Quiz 4: Measuring the Success of Strategic Initiatives

Manipulating the Data to Find Your Version of the Truth How can global warming be real when there is so much snow and cold weather That's what some people wondered after a couple of massive snowstorms buried Washington, DC, in the winter of 2009-2010. Politicians across the capital made jokes and built igloos as they disputed the existence of climate change. Some concluded the planet simply could not be warming with all the snow on the ground. These comments frustrated Joseph Romm, a physicist and climate expert with the Center for American Progress. He spent weeks turning data into information and graphs to educate anyone who would listen as to why this reasoning was incorrect. Climate change is all about analyzing data, turning it into information to detect trends. You cannot observe climate change by looking out the window; you have to review decades of weather data with advanced tools to really understand the trends. Increasingly we see politicians, economists, and newscasters taking tough issues and boiling them down to simplistic arguments over what the data mean, each interpreting the data and spinning the data to support their views and agendas. You need to understand the data and turn them into useful information or else you will not understand when someone is telling the truth and when you are being lied to. Brainstorm two or three types of data economists use to measure the economy. How do they turn the data into information

Formulate a strategy describing how Apple can use efficiency MIS metrics to improve its business.

Manipulating the Data to Find Your Version of the Truth How can global warming be real when there is so much snow and cold weather That's what some people wondered after a couple of massive snowstorms buried Washington, DC, in the winter of 2009-2010. Politicians across the capital made jokes and built igloos as they disputed the existence of climate change. Some concluded the planet simply could not be warming with all the snow on the ground. These comments frustrated Joseph Romm, a physicist and climate expert with the Center for American Progress. He spent weeks turning data into information and graphs to educate anyone who would listen as to why this reasoning was incorrect. Climate change is all about analyzing data, turning it into information to detect trends. You cannot observe climate change by looking out the window; you have to review decades of weather data with advanced tools to really understand the trends. Increasingly we see politicians, economists, and newscasters taking tough issues and boiling them down to simplistic arguments over what the data mean, each interpreting the data and spinning the data to support their views and agendas. You need to understand the data and turn them into useful information or else you will not understand when someone is telling the truth and when you are being lied to. Brainstorm two or three types of data economists use to measure the economy. What issues do they encounter when attempting to measure the economy

Formulate a strategy describing how Apple can use effectiveness MIS metrics to improve its business.

Manipulating the Data to Find Your Version of the Truth How can global warming be real when there is so much snow and cold weather That's what some people wondered after a couple of massive snowstorms buried Washington, DC, in the winter of 2009-2010. Politicians across the capital made jokes and built igloos as they disputed the existence of climate change. Some concluded the planet simply could not be warming with all the snow on the ground. These comments frustrated Joseph Romm, a physicist and climate expert with the Center for American Progress. He spent weeks turning data into information and graphs to educate anyone who would listen as to why this reasoning was incorrect. Climate change is all about analyzing data, turning it into information to detect trends. You cannot observe climate change by looking out the window; you have to review decades of weather data with advanced tools to really understand the trends. Increasingly we see politicians, economists, and newscasters taking tough issues and boiling them down to simplistic arguments over what the data mean, each interpreting the data and spinning the data to support their views and agendas. You need to understand the data and turn them into useful information or else you will not understand when someone is telling the truth and when you are being lied to. Brainstorm two or three types of data economists use to measure the economy. As a manager, what do you need to understand when reading or listening to economic and business reports

List three CRM metrics Apple should track, along with the reasons these metrics will add value to Apple's business strategy.

List three SCM metrics Apple should track, along with the reasons these metrics will add value to Apple's business strategy.

