Archive for the ‘social networks’ Category

Yahoo is looking to acquire CafeMom, an online community for moms. The deal is reportedly worth around $100 million.
Exclusive: Yahoo Eyes CafeMom for $100 Million Acquisition | Kara Swisher | BoomTown | AllThingsD.

Google is getting more serious about social gaming, buying Slide, maker of a photo slideshow application as well as owner of SuperPoke Pets online game, for $182 million. Google recently made an investment in uber popular Facebook game maker, Zynga.
Google Buys Slide for $182 Million, Getting More Serious about Social Games*.

StatusNet, the startup that runs a micro blogging service, has raised $1.27 million in a Series A round led by FirstMark Capital. StatusNet is an open source platform that helps organizations incorporate micro messaging into their domain.
Open Source Microblogging Startup StatusNet Lands More Funding.

Facebook is reportedly closing in on the acquisition of Hot Potato, a social activity service that allows users to “check-in” to events and locations, similar to Foursquare and Gowalla. The service has not seen explosive growth yet, but a Facebook acquisition could take care of that.
Facebook Closing In On Acquiring Check-In Service Hot Potato.

Twitter is reporting that the company is handling 800 million queries per day, up 33% from their last public report in April. By comparison, comScore reporting that Yahoo did 9.4 billion queries in December.
Twitter search queries up 33 percent from April to 800 million per day | VentureBeat.

MerchantCircle, a fast growing online local merchant business directory, has added functionality that allows its merchants to be rewarded with the title “Mayor” of their respective city. While similar to Foursquare, MerchantCircle’s Mayorship title is based on networking and other activity on the site itself.
MerchantCircle Adds Mayorships For Small Businesses.

Klout has launched a new tool, BirdBrain, to measure “influence” based on data from Twitter and Facebook.  The service matches your Facebook interests with people on Twitter that it believes are influential on that topic.
Klout’s BirdBrain Measures Influence Based On Data From Twitter And Facebook.

Ning has announced partnerships with CafePress and Heyzap to offer monetization options for their customers. A few months ago Ning announced that they would no longer offer the service for free.
After Going Premium, Ning Adds E-Commerce And Gaming Revenue Channels For Networks.

Plancast today announced the launch of their API service. The service allows developers to build applications on top of Plancast’s data.
Plancast Plans To Spread Throughout The Web With An API And Widgets.

AOL is selling Bebo for a reported $10 million. In 2008 AOL purchased the social network for $850 million.
AOL To Sell Bebo For Around $10 Million.