09-08-2012 13:04 President Barack Obama highlighted his support for tax credits for wind energy manufacturers in Colorado and other states. Obama says 37000 jobs are at risk if the credit is allowed to expire at the end of the year. (Aug. 9)
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Obama: Wind Energy Tax Credit Supports Jobs - Video
Summary: Social networking giant needs to better educate local marketers on benefits of both online and mobile ads through physical relationships to better monetize markets.
Social networking giant has successfully monetized in the emerging markets of Asia through social games, however, it now needs to focus on pushing advertising to marketers in the region.
Audrey Heng, market analyst for emerging technology at IDC Asia-Pacific, pointed out that Facebook had successfully monetized its social games business in Asia's emerging markets. "Social gamesare easy to learn and quick to play that are able attract new gamers and new internet users in these developing markets," she noted.
However, social games are only one aspect of monetization and the social network will need to address advertisements, said Heng. "Both online and mobile advertising remain low particularly in developing markets where traditional marketing continues to dominate," she said.
While users in the developing markets of Asia tend to stay connected online using their mobile phones rather than the desktop, Heng noted that the mobile platform and services only started to develop in the recent two years.
Many Web sites were designed for desktop browsing and this was replicated for access on mobile phones, she said. "Only recently in the past year, more emphasis was made to design a separate mobile Web site that was user friendly and considered the mobile's smaller screen size and capabilities," Heng added.
Challenges monetizing mobile This is why it is "not surprising" that Facebook is facing challenges in monetization of mobile, she noted.
However, the social networking giant has been "aggressively" investing in mobile monetization strategies, such as by acquiring mobile apps such as Instagram and introducing advertising solutions like sponsored stories and App Centre, Heng noted.
Tackling monetization on the mobile platform is not a problem specific to Facebook. China's top social network Renren also saw its user base shifting from desktop to mobile.
In its second quarter results announcement Tuesday, Renren chaiman and CEO Joseph Chen noted that its strategy remains focused on mobile opportunities and will experiment on different monetization models such as mobile games, mobile advertising and mobile group-buying.
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Personal relationships key to Facebook's Asia advertising success
MANILA, Philippines Months after Friendster was relaunched as a social discovery and gaming platform, Multiply announced that it will shut down its social networking and content sharing services to shift its focus to online shopping.
In an announcement posted on the website, Multiply chief executive officer Stefan Magdalinski said users will no longer be able to share photos, videos and blogs starting December 1.
Magdalinski believes that other websites will do a better job serving you than we can.
Facebook currently leads the pack in the social media race with over 900 million followers.
From December 1st, we will unfortunately no longer be able to support Multiply in its current form notably we will be removing the social networking and content sharing part of Multiply (photos, videos, blogs, social messaging, etc.). We have decided to discontinue providing and hosting these services, as we have concluded that other Internet sites who are committed to social networking services will do a better job serving you than we can.
For our existing users of social networking features, we will be providing easy ways for you to either download your stuff (photos, blogs, content, etc.), or migrate it to other online services. Well announce the precise details shortly. It will be your choice whether to download, migrate or just let your content lapse (and get deleted).
For our existing commerce users (both buyers and sellers) in Indonesia and the Philippines, there will be no action required.
Magdalinski said Multiply will now focus on improving its online shopping capability, citing its 350 million consumers in Indonesia and the Philippines.
I suspect that many of you will not like the news, and I am sorry to have to deliver it now. I hope that you will be able to understand the reasons for our decision and thank you for being a part of the Multiply community over the past eight years, he said.
Social networking pioneer Friendster discontinued its services in 2009 as it lost ground to Facebook. The website instead focused on allowing users to play games and earn points to buy virtual goods.
Time to transfer those photos and videos.
Mutliply.com announced on Thursday that it will stop its social networking functions in December, choosing to focus instead on its electronic commerce operations in Indonesia and the Philippines.
From December 1st, we will unfortunately no longer be able to support Multiply in its current form - notably we will be removing the social networking and content sharing part of Multiply (photos, videos, blogs, social messaging, etc.), Stefan Magdalinski, chief executive officer at Multiply Global, said in a statement posted on its website.
With the rise of Facebook as the dominant player in the social networking arena, Multiply had sought to differentiate itself from competitors by highlighting itself as the social shopping hub for online marketers.
For our existing users of social networking features, we will be providing easy ways for you to either download your stuff (photos, blogs, content, etc), or migrate it to other online services, he noted, saying that they will announce the file migration details soon.
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Multiply.com quits social networking
Published: Aug. 8, 2012 at 6:00 PM
NEW YORK, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Social networking is quickly making the jump to mobile as more U.S. smartphone users turn to their devices to check social Web sites, a research study found.
By the end of this year, nearly 82 million U.S. mobile users -- more than a quarter of the country's mobile population -- are expected to use a social networking site on their phone at least monthly, research firm eMarketer reported.
By 2014, eMarketer estimates, nearly half of the total U.S. mobile population will be mobile social networkers.
Facebook is leading the way as nearly 70 million people will access the site from their phones each month this year, the study found.
By 2014 about four in 10 mobile users and nearly two-thirds of smartphone users will check Facebook on mobile devices, eMarketer said.
The study was based on the analysis of survey and traffic data from research firms and regulatory agencies, historical trends, company-specific data, and demographic and socioeconomic factors, the firm said.
Excerpt from:
Social networking said going more mobile