Posts from — October 2007

OpenSocial is an alliance of different network sites collaborated by Google to tackle the competition from Facebook. The API shall give developers access to:

Profile Information
Friends Information
Activities

Sites that are part of OpenSocial include:

Orkut
LinkedIn
hi5
Friendster
Plaxo
Ning
Oracle
Saleforce

OpenSocial is expected to bring together 100 million users, almost double the number of Facebook users. The major applications developers for Facebook have been invited to create apps for OpenSocial

This to-be launched service is partnered between Best Buy and Mydeo. It is an online service to upload home movies and videos. There are different plans available.

Cheapest Plan
Rent per month: $6.97
Total video length: 100 minutes
Time limit for one video: 30 minutes
Cap on page-views: 5000

Costliest Plan
Rent per month: $148
Total video length: 5000 minutes
Time limit for one video: 90 minutes
Cap on page-views: 100,000

Yahoo Messenger is soon set to topple AOL’s AIM as the leading IM service in the US

AIM
User base in US: 30.2 million
Growth past year: 2%

Yahoo Messenger
User base in US: 27.7 million
Growth past year (US): 19%
Worldwide user base: 94.3 million
Growth past year (world): 30%

World Leader in Instant Messenging: Windows Live
Leader in American Market: AIM

User base of Facebook in December 2006: 12 million
User base of Facebook in October 2007: 47 million
Number of applications developed by third-party developers: 6000

Yes. It’s a BIG market. Casual Games Association report states:

Revenues generated in casual games per year: $2.5 Billion
Growth rate of the casual games industry: 20%
Population playing casual games online per month: 200 Million
Male:Female ratio of members: 48.3: 51.7
Percentage females in paid games category: 74%

Looks like Google pushed MS to do so by engaging in a bid war though Google was uninterested in Facebook. Microsoft acquired 1.6 percent stake valuing Facebook at $15 billion

Estimated revenues from Facebook: $150 million
A $15 billion valuation is 100 times this revenue
Approximate user base: 50 million
Microsoft’s perceived Facebook value per member: $300

Developers of Facebook applications may choose their own monetizing model. Adbrite is one of the popular choices.

Number of Facebook applications using Adbrite: 100 approx.
Pageviews Adbrite received through Facebook apps: 43.8 million (September)
Average pageviews received by Adbrite through new Facebook channel: 10 million per day

Percentage Ad budget spent online (2007) 17%
Percent Satisfied with advertising options 40%
Percent confident about choosing the right option 5%
Percent Unsure about advertising through blogging and social networking 67%
Percentage Ad budget spent on local search 7%
Percentage that feel print ads are more effective 14%
Percent respondents who take decision of ad-formats themselves 70%

Total respondents: 431 agents and brokers

Yahoo owns 39% stake in local ecommerce site, Alibaba.com. The money invested was $1.4 billion. The value of the investment is now $3.4 billion. Alibaba has now gone public at the HongKong stock exchange. 17% of its stake was sold in 858.9 million shares, each at a value of $1.75. Alibaba has hence raised $1.5 billion through going public.

Get if from US, if possible.

Deal you get in Canada (December 7, 2007 onward)
Selling price                    $499 CAD ($520 USD)
Network                          Rogers Wireless for Three years

Deal you get in US
Selling price                    $399 USD
Nework                           AT&T for Two years