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International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) signed on McDonalds Corp. (MCD)s South Africa division as a customer for its business-focused social-networking software, landing the highest-profile client yet for the product.

McDonalds will have 8,000 employees in South Africa using the Connections software, IBM said today in a statement. The product is part of an effort to create internal networks for companies, letting employees use Facebook-style tools to communicate, sign off on documents and report expenses.

IBM aims to build on the McDonalds contract by winning deals with other retail and food-services business. After years of sluggish revenue, the worlds biggest computer-services provider sees social-networking software as a source of growth. The company declined to give financial terms for the contract with McDonalds, the largest fast-food chain by sales.

Its really going to attract more companies, said Sandy Carter, vice president of social-business strategy for Armonk, New York-based IBM. McDonalds South Africa also demonstrates that the power of social has moved beyond major markets into the emerging opportunity.

After a $1.3 billion acquisition of Kenexa Corp.s human- resources software last year -- along with several data-analysis companies -- IBM is betting its social software can compete with offerings from Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Salesforce.com Inc. and Jive Software Inc. By making it easier for employees to access and share data, social-networking services will help IBM make $16 billion from business analytics by 2015, the company has said.

IBM shares fell less than 1 percent to $203.07 at the close today in New York. The stock gained 4.2 percent last year, compared with a 13 percent gain for the Standard & Poors 500 Index.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Frier in New York at sfrier1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net

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IBM Lands McDonald’s as Customer for Its Social Software

Jan. 29, 2013 By allowing employees to participate in a work-sponsored internal social networking site, a company can improve morale and reduce turnover, according to a Baylor University case study published in the European Journal of Information Systems.

The study, which looked at a financial institution's efforts to acclimate new employees into the organization, also found that participation led to a greater sense of well-being and organizational commitment and better employee engagement.

"For millennials, mixing their work life and their social life via an online social networking created positive emotions for the employees who use the system," said Hope Koch, Ph.D., Baylor University associate professor of information systems in the Hankamer School of Business and study co-author. "These emotions led to more social networking and ultimately helped the employees build personal resources like social capital and organizational learning."

SNSs can have a positive impact on IT employees and their workplace, especially when the new employees are relocating to unfamiliar areas and need to build a network, assume highly technical jobs and become integrated into a large organization where it may be difficult to know where to go for help, according to Koch.

The study centered on a financial institution's efforts to reduce IT employee turnover by starting a social and work-related online networking site. Under the supervision of executives, the IT new hires developed and managed the site's content. Since most new hires had moved hundreds of miles to start their new jobs with the institution, they initially used the social pages as an introduction to the community. After a year or so with the organization, the more senior new hires began using the system to acclimate and mentor incoming new hires.

All study respondents worked in the institution's IT department and included new hires, middle managers and executives. With less than three years of experience, most new hires and interns were men between 21 and 27 years old. The middle managers and executives were baby boomers or members of generation X.

The internal social networking site helped the new hires build social capital in several ways, according to Koch.

"It gave them access to people who could provide useful information and new perspectives and allowed them to meet more senior new hires and executives. These relationships set the new hires at ease during work meetings, helped them understand where to go for help and increased their commitment to the financial institution's mission," she said.

Ironically, middle managers, even though they wanted freedom from mentoring new hires, developed a negative attitude toward online social networking when they realized that the new hires had managed to accrue social capital and social experiences with senior executives that they had not had access to in their many years of work.

The SNS system also helped the new hires maintain relationships with one another, thus facilitating a network of acquaintances that can do small favors and help build emotionally close friendships. Finally, by allowing the new hires to access information on the SNS, meet other new hires and develop and maintain relationships with their peer group, the financial institution was able to shift some of the burden of acclimating the new hires away from middle managers and human resources.

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Online social networking at work can improve morale and reduce employee turnover

Whither a cranky night crawler in search of sweetness after hours? Hunt's ("Open 25 Hours") on Mission was more notorious - inspiring at least one admiring zine dedicated to its sketchy history - and Bob's on Polk is more heralded for its fried-dough offerings. Yet I think All Star Donuts at the busy, dizzy crossroads of Fifth and Harrison - right next to the fine new piece of down-low, high-traffic street art "Facebook: Social Cigarettes" - has a special spot in the heart of Chinese-food-and-doughnut-joint fans, both locals and passing-throughs. Late Sunday night, the scene was quieter than usual - a hipster toting a wind instrument studied the doughnuts, and a smiling, limping gent who resembled a street-wise pirate acted as the doorman. Cue memories of chatting with All Star's Winnie Wei, who has worked at her father, Bob's, doughnut spot since she was 14. When a drunken homeless man threatened her with a knife for cigarettes and coffee, teenage skater regulars dragged the guy out and "kicked his butt," as she put it. "We do our best to help them because they help us," she said of her neighborly clientele. "Just because you're homeless doesn't mean you're a bad person." I say, gimme some of that sugar on my social network.

Lush lives: Moldy Peaches' Adam Green and Little Joy's Binki Shapiro sustain a dreamy chamber-pop mood in the mold of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood on their new eponymous LP, which they'll unfurl live with a full band Saturday at the Chapel. As for the recording, "there was a reoccurring theme of delusion and mental illness," Green e-mailed. "I think we are both very romantic people."

Band together: After suffering a traumatic brain injury as a result of an accident in his Bernal Heights home, Hank IV drummer Scott Jones is back home but requires 24/7 care not covered by insurance, so pals like Brickbat (including the Jesus Lizard's David Yow) are playing a benefit for their chum Feb. 24 at Bottom of the Hill ... Ralph Carney has moved his Serious Jass Project, above, into the lounge of the Chapel. The next free show of the residency is Thursday, and the S.F. player, who will appear on the new Thao Nguyen album, describes his sets there as "swingy jass music. You can tap your toes to it if you need to."

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Doughnuts, sugar and social networking

SPHERE
New Social Networking Site. No Need to register, You just need to sign in using your facebook or twitter account LINK: http://www.sphere.rqdc.net

By: aaronpaulovillanueva

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SPHERE - Video

Daily Blob - Social Networking as a Startup Founder
Description: In this Daily Blob Eli the Computer Guy talks about how to use Social Networking to promote your startup brand, and why Social Networking can end up harming your venture in unexpected ways.

By: elithecomputerguy

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Daily Blob - Social Networking as a Startup Founder - Video