We’ve had some close calls here in our ongoing Faceoff Series, but this week’s was certainly not one of them. Each week we put two web services, companies or pieces of software side by side and ask you which of the two would win in a knockdown, drag out fight. This week we pitted Google against Bingfor the Best Search Engine crown, and the victory was decisive. Much like last week’s matchup when Verizon trounced AT&Tin a battle of cell carriers, this week saw a clear winner emerge once again. Out of almost 3000 votes, the unsurprising victor was……Google with a full 78% of the vote. That’s 2180 votes to Bing’s 519, relegating it to a distant 2nd place at 19%. A slim 3% tie vote at 97 fence-sitters rounded out this week’s head to head brawl.Check out the full list of winners in the Faceoff series listed below. We’ll keep the series rolling starting again on Monday, so be sure to tune in. Who do you think we should match up in a future edition? Web Faceoff: Overall ResultsWeek 1:- Mozilla Firefox vs. Google Chrome- WINNER: Firefox, 4600 votes (Chrome: 3310 votes, Tie: 911 votes)Week 2:- Tumblr vs. Posterous- WINNER: Tumblr, 1809 votes (Posterous: 1496 votes, Tie: 256 votes)Week 3:- Pandora vs. Last.fm- WINNER: Last.fm, 1187 votes (Pandora: 1156 votes, Tie: 122 votes)Week 4:- Twitter vs. Facebook- WINNER: Facebook, 2484 votes (Twitter: 2061 votes, Tie: 588 votes)Week 5:- WordPress vs. Typepad- WINNER: WordPress, 2714 votes (Typepad: 267 votes, Tie: 357 votes)Week 6:- Windows 7 vs. Snow Leopard- WINNER: Windows 7, 3632 votes (Snow Leopard: 3278 votes, Tie: 121 votes)Week 7:- TweetDeck vs. Seesmic Desktop- WINNER: TweetDeck, 3294 votes (Seesmic Desktop: 1055 votes, Tie: 260 votes)Week 8:- Microsoft Office vs. Google Docs- WINNER: Microsoft Office, 1365 votes (Google Docs: 994 votes, Tie: 315 votes)Week 9:- Apple iPhone vs. Google Android- WINNER: Google Android, 3323 votes (Apple iPhone: 1494 votes, Tie: 228 votes)Week 10:- AT&T vs. Verizon- WINNER: Verizon, 1161 votes (AT&T: 538 votes, Tie: 118 votes)Week 11:- Google vs. Bing- WINNER: Google, 2180 votes (Bing: 519 votes, Tie: 97 votes)Reviews: Bing, Chrome, Facebook, Firefox, Google, Google Chrome, Google Docs, Mozilla Firefox, Pandora, Posterous, Seesmic Desktop, Tumblr, TweetDeck, Twitter, TypePad, WordPressTags: bing, Google, microsoft, poll, Search, web faceoff
As of today, Digg is five years old. Think about that: that’s around 1825 days of story submissions, front page wrangling, and explosive growth. Hell, Digg is older than Twitterand YouTube. Now that we’ve had half a decade to digg and be dugg, it seems like a perfect time to reflect on Digg’s history, growth, and struggles. While there are many events that shaped the character of the social bookmarking site, five events across five different years stood out to us as pivotal moments in Digg’s history.Below is a recounting of some of the company’s major turning points, from its birth in 2004 to its struggle to become profitable this year. Here are five of the biggest milestones in Digg’s history:1. Digg’s LaunchYou can’t start a list like this without recognizing how it all began. In November of 2004, founder Kevin Rose (former host on TechTV), along with Owen Byrne (original developer), Ron Gorodetsky, and Jay Adelson (now Digg’s CEO) helped get Digg off the ground. On December 4th, 2004, it launched to the public with less than 1000 users.Back then, it was simple, ad-free, and focused on tech, but it was the birth of a social media juggernaut.2. DiggnationOn July 1, 2005, Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht (Kevin’s previous co-host on TechTV’s The Screen Savers), started a video podcast centered around what was popular on Digg. It was one of the first three shows to launch on a new Internet video network called Revision3. That show was Diggnation, and it quickly grew with the help of loyal diggers into one of the largest and most popular video podcasts around. It helped push Digg and its brand to new audiences while acting as the flagship program for Revision3 at the same time.Diggnation’s impact on the Digg brand and its community has been tremendous, although it hasn’t helped push Digg into the mainstream consciousness. Still, 231 episodes later, Diggnation has been a big success.3. Launch of Digg 3.0The social bookmarking website has gone through several iterations, but perhaps the most important one of them all was when Digg 3.0 launchedon June 26th, 2006.What was so special about Digg Version 3? It was when Digg launched topics and categories, expanding it beyond its technology base. Politics, gaming, business, science, and all of its various verticals have successfully grown and helped Digg exceed its technology roots, although it is still the core that holds the Digg community together.4. Digg DRM RevoltWhile it’s always been known that Digg and its users have a lot of influence across the web, it was made clear to everybody in dramatic fashion on May 1st, 2007.A group of hackers successfully found a way to crack the Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection of the now-defunct HD-DVD standard. With the encryption cracked, Digg’s users posted the code and instructions on how to copy and crack HD-DVDsDigg itself was worried that the cracked keys would result in lawsuits and cease and desist orders. Thus, they decided to delete articles referencing it and, in a blog post, stated that “In order for Digg to survive, it must abide by the law.”That’s when Digg went out of control. Its users flooded the entire website with nothing but the HD-DVD crack or anti-Digg submissions. Digg couldn’t keep up. Eventually Kevin Rose stepped in and conceded to the community’s wishes. From his blog post.