers and publishers who would like to see their apps featured should contact Mplayit at [email protected].

About Mplayit

Mplayit is the leading global provider for online discovery and social merchandising of mobile games and applications. The company’s proprietary software solutions enable mobile content providers to better merchandise, market, and interact with a targeted user audience of mobile consumers. Mplayit is based in Ashburn, Va., and is backed by New Atlantic Ventures. For more information, visit www.mplayit.com or email info at mplayit dot com. You can also follow Mplayit on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Mplayit.

Social networkers who love Twitter and Facebook will really love FiOS TV, which now has new ways to use the most popular social networking places on the Web. Verizon is enhancing its recently launched Facebook® and Twitter Widgets with additional features that give subscribers even more ways to connect with others while watching TV.

The enhancements include using the onscreen keyboard to send Tweets and the ability for subscribers to update their Facebook status with personalized messages.

[For screen shots of the FiOS TV social-TV Widget enhancements, visit http://verizon.mediaseed.tv/Story.aspx?story=36874.]

In just three weeks since Verizon introduced the new Twitter and Facebook Widgets, millions of Tweets and Facebook gallery photos have been viewed by FiOS TV subscribers on their TV screens.

“FiOS TV subscribers are enthusiastically embracing our new social TV experiences and are asking for more” said Shawn Strickland, vice president, marketing for Verizon Telecom. “We’re very quickly adding new features so that users can create and send more personalized information, in addition to viewing content. FiOS TV subscribers can count on us to continually expand their enjoyment of social networking on TV with innovative, interactive applications that cable can’t deliver”

Through the free FiOS TV Twitter Widget, subscribers can already follow Tweets related specifically to the program, movie or sporting event they are watching; select from a list of top topics to view Tweets associated with today’s hottest topics and trends; search for specific Tweets; and create and save a favorite-topics list. With the new enhancements, subscribers now will be able to use the onscreen keyboard to log on to their Twitter account and post Tweets about the show they are watching, plus choose from a list of predetermined messages they can send as Tweets.

FiOS TV subscribers with Facebook accounts already can log in to Facebook through the FiOS TV Widget to view their own photos and view their friends’ photos and status updates. These subscribers can now also use an onscreen keyboard to update their Facebook status with personalized messages so they can connect and share with their friends online.

Verizon FiOS TV’s free social TV Widgets are found in the new Widget Bazaar applications marketplace, located within FiOS TV’s Interactive Media Guide.

According to Shaygan Kheradpir, Verizon’s chief information officer, the introduction of Widget Bazaar is just the beginning of what promises to be a deep, rich applications offering for the FiOS TV platform.

“Soon we’ll be launching a software development kit, complete with the required application programming interface (API) and a platform emulator, and we will invite open development of new applications for the Widget Bazaar” he said.

“Developers should start thinking now about applications that are appropriate for the ’big screen,’ not the pocket-sized screens they’ve been writing for so far. We’ll be looking for tools that engage TV viewers and enrich or enhance the ’living-room’ experience in new ways”

Once applications are written and tested on the platform emulator that is included in the developers’ portfolio, they will be reviewed for appropriateness and value before being posted to the Widget Bazaar.

Verizon is the only company in the U.S. to bring 100 percent fiber optics straight to the home, giving customers the ultimate home-upgrade by delivering America’s top-rated broadband with download connections speeds of up to 50 megabits per second, more HD, amazing picture-and-sound quality, and interactive capabilities that cable can’t match.

FiOS TV offers a broad collection of programming, with more than 500 all-digital channels, more than 115 HD channels and more than 15,000 monthly VOD titles. FiOS provides next-generation interactive services including an advanced interactive media guide, news and entertainment Widgets, remote DVR management, multi-room DVR, casual games, and many others.

For the latest news, updates and information about FiOS TV, visit www.verizon.com/newscenter and http://www.verizon.com/athomeblog.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, serving more than 87 million customers nationwide. Verizon’s Wireline operations provide converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation’s most advanced fiber-optic network. Wireline also includes Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 235,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $97 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

Brian Hiatt, Chief Information Officer of Collectorpro Software Inc. is pleased to announce a new professional group on the popular business networking site linkedIn.

Commenting on the new group, Mr. Hiatt says; “There is a real need for personal property appraisers to have a place to get to know their peers, share information, contribute to discussions on topics relevant to all aspects of personal property appraising. This new group allows appraisers to connect to each other, share information, promote their appraising practice, and get news related to the world of antiques and collectibles.”

