Friday, March 28, 2008

Yahoo Stand with Google for OpenSocial Network

Yahoo said on Tuesday it is backing a program by rival Google to make software work fluidly across different social networks, and will create a joint foundation to promote the effort.

The normally fierce competitors are working together in the OpenSocial network, which Google formed in November to lure Web software developers and other social network sites away from the emerging market leader in social networks, Facebook Inc.

Many social networks -- including News Corp's MySpace, Friendster and LinkedIn -- support OpenSocial, a set of technical specifications that lets software developers build applications such as games and photo shows that can run on any social network, expanding the audience for such software.

However, neither Facebook nor Microsoft Corp, which gave Facebook $240 million in backing last year, has signed up to support OpenSocial. Microsoft, which has mounted a $42 billion hostile takeover bid for Yahoo, also has an agreement to sell advertising on Facebook's site.

Source : Yahoo News

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Indian Internet Booming at 2012

Internet advertising will grow 32 per cent over the next five years and touch Rs 1,100 crore in 2012 from Rs 270 crore in 2007, according to a study released by Ficci and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In 2007, the segment grew 69 per cent to Rs 270 crore from Rs 160 crore in the previous year. This was the highest growth compared with all other segments in the entertainment and media industry.

The growth projected in the study is on a small base, but both Ficci and PricewaterhouseCoopers are optimistic about the segment’s prospects going ahead.

The share of Internet in the overall advertising pie is projected to grow to 2.4 per cent in 2012 from 1.4 per cent in 2007.

By 2012, the Indian entertainment and media industry is projected to reach Rs 1.16 lakh crore from Rs 51,300 crore in 2007, an 18 per cent compounded annual growth rate.

Television is likely to be the major contributor to the overall industry revenue pie and it is estimated to grow at the rate of 22 per cent cumulatively over the next five years, from Rs 22,600 crore in 2007 to over Rs 60,000 crore by 2012.

Read the full news at The Telegraph

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Site Suspended : Doubts relating to plan for anti-Koran film

A U.S.-based web service, which Islam critic and Dutch right-wing lawmaker Geert Wilders planned to use to show his film critical of the Koran, said on Saturday that it had inactivated the site due to complaints.
"This site has been suspended while Network Solutions is investigating whether the site’s content is in violation of the Network Solutions Acceptable Use Policy," the company said on the site www.fitnathemovie.com.
Wilders, who has given few details about his 15-minute film, has said he plans to release "Fitna" on the Internet before the end of the month after Dutch broadcasters declined to show it. Fitna is a Koranic term sometimes translated as "strife".
check the full news here

Monday, March 17, 2008

IBM Buys Password management company

IBM on Thursday snapped up privately-held security software firm Encentuate for an undisclosed sum.

Redwood City, California-based Encentuate provides identity and access management software that simplifies the process of remembering different passwords and usernames.

Encentuate products will be folded into IBM's Tivoli software line.

IBM Tivoli software manager Al Zollar said Encentuate technology would boost the vendor's capabilities in enterprise single sign-on by offering customers an easy to use solution with more flexible integration. He said the buy brought IBM strong authentication form factors, dynamic session management and compliance-focused auditing and reporting capabilities

Read the full story here

Friday, March 14, 2008

AOL storms into Social Marketing Space with Bebo buy

AOL sent to its competitors on Mar. 13 after it forked over $850 million for California online social network Bebo, the third-largest such site in the U.S. behind Facebook and MySpace.
The acquisition gives AOL's parent company, Time Warner (TWX), access to Bebo's predominantly teen audience, as well as providing a platform to compete against the other social networks in the battle for online advertising revenue.
Web 2.0 offerings such as social networks are growing faster than their better-established online counterparts.
Launched three years ago, Bebo now boast 40 million users worldwide. Its growth is buoyed by its popularity with pre-teens and young teenagers, who have flocked to the site as older Internet users have turned to MySpace and Facebook. According to Nielsen Online, unique visits to Bebo in January topped 7.1 million, a 60% increase from the same period last year.

Read the full story at BusinessWeek