Social Networking Journal

Google Friend Connect

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Google Friend Connect is Google’s latest bid to dominate the world of social networking. The idea is simple, which is the bread and butter of Google. They take simple ideas and scale them up to a huge operation. Google Friend Connect is a set of standards that query social networking APIs and allow users to customize their websites with gadgets that access those APIs. This makes people’s websites more active, and it puts the social network in the background.

The idea of Google Friend Connect expands on Google’s gadget vision.

Social gadgets created by Google. Google Friend Connect provides a core set of social gadgets such as member management, message board, reviews, and picture-sharing. The key gadget is the members gadget. This gadget provides core social features for your visitors:

* sign-in with their existing Google, Yahoo, AIM, or OpenID account
* invite and show activity to existing friends from social networks such as Facebook, Google Talk, hi5, orkut, Plaxo, and more
* browse member profiles across social networks
* connect with new friends on your site

The implications are astounding, despite the simple interface. With a bit of programming you can completely integrate your website with all of the major social networks.

Google Friend Connect is the very type of application that Google has always done well with. The tools are free, can be distributed easily, and represent a “win-win” in some way for all parties involved. Inevitably, Google will add advertisements to the gadgets, and the monetization will be immense.

Google Friend Connect is definitely worth a look for anyone with a website.

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Bebo, Facebook And YouTube Targeted For Political Ads

The Lisbon Referendum Commission is looking to change public policy, so they’ve decided to advertiser where they think their voters are, namely the major social networks. They feel that young people are using the sites, and that’s what makes them a good place to advertise.

Chairman of the commission, Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill, said that the commission would not engage in debate around the treaty issues.

However, he said the commission believes, in its considered opinion, that Ireland’s position on neutrality and tax would not be altered by the Lisbon Treaty.

The Referendum Commission is an independent body set up by law to ensure voters are informed about the issues involved in the 12 June referendum.

As well as providing impartial information, its role is to encourage citizens to vote

Bebo, Facebook, and YouTube are generally considered to be the most popular destinations for most of the world’s youths.

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MySpace Wins $230 Million Anti-Spam Case

Spamming has turned out to be expensive business for the “Spam King” Sanford Wallace and his associate Walter Rines.

A federal judge in Los Angeles awarded MySpace.com $230 million dollars in damages for the “Spam King’s” activity at the popular social networking website. Myspace sued under the federal anti-spam law that incurs a $100.00 penalty for each spam - This penalty is tripled if it’s found that the violation happened intentionally. Wallace and Rines did not show up for the court hearing.

They are accused of sending more than 730,000 messages to fake “friends” with recommendations of “cool” websites that ended up being money making schemes.

It’s just another example of how spamming doesn’t pay..

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Facebook And States Work Together For A Safer Website

The internet is a big place with all sorts of people using it - some are good people and others are not.

Social networks are the places that all walks of life come together in an online environment. Needless to say, this could mean trouble for some members there.

Facebook recently announced they are adding 40 different kinds of safe guards to protect their users from sexual predators and online bullies at their website. Convicted sex offenders will not be allowed to join the site. Older members will be limited in the number of searches they can do for younger members. Facebook is also going to build a task force to try and find better ways of verifying members ages. They are working with 49 States and the District of Columbia to protect users.

“Building a safe and trusted online experience has been part of Facebook from its outset,” said Chris Kelly, Facebook’s chief privacy officer. “The attorneys general have shown great leadership in helping to address the critical issue of Internet safety, and we commend them for continuing to set high standards for all players in the online arena.”

Hopefully these changes will help to curb questionable activity from taking place via the site.

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MySpace Launches New Application Gallery

MySpace has launched a new applications gallery. The new gallery is stocked with over 1,000 new applications that are made specifically for MySpace users to post in their profiles.

Steve Pearman, MySpace vice president of product strategy, said at the O’Reilly Web 2.0 Expo here that the content of the gallery was driven by user requests for rich applications that provide an engaging experience and include strong privacy protections and insulation from spam.

“What’s been launched is a direct reflection of these desires,” he said. “That whole project has been driven by user input on what they want out of our apps. You have to check your ego at the door. It is not about what we want. It is about what the community needs.”