“But now, after seeing hundreds of stories and reading thousands of comments, you’ve made it clear. You’d rather see Digg go down fighting than bow down to a bigger company. We hear you, and effective immediately we won’t delete stories or comments containing the code and will deal with whatever the consequences might be.”It was on this day that Digg proved its power and really caught the attentionof the mainstream media.5. Digg AdsAt the beginning of this year, Digg was in crisis mode. It laid off 10% of its staffand focused on getting profitable after it was revealed that the company made only made $6.4 million in the first nine months of 2009.Digg had a plan, however. In June, the company revealed Digg Ads, a new system of advertising where users would control how much advertisers pay for ad space on the homepage of Digg and elsewhere. They officially launched on August 6th. It’s too early to tell how successful Digg Ads will eventually be, but so far, the future of Digg Ads (and Digg itself) look bright.Reviews: DiggTags: digg, diggnation
This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark.Name: FlickchartQuick Pitch: Flickchart is a social network for film lovers to rate, compare and share their favorite films through a unique game-like one versus one mechanism.Genius Idea: If you’re a movie lover, or even just someone who watches the occasional film, Flickchart is a unique take on rating and socializing your favorite movies. The site shows you two movies at a time and prompts you to pick which one you liked better; if you haven’t seen one or either film just click a button to indicate that and get new choices.Over time, Flickchart builds a prioritized list of your favorite movies. It uses the aggregate data from all its users to create charts of the most popular films that you can then break down with all sorts of filters including genre, year or decade, actors, directors and by other users. You can also leave comments on any of your comparisons and share films and lists with your friends on Facebook and FriendFeed.Users can also check out the aggregate stats about individual films, and going in discussions about particular matchups conveniently organized by popularity so you can find the hottest current topics easily. The site also keeps track of the films you’ve marked as “haven’t seen,” which can create a nice “to watch” list for movie buffs.Flickchart is a fun and compelling site for movie lovers thanks to its simple, game-like premise that’s rather addictive. The rankings and charts it builds for you personally and for the userbase as a whole over time are an interesting and useful data set for people who enjoy film. With an easy to use interface that generates decent utility through enjoyable interactivity, Flickchart is well worth a spin for movie buffs who enjoy a web-based social experience surrounding film.Spark of Genius Series Sponsored by Microsoft BizSparkBizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.Entrepreneurs can take advantage of the Azure Services platformfor their website hosting and storage needs. Microsoft recently announced the “new CloudApp()” contest– use the Azure Services Platform for hosting your .NET or PHP app, and you could be the lucky winner of a USD 5000* (please see website for official rules and guidelines).”Reviews: Facebook, Flickchart, FriendFeed, PHPTags: bizspark, Film, flickchart, Movies, social networking
The Microsoft-Yahoo search and advertising deal, first announced back in July, has just been finalized by the two companies. Back in October, it was revealed that details were still being mulled over because of the deal’s complexity, but this afternoon, the companies put out a statement to let the world know that the deal is now complete.Here’s the statement:Yahoo!Inc. and MicrosoftCorporation today announced that the companies have finalized and executed the definitive Search and Advertising Services and Sales Agreement and License Agreement in accordance with the letter agreement announced in July.The companies released the following joint statement:“Microsoft and Yahoo! believe that this deal will create a sustainable and more compelling alternative in search that can provide consumers, advertisers and publishers real choice, better value, and more innovation.“Yahoo! and Microsoft welcome the broad support the deal has received from key players in the advertising industry and remain hopeful that the closing of the transaction can occur in early 2010.” Now, we wait for Bing to become Yahoo’s search engine, a process that likely won’t be finished until late next year, but will have major implications on the search landscape once complete.Reviews: Bing, Yahoo!Tags: bing, microsoft, Yahoo
It’s no secret that Android and iPhone are something of mortal enemies — just take a look at any of the Droid adscurrently hitting TV screens across the country. Well, imagine a world in which the makers of Android — Google— kicked up their battle plan a notch, drawing upon the arsenal of dirtthat the search engine has cached on its users to blackmail us all into ditching our iPhones in favor of Motorola’s myTouch. College Humorhas imagined such a world, which they have hilariously rendered in the video after the jump.That’ll make you think twice for sexting, huh?Reviews: Android, GoogleTags: andoid, college humor, droid, Google, iphone
