Social Networking - Facebook to earn over $500m in 2009

Facebook is expected to earn in excess of $500m (£309m) this year, Marc Andreessen, a board member, has disclosed.

Marc Andreessen, a well-known internet entrepreneur Photo: REUTERS



Mr Andreessen, a Facebook board member, said the social networking site would earn more than a billion this year if it was to push harder on selling advertising.
The Silicon Valley entrepreneur who joined the board last July, said that it was important for Facebook to retain and grow its user base.



He said: "This calendar year they'll do over $500m. If they pushed the throttle forward on monetisation they would be doing more than a billion this year.
"There's every reason to expect in my view that the thing can be doing billions in revenue five years from now," he told Reuters.


Mr Andreessen added that although Twitter, the microblogging service, was not making any money at present, it was important for it to grow its user base and market share, just like Facebook.


Takeover talks between Facebook and Twitter broke down earlier this year, because neither company could agree on a price for the deal, or the future structure of the company according to Peter Thiel, a director at Facebook and a key player in the discussions.



It is believed that Facebook offered around $500m in stock to Twitter, but its negotiation team questioned Facebook's valuation of its shares.



Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/facebook/5768389/Facebook-to-earn-over-500m-in-2009.html

Tips to Protect Your PC From Social Networking Sites Viruses

Here are some tips to protect your PC from computer viruses propagated through online social network websites:

1. Install anti-virus and anti-spyware software on your PC and update definition daily.

2. Do not use the same password on Facebook or MySpace for your other computer accounts, especially HKU Portal or bank accounts. If you do this, hackers who gain access to one of your accounts will easily be able to access your other accounts too.

3. Do not give out your passwords, including those for social networking sites to other person.

4. Access your social networking sites by keying in the website address at the address bar of the browser instead of clicking on hyperlinks on some web pages. There are fake websites which look like Facebook or MySpace but it doesn’t mean they are the legitimate Facebook or MySpace sites.

5. Do not click on unsolicited links.

6. Do not click on link or open attachment in suspicious message even if that message appears to be a friend you know.

7. Be careful when downloading and installing applications.

As we browse the social networking websites everyday, such as facebook and twitter. We should know how to protect our PC in order to prevent the virus. Hope all tips can help you to know more about how to protect your PC and enjoy your fun in the "internet world ".

Source: http://www.hku.hk/cc_news/ccnews136/social-networking.htm

Social Networking - SocialVibe.com helps to promote brand name

Every Internet user is believed to be a part of at least one social networking site such as Facebook, MySpace or Twitter. There are huge number of users over the world. How to show the company/ brand name to the potential users? SocialVibe may be the good choice, which helps companies to advertise on social networking sites.

User can go to socialvibe.com, choose a cause you would like to support, choose a brand you would like to promote, and then place a widget on the profile. For example placing the widget of ‘Coca-Cola' on facebook profile, the right image will be shown. When this widget is viewed, Coca-Cola will donate money to the chosen charity organization.

This social networking advertising cannot increase sales directly, but users can have a positive perception of the brand through charity donation (good PR tool), and show their name on social networking sites. If Coca-Cola had 5,000 users add this widget on the profile and each user had 30 friends, then the brand will be shown to 150,000 people. This low-cost advertising makes deep brand impression.

Search Trends - Social Networking

More about Trends of Social Networking

In the Google Trends, we can realise that the search trends of Social Networking is raising, from 2004 to now, it increases more than 2 points.

And it is interesting that the most popular search country is India, include Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai city, with the language of Tagalog. India is a developing country, it shows that more and more citizens get advance learning and development via Internet, also they share knowledge through social networking websites

source: http://www.google.com/trends?q=social+networking

Social Networking Websites

Social networking is becoming more and more popular over the world, especially among the teenager group. They share photos, videos, experiences and opinions with their friends and meet people from different places. Social networking has really changed the traditional communication ways. We just sit in front of computer, and then we can meet friends with common interest.

Generally, social networking websites are divided into three categories. Here is some examples:


1. Personal contact management websites – provide opportunities for connecting existing friend and family contacts, also the most popular.

MySpace



Facebook



Friendster




2. Business networking websites - assist you in connecting with business contacts, new and old alike.

LinkedIn



XING




3. Cultural trends networking websites - can be utilized in understanding the current trends and fashions.

Twitter



Buzznet



To know more social networking websites, you can visit
http://www.matthuggins.com/a-definitive-list-of-social-networking-websites-to-help-you-succeed/