web 2.0

HotGigs Inc., an innovator in web-based staffing solutions, has upgraded its online staffing exchange HotGigs.com, adding new tools and capabilities, such as the ability to compare billable hourly rates for a large variety of consulting professions.

social networking

In the past year social networking has taken the online world by storm.Social networking is undoubtedly the internet buzzword and activity of the moment, continuing to grow with startling speed each day; social networking websites, such as MySpace and Bebo, attract more than two million visitors every month.The idea behind social networking is to let users build online profiles that advertise their interests and to help them connect with a network of friends.Users are also encouraged to share their own content online, including photos, videos, music, and other digital files. YouTube, for example, allows users to upload videos for others to view and comment on.Just like instant messaging, chat rooms, forums and blogs, social networking has become a powerful way for people to communicate online - and another place for people to spend their time online.

bebo

Social networking website bebo.com is one of the largest and most successful drivers in the evolution of "Web 2.0" services, the second generation of Internet-based services that emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users.Birch has been wedded to the idea of social networking since 2003, when he recognized that it could achieve what portals could not. Birch launched bebo.com in July 2005, and since then it has grown to become the largest social network in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand. Every day Bebo's users upload more than 1.2 million photos, which are stored in five formats and managed by an Oracle database. The website currently has over 30 million registered users and turns over five billion page views a month, a figure which is growing at 20 per cent per month. Birch believes that this growth rate will position Bebo to be a market leader in the US within a year. Already, Bebo has been listed as the most searched-for site on Google (at least among those suitable for polite society), ahead of the current US market leader in social networks. Today, Bebo employs 50 people.

web 2.0

MySpace has decided to donate their database of sex offenders to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. As you might expect, the authorities will be receiving a huge amount of information. According to MySpace, the database features around 600,000 offenders from state registries of almost all 50 states. MySpace's previous action was to make the Sentinel Safe technology part of its defense system, back in December. The technology, which revolved around the same database and included identifying information that could be matched to profiles on the site, enabled the site to identify and ban sex offenders from getting an account.Enabling sexual predators to get in contact with their victims, this was the main reason MySpace has been so highly criticized for some time. Needless to say, the social networking site had to take some steps to calm down such critics and restore its good image

web 2.0

Google's £803m acquisition of YouTube, NewsCorp's £310m purchase of MySpace and the recent rumoured interest in student networking site Facebook, valued at more than £500m, suggest the market is taking web 2.0 seriously.But what is web 2.0, what makes it different to websites that have gone before, and why is there so much interest in this sector?The traditional media world is one where power is concentrated in the hands of a few. The capital cost of launching a TV channel, magazine or radio station has ensured that only those with very deep pockets could afford to participate, because building distribution and an audience took a long time.

web 2.0

A study conducted by management consultants Booz Allen Hamilton found that 41% of UK internet users currently access Web 2.0 sites such as YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, to connect with others in a worldwide online community and this figure is set to increase.Booz Allen Hamilton suggests that companies need to take advantage of the social networking and video driven developments of Web 2.0 to win customers. The consultancy also advises companies to use social communities to drive buying decisions, in particular by using online forums to generate feedback.The survey found that 43% of UK MySpace users are happy to use purchasing recommendations from unknown peers, which the study says could signal a new trend in the way consumers make buying decisions. Other results highlighted by the survey were that newer sites have predominantly young user communities, with 50% of MySpace users under the age of 25, but older people are also turning to Web 2.0, with 24% of MySpace users in the 35-49 age bracket. This is borne out, the research says, by the finding that 25% of Amazon users are over the age of 50.

web 2.0

Developers of iWiW, Hungary's number one social networking site, are facing various problems as the site's popularity nears that of the largest Hungarian site, Sanoma's Startlap, which is visited by one million people a day. One difficulty is that many members of the community have died since they registered, and others do not agree on whether they should be deleted from the system.
A solution to this problem could be allowing users to give the date of death as well as the date of birth. Currently, relationships with some dead users are maintained by friends and family members to honor their memory, while others stay in the system if nobody requests them to be deleted. web 20