When YouTube commercialized, it was through a series of "brand channels" like the Paris Hilton channel, DiddyTV and CBS. For the remixing sites, meanwhile (Jumpcut, Eyespot, YourSpins), it's all about getting users to remix new music and movies. The online competition sites (Bix, SingShot) are doing a similar thing, asking users to record their own versions of new songs as part of promotional contests.
We've known for many months now that MySpace China is set to launch in 2007. In fact, with all the focus on the Chinese roll-out, the launch of MySpace Japan came as a complete surprise. Now the focus is back on the Chinese site, with the WSJ reporting that they're in talks with International Data Group’s Chinese venture arm and former China Netcom Group CEO Edward Tian regarding the move.
We knew this was coming - last week I spotted the Google logo appearing occasionally next to MySpace search results, while the results themselves were still the old Overture links. Today, I spotted that the long awaited $900 million search deal has gone live, with a Google logo appearing on MySpace.com and every profile page. What's more, the Overture links have been replaced with the familiar Google search results, plus a sponsored result at the top.
Seattle-based Zoodango, which launches today, is a social networking site that helps you to connect with other professionals through local events and meetings at venues like Starbucks. The setup is your standard Friendster-style network: you can create a profile, add a picture and information about yourself, send messages, create and manage events and send your profile link to friends. The events system, however, isn't yet live - that's coming in January 2007.
Not content with building some very successful MySpace music players through his company Snocap, Napster founder Shawn Fanning is about to launch another new project in the social networking space: Rupture is a social site for online gamers that has already raised seed money from investors including Joi Ito and Ron Conway. More specifically, the plan is to focus on building a social network around World of Warcraft.
Meez, a service for creating 3D avatars and posting them to social networks, blogs and more, is announcing a set of changes today. First up, they've completely redesigned the site to appeal more to their core demographic of 13-22 year-olds - that means going black and pink, apparently. They've also made the avatars interactive: this motorbike character, for instance, can be rotated and zoomed.
Long before Wink debuted their Bebo, LinkedIn and MySpace search engine, Irish site Bigulo was offering a Bebo search tool for those too lazy to type "site:bebo.com" into Google. Actually, that's unfair, since Bigulo adds a lot of value: you can search for guys, girls or artists from Bebo Bands, as well narrowing your search based on age.
Deals.com, a social site created by Demand Media, has launched in beta (in fact, the site went live on Thanksgiving, but they've kept it on the down low while they build up activity on the site). Deals.com is, quite simply, Digg for deals - it lets users create a profile, submit deals on the site itself or via a bookmarklet, vote on deals, leave comments and track their Dealer Rank. It's simple, well-designed and could easily make money through ads and affiliate relationships.
AtLarge, a new CNET site that launched this week, might not look like much. The idea, however, is a good one: to help you stay connected at the airport. If you're traveling and need to find wifi hotspots, the availability of a 3G/GPRS signal or a place to charge up you mobile devices, AtLarge is ideal.
Pete's Note: I got seriously ill over the weekend, hence the lack of posts. I seem to be on the mend, so look out for some new stuff on Wednesday. ZingFu was reviewed here on Mashable in late August; about the time they rolled out changes to allow quick posting to MySpace. At the time ZingFu hadn’t taken off in a big way even though they’d been around since 2005.
Protopage, one of the most popular online startpages along with Netvibes and Pageflakes, is announcing version 3 to its users today. They're claiming 30 new features, including instant collaboration (share your pages with others), color coded tabs and categories, the ability to add audio and video podcasts, a news reader, the option to add cartoons like Dilbert to your page and much more.
Social networks are moving into the mobile space so fast that it's hard to keep up. Montreal-based wireless messaging company Oz is announcing today that they're taking a range of social networks mobile - Flickr, Bebo, MySpace, YouTube, Blogger and others. The launch is really aimed at cellphone companies and handset makers, and it's an extension of their existing services: offering mobile email and IM from MSN, AOL and Yahoo.
If you've been following the MySpace Layouts trend, you might already be familiar with Zwinky, a brand that seems to appear frequently on those sites. Yesterday, Zwinky launched officially and claimed more than 2 million unique users - not bad going when you consider that the service only began its beta in June. Zwinky is owned by IAC, most famous for its Ask.com property.
There are so many MySpace stories today that I thought I'd tackle them all at once. First up, MySpace will soon be available on Cingular phones. The news got out yesterday, with the press following up today. While the deal with Helio was a good first step towards mobilizing MySpace, a Cingular deal would open up the service to millions more MySpace addicts.
AOL launched a neat service for AIM users today: AIM Share allows you to share a URL or message with all your buddies at once by entering it on the site. The message appears in the Buddy Updates section of their IM client (presumably they need to be using AIM 6.0, and those using Trillian or Meebo won't get the message). Better still, there's a browser bookmarklet that lets you submit the page you're viewing, similar to those on del.icio.us or Digg.