How can Apple use the balanced scorecard to make its business more efficient

Working Together Upon execution of a business process, a workflow system dictates the presentation of the information, tracks the information, and maintains the information's status. For example, the following highlights the common steps performed during a team project: 1. Find out what information and deliverables are required for the project and the due date. 2. Divide the work among the team members. 3. Determine due dates for the different pieces of work. 4. Compile all the completed work together into a single project. One of the hardest parts of a team project is getting team members to complete their work on time. Often one team member cannot perform his or her work until another team member has finished. This situation causes work to sit idle waiting for a team member to pick it up to either approve it, continue working on it, or reformat it. Workflow systems help to automate the process of presenting and passing information around a team. Project Focus You have just received an assignment to work on a group project with 10 other students. The project requires you to develop a detailed business plan for a business of your choice. The types of activities you will need to perform include market analysis, industry analysis, growth opportunities, Porter's Five Forces analysis, financial forecasts, competitive advantage analysis, and so on. For your project, determine the following: 1. How could you use collaboration tools to facilitate the sharing of information and the completion of the project 2. What advantages can your group gain from using groupware 3. What advantages can your group gain from using IM 4. How could you use a workflow system to manage the tasks for the group members 5. Describe a few of the biggest issues you anticipate experiencing during the group project. Identify ways that you can resolve these issues using collaboration tools.

Internet Groceries E-Grocery, founded in 2007, is an online grocery shopping and delivery service. The company caters to thousands of customers in the Phoenix, Seattle, and Denver areas. Established on the idea that people will buy groceries over the Internet, e-Grocery offers more than 25,000 items. Ninety percent of e-Grocery's orders come in via computer; the rest are received by fax. Orders are received at the central office in Lakewood, Colorado, and then distributed by email to a local affiliate store. The store receives the order, the delivery address, and a map to the order location. A store employee designated to online orders will fill, deliver, and collect for the order. E-Grocery members are charged actual shelf prices, plus a per-order charge of $5.00 or 5 percent of the order amount, whichever is greater. Members also receive additional benefits such as electronic coupons, customer discounts, recipes, and tips. Project Focus The company is using interactive technology to change the shopping experience. The success of e-Grocery lies within many areas. Analyze the e-Grocery business model using the questions below. Feel free to think outside the box to develop your own analysis of online grocery shopping and ebusiness models. 1. What is e-Grocery's ebusiness model 2. How does e-Grocery compete with traditional retailers 3. What value can e-Grocery offer as a true competitive advantage in this marketplace 4. What is the threat of new entrants in this market segment 5. How is e-Grocery using technology to change the shopping experience 6. What are the logistics for making e-Grocery profitable 7. How does e-Grocery profit from online customer interaction 8. What kinds of ebusiness strategies can e-Grocery's marketing department use to help grow its business 9. What are some of the benefits and challenges facing e-Grocery

Getting Personal Consider Sally Albright, the reigning queen of customization in the movie When Harry Met Sally. Take, for example, the scene where she orders pie a la mode: "I'd like the pie heated. And I don't want the ice cream on top; I want it on the side. And I'd like strawberry instead of vanilla if you have it. If not, then no ice cream, just whipped cream, but only if it's real." Particular, yes, but Sally knew what she liked-and was not afraid to ask for it. Project Focus A growing number of online retailers are letting you have it your way, too. Choose a company highlighted in Figure AYK.1 and create your own product. Was the website easy to use Would this service entice you as a customer to make a purchase over a generic product If you could personalize a product what would it be and how would the website work FIGURE AYK.1 Customization Companies

Express Yourself One of the most popular websites among students is Myspace, a site that allows students to express themselves by personalizing their home page. What is your favorite band Who is your favorite author What is your favorite movie You can find out a lot about a person by finding out the answers to these questions. Project Focus Build a website dedicated to your favorite band, book, or movie. Your website must contain all of the following: An image. Two different size headings. Different sizes and colors of text. Two horizontal rules. Text that is bolded, underlined, and/or italicized. A textured background. A link to a website. A link to your email. One numbered and one unnumbered list.

Creating a Presence More than 1 billion people are on the Internet. Having an Internet presence is critical for any business that wants to remain competitive. Businesses need their websites to create a "buzz" to attract customers. Ebusiness websites must be innovative, stimulating, add value, and provide useful information. In short, the site must build a sense of community and collaboration, eventually becoming the "port of entry" for business. Project Focus You are applying for a job at BagEm, a start-up ebusiness devoted to selling custom book bags that does not have any physical stores and only sells bags over the Internet. You are up against several other candidates for the job. BagEm has asked you to use your business expertise and website development skills to design and build a potential website. The candidate with the best website will be awarded the job. Good luck!