“To date we know of no resources like the Professional Personal Property Appraisers LinkedIn group where appraisers of all affiliations can join and network and discuss issues and trends with their peers. In the first week, we had 50 personal property appraisers sign up and several topics of discussion have been posted for appraisers to view and comment on”

Signing up is completely free and creating a profile on LinkedIn is quick and easy. Simply go to http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2103687 and click on the Sign In link (if you already have a LinkedIn profile), or the Join LinkedIn link to create your profile.

Collectorpro Software Inc. is the sponsor of the group. For more information please visit www.collectorpro.com

Nowadays social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn etc are receiving a lot of attention from the current generation as they allow them to create a profile, view others’ profiles, make contact with people around the globe, visit forums and build their own network based on a number of different criteria. You can now create a buzz like those social networking sites among people by starting a smart networking site using our iSocial application.

Although our Isocial team has developed the perfect script to launch a smart social networking site, some of our valuable customers have faced minor troubles when using the script. In order to help our customers, we have fixed the issues in the iSocial script in a fairly short period of time and released it as a brand new version named iSocial 1.0.5.

CSS will allow you to control over different elements like links in your website. In the new version of iSocial, our developers have fixed the CSS issue in both the member and admin side and help you save a lot of time, particularly when maintaining a large site.

We know that photo capturing is one of the favorite features of networking people but many competitors are failed to incorporate the feature currently. With our latest version of iSocial, you can use this opportunity to pull away users from your competitors’ site by offering photo capturing feature. iSocial in now integrated with one of our hot running scripts known as Mugshot, a photo capturing tool. Starting today, your users can capture pictures of themselves like a professional using their webcam and share them with their friends and family.

One of the main features in iSocial is the Facebook connect. In the previous version, some of our customers felt some difficulty while logging into the iSocial site using their Facebook account. From this moment, they can sign in the iSocial site smoothly using their Facebook account.
Also our developers have made a lot of changes in the admin and member side of iSocial and released it as a new version.

We are very excited to release this new version to the marketing world. We hope this brand new version will turn our enquiries into sales said Ms, Sheerin, the vice president of Agriya.

Agriya Infoway is a Chennai based Web Development Company that sells scripts that can be bought by webmasters to build sites under various categories. It is currently offering a new version of iSocial 1.0.5.

User Group for Oracle Business Intelligence (UGOBI) today announced that they have added a new feature to UGOBI.com called SocialConnect which leverages the Facebook Connect technology, allowing members to sign-in to UGOBI’s private online community using their Facebook credentials. Once signed in, members have the option to post updates to their personal Facebook wall when they perform any of the following actions within UGOBI.com:
Post or comment on blogs
Upload photos to a gallery
Promote an event they see on UGOBI.com
Update their personal profiles
Post personal files or links
Post job openings within the UGOBI Career Center
Update their resumés/CVs within their personal profiles
Comment on news they have read on your website
Post to the UGOBI Forums
As members push activities to the walls of their Facebook profiles, these updates are included on the Facebook feeds of all their connected friends. The more information shared across open social networking websites like Facebook, the greater the opportunity to drive traffic back to UGOBI — thus increasing member registrations, interactions, and brand recognition for UGOBI.
FAQs
How would a UGOBI member sign-in to UGOBI.com using their Facebook username/password?
It’s simple. The member would click on the Facebook Connect icon in blue and a small pop-up would appear that would allow them to login using their Facebook credentials.
How would a member post content on UGOBI.com that would appear on their Facebook wall?
A member is presented with the option of posting a link to the photo on the wall of his or her Facebook profile. Once posted, the photo will appear on the member’s wall and thus their friends’ Facebook homepage feeds.
Is my content still secure within my community if I am using SocialConnect on UGOBI.com?
Yes, though a member’s Facebook wall may feature links to content on UGOBI.com, access to private content is controlled by your community’s security settings. To access private content, individuals must be registered and approved members. Therefore, the posting of this content by your members may help entice people to join UGOBI but will not expose secure content.
ABOUT UGOBI
The User Group for Oracle Business Intelligence (UGOBI) is the premier community for networking, learning, and sharing on all topics related to Oracle Business Intelligence. www.ugobi.com