Do you remember Friendster? Several years ago, it was one of the hottest startups and social networks around, long before MySpaceor Facebookhit the scene. Google even tried to acquire it back in 2003. But while it’s on the decline in the western world, it’s a powerful force in Asia, where it is one of the most popular Web sitesin nations such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Indonesia.According to Reuters, the social network is not only moving to lock in its Asian audience, but it’s about to get a new Asian owner as well. Fresh off a redesignaimed at its Asian userbase, Friendster will be sold by the end of the year to an Asian buyer for an amount north of $100 million.The company, which has been private since its inception in 2002, was founded by programmer Jonathan Abrams and received investments from several venture capital firms totaling around $50 million. Now it’s led by CEO Richard Kimber, a former director of Google’s South Asian affairs. It’s no surprise to us that Friendster’s focus on the Asian market would eventually result in an Asian owner. Friendster, while mostly ridiculed and forgotten in the U.S., is still one of the world’s largest Web sites and has room to grow within Asia. Considering its rapid decline in the U.S., Friendster could have done a lot worse.Did you use Friendster back in the day or are you a current user? We want to hear your Friendster stories (or ridicule) in the comments.Reviews: FriendsterTags: asia, friendster
Happy Friday, folks! That means it’s time once again for the weekly Lunchtime Poll! Last time we asked about your favorite video sharing sites — be sure to check out the results of Mashable readers’ video sharing favoritesto get caught up. This time we want to know about your favorite blogging platforms: What do you use when 140 characters or a short status update aren’t quite enough? Head on past the break to find out the Mashable staff favorites, then let us know your choice in the comments (and why).What’s your favorite blogging platform?Mashable FavesAdam Ostrow: For personal use: Posterous, for professional: WordPress.Jennifer Van Grove: Posterous: The super simple platform makes it possible for me to maintain fresh content with little to no effort… Ironically, I’ve found that my Posterous posts are seeing impressive page views. Consistency and frequency is the play, and Posterous makes that possible.Brenna Ehrlich: Tumblr: I like being able to interact with my readers, who frequently reblog my posts and pass them ’round the Web. I get a ton of traffic from Tumblr alone.Christina Warren: Long-form: WordPress, even though I think it is mediocre at anything other than blogging (CMS it isn’t). Short-form: Tumblr.Tamar Weinberg: WordPress!Matt Silverman: Bloggerfor me, despite its faults. I like to keep things within one Googleusername as much as possible.Josh Catone: WordPress for long posts, Tumblr for fleeting thoughts. Ben Parr: WordPress, then Posterous. Drupal is better for more complicated CMS tasks, though.Barb Dybwad: I love the simplicity and community baked into Tumblr, but also the customization and full-featured power of WordPress.Image courtesy of iStockphoto, ericsphotographyReviews: Drupal, Google, Mashable, Posterous, Tumblr, WordPress, blogger, iStockphotoTags: blogger, blogging, blogging platforms, lunchtime poll, poll, posterous, tumblr, Wordpress
Jessica Faye Carteris an award-winning author and columnist. Her company, Nette Mediadevelops social media technologies for women and multicultural communities, and she blogs at Technicultr.With over 50 million users, LinkedIn continues to be among the most popular social networking sites for business professionals, offering a variety of features for its users. One such feature, Groups, allows members the opportunity to create and manage groups focused on a wide range of business-related subjects, and some of the largest groups have hundreds of thousands of members and rival many niche social networks outside of LinkedInin terms of size and activity. Groups offer valuable networking opportunities for their participants, who gain access to resources and information that can be beneficial for their careers. If you are considering starting a LinkedIn group or want to increase the effectiveness or reach of your current group, the 8 tips below can help.1. Use a Personal TouchLinkedInprovides a wide range of tools that allow you to stay connected with your members in ways that feel personal. The Templates feature allows you to provide automatic responses to new members, and even to those requesting to join your group. It’s an easy way to envelope new members into your community. But you don’t have to limit yourself to early interactions. Most members would be pleased to receive a note congratulating them on an accomplishment, or to read your comment on a discussion topic they started. As Dharmesh Shah, co-founder and CTO of HubSpotobserves, “LinkedIn groups are all about community and bringing people with common interests together.” He should know: his group, OnStartups, is