GoGo Gadgets Now that Wi-Fi and other types of high-speed wireless networks are becoming common, devices using that technology are multiplying rapidly. Wireless gadgets run the gamut from cell phones to kitchen appliances and digital cameras. Here are some of the hottest new wireless broadband gadgets. Samsung's $3,499 POPCON refrigerator will feature a Wi-Fi enabled, detachable screen that can function as a TV. The fridge also can be programmed to remember products' expiration dates and generate alerts when the milk is getting old. The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet is small enough to fit in a pocket. It comes with a 4.13-inchwide touch screen that can be used to access the web over a Wi-Fi network. The $350 device can also access the web via a cell phone with a Bluetooth connection. Motorola's latest E815 mobile phone operates over Verizon Wireless's new EVDO (Evolution Data Optimized) wireless network, offering speeds comparable to digital subscriber line (DSL). The phone can even record and play back video clips. It also features a built-in MP3 digital music player. Hop-On's just-announced HOP 1515 may look like a typical cell phone, but it actually makes calls over Wi-Fi networks. Typically sold with a $20 to $30 monthly service plan, the phone allows for unlimited over-the-web international and long-distance calling. The $39 HOP 1515 is sold through Wi-Fi hotspot operators, wireless carriers, and retailers. Eastman Kodak's EasyShare-One is a digital camera with Wi-Fi capabilities, allowing users to share their snapshots wirelessly. You will be able to snap a photo and immediately show it to a friend on a Wi-Fi-enabled PC or TV. Project Focus A dizzying array of new wireless technologies now promises to make today's Wi-Fi networks seem like poky dial-up connections by comparison. These new technologies will extend the reach of wireless networks, not just geographically but also into new uses in the home and office. 1. Research the Internet and discover new wireless devices that entrepreneurs and established companies can use to improve their business. 2. Explain how businesses can use these devices to create competitive advantages, streamline production, and improve productivity.

WAP Wireless Internet access is quickly gaining popularity among people seeking high-speed Internet connections when they are away from their home or office. The signal from a typical wireless access point (WAP) only extends for about 300 feet in any direction, so the user must find a "hotspot" to be able to access the Internet while on the road. Sometimes hotspots are available for free or for a small fee. You work for a sales company, SalesTek, which has a salesforce of 25 representatives and customers concentrated in Denver, Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Your sales representatives are constantly on the road and they require 24 / 7 Internet access. Project Focus You have been asked to find hotspots for your colleagues to connect to while they are on the road. It is critical that your salesforce can access the Internet 24 / 7 to connect with customers, suppliers, and the corporate office. Create a document detailing how your mobile workforce will be able to stay connected to the Internet while traveling. Here are a few tips to get you started: 1. Use websites such as www.wifinder.com and www.jiwire.com to determine which commercial hotspots would be the most appropriate for your salesforce and the commercial network service that these hotspots use. 2. Research the websites of two or three commercial networks that seem most appropriate to discover more about pricing and services. (Hint: T-Mobile is one example.) 3. Use www.wifinder.com and www.wififreespot.com to determine how many free public hotspots are available in these cities. Are there enough for your company to rely on them or should you use a commercial Wi-Fi system. If so, which one 4. You might also research www.fon.com to see alternative methods of using home broadband connections to stay connected.

Securing Your Home Wireless Network These days wireless networking products are so ubiquitous and inexpensive that anyone can easily build a wireless network with less than $100 worth of equipment. However, wireless networks are exactly that-wireless-they do not stop at walls. In fact, wireless networks often carry signals more than 300 feet from the wireless router. Living in an apartment, dorm, condominium, or house means that you might have dozens of neighbors who can access your wireless network. It is one thing to let a neighbor borrow a lawn mower, but it is another thing to allow a neighbor to access a home wireless network. There are several good reasons for not sharing a home wireless network including: It may slow Internet performance. It allows others to view files on your computers and spread dangerous software such as viruses. It allows others to monitor the websites you visit, read your email and instant messages as they travel across the network, and copy your user names and passwords. It allows others to send spam or perform illegal activities with your Internet connection. Project Focus Securing a home wireless network is invaluable and allows you to enable security features that can make it difficult for uninvited guests to connect through your wireless network. Create a document detailing all of the features you can use to secure a home wireless network.