If you have a MySpace account, you can jump right over to the new Apps Gallery, and start adding applications instantly.

Expect the Gallery to grow a lot in coming months, as MySpace pushes the new service.

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Facebook Photo Lands Israeli Soldier In Jail

Social networks are becoming more a part of everyone’s lives, even in sometimes deleterious ways. The soldier did something that millions of people do everyday, he posted his photo on the popular FaceBook website. The difference for him, is that he works for the IDF, and is supposed to keep his identity hidden.

Reports in the Jerusalem Post claim that the soldier came from the elite 8200 military intelligence unit of the IDF, which specialises in encryption and military information.

He was jailed for taking a photo inside the base, something the IDF is cracking down on.

According to the paper the IDF now has a unit which trawls through Facebook and other social networking sites to find pictures that should not have been posted.

The soldier will spend 19 days in jail as a result of his lapse in judgement.

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MySpace Launches Election Hub

With the upcoming elections not that far off, MySpace recently announced that they launched an election hub for members of their community to use.

Along with MSNBC, MySpace members can access the latest political news, watch videos and participate in discussions about Presidential candidates and political issues. Users can also upload their own content to the site.

If you’d like to use MySpace’s election hub, it can be accessed at Decision ‘08.

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Social Networking Takes On Malaria

Social networking isn’t just something for entertainment. One social network has decided to use their
networking abilities to battle against Malaria - a deadly disease that’s spread by pesky mosquitoes.

Malaria Engage is accepting donations to help select scientists in developing countries learn more and battle against the disease.

“It’s shocking that thousands of people are dying every day from a preventable disease. When I came back from Africa last summer, a lot of people asked me what they can do to help. By encouraging individual participation and involvement, we will create international communities of common interest.” said Tom Hadfield, one of the team members involved with the site.

There are seven different fields of study and a donation of $10 or more will go a long way. Hadfield also stated that he’s hoping to spread word about Malaria Engage to Facebook and other social networking sites to help raise awareness (and cash) for his cause.

This is one disease that kills far too many people on a daily basis and it’s great to see that someone is trying to help with prevention, cure and awareness.

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Irish Inmate Loves Bebo

There’s nothing great about being locked up. Well, almost nothing. For one inmate, the fact he can use Bebo to talk to others is a big
bonus. The trouble is, prison officials are not sure how he used his Bebo profile to talk to others, and are quite sure it’s not allowed.

Pictured on his Bebo page while smiling from the comfort of his prison cell and with a mobile phone placed on his chest, the prisoner has logged on to chat with friends several times in the last two weeks and has been uploading photos of himself and fellow inmates flexing their muscles for the camera.

On his personal Bebo page he urges friends and other online users to help him pass his time in incarceration by leaving messages for his attention.

“Come on everybody,” he writes. “Don’t be shy. Leave a message when you drop into my profile.”

Apparently the man’s laid back attitude has Irish Prison officials convinced he’s sending the wrong message to outsiders. The fact that people jailed in Irish prisons are using cell phones to access the internet, plan crimes, and communicate with others is a growing concern in the nation.

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Bebo Announces American Contestant For ‘The Gap Years’

Congratulations to Cara Cioni from Chicago, Illinois. She has been selected as the American contestant for Bebo and Endemol’s upcoming reality show “The Gap Years.”

“The Gap Years” will follow 6 travelers as they journey around the world. 40 million members of the Bebo community will determine their fate.

Andre Tardiff was chosen as the Canadian contestant. Winners from the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia will be named in upcoming weeks.

“Self expression, community and discovering new experiences are the heart of what Bebo is all about, and Cara is the perfect representation of all these values — we wish her the best of luck as she sets out on her global adventure,” said Joanna Shields, President at Bebo. “The Gap Year
will be the first truly interactive reality series, adding another engaging and fun component to the Bebo user experience — the chance to interact and steer the fate of six travelers as they encounter exciting adventures around the world.”

They’ll visit places like the Burning Man Festival, Machu Picchu, Peru, Iceland and Russia.. just to name a few destinations.

The Gap year will be filmed in 2008 and will air exclusively on Bebo.com

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