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The market for enterprise social media and Web 2.0 tools is growing by over 20 per cent a year and will top $126m (80m) by 2017 as firms look for better ways to collaborate and manage content across Asia Pacific, according to a new report from Frost & Sullivan.

The analysts Enterprise Social Media and Web 2.0 Market 2010 report describes the region as the fastest growing in the world when it comes to consumer social networking pointing to countries such as the Philippines and Malaysia where some services are used by 85 per cent of the population.

That fondness for public social networks will drive adoption of enterprise social networking and collaboration platforms from vendors such as Microsoft, Novell, IBM, Huddle, Yammer and Socialtext, the report says.

The need for intranet, file storage, project management and email integration capabilities will foster take-up of Web 2.0 tools while enterprise content management products will increasingly be made available online, again bolstering adoption of enterprise social media, the report predicted.

However, Frost & Sullivan warned that its still early days and many firms are reluctant to invest in technologies that could take a long time to deliver a return on investment. The fact that few concrete examples of successful deployments are to be found is another potential retardent.

Easily measurable KPIs will help decision makers to justify the investment in enterprise social media applications, said Research Analyst Jessie Yu.

A KPI that can be easily measured is the increase in intercompany communication and knowledge sharing, which is a clear indicator of the breakdown of information silos in a company.

While smaller firms will plump for free versions of tools such as DropBox and FileShare or Google Apps, their larger counterparts will need to invest in enterprise social networking and collaboration products to get the functionality they need to manage large numbers of geographically dispersed staff, said F&S.

Originally posted here:
Biz social networking set for take-off

28 May 2012 Last updated at 12:12

Social networking giant Facebook is to launch its own smartphone by next year, reports have suggested.

The New York Times cited unnamed sources, including Facebook employees, suggesting that the network had been hiring several smartphone engineers.

Facebook recently admitted it was struggling to make money out of its growing mobile audience.

The company, which recently floated on the stock market, has also just launched its own mobile app store.

The App Center currently offers links to Facebook-enabled apps within Apple's iOS and Google Android stores but developers will soon be able to write apps to be placed exclusively in Facebook's store.

According to the New York Times, Facebook has hired experts who worked on the iPhone and other smartphones.

It quoted a Facebook employee as saying the site's founder Mark Zuckerberg was "worried that if he doesn't create a mobile phone in the near future... Facebook will simply become an app on other mobile platforms".

A Facebook smartphone has reportedly been in the works for some time.

In 2010, Techcrunch reported that Facebook was "secretly" building a smartphone - although this particular project is said to have broken down.

Excerpt from:
Facebook phone 'due next year'

ARLINGTON When officer Zhivonni McDonnell reported for a shift earlier this year, she was armed with one of the Police Departments newest tools: a smartphone equipped with Twitter.

As she accompanied a Citizens on Patrol member that night, McDonnell, the departments social media specialist, tweeted updates on what they were seeing and doing, giving followers a taste of what the volunteer group does.

Think social networking is just a frivolous time-waster for celebrities, kids and the weak-minded? Law enforcement agencies from Arlington to Zurich increasingly see Facebook, Twitter and other platforms as 21st-century ways to walk the beat, prevent crime and bust the bad guys.

The key, said Chyng-Yang Jang, an associate professor in the University of Texas at Arlingtons department of communication, is having personnel who are trained in their use.

If youre going to use it to just post information, then I dont think it will be too effective, he said. The real powerful thing is the two-way communication.

Cleveland police used it during an Amber Alert in April and received a tip within a few hours that led to the childrens rescue. In Pennsylvania, a police department made three arrests in one week off leads generated by social media. Recently, one of Dentons most-wanted misdemeanor fugitives saw his mug shot on the Police Departments Facebook page and turned himself in, hoping to keep his family and friends from finding out.

Social media is here. Its going to stay, said officer Ryan Grelle, spokesman for the Denton Police Department and one of the first in North Texas to use the tool aggressively. My captain told me, Just do it. Dont embarrass us, but do what you think we should do.

Arlington police, who have also made arrests off information distributed via social media, use the platforms to publicize good work by officers that the traditional media may not cover, to provide safety tips and to keep the community posted on emergencies like the April 3 tornado outbreak. Going to the Rangers game? Follow (at)arlingtonpd for reports on traffic and parking -- and to see whos having fun tailgating.

With 4,160 Facebook fans and 3,101 Twitter followers one day recently, the department is gaining on the top five U.S. law enforcement agencies for its size, according to the most recent numbers reported by the International Association of Chiefs of Polices Center for Social Media.

The outreach is not simply a public-relations move to control the message and put a smiley face on everybody who wears a gun and badge. If it were, said Sgt. Christopher Cook, supervisor of the departments communications team, then we would never post about murders. We wouldnt want anybody to think their community wasnt safe.

See the original post here:
Officers like social networking as tool

ARLINGTON (AP) When officer Zhivonni McDonnell reported for a shift earlier this year, she was armed with one of the Police Departments newest tools: a smartphone equipped with Twitter.

As she accompanied a Citizens on Patrol member that night, McDonnell, the departments social media specialist, tweeted updates on what they were seeing and doing, giving followers a taste of what the volunteer group does.

Think social networking is just a frivolous time-waster for celebrities, kids and the weak-minded? Law enforcement agencies from Arlington to Zurich increasingly see Facebook, Twitter and other platforms as 21st-century ways to walk the beat, prevent crime and bust the bad guys.

The key, said Chyng-Yang Jang, an associate professor in the University of Texas at Arlingtons department of communication, is having personnel who are trained in their use.

If youre going to use it to just post information, then I dont think it will be too effective, he said. The real powerful thing is the two-way communication.

Cleveland police used it during an Amber Alert in April and received a tip within a few hours that led to the childrens rescue. In Pennsylvania, a police department made three arrests in one week off leads generated by social media. Recently, one of Dentons most-wanted misdemeanor fugitives saw his mug shot on the Police Departments Facebook page and turned himself in, hoping to keep his family and friends from finding out.

Positive platforms

Social media is here. Its going to stay, said officer Ryan Grelle, spokesman for the Denton Police Department and one of the first in North Texas to use the tool aggressively. My captain told me, Just do it. Dont embarrass us, but do what you think we should do.

Arlington police, who have also made arrests off information distributed via social media, use the platforms to publicize good work by officers that the traditional media may not cover, to provide safety tips and to keep the community posted on emergencies like the April 3 tornado outbreak. Going to the Rangers game? Follow (at)arlingtonpd for reports on traffic and parking and to see whos having fun tailgating.

With 4,160 Facebook fans and 3,101 Twitter followers one day recently, the department is gaining on the top five U.S. law enforcement agencies for its size, according to the most recent numbers reported by the International Association of Chiefs of Polices Center for Social Media.

Read the original post:
Officers use social networking as tool

28 May 2012 Last updated at 07:50 ET

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Tony Blair: 'Nothing wrong' about ties to press

A close interaction between politicians and the press is inevitable, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has told the Leveson Inquiry.

Mr Blair told the inquiry that at its best British journalism was the best in the world.

But he said the use of newspapers as instruments of political power created a relationship that was "unhealthy".

At one point a protester had to be ejected after getting into the court and calling Mr Blair a "war criminal".

Proceedings were interrupted for around 20 seconds before the man was escorted away.

Lord Justice Leveson apologised to Mr Blair and questioned how the man was able to enter the court through what should have been a secure corridor. An investigation was immediately ordered.

Mr Blair said on the record that there was no truth in the allegation, made by the protester, that he had a paid relationship with JP Morgan.

View post:
Press links inevitable - Blair