the fourth-largest on LinkedIn with a membership that exceeds 113,000.2. Lay Some Ground RulesEstablishing posting guidelines and displaying them prominently (in a featured discussion) is an easy way to help new members get acquainted with your group. Such guidelines generally provide users with community contacts, encourage them to post information in appropriate sections, and specify conduct that can get them banned (spam or attacking other group members, for example). Making everyone aware of the rules also gives you a reference point when you have to handle a difficult situation with a member.3. Praise the Good, Deal with the BadEncourage member participation by praising and highlighting valuable contributions to the group. This incentivizes others to share their content and engage. If you encounter negative or counterproductive behavior from a member, it’s important to be professional and civil. Should it become necessary to issue a warning, handle the matter privately. Apart from unusually egregious behavior or spam, it’s also a good idea to give a member a warning or two before banning them from the group. Ultimately, it’s up to you to use your best judgment.4. Help Your Members Promote ThemselvesOne of the biggest complaints about LinkedIn Groups is the number of people who join simply to promote themselves or their business — and then hijack the group discussion boards to do so. They usually aren’t interested in engaging with others and can have a negative impact on your community. One way to manage these bombarders is by designating a place, like a Subgroup, for group members to promote their service offerings. Subgroups are automatically available toall of your group members and are easy to set up. Highlighting this promotional opportunity satisfies those who want to self-promote and keeps your discussion boards open for business. You can also feature members in other ways, such as in your occasional emails to the group membership or in a featured discussion that you update regularly.5. Add Some News FeedsTo keep a steady stream of content available for members to discuss, use the “Manage news feeds” feature to add the RSS feeds for your blog or other blogs to the News section. The posts will then become automatically available to the members of your group for reading and discussion. Of course, you don’t want to flood the boards with self-promotion, so if you aren’t getting enough news inputs from your users, you may want to remove the feed and update the news section with a variety of content manually.6. Facilitate Connections Outside of LinkedInIt’s natural for members to seek to make non-LinkedIn connections after being active in your group for awhile. You can offer a range of options to help your members engage elsewhere on the Internet or offline.Women 2.0, an organization for women entrepreneurs in technology, has a LinkedIn group founded by Angie Chang with over 18,000 members. This group provides numerous opportunities for members to connect apart from the group. Members can share their Twitter handles in a featured discussion, or participate in a Women 2.0 Startup Essentials Workshop for face-to-face interaction. Depending on the size of your group, you might consider starting a Meetupgroup for local interaction, hosting a webinar, or arranging a dinner or meeting at an industry conference or event.7. Take a PollUse LinkedIn’s Polls applicationto get feedback from your members on group features and functionality. Create a free poll and then highlight it in your group, either by linking to it on the discussion boards or by submitting the poll’s URL to your News section. Be careful; if you make the poll available in the general directory, your responses won’t be limited to group members — anyone on LinkedIn can respond.8. Promote Your GroupThe sheer size of LinkedIn means that your group is likely to get some members without much effort on your part. But this shouldn’t be an incentive to neglect promotional tools. Some of the strategies you can use to promote your group include low-hanging fruit like inviting others in your network to join, encouraging members to invite their colleagues, and by highlighting your group to other, non-competing groups (LinkedIn members can belong to up to 40 groups simultaneously).Shah took his group to the next level by promoting it on his standalone OnStartupsblog as a static link, as well as in specific articles. He issued this call to action to potential members: “Are you passionate about startups? Then, connect with other like minded people in the LinkedIn OnStartups group”. He even created a custom URL (http://linkedin.onstartups.com) that was co-branded, catchy, easy to remember, and short enough to fit on Twitter.Do you have any best practices for managing LinkedIn groups? Share your ideas in the comments.More small business resources from Mashable:- Top Mobile Productivity Tools for the Small Business- HOW TO: Choose a News Reader for Keeping Tabs on Your Industry- 5 Advanced Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses- 4 Ways Social Media is Changing Business- HOW TO: Use Twitter Hashtags for BusinessReviews: LinkedIn, Twitter, newsTags: business, groups, linkedin, List, Lists
