Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications

    Social Networking Keeps Buzzing

    By
    Matthew Hicks
    -
    October 15, 2004
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      While the hype around social networking technology may be dying down, the number of companies entering the space and expanding their services is only heating up.

      This week alone, Lycos Inc. entered the social-networking fray with the launch of its Lycos Circles service, LinkedIn Ltd. grabbed another $10 million in funding, and InterActiveCorps ZeroDegrees moved out of beta with a feature for search-engine optimization.

      A week earlier, startup Leverage Software Inc. launched with software to help enterprises discover and analyze relationships for sales and marketing.

      With its launch Wednesday, Lycos focused on connecting people who already know each other with communication and sharing features in its Circles service. The beta release, which it calls a “social sharing platform,” lets users create groups of contacts with whom they can create discussion boards, share photos, send event invitations, create group greeting cards and conduct polls.

      Users control which of their contacts can see what information and also can share with nonmembers without requiring them to join Circle, said Lauren Bigelow, vice president of product management at Lycos.

      “Our primary purpose is to help you keep in touch with the people you know,” Bigelow said. “We heard repeatedly from people that there are obviously a lot of social-networking sites that help you meet friends of friends, but our focus groups said that its hard enough to keep up with the people you already know.”

      The Circles launch is part of a new strategy Lycos announced earlier this year to focus on personal connectivity. Lycos was bought in August by Korean portal Daum Communications Corp., of Seoul.

      Up next for Lycos Circles is adding features in the next few weeks for photo printing, in a revenue-sharing deal with Shutterfly.com, as well as for downloading music and sharing reviews and play lists, Bigelow said.

      One of the earliest social-networking sites to focus on professionals for job hunting and business leads was LinkedIn, of Mountain View, Calif. The company on Wednesday announced that it has bolstered its financial war chest by $10 million.

      /zimages/2/28571.gifClick here to read about LinkedIns plans to offer paid services.

      Leading the series B funding round was venture capital firm Greylock, which LinkedIn noted in a news release has a record of producing publicly traded companies. Sequoia Capital, which led LinkedIns $4.7 million first round, also joined in the latest round.

      Also, 14 angel investors joined LinkedIn, including Netscape founder Marc Andreessen, Excite co-founder Joe Kraus, Half.com founder Josh Kopelman and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.

      The latest funding will help LinkedIn quicken its development of premium services and expand internationally, it announced. LinkedIn said it expects this funding to help it reach profitability.

      Next Page: ZeroDegrees turns on the full release of its social-networking site.

      Full Release at ZeroDegrees


      At ZeroDegrees, the time has come to move out of test mode. It turned on the full release of its social-networking site this week with a slew of new features. Barry Dillers InterActiveCorp added ZeroDegrees to its Internet properties in March.

      It is offering an option for users to promote their ZeroDegrees profiles within top search engines with a proprietary linking technology that attempts to improve the ranking of profiles in search results, said officials at the West Hollywood, Calif., company. The features could be particularly useful for professionals wanting to draw more people to their information.

      Other new features include Web-based e-mail and contact manager as well as search results in the service that provide more descriptive information about a member.

      On the enterprise side of social network, San Francisco-based Leverage Software last week launched its Leverage Relationship Intelligence software. The company doesnt bill itself as social networking but as a “relationship capital management” company.

      Its software, offered as a subscription-based service, mines and ranks users contacts within an enterprise in ways similar to competitors such as Spoke Software Inc. and Visible Path Corp., said Mike Walsh, Leverages CEO and founder.

      /zimages/2/28571.gifAre enterprises ready for social networking? Click here to read more.

      But Leverage also has combined analytical tools on top of social networking, so an enterprise can view patterns and gaps in such areas as the geography or industries covered by their sales contacts, Walsh said.

      Individual users also choose which of their contacts to share with others in their company. Leverage also combines outside data—such as from the Web and business directories—with contact information on sale prospects, Walsh said.

      “Our primary differentiator is our focus on the business individual, the addition of high-quality data and presenting information so its actionable,” Walsh said

      /zimages/2/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms Messaging & Collaboration Center at http://messaging.eweek.com for more on IM and other collaboration technologies.

      /zimages/2/77042.gif

      Be sure to add our eWEEK.com messaging and collaboration news feed to your RSS newsreader or My Yahoo page

      Matthew Hicks
      As an online reporter for eWEEK.com, Matt Hicks covers the fast-changing developments in Internet technologies. His coverage includes the growing field of Web conferencing software and services. With eight years as a business and technology journalist, Matt has gained insight into the market strategies of IT vendors as well as the needs of enterprise IT managers. He joined Ziff Davis in 1999 as a staff writer for the former Strategies section of eWEEK, where he wrote in-depth features about corporate strategies for e-business and enterprise software. In 2002, he moved to the News department at the magazine as a senior writer specializing in coverage of database software and enterprise networking. Later that year Matt started a yearlong fellowship in Washington, DC, after being awarded an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship for Journalist. As a fellow, he spent nine months working on policy issues, including technology policy, in for a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He rejoined Ziff Davis in August 2003 as a reporter dedicated to online coverage for eWEEK.com. Along with Web conferencing, he follows search engines, Web browsers, speech technology and the Internet domain-naming system.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×