AOL will lay off about 2,000 employees

AOL LLC will lay off about 2,000 employees, or approximately 20 percent of its staff, as it continues its transformation into an online, ad-supported business and moves further away from its traditional revenue model based on dial-up Internet access fees.

The layoffs will begin on Tuesday and will continue over the coming months.

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NY Times to offer TimesSelect free of charge

The New York Times announced that it willoffer TimesSelect subscription service free of charge, which had kept older articles and its roster of op-ed writers in a pay-to-view area of its website, opting instead to open its archives to potential advertising revenue.

The TimesSelect service cost users $7.95 per month or $49.95 per year.

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MyRide.com New Online Auto Community powered by KickApps

Autobytel Inc. is welcoming consumer participation in the new online auto community available at http://community.MyRide.com. Featuring original editorial and user-generated content such as video, audio podcasts, photos, blogging and message boards, this new community is designed to give consumers unique opportunities to express their opinions on - and love for - all things automotive. The MyRide.com Auto Community is part of MyRide.com, the world’s first fully-integrated automotive vertical search experience.

In the MyRide.com Auto Community, consumers are already building and joining communities around the automotive topics they are most passionate about – from Hot Rods and Classics to Driving Green - thus enabling user-generated content to play a key role in the evolution and growth of MyRide.com. By also giving consumers the opportunity to participate via surveys, polls, reviews and ratings, the community can help inform future car buying and ownership decisions for the millions of people who are expected to use MyRide.com.

“The MyRide.com Auto Community is not just for those who are knowledgeable about cars,” said Jim Riesenbach, president and CEO, Autobytel. “It is an interactive destination for people who simply love their cars to swap stories, whether through sharing photos and videos or by blogging about their experiences. We expect it to evolve to become the best meeting place online for consumers to express their opinions about anything and everything automotive.”

The MyRide.com Auto Community is powered by KickApps’ social media platform. This Auto Community marks a bold step by one of the largest automotive marketplaces to integrate social media functionality deeply into its user experiences. Ultimately, the plan for the platform is to span beyond the company’s core sites, powering localized rich-media communities for the thousands of car dealers, prospective buyers and auto enthusiasts that comprise Autobytel’s expanded network.

“Our collaboration with Autobytel demonstrates the ease with which social media can be deployed and the breadth and robustness of the KickApps Platform,” said Alex Blum, CEO of KickApps Corporation. “As seen with MyRide.com, social media is an extremely powerful tool for online brands and publishers of all sizes to grow and engage their audiences.

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Gamers Will Watch Ads for Free Games

According to Macrovision, a maker of copy-protection technology, 83% of gamers are willing to view a 30-second ad in order to play a game for free.

They conducted a survey of nearly 400 gamers on its TryGames.com site; demographics of respondents were 69% female, with 29% aged 50-60 and 34% aged 35-49.

The survey also found that 53% of respondents were willing to purchase games only after having played a trial version.

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Web 2.0 technologies could trigger boom

Web 2.0 technologies could trigger a boom similar to the dot.com bubble of the 1990s.

John Chambers, chief executive of Cisco systems, said that the technology behind sites such as Bebo, Facebook and MySpace would improve productivity and dramatically change the way businesses work.

"We are at the very beginning of the next phase of creativity that will last, I think, a minimum of 10 years," he told the Financial Times..."


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Social networking sites to overtake porn sites

According to Hitwise, in America, the proportion of site visits that are pornographic is falling and people are flocking to sites categorized ""net communities and chat" chiefly social-networking sites such as MySpace, Bebo and Facebook.

Traffic to such sites is poised to overtake traffic to sex sites in America any day now.

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KickApps launches a new release of the KickApps platform

On the morning of Friday, May 18, KickApps launches a new release of the KickApps platform designed to make social community easier to manage and to make members’ experiences more fun.

It includes improved page usability and navigation, site performance, message board updates, improved advertsing options.

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9 Million for Porn.com domain

MXN Limited acquires Porn.com for $9 Million. Terms of the transaction were not fully disclosed, but this is the second largest adult domain transaction behind sex.com.

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Run your own MySpace or YouTube

KickApps Corporation today announced the launch of KickApps Version 2.0 (KickApps 2.0), a hosted platform designed to quickly and easily add social media experiences to any Web site. Unlike other platforms, KickApps provides sites of all sizes with a full range of building blocks that include user-generated content, social networking, video players, Web cam applications, Widget-building, media/member management and reporting.

KickApps 2.0 is the only social media platform offering three levels of customization. Consumers can use KickApps’ preconfigured set of building blocks to quickly create social media-enhanced Web sites. Developers can create uniquely branded solutions through the platform’s extensive component library and reach even higher levels of customization through KickApps’ standard APIs.
“With this latest release of our platform, we continue to broaden an already robust set of building blocks necessary to transform existing destinations into live community-oriented open portals,” said Alex Blum, CEO of KickApps. “Very quickly these building blocks will be thought of as core elements for all Web sites rather than optional add-ons.”
Specific enhancements to KickApps 2.0 include:
Premium Player Widget – The fastest way to deploy programmable video players on any Web site.
Video Enabled Message Boards and Private Messaging – Members can post text, audio and video messages on community message boards and in private messages to peers.
New Widgets – 25 new Widget options are now available, including Forum, Slideshow, 3D Cubes and a variety of HTML-based List Widgets.
One-Click Home Page – Anyone can create their own community site with one click.
Updated Member Profiles and Roles – Community members can be designated “editors” to enable them to view and approve media.
Webcam Video Upload – Members can instantly post videos with no editing skills or software required.
Advanced Tagging and Categories – Sites create their own tag and category hierarchy for selective display media and members.