Weather Bots Warren Jackson, an engineering graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, was not interested in the weather until he started investigating how the National Weather Service collected weather data. The weather service has collected most of its information using weather balloons that carry a device to measure items such as pressure, wind speed, and humidity. When the balloon reaches about 100,000 feet and pressure causes it to pop, the device falls and lands a substantial distance from its launch point. The National Weather Service and researchers sometimes look for the $200 device, but of the 80,000 sent up annually, they write off many as lost. Convinced there had to be a better way, Warren began designing a GPS-equipped robot that launches a parachute after the balloon pops and brings the device back down to Earth, landing it at a predetermined location set by the researchers. The idea is so inventive that the Penn's Weiss Tech House, a university organization that encourages students to innovate and bring their ideas to market, awarded Warren and some fellow graduate engineering students first prize in its third annual PennVention Contest. Warren won $5,000 and access to expert advice on prototyping, legal matters, and branding. Project Focus GPS and GIS can be used in all sorts of devices, in many different industries, for multiple purposes. You want to compete, and win first prize, in the PennVention next year. Create a product, using a GPS or GIS, that is not currently in the market today that you will present at the fourth annual PennVention.

Wireless Networks and Streetlamps Researchers at Harvard University and BBN Technologies have designed CitySense, a wireless network capable of reporting real-time sensor data across the entire city of Cambridge, Massachusetts. CitySense is unique because it solves a constraint on previous wireless networks-battery life. The network mounts each node on a municipal streetlamp, where it draws power from city electricity. Researchers plan to install 100 sensors on streetlamps throughout Cambridge by 2011, using a grant from the National Science Foundation. Each node will include an embedded PC running the Linux operating system, an 802.11 Wi-Fi interface, and weather sensors. One of the challenges in the design was how the network would allow remote nodes to communicate with the central server at Harvard and BBN. CitySense will do that by letting each node form a mesh with its neighbors, exchanging data through multiple-hop links. This strategy allows a node to download software or upload sensor data to a distant server hub using a small radio with only a 1-kilometer range. Project Focus You are responsible for deploying a CitySense network around your city. What goals would you have for the system besides monitoring urban weather and pollution What other benefits could a CitySense network provide How could local businesses and citizens benefit from the network What legal and ethical concerns should you understand before deploying the network What can you do to protect your network and your city from these issues

Sharptooth Incorporated Stephen Kern is the founder and CEO of Sharptooth, a small business that buys and sells comic strips to magazines and newspapers around the country. Some of Sharptooth's artists have made it big and are syndicated in hundreds of magazines and newspapers, while others are new to the industry. Stephen started in the business as an artist and began contracting with other artists when he realized he had a knack for promoting and marketing comic materials. His artistic background is great for spotting talented young artists, but not so great for running the business. Project Focus Stephen recently began selling comics to new forms of media such as blog sites, websites, and other online tools. Stephen has hired you to build him a new system to track all online comic sales. You quickly notice that Stephen has a separate system for each of his different lines of business including newspaper sources, magazine sources, billboard sources, and now online sources. You notice that each system works independently to perform its job of creating, updating, and maintaining sales information, but you are wondering how Stephen operates his business as a whole. Create a list of issues Stephen will encounter if he continues to run his business with four separate systems performing the same operations. What could happen to Stephen's business if he cannot correlate the details of each Be sure to highlight at least 10 issues where separate systems could cause Stephen problems.

