Mediaboss Marketing

Automakers have begun slowly integrating social networking into vehicles via advanced infotainment systems that provide voice-activated social functions. In a recent collaboration with Facebook called "Hackathon," Ford gave the world a glimpse of what in-car social networking 2.0 might look like. It's scary and intriguing at the same time.

One time, long, long ago, cars were a primary means of socialization. You hopped into your red sports coupe and went on a date; you gathered a group of friends and went driving in the town; you drove to visit family every week, month or holiday. In short, the car was the way to see those that were important to, you face to face.

These days, you carry a mobile phone with texting capabilities, you video chat with long-distance friends and family, and you update your crew about your life instantaneously via Facebook and other networking websites. The car no longer plays a primary role in keeping you in touch and social. In fact, studies show that young people increasingly prefer smartphones over vehicles - the once timeless glamor of the first car is all but extinct.

Automakers are quite aware of this trend and are shrugging off potential dangers in an effort to make the car more social than ever. The Ford Sync system includes functions like voice-activated text messaging and in-vehicle smartphone app integration, which extends to Twitter updates.

At the Hackathon event last month, a team of Ford and Facebook programmers spent 24 hours brainstorming and hacking together advanced social functions that they believe could take the Sync system to the next level of in-vehicle socialization. The team created a vehicle in which Facebook integration was more than just a robotic voice reading updates. Facebook became intertwined with traditional vehicle functions like GPS and radio.

One of the functions the team worked on was a navigation system capable of not only supplying the driver with locations of nearby restaurants, but sorting those restaurants based on Facebook friend likes. So, you could eat at that hot new restaurant all your friends are talking about with hardly any effort. Another program could provide location updates for your friends, and automatically navigate you to them (kinda stalkerish if you ask us). A music function would let you automatically tune in to the music that your friends are playing.

Ford said the best ideas will find their way into official R&D channels, where they'll be further developed. It ended its blog post about the event by promising the driver's "first priority will always be to remain focused on driving and making it safely to your destination." However, features like in-vehicle Facebook run the risk of creating cognitive distractions, which studies show can be as dangerous as manual distractions like dialing a cell phone.

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood has been quoted in the past as saying that things like Facebook have no place in the car. The Department of Transportation released the first phase of voluntary guidelines last month, that begins to address what automakers should and should not be doing in terms of vehicle technologies. The list is largely focused on manual-based technologies like Internet browsing and text messaging, but later phases will deal with things like voice-based texting and social networking. Functions like those dreamed up at Hackathon could very well end up on the wrong side of safety regulations.

Whatever becomes of the work, you can see all the brainstorming, coffee chugging and carpal tunnel-inducing keyboarding that went on behind the scenes below.

Source: Ford

Follow this link:
Ford teams with Facebook to make 'social' car

The "Facebook of China" Renren Inc. ( RENN , quote ) has announced the release of Renren HD, thefirst social networking application selected by Microsoft ( MSFT , quote ) for its Windows 8 application store.

The application was released at the Windows 8 Consumer Preview Conference held during the Mobile World Congress 2012 inBarcelona, Spain.

Renren HD is designed to be fully-integrated with Windows 8, a generational change on Microsoft's flagship operating system. Windows 8 focuses on tablet usage and integration with social networks, so the application has adopted tiled Metro-style user interfaces and the ability to share content from a wide range of different applications with a single click.

"We are very proud to be selected as the first SNS partner for Microsoft's new Windows store," said Joseph Chen, CEO of Renren. "Renren shares the vision of Windows 8 in its aspiration to revolutionize how content is delivered and shared between the next generation of digital devices. Renren HD was designed with the same philosophy."

Renren Inc. operates the leading real name social networking internet platform inChina. Its sites cover social networking, gaming, commerce, and video sharing. Renren had approximately 137 million activated users as ofSeptember 30, 2011.

Investors looking to invest in Renren and other Chinese internet ventures should look at the Global X Social Media Index ETF ( SOCL , quote ), which puts 4.56% of its holdings into Renren shares.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.

Read the original:
First Windows 8 social networking app is Chinese

Salamworld aims to draw Muslims from around the world to have a 'halal' space online. The Turkish startup has already received financial backing from investors in Russia and Kazakhstan.

Social networking is big business. Facebook, with its user base of over 800 million users, is expected to raise billions of dollars when it becomes a publicly-traded company later this spring. But Facebook's not the only game in town. In China, Sina Weibo reports 227 million user accounts, while Russia's Vkontakte says it has more than 100 million.

Enter a new Istanbul-based startup, Salamworld, which hopes to establish itself as the social networking giant of the Islamic world. The company says it will offer a halal-friendly space for Muslims to gather online.

