Mediaboss Marketing

A "Facebook" for tattoo lovers? Surely the social-networking bandwagon is already full to tipping. But hold on--the photos section here seems tailor-made for this community. And beyond.

I pity the fool who says social networking has jumped the shark.

Sure, Mark Zuckerberg has a hoodie with weird totemic symbols hidden on the inside. But if he were truly hard core, he'd have a Like icon tattooed on his neck and the word "HACK" inked in all uppercase black letters from one shoulder to the other.

You can bet members of the tattoo-themed social network the TatSpot don't mess around with wussy iron-on transfers. These people go the distance, as evidenced by the photos on the site.

A tattoo-themed social network? You're probably thinking, "OK, the whole social-media thing has really jumped the shark." But why not? After all, I'd wager there's a forum or chat room or virtual who-knows-what for just about every wired subculture on the planet.

And though many of the TatSpot's different areas (videos, events, blogs, and the like) have yet to be filled out with posts (we got an e-mail announcement about the site just today), the aforementioned photos section seems to be off to a colorful start and appears tailor-made for this community.

And beyond. The photos section is a fascinating little journey for anyone, tattooed or not. As new as it is, you'll still encounter a cornucopia of iconography, from Mr. T to an unknown soldier to Mahatma Gandhi. And we suspect this will only get weirder and more wonderful with time.

The only problem I have with the site is its name. My CNET colleague Jeff Sparkman came up with a far better one: InkedIn.

Link:
TatSpot: New social network gets under your skin

By now you've heard that Yahoo has sued Facebook, alleging patent infringement. But just which pieces of intellectual property is Yahoo claiming Facebook ripped off?

Surely, you'd say, Yahoo doesn't claim that it invented the entire social networking model Facebook is based uponexcept it turns out that is almost exactly what Yahoo is claiming.

"Facebook's entire social network model, which allows users to create profiles for and connect with, among other things, persons and businesses, is based on Yahoo!'s patented social networking technology," Yahoo claims in the lawsuit, filed yesterday in US District Court in Northern California. "Prior to adopting Yahoo!'s patented social networking technology in 2008, Facebook was considered one of the worst performing Internet sites for advertising. Facebook's use of that social networking model has reportedly dramatically driven up Facebook's advertising click through rates."

Nearly all the technology that makes Facebook successful is based on Yahoo patents, the company further states.

"For much of the technology upon which Facebook is based, Yahoo! got there first and was therefore granted patents by the United States Patent Office to protect those innovations. Yahoo!'s patents relate to cutting edge innovations in online products, including in messaging, news feed generation, social commenting, advertising display, preventing click fraud, and privacy controls," Yahoo alleged in its court filing. "These innovations dramatically improve user experience, privacy, and security and enhance the ability of advertisers to connect with users."

What does Yahoo want? Money. Lots of money.

"Even if Facebook were to subsequently pay past due royalties, it would still enjoy a market share it has developed during its period of 'free riding' on Yahoo!'s intellectual property. Yahoo! would likewise lose its portion of the market share for this period. Due to the difficulty in predicting whether, if at all, such market share can be recovered, Yahoo!'s harm cannot be compensated by payment of past due royalties alone."

Yahoo doesn't specify a dollar amount. But whatever amount of damages the court sees fit to grant, Yahoo says those damages should be tripled "in view of the willful and deliberate nature of the infringement."

Yahoo is asserting ten patents against Facebook, divided into five categories: social networking, advertising, privacy, customization, and messaging. Facebook, by the way, apparently owns just 21 US patents, while Yahoo has more than 1,000.

Yahoo notified Facebook of the allegedly infringed patents on Feb. 27, and then filed suit after Facebook apparently refused to pay the licensing fees Yahoo demanded. Let's take a look at each of the ten patents being asserted against Facebook, organized by the category divisions used in Yahoo's lawsuit.

More:
Yahoo IP lawsuit: We patented "Facebook's entire social network model"

TAMPA, Fla. & LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Rounder, Inc. (Rounder or the Company) (Pink Sheets: RNDR) today announces a licensing agreement making available the creation of a 3D, user-based, online virtual world that will incorporate social interactions, poker, e-commerce/retail shopping, streaming entertainment, dating, couponing, real world social happenings, and news created on the Invicta Corridor Social Gaming Platform. Invicta is the brainchild of video game legend Jonathan Eubanks.

Rounder is taking the lead in designing the newest and most exciting gaming in virtual worlds (made so popular by Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA - News)) through global platforms, including Facebook, Google+, Apple iOS, and Google Android. Jonathan Eubanks has designed over 60 games working for some of the largest video game publishers in the industry, including Activision, Universal Interactive, Vivendi Universal Games, Warner Brothers Interactive, and Brash Entertainment. With the Invicta Corridor Social Gaming Platform Jonathan is fulfilling his lifelong dream of creating the ultimate virtual world experience a world in which Rounder World will exclusively represent the finest poker and entertainment experience available online.

The Invicta Corridor Social Gaming Platform is the very first 3D virtual world gaming platform to operate seamlessly on PCs, Mac computers and iPads, and has a version being developed for iPhones.

Rounder, Inc. also announces the expansion of its presence on Facebook with its improved fan page and direct link to the RounderLife.com online poker experience. Rounder continues to work with its current partner ZEN Entertainment to finalize development of its Facebook application to allow Rounder to directly interact within the Facebook platform.

Rounder, Inc. is a gaming company with a focus on social networking initiatives while preparing for the limitless opportunities expected upon the legalization of internet poker gambling.

Originally posted here:
Rounder, Inc. (RNDR) Announces Virtual World and Social Networking Strategy

BroadVision's Clearvale enterprise social networking software will now lets companies create networks on an ad hoc manner in which a mix of employees, partners and customers can participate.

Until now, the BroadVision software has allowed for the configuration of enterprise social networks devoted exclusively to employees, or to customers or partners, but the new capability to create "hybrid" networks will make the product more effective in improving business communication and collaboration, the company said on Tuesday.

The new capabilities are possible through features called Guest, Zones and Conduits. The Guest feature lets administrators add users to a network, but giving them more limited access to content and fewer permissions to perform certain actions, when compared with regular members of the network. Meanwhile, the Zones and Conduits features let administrators create collaborative workspaces that are, respectively, public or private.

BroadVision also added analytics features to Clearvale that are designed to not only measure and track usage of enterprise social networks, but also establish incentives for users to encourage their participation.

The Clearvale upgrade also includes an improved Task feature, integration with Microsoft SharePoint and an updated mobile application for iPhones and iPads.

Juan Carlos Perez covers enterprise communication/collaboration suites, operating systems, browsers and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Juan on Twitter at @JuanCPerezIDG.

Excerpt from:
BroadVision Revamps Clearvale Enterprise Social Networking Software

12-03-2012 12:40 Paul Davison talks to Forbes' Tomio Geron about how he hopes Highlight will help change the way people worldwide interact and communicate.

Go here to read the rest:
Highlight App Makes Big Splash @ SXSW - Video