Wiki Debate Wikipedia is a multilingual, web-based, free content encyclopedia project. Wikipedia is written collaboratively by volunteers from all around the world. With rare exceptions, its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the Internet, simply by clicking a line to edit the page. The name Wikipedia is a portmanteau of the words wiki (a type of collaborative website) and encyclopedia. Since its creation in 2001, Wikipedia has grown rapidly into one of the largest reference websites. In every article, links guide users to associated articles, often with additional information. Anyone is welcome to add information, cross-references, or citations, as long as they do so within Wikipedia's editing policies and to an appropriate standard. One need not fear accidentally damaging Wikipedia when adding or improving information, as other editors are always around to advise or correct obvious errors, and Wikipedia's software, known as MediaWiki, is carefully designed to allow easy reversal of editorial mistakes. Project Focus A group of people believe the end of Wikipedia is close as people use the tool to selfpromote. Some believe that Wikipedia will fail in four years, crushed under the weight of an automated assault by marketers and others seeking online traffic. Eric Goldman, a professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law, argues that Wikipedia will see increasingly vigorous efforts to subvert its editorial process, much as Digg has seen. As marketers become more determined and turn to automated tools to alter Wikipedia entries to generate online traffic, Goldman predicts Wikipedians will burn out trying to keep entries clean. Goldman writes that Wikipedia will enter a death spiral where the rate of junkiness will increase rapidly until the site becomes a wasteland. Alternatively, to prevent this death spiral, Wikipedia will change its core open-access architecture, increasing the database's vitality by changing its mission somewhat. Create a paper discussing where you think the future of Wikipedia is headed.

Secure Collaboration As the methods and modes of communication continue to evolve, challenges will mount for businesses trying to secure their data and for law enforcement looking to monitor communications as part of their investigations. That was the theme of the keynote speech that Sun Microsystems' chief security officer and renowned cryptographer Whitfield Diffie delivered at the AT T Cyber Security Conference. The growth of virtual communities across the web as a communications channel creates a double-edged sword in this respect. Second Life and other virtual communities offer a growing abundance of information, although this information will ultimately need to be protected if virtual communities are to grow as meaningful channels of business-tobusiness and business-to-customer communication. Diffie believes that with millions of people joining Second Life and companies building facilities there, it may be that virtual communities become the preferred medium of human communication. This growing volume of information opens the opportunity to use virtual communities as a source of intelligence, and communications will always be spied on. Of course, the volume of businesses present in virtual communities such as Second Life will have to grow before they become a meaningful source of information. Once this happens, though, watch out. Diffie believes that communication always outstrips the ability to protect it. Who would be interested in gathering intelligence floating through virtual communities The answer is businesses, governments (domestic and foreign), and reporters-the same entities that have adapted every other form of communication preceding the web. Diffie feels the future will be a golden age for intelligence. Project Focus As we create new and better ways to collaborate, what happens to information security

Build Your Own Business To build a sense of community, you have provided a mechanism on your business website where customers can communicate and post feedback. You review the communication daily to help understand customer issues and concerns. You log in and find the following anonymous posting: "I do not recommend visiting this business on Thursdays at 2:00 p.m. because the Children's Story Hour is taking place. I hate children, especially in a business. I'm not sure why this business encourages people to bring their children. In fact, I recommend that children should be banned from this business altogether." How would you respond to this post Is the customer's viewpoint ethical How do you encourage an open line of communication with your customers and still maintain an open forum on your website

Build Your Own Business Your business needs to take advantage of ebusiness and Business 2.0 strategies if it wants to remain competitive. Detail how your business could use Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 to increase sales and decrease costs. Be sure to focus on the different areas of business such as marketing, finance, accounting, sales, customer service, and human resources. You would like to build a collaboration tool for all of your customers and events. Answer the questions below as they pertain to your business. What type of collaboration tool would you build How could you use the tool to facilitate planning, product development, product testing, feedback, and so on. What additional benefits could a customer collaboration tool provide that could help you run your business