Update: Both The New York Timesand The Wall Street Journal’s AllThingsDreport that this is a done deal.This is still officially in rumor status at this point, but reportedly two independent sources told CNet that Apple is close to acquiring Lala, a streaming digital music service and storefront. The insiders say the deal is very close to being done, with terms already agreed upon and only pending a final sign-off.One of Lala’s unique features is the ability to upload songs from your music collection to their company cloud, providing not only a convenient backup source but also access to your library from mobile devices. You can also buy streaming-only Web albums rather cheaply, another relatively unique offering in the crowded online music space. Assuming this deal becomes reality, signs point to Apple looking at providing some sort of streaming service to users, perhaps with a cloud storage component for music collections.Plus, with the music subscription space heating up once again thanks to the recent MOG All-Access launchand (hopefully) impending Spotify U.S. launch, perhaps Apple is eying an additional music model to expand the reach of its iTunes business. Although iTunes is currently the largest music store and a huge money-maker from digital download sales, the landscape of music online is certainly shifting — MySpace’s recent acquisitions of iLikeand imeem, along with Google’s deal to provide streaming music in search results, point to a shift in how users expect to access music on the Web.It would make sense that Apple wants to get in on that trend. Some incorporation of streaming functionality courtesy of Lala’s technology would make sense given the current climate.What do you think Apple will do with Lala if the acquisition goes through?Reviews: Ilike, MySpace, Spotify, imeemTags: apple, Google, ilike, imeem, Lala, music, myspace, online music, streaming
It’s been rumored that archenemies MySpace and Facebook have turned friendlyin recent months, discussing the possibility that MySpaceusers might actually be able to sign into the social network using FacebookConnect. Now, a more detailed reportfrom the blog Inside Facebook says that this will become reality “in the first part of 2010.” According to their sources, MySpace is thinking along the same lines as Yahoo, who earlier this week announced major Facebook integrationacross many of its services. That thinking could essentially be summarized with the old proverb: If you can’t beat them, join them.For MySpace’s purposes, that hypothetically would mean users accessing the site with their Facebook credentials, and then sharing back the increasing amount of exclusive entertainment type contentthat the site has been acquiring to their Facebook friends. In turn, MySpace gets more traffic that it can sell to advertisers, but ultimately cedes the race to be the Web’s social identity provider.That space is seemingly a war that will be waged between Facebook and Google. The latter just launched integration with Twitterearlier this week, that allows users to sign into Google Friend Connect — its Facebook Connect rival — with Twitter. Maybe social identity ultimately won’t be that complicatedafter all. Reviews: Facebook, Google, MySpace, Twitter, Yahoo!, google friend connectTags: facebook, facebook connect, Google, myspace, social networking
Google’s been on an acquisition spree recently. In the last few months alone, it’s acquired ReCaptcha(for scanning books), AdMob(for mobile advertising), On2 Technologies(for video compression) and Teracent(for targeted display ads).Now you can add a fifth acquisition to that list. Googlehas just acquired AppJet, the creators of the real-time collaboration word processor EtherPad. In AppJet’s announcement, the company revealed that its product and its staff will become part of the Google Wave team.The actual EtherPad service will stay up for another four months, until the end of March 2010. After that, it will shut down, as the team will focus on Google Wave.We’ll have more details and thoughts on this acquisition soon.Reviews: EtherPad, Google, Google WaveTags: etherpad, Google, Google Wave
Thanks to this week’s advertisers and partners for enabling us to bring you the latest social media news and resources. Mashable’s sponsors are as social media savvy as our readers!Advertise with us and get noticed.Help us to help you. Mashable is seeking out site sponsors for our large, diverse audience — social media users, venture capitalists, early adopters, developers, bloggers, and many more. You’ll receive hundreds of thousands of views a day in addition to weekly recognition to thank you as our premium sponsors. Are you interested? Contact usfor more information and to receive our media kit and rate card.This week, our valued sponsors are PowerPay, The NY Times Reader 2.0, MOTOBLUR, Conduit, Clickatell, Influxis, EdgeCast, Microsoft BizSpark, MailChimp, Sun Startup Essentials, and Eventbrite.PowerPayis a registered Visa/Mastercard payment processor offering the most powerful all-in-one merchant account solution in the industry. Each of our merchants and partners are given VIP service by a dedicated relationship manager at the corporate level. This means you do NOT bounce around in a phone queue when you could be spending your time building your business. This philosophy has contributed to our reputation as the leader in online payment processing. Click hereto find out how you can get started today!”Times Reader 2.0, powered by Adobe AIR, is a downloadable software application