Posts Tagged ‘MySpace’

Justin Timberlake + Talent Show + Myspace = A Comeback?

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

Ever since Facebook took over…everything, MySpace has become the abandoned outlet mall of yesterday, the mighty hero that fell oh-so-far and sold for a measly $35 million. But Justin Timberlake, who ironically played a role in the Facebook movie “The Social Network”, hopes to revive the struggling website by using MySpace as a platform for an X-factor style talent competition.

“There’s a need for a place where fans can go to interact with their favorite entertainers, listen to music, watch videos, share and discover cool stuff and just connect.” says Timberlake, “Myspace has the potential to be that place….I’m excited to help revitalize Myspace by using its social media platform to bring artists and fans together in one community.”

When it comes to interactions between fans and entertainers I still believe Facebook is king. However, one thing that MySpace did have which Facebook lacks is the ability to really individualize ones page.

While this may have contributed to the slow load time of some profiles, it still allows that essential facet of branding for bands. In MySpace, entertainers can have their music automatically play in the background as well as change the overall look and feel of their page.

Timberlake’s manager Johnny Wright says, “We definitely want to bring the industry back to MySpace to really look at the talented people that have put their faces there.” Whether or not the talent show will be a singing competition like American Idol or an all out lollapalooza like America’s Got Talent is still something they are mulling over.

Can Myspace successfully brand itself as a hub for music and entertainment? Will a MySpace talent show restore the website to its former glory?

Tell us your thoughts!

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Articles | 3 Comments »

Officer Facebook on Duty – Law Enforcement Using Technology to Their Advantage

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

Police agencies are using technology and social media tools to make up for crippling budget cuts. The new techniques, which include working with private business groups online in real time,  are very different from the old policies of law enforcement that dictate that the public be kept in the dark about ongoing investigations.

The purpose of the new technique is to utilize the assets at hand as a means of making up for the loss of criminal justice officials as a result of budget cuts. Although controversial, technology is helping law enforcement locate violent crime suspects, track fugitives, and trace the paths of thieves by immediately posting surveillance pictures of suspects on sites like Facebook. This not only utilizes the aid of the public and participating businesses, but it has the ability to warn possible future targets of the suspects, ideally preventing repeat offenders.

Cities in New Mexico, California, Georgia, Minnesota, and Washington are among the police agencies supplementing technology for jobs. “Technology can never fully replace an officer,” said Camden, N.J. Police Chief Scott Thomson, “We’re just trying to leverage technology to appear bigger than we are.”

Camden had the highest crime rate in the U.S. in 2008 with a total of 2,333 violent crimes per 100,000 people (which is well above the national average of 455 per 100,000). As the most dangerous city in the U.S. in 2004, 2005, and 2009, the Camden police department, among others, needs to make use of whatever resources available, especially considering the fact that the 250-officer department has nearly been cut in half since 2006.

Fortunately, Camden police officers have been able to use online global positioning systems, gunshot detectors, and closed-circuit cameras to detect and monitor crime ridden areas of the city in order to dispatch the remaining officers more efficiently.

A survey by the Police Executive Research Forum in Washington found that 86% of police agencies currently use social media (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, or YouTube) to monitor crime, despite finding that some employees have been caught using the sites to send and post “inappropriate messages and pictures”. It seems that police agencies have weighed the costs and benefits of using such social media tools and technology and found that the benefits of preventing and acting on crimes outweigh the misuse of Facebook.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Articles | No Comments »

Twitter Ad Revenues Could Triple This Year, Report Says

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

Twitter is expected to triple its advertising revenue this year according to a report from eMarketer.

The social networking site is expected to bring in $150 million in ad revenue this year, up from $45 million in 2010.

Last year, Twitter debuted ad services in the form of Promoted Tweets, Trends and Accounts.

Promoted Tweets allow for a brand to pay to appear in user feeds after a user searches a specific keyword. Promoted Trends take a paid-for trend and promotes it with other trends. Promoted Accounts highlight brands or companies for users to follow.

Twitter has a long way to go to reach storied heights of rival Facebook, which brought in $1.86 billion in ad dollars last year and could reach just over $4 billion this year, according to the eMarketer projections.

Meanwhile, eMarketer’s report does foresee Twitter overtaking Myspace for the number two slot by 2012.

Optimism about Twitter’s potential in advertising is further aided by studies that have shown only about 8% of American internet users currently use Twitter.