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Gmail blocks Yahoo Group emails

Reports come from Google Groups that Yahoo! Group emails are not being delivered to Gmail users.
Seems Google does not like Yahoo Groups much :) . Sources say that Google has been aware of it for 3-4 days and the problem still has not been corrected.

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ClickandBuy To Offer Person-to-Person Payments, Cash Vouchers and Phone Billing for Digital Content

ClickandBuy, an ASP ePayment service for digital music and other types of content, plans to offer secure person-to-person payments and a cash voucher program for the European market. Lastly, ClickandBuy plans to unveil its phone billing service in the U.S. market.

"Delivery of secure digital content for online music stores is dependent on expansion into new markets and different ways to pay. For example, in Europe, most people do not use a credit card and therefore merchants are leaving money on the table, so to speak. The reason why companies like Apple iTunes selected us in Europe is that we can deliver over 40 payment types, which enables our merchants to instantly increase their income," said Norbert Stangl, CEO of ClickandBuy.

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Social Networking sites to be banned in schools, libraries?

A new bill introduced by Illinois Senator Matt Murphy (R) proposes that schools and libraries to block access to social networking sites.

Murphy considers his bill as a "proactive" move to "protect kids" from potential new threats such as sexual predator looking for victims on sites such as MySpace.

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Electronic Arts Buys Online Karaoke Community SingShot Media

Everyone is into social networking these days :)

Electronic Arts announced that it has acquired San Francisco-based SingShot Media, developer of an online karaoke community.

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Google Loses Newspaper Copyright Case

Google lost in a copyright case where Belgian newspapers accused Google of infringement for posting their news articles without permission.

The court also ordered Google to pay a fine of about $32,400 for each day it did not comply with the ruling, down from an earlier ruling in September that put the fine at $1.3 million a day.

Google said it will appeal the ruling.

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Barack Obama launches his own social networking website

U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who recently announced his intention to run for President, has become the first candidate to launch his own online social networking website.

While many campaigns have created profiles for their candidates on sites like MySpace and Facebook for previous elections, Obama appears to be the first to launch a social network on his own site.

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Fastest-growing companies making use of Social Network

The nation's fastest-growing private companies are making use of social media — including blogs, social networking and podcasts — at a rate more than twice that of Fortune 500 companies, according to a new study.

P.S. For the social networking solution, try KickApps. It could be branded or changed as needed.

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YouTube to remove 100,000 unauthorized video clips

Viacom Inc., asked YouTube on Friday to remove more than 100,000 unauthorized clips from its video-sharing site.

Viacom said in a statement that after several months of talks with YouTube and its corporate parent, the online search leader Google Inc., "it has become clear that YouTube is unwilling to come to a fair market agreement that would make Viacom content available to YouTube users."

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KickApps Names Internet Technology and Media Veteran Alex Blum as CEO

KickApps Corporation announced today that Alex Blum will join the company as CEO beginning February 1. Backed by Spark Capital and Prism Ventures, KickApps offers a hosted platform that provides major media and high traffic websites with a full range of user-generated video, social networking and media management functionality.

"Alex has a proven track record of identifying important technologies and Internet trends," said Eric Alterman, KickApps founder and chairman. "He has a deep understanding of the needs of Internet properties looking to establish enduring relationships with their website visitors. Alex and I share a common vision and his presence will create an immediate impact."

Blum was previously the president and COO of JumpTV, Inc. (AIM, TSX: JTV), the world's top multi-cultural Internet Protocol Television Network. Prior to JumpTV, Blum spent eight years with AOL, most recently as vice president of product marketing for AOL's Audience Business. Blum's team oversaw the re-launch of the AOL.com web portal, the development of AOL's media products (including AOL Video and streaming advertising platform), and the development of AOL's AIMPages social networking initiatives.

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Telephone and cable companies - including AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner want to swallow Internet

The largest telephone and cable companies — including AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner — want to be Internet gatekeepers, deciding which Web sites go fast or slow and which won't load at all.

They want to tax content providers to guarantee speedy delivery of their data. They want to discriminate in favor of their own search engines, Internet phone services, and streaming video — while slowing down or blocking their competitors.

What is this about?

This is about Internet freedom. "Network Neutrality" -- the First Amendment of the Internet -- ensures that the public can view the smallest blog just as easily as the largest corporate Web site by preventing Internet companies like AT&T from rigging the playing field for only the highest-paying sites.

You can help keep the internet free for all.

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78% of Active U.S. Internet Users Now Have Broadband at Home

More than three-quarters of active Internet users in the U.S. now have broadband access at home, according to a new report from Nielsen/NetRatings. The firm said that 78% of home Internet users connect through broadband hook-ups, primarily either cable or DSL. The figure is up 13% from a year ago.

The report also found that broadband users stay online 33% longer than dial-up users, surfing for an average of 34 hours, 50 minutes in November and viewing twice as many web pages.

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