offering a digital experience of The Times that’s very much like reading the printed newspaper. Whether you’re using Windows, Mac OS or Linux, Times Reader gives you everything you’d expect from The New York Times in print, delivered to your computer in less than a minute. After you’ve synched, no Internet connection is needed, so you can take the most insightful journalism with you wherever you go.MOTOBLURfrom Motorola was built expressly for the way people communicate today. It’s the only service that automatically delivers and organizes your conversations, contacts and content from all your favorite sites and sources in easy-to-manage streams. Whether it’s Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, text messages, Gmail or work e-mail, MOTOBLUR keeps track of it all and serves it up on a customizable home screen and integrates it through the phone. Plus, with MOTOBLUR you have peace of mind, because all of your info is backed up and secure. Discover MOTOBLUR on Motorola CLIQ available at T-Mobile. It’s time to spend less time managing life and more time living it.Clickatelloffers mobile social networks the opportunity to measure their return on investment: Not only does Clickatell offer an Interactive Campaign Manager tool that allows you to monitor and intervene in your customer campaigns in real time, it also generates and manages database integration and comes with additional marketing tools. Track the delivery status of your text messages and the responses; take the guesswork out of campaigning. Your valuable messages will always be delivered as our products allow for message escalation to alternative delivery gateways. Social networks are also, through the account management package, given control over network channels and connectivity options. All necessary tasks have been automated and our central interface allows you to manage multiple connections and projects at the same time.Which leading social networking companies have chosen Clickatell as a mobile messaging partner? Read our success stories here. The Conduit On-Demand Marketing Platformoffers web publishers of all sizes various solutions, including creating and publishing a branded community toolbar, sending your community desktop alerts, sharing and distributing content from the Conduit Marketplace, and much more. The platform is free, easy-to-use and very powerful, and is available for Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari browsers. Anything you can put on a website can also be deployed on a community toolbar and offered to your users wherever they are on the web, including: your logo, content, gadgets, feeds, social media tools, chat windows, games, services, links, and more. Every community toolbar also comes complete with a search-box powered by Google, to ensure your users have easy access to the most popular search on the web. Click herefor more information on how to set up your own community toolbar, send desktop alerts, and find cool content and gadgets – for FREE!Influxisis an official Adobe hosting partner and resource for the Adobe Flash Media Interactive Server. Influxis provides Flash hosting plans for all levels of use – beginner to enterprise. With a reputation for exceptional customer service, Influxis provides an extremely reliable international network of FMS servers in the U.S., U.K., and Germany.EdgeCast Networksoffers a superior, cost-effective, global content delivery service that gives our customers competitive advantage in the delivery of digital media. Our world-class content delivery platform provides customers the cost benefits and flexibility of controlling their own content delivery network while liberating them from ISP contracts, capital investments and operational hassles.BizSparkis a program which offers new software businesses and entrepreneurs access to Microsoft design, development, and production tools with no upfront costs for up to three years. Members can also connect with a nationwide community of Network Partners – investors, incubators, service providers, and entrepreneurial organizations – who are keen to help.For more information, or to connect with a Microsoft BizSpark advisor, please visit MicrosoftStartupZone.com/BizSpark.MailChimpis a powerful, easy-to-use email marketing service. You design, me deliver.If you’re working for a startup, Sun can help you get it off the ground fast. We created the fee-free Sun Startup Essentials program offering deep discounts on industry leading, power efficient systems and storage products, optimized open-source software, massively scalable Web hosting services, plus free visibility via Sun’s co-marketing engine. It’s time to build your business on the kind of infrastructure that can scale right along with the skyrocketing demands of success. Find out about Sun Startup Essentials today!Eventbriteis an online events marketplace where tens of thousands of individuals, businesses and organizations of all sizes manage, promote and sell tickets to their events. Make your event a success on Eventbrite.Additionally, thanks to the following partners for making Mashable happen:Thanks to ConVerdgefor implementing our My Mashablesocial network and W3 EDGEfor the development and maintenance of Mashable.comMashable would also like to thank AttentionPRfor their PR support. AttentionPR proves that PR today is measurable, transparent, and yes, social. Learn