While Twitter is a pop culture phenomenon, there is obviously a lot of room to grow when it comes to the user base in the states. Any growth from that 8% would help bring more advertisers on board, one would imagine.

The same goes for ad revenue outside of the states, in which eMarketer penciled in a big fat zero for 2010. Figuring there is no other way to go but up, They projected $11 million in ad dollars to be brought in from non-U.S. advertisers.

If Twitter can grow in those areas and get something out of its self-serve ad platform this year, then Twitter should have no problem meeting or exceeding these great expectations.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Articles | 1 Comment »

Social Networking for Fun and Profit Pioneered by Search Engine eZanga

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

MIDDLETOWN, DE – OBSNewswire.com – In an era where millions upon millions of internet users spend hours on social networks like Facebook and MySpace it is refreshing to know that at least one website devoted to social networking is committed to giving back financially to its user base.

Social networking website HopOnThis.com is committed to helping its users connect with each other and earn money in the process. Basically, the more members interact within the social network by making referrals or just by using the parent company’s meta search engine, eZanga, the more stuff they can earn including cash and cool stuff like iPods and other gadgets like Wii systems.

eZanga operates a premier ‘meta’ search engine at www.ezanga.com. Their experience in aggregating best of breed search results from across the web’s multitude of search engines earned them a loyal following of fans and repeat customers.

CEO Richard Kahn of eZanga.com stressed that his company has been giving away cash and prizes to users of his search engine for many years in addition to giving them what they want in terms of search results. “We’re also honored that our regular web searchers were the ones who insisted we incorporate a social network on our site so they could share us with their friends and family. It kinda blew us away.”

Kahn apparently listened to his customers and reports that his initial subscriber base of about 25,000 people to his first generation social network has expanded well beyond 150,000 since the new version debuted after beta testing on November 1, 2008.

Kahn is also known as a search engine marketing expert and his company also offers innovative SEM consulting services. He points to his company’s focus on preventing click fraud via real time monitoring for ads on his own pay per click marketing services next to his search results. eZanga also works as a search engine marketing consultant to help businesses spend money and monitor their ROI on other major search engines pay per click advertising campaigns.

SOURCE: OBSNews

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Our News | No Comments »

A New Twist on Social Networking: Cash and Prizes for Active Users of Meta Search Engine eZanga.com

Monday, October 20th, 2008

A New Twist on Social Networking:  Cash and Prizes for Active Users of Meta Search Engine eZanga.com

NEW YORK – OBSNews.com – Social networking is big news across America and the globe with companies like Facebook and MySpace gaining millions of users and significant media publicity.  With the goal of helping users create community among their online peers, social network sites usually give free tools and resources to users to encourage them to spend more time on a given website.

Internet users have flocked to these sites to connect to and communicate with their network of friends and acquaintances.  The business model for many of these social network sites is an advertising-supported model that banks on user eyeballs.  But many web devotees suggest that free services alone may not be enough to get people to stay loyal to a network.

One company that is launching a greatly expanded version of its existing loyalty rewards program based on compensating users for interacting with the site, is the ‘meta’ search engine eZanga.com (http://www.eZanga.com).  eZanga.com’s CEO, Rich Kahn, said his company has always rewarded registered users of its search engine with things like cash giveaways, free Wii and Xbox systems, and free iPods.  Kahn’s company has given away an estimated “$100,000 in cash and prizes” over the past five years to users and indicated that his site is very popular with devotees of internet contests, sweepstakes, and giveaways.

Expansion into a social network that pays

eZanga has upgraded its platform to a complete social network and calls it HopOnThis.com (http://www.HopOnThis.com).  The new social network highlights the company’s popular frog mascot theme.  Members can interact with family and friends to share pictures and videos as well as meet new people.  Active members are rewarded with points that can later be redeemed for upgrade features and free prizes.

Some ways users earn points include:  referring friends to the network, creating and updating to a blog, and sending friends comments, pictures, videos, and the like.

Once a user has generated enough points they can go to the “Prize Closet” and redeem points for cash, free downloads, gift cards, and entries into monthly drawings.  Companies seeking exposure for their products are encouraged to contact HopOnThis.com to provide prizes to the network in exchange for free advertising on the site.

SOURCE: OBSNews.com

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Articles, Our News, Press Releases | 1 Comment »