Warped Tour, a social network for the music and extreme sports festival of the same name, is set for imminent shutdown, and the users aren't happy. A user discovered the shutdown plans earlier this week, and started a lengthy thread where users complain about the closure - the news was confirmed by sources tonight.
Google is partnering with British broadcaster BSkyB, licensing YouTube's video-sharing tools, as well as other Google technology like email and internet telephony, according to reports. The YouTube technology will be added to BSkyB's recently launched broadband internet service, allowing users to store and share their video clips. Even so, this will be seen as a rival to YouTube, writes CNN.
YNet news has the exclusive that Tel Aviv-based video sharing site Metacafe may be sold for $200 million. There were a few rumors involving Yahoo, but now YNet says talks with an unnamed company are in the "advanced stages". The site was founded in July 2003, and is now one of the world's most popular video sharing services - so far they've raised about $20 million from Benchmark Capital and Accel Partners, and they currently have 40 employees between their offices in Tel Aviv and Palo Alto.
YouTube dropped in yet another redesign last night - check out the new tabs, category pages, organizational structure, a contests section, multiple pages of comments, comment highlighting for the submitter and many more tweaks, including yet another minor update to the logo. Another feature that appears to be new: "QuickCapture" allows you to post straight to YouTube from your webcam, with no need for desktop software and editing tools.
It's been a busy day for social networking news, but unfortunately Mashable HQ is totally offline due to a less-than-reliable ISP. The stories I would have covered... MySpace Predator Law Proposed: You can expect to see this in the newspapers tomorrow - two US senators, one Republican and one Democrat, plan to introduce a bill in January that would require registered sex offenders to submit their email addresses to the authorities.
Columbus, Ohio-based Schoolfizz, which launched today, is easily summarized - it's Facebook plus Digg. Users create profile pages with a picture, and entering your school means that you can share stories with the whole world or just your fellow students. Stories are submitted on the site itself, and there doesn't seem to be a bookmarklet yet. You can also build a network of friends, explore stories by category and submit different types of media: photos, text, music and video clips.
Social music service uPlayMe was among the presenters at this week's NY Tech Meetup. Mashable contributor Kristen Nicole caught up with founder David Fishman in an interview. When Warner's Senior VP Dan Pelson and long-time business partner Bo Peabody asked David Fishman to head their latest online social network uPlayMe, he readily agreed to take on the duties necessary to launch the site, which matches people based on their music selections.
You know you're on a roll when you strike up a partnership with one of the world's biggest brands. Today, YouTube and Coca Cola are launching Holiday WishCast, a promotion that lets users send video greetings to their friends and family, and also features messages from the growing number of YouTube stars like Renetto (this makes you wonder whether these personalities are now getting paid as a result of their celebrity status - note that a few are actually gaming their stats).
Kelvin Beecroft is the head of Mashable Labs, which conducts unique research into social networks, particularly widgets and other social networking add-ons. You can request research through the consulting form. As the end of 2006 approaches, it’s clear that MySpace has spawned a cottage industry of sites supplying add-on content or media sharing services for profile owners. Many of these sites have seen phenomenal growth this year while at the same time questions loom around how to monetize.
Another presenter at this week's NYTech meetup (along with uPlayMe): Urbis is a new site that aims to combine social networking and creative writing like poetry and non-fiction. Later, they'll add art, music and film. The site was founded by Steve Spurgat, a playwright based in New York, and claims to have 12,000 members - 13 percent of those are considered "active". The idea is pretty simple: submit your writing and have it rated and reviewed by your peers.
Update (December 18th): The nominations for the social networking awards are now open - click here to visit the nominations page. Just a quick intro to say that Mashable is hosting a web-based "Social Networking Awards" competition over the coming weeks. The aims are pretty simple: remind ourselves of some of the excellent startups that launched this year, find your favorites and discover some up-and-coming social networks for 2007.
Takkle is one my favorite social networks for sport, having appeared on the radar back in August following its $1.12 million Series A funding round from Greycroft Partners (this was finally announced at the end of November).
A number of social networking services are up for sale at the moment. Two in particular - VideoCodeZone and Mojungle, are MySpace add-ons that have been covered extensively on Mashable. I think both of these startups are wise to get out of the market as soon as possible, for reasons I'll explain. VideoCodeZone, according to Mashable Labs, was the number three video site for MySpace users in September.
Dare Junkies is another new video sharing site that launches in limited beta on Tuesday and "full beta" on January 1st. To give them their due, however, they're trying to put a unique spin on the concept: users submit challenges and dares along the lines of the Jackass stunts, and others can respond and post a video of their antics. Contributors get paid, too: the top ten monthly videos (as voted for by users) will win a total of $5,000 in the first month and $7,500 in the second month.