Build Your Own Business The Yankee Group reports that 66 percent of companies determine website success solely by measuring the amount of traffic. Unfortunately, large amounts of website traffic do not necessarily indicate large sales. Many websites with lots of traffic have minimal sales. The best way to measure a website's success is to measure such things as the revenue generated by web traffic, the number of new customers acquired by web traffic, any reductions in customer service calls resulting from web traffic. As you deploy your Business 2.0 strategy, you want to build a website that creates stickiness and a sense of community for your customers. Explain why measuring web traffic is not a good indicator of web sales or website success. How would you implement Business 2.0 characteristics to create a sense of community for your customers How could a wiki help grow your business Could you use blogs to create a marketing buzz What else can you do to ensure your website finds financial success

Everybody Needs an Internet Strategy An Internet strategy addresses the reasons businesses want to "go online." "Going online" because it seems like the right thing to do now or because everyone else is doing it is not a good enough reason. A business must decide how it will best utilize the Internet for its particular needs. It must plan for where it wants to go and how best the Internet can help shape that vision. Before developing a strategy, a business should spend time on the Internet, see what similar businesses have, and what is most feasible, given a particular set of resources. Think of a new online business opportunity and answer the following questions: a. Why do you want to put your business online b. What benefits will going online bring c. What effects will Internet connectivity have on your staff, suppliers, and customers

Searching for Disruption Scheduler.com is a large corporation that develops software that automates scheduling and record keeping for medical and dental practices. Scheduler.com currently holds 48 percent of its market share, has more than 8,700 employees, and operates in six countries. You are the vice president of product development at Scheduler.com. You have just finished reading The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton Christensen and you are interested in determining what types of disruptive technologies you can take advantage of, or should watch out for, in your industry. Use the Internet to develop a presentation highlighting the types of disruptive technologies you have found that have the potential to give the company a competitive advantage or could cause the company to fail.

Leveraging the Competitive Value of the Internet Physical inventories have always been a major cost component of business. Linking to suppliers in real time dramatically enhances the classic goal of inventory "turn." The Internet provides a multitude of opportunities for radically reducing the costs of designing, manufacturing, and selling goods and services. E-mango.com, a fruit emarketplace, must take advantage of these opportunities or find itself at a significant competitive disadvantage. Identify the disadvantages that confront E-mango.com if it does not leverage the competitive value of the Internet.

Assessing Internet Capabilities Hoover's Rentals is a small privately owned business that rents sports equipment in Denver, Colorado. The company specializes in winter rentals including ski equipment, snowboarding equipment, and snowmobile equipment. Hoover's has been in business for 20 years and, for the first time, it is experiencing a decline in rentals. Brian Hoover, the company's owner, is puzzled by the recent decreases. The snowfall for the last two years has been outstanding, and the ski resorts have opened earlier and closed later than most previous years. Reports say tourism in the Colorado area is up, and the invention of loyalty programs has significantly increased the number of local skiers. Overall, business should be booming. The only reason for the decrease in sales might be the fact that big retailers such as Walmart and Gart Sports are now renting winter sports equipment. Brian would like your team's help in determining how he can use the Internet to help his company increase sales and decrease costs to compete with these big retailers.

Gaining Efficiency with Collaboration During the past year, you have been working for a manufacturing firm to help improve its supply chain management by implementing enterprise resource planning and supply chain management systems. For efficiency gains, you are recommending that the manufacturing firm should be turning toward collaborative systems. The firm has a need to share intelligent plans and forecasts with supply chain partners, reduce inventory levels, improve working capital, and reduce manufacturing changeovers. Given the technologies presented to you in this unit, what type of system(s) would you recommend to facilitate your firm's future needs

Collaboration on Intranets MyIntranet.com is a worldwide leader in providing online intranet solutions. The MyIntranet.com online collaboration tool is a solution for small businesses and groups inside larger organizations that need to organize information, share files and documents, coordinate calendars, and enable efficient collaboration, all in a secure, browser-based environment. MyIntranet.com has just added conferencing and group scheduling features to its suite of hosted collaboration software. Explain why infrastructure integration is critical to the suite of applications to function within this environment.

