Yoono, a five-star recommended social networking sidebar for Firefox and a top 10 add-on for Internet Explorer, released the public release of Yoono 6. Yoono 6 features realtime web search powered by OneRiot, expanded support for Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace along with a brand new user interface. Yoono 6 builds on the existing Yoono experience, which allows users of multiple social networks to consolidate and manage their online social interactions.
Integration with OneRiot allows Yoono users to search the realtime web directly from the sidebar to find news, blogs, and videos that people are currently buzzing about. OneRiot’s search results update automatically as new, relevant content emerges on the realtime web. Yoono is among a growing list of services to recently join the OneRiot Realtime Search Partner Program which offers developers access to the company’s search API.
Today, Nimbuzz is being launched by O2 Germany via a preinstall deal on the brand new, highly anticipated, Toshiba TG01 handset, available now across all O2 channels! It is a world-first that a mobile social messenger application is launched by a Tier 1 global operator.
O2 and Toshiba chose Nimbuzz as its social messaging partner in Germany. Accessed via a central icon on the home screen the fast, reliable and easy to use app integrates seamlessly onto the handset and the always on nature of Nimbuzz suits today’s “hyper-connected” digital lifestyle. The three companies worked closely together to deliver lifestyle communications features on the Toshiba TG01 for contacting all of your friends across multiple networks from one place. Integrating Nimbuzz achieves this goal thanks to the inclusion of local social networks such as StudiVZ in the client alongside all of the major global communities.
Social Networking tools like Facebook and MySpace are increasingly being adopted by businesspeople. College students use it to find other friends, play online games, organize their weekend activities and build relationships. The business people I know use it to connect with old high school friends, keep tabs on current friends and to maintain their social relationships. Observe how business users and college students are using the tools for similar purposes which social as the nucleus. Is there a business model to be made by these tools in the workplace to increase productivity?
Three-quarters of hiring managers check LinkedIn to research the credentials of job candidates, according to a Jump Start Social Media poll on how social media is being used in the hiring process. Of the hiring managers surveyed, 75% use LinkedIn, 48% use Facebook, and 26% use Twitter to research candidates before making a job offer.
“Social media is not only a great networking tool, it’s also a way for employers to perform reference checks on job candidates,” said Veronica Fielding, president of Digital Brand Expressions and its social media service for consumers, Jump Start Social Media. “Because LinkedIn is the most professionally oriented of the three, it tends to attract hiring managers who are doing due diligence.”
Zoosk, the world’s largest social dating community, introduced the ability for its users to link their Last.fm and Netflix accounts to their Zoosk Date Card, making it possible for singles to easily share their latest movie and music picks with potential dates. Built using the Last.fm and Netflix APIs, the integration of music and movie updates to Zoosk Date Cards gives Zoosk’s more than 30 million users more opportunities to naturally meet potential dates.
Zooskers can easily link their Last.fm and Netflix accounts to their Zoosk Date Card by providing their Last.fm username or a link to their Netflix queue’s RSS feed. Once a user links their accounts to their profile on Zoosk, music picks made on Last.fm and movie titles selected on Netflix will automatically appear on the user’s Zoosk Date Card.
From the very beginnings of social networking ten years ago in 1999 to the present day popularity, it is obvious that some shift in usage occurred at some point. Sites such as Twitter and Facebook have become cultural icons and have increased internet communications across the board. Facebook and Myspace have been two of the longest lasting fads in the internet world, and have truly made a name for themselves as a lasting presence for social networking, paving the way for sites such as Twitter and any new sites to come. However, they were not the original social networking sites either, with the original formation of such “blogging” sites beginning well before 2000.