eWEEK Newsbreak Nov 5th 2010

Join eWEEK reporter Ashley Daley as she breaks down this week’s technology headlines, including: Cisco is releasing new software called SocialMiner to help companies see and keep track of what consumers are saying on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as blogs and other online networking environments. Not only will the new software allow companies to track these conversations, but it also allows companies to join in on them and respond to those comments; Come Nov. 8, IBM will be rolling out a new version of Lotus Connections, called Lotus Connections Next, and will supposedly cut out the social media noise. New features gleaned from IBM's Cognos business analytics unit will be applied across the myriad recommendations, ratings, rankings, and reputations capabilities in Lotus Connections Next; And of course, what would our lives be if we didn’t discuss Facebook at least once today? The social networking site is releasing its new Single Sign On feature. This will allow users logged into Facebook to easily log into applications that support SSO with a single click—meaning you’ll no longer have to enter your user name and password a million times to access each app. Signing in once will sign you in to all of your participating apps. Facebook SSO is available now on Android apps such as Groupon, Loopt, SCVNGR, Yelp, Flixster, and Zynga Poker, with SSO for iPhone apps available soon; Google, Yahoo, and Bing have some fresh competition. Launched Nov. 1, a new search engine site named Blekko promises a new, curated form of search customized by its users. Blekko users can create slashtags, which help them search only the sites users want. This cuts out the spam of irrelevant information and links associated with classic search engines.