Even though the site won't be open to the public until the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, set for late July in the Western calendar, that hasn't stopped buzz in the Turkish tech world from bringing Salamworld to the fore.

At a recent launch event at Istanbul's posh Ciragan palace, a promo video outlined the company's ambitious plans.

"By filtering out harmful content, and by making the content uphold and respect family values, we confirm to the requirements of Muslims throughout the world," the video trumpeted. "As Salamworld, our aim is to overcome all political, language and cultural barriers, to open the world to Muslims, and open Muslims to the world."

Salamworld is slated to launch in July 2012

Halal social networking

The company's goal is 50 million users in three years - a very ambitious target.

The launch gathered Islamic leaders from around the world, including those from across Europe and the Middle East. Many shared the feelings of Fouzan Akhmed Khan, an activist from Canada, who praised the effort by Muslims to engage with technology instead of cursing it as evil.

More here:
Muslim social networking site set to launch

By Kevin Kelleher, contributor

FORTUNE -- What do you get when you cross a buzzword like "social networking" with an eye-glazing term like "enterprise software"? A buzzkill -- in this case, one called "enterprise social networking."

As long as the web has been around, the consumer side of things has been sexier. Enterprise software may be a $285 billion market, according to Gartner, but it receives a fraction of the coverage that the consumer web does, and it tends to adapt slowly to major changes, such as the adoption of iPhones, tablets and web-based apps.

Social networking is another major trend. But until recently, many companies outside of the web industry have been slow to adopt them as workplace tools. There may be 845 million people users connecting with their friends on Facebook, and 150 million LinkedIn (LNKD) members networking with colleagues in their industry at large, but relatively few people frequent an in-house social network to collaborate with their co-workers.

That may be changing. Yammer, a popular enterprise social network with 4 million users, raised $85 million in funding in a round including DFJ Growth, Khosla Ventures, Charles River Ventures and Founders Fund. Yammer has raised $142 million in venture financing so far.

MORE: Social media stars

It's not alone. Jive Software (JIVE), which went public in December, claims to have 17 million users. Jive's stock is up 82% from its $12-a-share offering price. Others, such as Socialtext and Socialcast, are growing. Meanwhile, bigger companies are moving in. Google (GOOG) is making noise about adding in-house social networks to Google+. And Salesforce.com (CRM) is betting that its Chatter collaboration software will fuel its growth.

Last Friday, Salesforce.com's stock rose 9% to a six-month high of $143.64 in after-hours trading after reporting revenue and earnings that exceeded analyst expectations and forecast that revenue would exceed forecasts again this quarter. On reason, CEO Marc Benioff told analysts in a call, was that the company's social enterprise offerings, including Chatter, was luring in new customers, such as Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Activision (ATVI). "Our outstanding financial success this quarter was powered by the momentum of our social enterprise strategy," Benioff said. "With the social enterprise, we are now closing our largest most exciting strategic deals."

The rise of social networks in companies is coming as corporations slowly figure out their value. A report by Altimeter Research last week said services like Yammer are growing popular in some companies, but that many don't yet realize the potential to strengthen communication in existing workplace relationships but also build new relationships that can increase efficiency. "Many business leaders are at a loss to understand what value can be created from Facebook-like status updates within the enterprise," Charline Li, founder of research firm Altimeter Group, wrote in a recent report. "Some organizations have deployed social-networking features with an initial enthusiastic reception, only to see these early efforts wither to just a few stalwart participants."

MORE: What is making enterprise innovation possible

See original here:
Where social networking is headed next

Popular Facebook game maker Zynga is scaling up and branching out from the clutches of the worlds biggest social networking site with the launch its own Zynga.com website and gaming platform.

The shift means users will soon be able to play Zyngas popular social games including CityVille, Words with Friends, CastleVille, Zynga Poker and Hidden Chronicle outside of the Facebook ecosystem.

The Zynga Platform is designed with two simple goals: more access to the best social games and more people to play with, said Zynga co-founder Mark Pincus. Were excited to offer new features like the live Social Stream which will enable you to play in real time with your friends and find new ones. Player profiles will let you check your friends helpfulness score to see whos most likely to help you back. And youll be able to chat and play live with your friends and a community of players interested in the same games as you.

Third party game developers will also be able to publish their games on Zynga.com, the beta version of which will launch in early March. Initial Zynga platform partners will include developers MobScience, Row Sham Bow and Sava.

Zynga made it clear that it is not (yet) cutting its ties with Facebook. Users will still pay for virtual goods using Facebook Credits but will now be able to interact with other gamers outside of Facebooks own social network. In its IPO filing earlier this year Facebook revealed that Zynga accounted for 12% of its 2011 revenue.

http://zynga.com/

Follow this link:
Facebook game maker Zynga launches its own social games platform, Zynga.com