Social Nets

It was only a matter of time: BrideTide posted this video of a bride and groom updating their Facebook and Twitter accounts…while standing at the altar.

LinkedIn is a hit across the pond, as the professional networking site topped 3 million registered users in the United Kingdom, managing director, Europe Kevin Eyres posted on the LinkedIn Blog.

At an event in London to celebrate the milestone, founder and chairman Reid Hoffman said the company plans to launch an initial public offering at some point, but an IPO was not on the immediate radar, TechCrunch Europe reported.

continued...

Thanks to the move by LinkedIn to release its application-program interface to third-party programmers, Sobees added the professional networking site to the list of social-networking sites supported by its native desktop app, which already included Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and FriendFeed, TechCrunch reported.

The Sobees desktop client is a Windows native desktop app with built in .NET and a Web application built with Microsoft Silverlight, according to TechCrunch. It will mine LinkedIn for connections updates, status updates, applications updates, jobs posted, groups joined, recommendations and profile changes, and updates can be performed via the client.

Sobees also told TechCrunch it is launching a native Android Twitter client with support for multiple Twitter accounts, search and most basic Twitter functionality, with an iPhone version on the way, as well.

In what many observers view as the first step toward going public, Facebook announced that it was implementing a dual-class stock structure, The New York Times reported.

Current shares in the social-networking site would be converted to class-B shares, which would equal 10 votes apiece in matters of corporate governance, while new class-A shares, which would be sold in an initial public offering, would carry one vote each, the Times reported.

Facebook spokesman Larry Yu told the Times:

We did introduce a dual-class stock structure because existing shareholders wanted to maintain control over voting on certain issues to help ensure that the company can continue to focus on the long term to build a great business. This revision to the stock structure should not be construed as a signal that the company is planning to go public.

University of Delaware professor of corporate governance Charles Elson told Financial Times:

Dual-class stock is an anathema to institutional investors. Ultimately, shareholders lose. If something were to go wrong, there's absolutely nothing they can do about it.

Since Thanksgiving is a time when we not only give thanks for what we have, but also extend a hand to those in need, this blog post from web marketing pro Jeff Bullas is timely.

In his post Bullas cites a recent study by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research on the usage of social media by the 200 largest charities in the U.S. (based on Forbes magazine data). Among the organizations participating were the Salvation Army, American Red Cross and Easter Seals.

Bullas writes:

[A] remarkable 89% of charitable organizations are using some form of social media including blogs, podcasts, message boards, social networking, video blogging and wikis.

Blogs are the top social media tool, used by 57% of the charities. An overwhelming majority (90%) reported that their blogs were successful (though how isn't specified). Also, about one in four of the charities with blogs use WordPress as their platform.

Nearly two-thirds (65%) of the top U.S. charities use video on their blogs, and uploading to YouTube is common.

You can read Bullas's post for more data. One point made by a commenter to the post is that the survey isn't about "best practices" as much as level and types of social media usage. I think that's true. Still, as a snapshot of social media adoption by non-profits, the study offers some interesting information.

Twitter management console HootSuite today announced the addition of new features designed to better integrate other social media tools and the latest Twitter applications.

In a blog post today, HootSuite said Twitter Lists were a frequent request of its users, who now can import their existing Lists as well as create new lists in HootSuite. An example of the Lists management interface is below.

The blog also detailed how Facebook and LinkedIn are integrated:

Whereas before you could update Facebook and LinkedIn through Ping.fm functionality, things are different now. Facebook and LinkedIn accounts are treated similarly to Twitter accounts: you can create columns from these social networks, read your friends' status updates, and update multiple Facebook accounts. Facebook integration offers in-line commenting.

Finally, HootSuite says it is extending the scheduling function for tweets to include status updates on Facebook, LinkedIn and Ping.fm.

This is a significant strategic move by HootSuite, which is trying to evolve from a Twitter-centric service to a social media management platform. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

Facebook manager of policy communications Barry Schnitt is auditioning for Discovery Channel's MythBusters.