more about AttentionPR.Rackspaceis the better way to do hosting. No more worrying about web hosting uptime. No more spending your time, energy and resources trying to stay on top of things like patching, updating, monitoring, backing up data and the like. Learn why.ConcentricSkyoffers web development and strategic consulting services with a focus on emerging technologies such as Social Media and iPhone Apps. From simple websites to integrated web applications, we deliver innovative solutions that exceed your expectations – not your budget.We can get your name out there.Contact usfor more information about supporting Mashable’s growth and development. Alternatively, visit our advertise sectionfor more details about:-Competitive direct ad sales-Sponsorship Opportunities for Events and other channels-Sponsored giveaways and contests-Custom ad deals and partnershipsCPM-based advertising is available through our partner, Federated Media, but if you contact us directly, you’ll be entitled to exclusive unpublished discounts.Reviews: Facebook, Firefox, Gmail, Google, Internet Explorer, Mashable, MySpace, Safari, The Conduit, Twitter, adobe AIR, linux
If you’ve ever wanted to place an ad on a Susan Boyle performance, the JK Wedding Danceor, more recently, the dancing doctors in pink gloves, now you can.YouTubehas just launcheda new tool that gives advertisers serious control over where their ads appear — all the waydown to selecting individual videos.In addition, the video-sharing site says that the new targeting options can suggest videos based on “keywords (like politics or fashion), viewer demographics (like age and gender), interest-based categories or some combination of the three.”YouTube says that the features are currently beta and “intended for advertisers who work closely with sales representatives at YouTube,” but I was able to check it out by simply going to google.com/videotargetingand logging in with my Googleaccount.This marks yet another step in Google’s efforts to monetize YouTube, of which there have been many in the past year. The new options seem like a great addition that will create more efficiency — and perhaps revenue — in the YouTube ecosystem. Reviews: Google, YouTubeTags: advertising, video, youtube
Over the past year, Mashable has written extensively on the value of social media to small businesses. We have also contributed regularly on this topic to the American Express Open Forum.From the fundamentals of Twitter branding, to the importance of blogging, to getting work done with some great online tools, small businesses face many challenges when trying to understand how to use social media. However, taking the time to learn how to leverage social media and technology to benefit your business will pay big dividends in the long run.Whether you’re just signing up, or primed for some advanced social marketing, the posts below have all the tips, tricks, and wisdom you’ll need to take your brand to the next level.Social Media 101Start here for the basics on how and why your business should be implementing a social media campaign.Sign up, stay on message, and utilize some leading sites and apps that can give your business a social edge.These posts have real-world advice and examples of how businesses have succeeded on social networks. From Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn and beyond, here are the resources you’ll need to get started.- Social Media 101: How to Avoid Alienating Your Customers- Why Should Traditional Businesses Care about Social Media?- 10 of the Best Social Media Tools for Entrepreneurs- Putting Social Media in Real Life Context for SMBs- Why Your Business Needs to Be on Facebook- Making Social Media a Tool, Not a Distraction- How to Use Twitter Hashtags for Business- 5 Mistakes to Never Make on Twitter- How SMBs Can Capitalize on the Twitter Woes of the Fortune 100- 5 Small Businesses Successfully Using Social Media- How to Build Your Company’s Profile on LinkedIn- 3 Great Social Media Policies to Steal From- 5 Secrets From Social Media Insiders- Social Media: What’s NextBloggingBlogging is an essential way for businesses to keep their customers informed and interested in new products. When connected to social networks, business blogs can have a powerful reach.There are a host of great online tools and tricks you can use to get your business blog up and running for maximum buzz. These posts cover all the best practices and how to avoid the most common mistakes.- How to Set Up Your Small Business Blog- 5 Winning Post Ideas for Your Small Business- 6 Tips for Customizing Your Small Business Blog- 5 Rules for Better Web Writing- 5 Blogging Executives and What They Can Teach Us- How to Get Free Press by Becoming a Source- Sage Social Media and Blogging Advice for SMBs From the Experts- The Small Business Guide to Wikis- Top 5 Business Blogging Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemVideoOnline video is booming, and it offers great opportunities for customers to discuss and share your brand. A video that “goes viral” can put your product into the feeds and inboxes of thousands of potential customers and make your brand known to a much wider base.Paid advertising on social video sites like YouTube can also be extremely lucrative. Check out these posts for tips on how to get the most from a video marketing campaign.- How to Use Online Video to Establish Credibility- 5 Important Web Video Lessons for Small Business Owners- Live Video and Business: Some Best Practices- YouTube: An Unlikely Small Biz Marketing Platform- 4 Tips for Marketing Your Business on YouTube- Video Advertising: Not Just for Big BusinessMobileMobile devices keep you and your employees connected to your business. The proliferation of smartphones also means that your customers will be interacting with your brand in new ways.It’s important to keep in touch with mobile business trends. Which devices and platforms will your customers be using to search for and connect with you? These posts have the lowdown on mobile web, productivity on the go, and tips for choosing the right devices for your business.- Optimizing Your Business Website for Mobile Visitors- Mobile Productivity Tools for the Small Business- iPhone App Economics 101- Beyond Yelp: Location-Based Opportunities for Vendors- How to Choose a Smartphone For Your Small Business- Which is Better for Business: BlackBerry or iPhoneProductivityNo matter the type of business, improving productivity is always at the top of the to-do list. Social media and Web collaboration tools can really speed up your workflow. However, there are many choices and many pitfalls. Choosing the right applications and keeping your employees connected is key.These posts will show you how to get things done quicker and smarter on the Web.- 3 Fresh Ideas for Working Smarter- Collaborate Online: 3 Toolsets That Get Stuff Done- 3 Steps for Staying Focused and On Task- Content Management Systems for Small Businesses: An Overview- How to Stay Organized With Google Calendar- What Microsoft Office’s Move to the Web Means for You- Intranet and Collaboration Solutions for Small Businesses- Six Web Tools for Better Time Management- Supercharge Your Customer Communications and Save Money With Web-Based VoIP- Never Miss an Important Phone Call Again with Google Voice- 6 Adobe AIR Apps for Small Business- Google Wave: What Small Businesses Should Know- Tools for Collaboratively Building PresentationsPR and MarketingPerhaps the biggest draw of social media for small businesses is the ability to create far-reaching and relatively inexpensive marketing campaigns. But there’s a lot more to it than simply tweeting updates from the water cooler, or linking to your newest blog post.Ensure maximum return on social media investment by engaging your customers across multiple platforms. These posts will show you how.- 10 Small Business Social Media Marketing Tips- 5 Advanced Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses- 5 Tips for Managing Social Media Marketing Expectations- How to Be Your Own PR Person- Email Marketing Lives: 3 Services for Sending a Great Newsletter- 9 Surefire Ways to Get Blogs to Cover Your Business- Real-Time and Hyperlocal: Advertising Trends Every Business Should Know About- Tweetable Eats: What Street Vendors Can Teach Businesses About Twitter- Why You Should Talk About Everything But Your Business Online- Going Global: How to Sell a Worldwide Audience Online- Before You Go Online: Talk to Your Customers Offline- 6 Tips on Rebranding Using Social Media- What is a Community Manager and Should I Hire One?- 3 Qualities to Look for When Hiring a Community ManagerNumbers and StatsEnough theory and hypotheticals – get to the data already!If you’re looking for some cold, hard stats to explain what’s going on with the business of social media, read on.From venture capital to tracking your social investments, here are some important posts on how businesses are cashing in on social media, and how social networks are changing the online marketplace.- By the Numbers: Social Media and Small Business- Social Media’s Impact on SEO- VentureCapital Today: Key Numbers to Remember- Using Social Media to Research Venture Capital- Is Peer-to-Peer Lending Better Than the Bank?- How to Track Your Twitter ROIStrategy and ManagementSo you’ve got your social media plan in place and you’re starting to see some benefits for your business. Great! Now, how do you keep up and keep track? There are many tools that can help you streamline your social media efforts to ensure you’re always moving in the right direction.Here are some advanced strategies on how to manage your social media presence, hire Web-savvy employees, and stay on top of this fast-moving field.- 5 Things Small Businesses Can Learn From Big Business Social Media Campaigns- How to Choose a News Reader for Keeping Tabs on Your Industry- The “Iterate Fast and Release Often” Philosophy of Entrepreneurship- Cutting Through the Resume Pile: Recruiting Tools for Small Businesses- How to Use Social Media to Find Star Employees- Online Hiring: LinkedIn and Beyond- How to Research Potential Hires Online- How to Train New Employees in Social Media- How to Manage Customer Feedback- Clickstreams: What They Are and Why You Should Track Them- 5 Payment Platforms to Consider for Your Business- How to Manage Telecommuting Employees- 5 Ways to Use Social Media for Customer ServiceYour Small Business IdeasWe hope you’ve found some strategies you can incorporate into your small business plan. What other tools and tricks do you use to maximize the reach of your social media presence? Share some ideas in the comments below.Images courtesy of iStockphoto, iqoncept, Yuri_Arcurs, Franck-Boston, Lefthome, Pertusinas, jgroup,