OK, not really, but a post by Schnitt on the Facebook Blog is aimed at busting the myth that the social-networking site is using members' photos in ads without their consent, as has been the topic of several status updates by users reading something like this:

FACEBOOK has agreed to let third-party advertisers use your posted pictures WITHOUT your permission.

Schnitt posted:

This rumor about Facebook using your photos in ads without your consent is spreading again. The rumor was not true earlier this year and it is not true now.

The advertisements that started these rumors were not from Facebook, but placed within applications by third parties. Those ads violated our policies by misusing profile photos, and we already required the removal of those deceptive ads from third-party applications before this rumor began spreading.

We are as concerned as many of you are about any potential threat to your experience on Facebook and the protection of your privacy. That's why we prohibit ads on Facebook Platform that cause a bad user experience, are misleading, or otherwise violate our policies. Along with removing ads, we've recently prohibited two entire advertising networks from providing services to applications on Facebook Platform because they were not compliant with our policies and failed to correct their practices.

We're committed to remaining vigilant in enforcing our policies to prevent bad ads from appearing on Facebook—whether served by us or a third party. But we also need your help. If you ever see a misleading ad or believe it violates our policies, report it to us.

If it's one of our ads, you can simply click the thumbs-down icon that appears above or below the ad to report it. If the ad is from a third-party application, click the "Report" link at the bottom of the page to report it to the developer and us.

Paul C. Jeffries of Facebook's Platform Policy Team posted an update on the Facebook Developers Blog about the social-networking site's new Developer Principles and Policies, with the main piece of news being that all new requirements officially take effect at noon PT Dec. 16.

In what seems like a direct message to applications that have been accused of scamming users, Jeffries wrote:

We've all seen applications build long-term businesses by staying focused on providing a good user experience, creating user trust and engagement. These apps help all developers succeed by attracting more users to engage with great applications, creating a virtuous cycle that benefits the whole ecosystem. To continue to support this focus on user experience, we're investing in personnel and technology to help us better uncover and rapidly respond to policy violations. You'll continue to be able to launch an application without prior approval—that's an important part of our open Platform philosophy—but you should expect it to be proactively reviewed at any time.

Our aim is for the Developer Policies and Examples and Explanations to reflect the specifics you need to easily make decisions and manage your applications. While our policies will guide our approach, no document can itemize every way to generate a bad user experience, so we'll be enforcing our broader principles, as well. Those who try to circumvent the spirit of the policies or principles, or exploit a "loophole," will be subject to enforcement.

When we find a violation, the action we take will depend on the developer's compliance history, and the nature and severity of the violation. In many cases, we temporarily suspend some or all application functionality, or permanently disable.

Microsoft spokesman David Dennis told CNET that in the first week Xbox Live users had access to Facebook and Last.fm, more than 2 million Xbox Live users logged into Facebook, and 500,000 Last.fm accounts were created in the first 24 hours of availability, meaning that 10% of Xbox Live's 20 million total users had logged into the social-networking site.

Dennis added that 120 million minutes of music from Last.fm had been streamed by Xbox Live users, who had also watched 1.7 million videos on the Zune marketplace.

Women's-targeted cable network Oxygen will complement its original series with OxygenLive, which will allow viewers to interact in real-time via live chat, Facebook and Twitter while shows are being aired.

OxygenLive will make its debut with the season premiere of Bad Girls Club Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 10 p.m. ET, and viewers will be able to participate in a live chat hosted by Oxygen editors and special guests from Evil Beet Gossip, as well as other fans of the show and new cast members.

Oxygen general manager Jason Klarman said:

Today's young female audience wants to chat, text, IM and Tweet about their favorite shows while they watch them live. OxygenLive reimagines TV as a social, interactive experience that allows viewers to connect with the shows and the characters they love and each other.

Vice president of digital and new media Jennifer Kavanagh added:

We wanted to create a socially charged viewing party that connected fans, talent and the bloggers we love around the Bad Girls Club every week. There are so many fun, drama-filled moments that are tweeted about and posted on Facebook, why not pull it all together and host it live?