Finding Innovation Along with disruptive technologies, there are also disruptive strategies. The following are a few examples of companies that use disruptive strategies to gain competitive advantages: Best Buy-This company disrupted the consumer electronics departments of full-service and discount department stores, which has sent it up-market into higher margin goods. Ford-Henry Ford's Model T was so inexpensive that he enabled a much larger population of people, who historically could not afford cars, to own one. JetBlue-Whereas Southwest Airlines initially followed a strategy of new-market disruption, JetBlue's approach is low-end disruption. Its long-range viability depends on the major airlines' motivation to run away from the attack, as integrated steel mills and full-service department stores did. McDonald's-The fast-food industry has been a hybrid disrupter, making it so inexpensive and convenient to eat out that it created a massive wave of growth in the "eating out" industry. McDonald's earliest victims were mom-and-pop diners. There are numerous other examples of corporations that have used disruptive strategies to create competitive advantages. In a team, prepare a presentation highlighting three additional companies that used disruptive strategies to gain a competitive advantage.

Communicating with Instant Messages You are working for a new start-up magazine, Jabber Inc., developed for information professionals that provides articles, product reviews, case studies, evaluation, and informed opinions. You need to collaborate on news items and projects, and exchange data with a variety of colleagues inside and outside the Jabber Inc. walls. You know that many companies are now embracing the instant messaging technology. Prepare a brief report for the CIO that will explain the reasons IM is not just a teenage fad, but also a valuable communications tool that is central to everyday business.

The Future of Wikipedia Wikipedia is a multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia project written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Since its creation in 2001, it has grown rapidly into one of the largest reference websites. Some people believe Wikipedia will eventually fail under an assault by marketers and self-promoting users. Eric Goldman, a professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law, argues that Wikipedia will see increasingly vigorous efforts to subvert its editorial process, including the use of automated marketing tools to alter Wikipedia entries to generate online traffic. The site's editors will burn out trying to maintain it, he projects, or Wikipedia will change its open-access architecture and its mission. Do you agree or disagree with Professor Goldman's argument What can Wikipedia do to combat the challenges of information vandalism and copyright/plagiarism issues

Is Facebook Becoming the Whole World's Social Network Facebook's growth, which we already know is massive, is truly a global phenomenon. Nations with the fastest membership growth rate are in South America and Asia. Is Facebook becoming the global phone book If you review InsideFacebook.com, you'll find a detailed analysis of the numerical growth rate of members per nation and the penetration Facebook is achieving among each nation's population. Particularly interesting was the monthly growth rate for Indonesia, the Philippines, Mexico, Argentina, and Malaysia-each of which showed about a 10 percent jump in Facebook membership in a single month. In a group answer the following: What potential business opportunities could be created by a worldwide social media network or phone book Facebook, which contains personal data on each member, is becoming the world's phone book. What are the implications of a world phone book for social change What do you think would be the benefits and challenges of global social networking

The Toughest College Test You'll Ever Take If your professor asked you today to kick your social networking habits, do you think you could do it Can you go without Facebook, cell phones, or the Internet for a week For a day Recently, a University of Minnesota professor challenged her public relations class to go five days without media or gadgets that didn't exist before 1984. Out of the 43 students in the class, just a handful made it even three days without new technology. Among those who didn't, one student said, "My mother thought I died." How long could you go without any social media What types of issues might you encounter without constant connections to your friends How has social media affected society How has social media impacted businesses

Book'em You are the CIO of Book'em, a company that creates and sells custom book bags. Book'em currently holds 28 percent of market share with more than 3,000 employees operating in six countries. You have just finished reading The Long Tail by Chris Anderson and The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton Christensen, and you are interested in determining how you can grow your business while reducing costs. Summarize each book, and explain how Book'em could implement the strategies explained in each book to create competitive advantages and increase sales.

Five Ways Google Docs Speeds Up Collaboration Google Docs wants you to skip Microsoft Office and collaborate with your group in your browser for free, especially when you're not in the same physical space. Visit Google Docs and answer the following questions. What are five ways the new Google Docs can help your team accomplish work more efficiently, even when you're not in the same room together Is Google Docs open source software What revenue model is Google Docs following Why would putting Google Docs and Microsoft Office on your résumé help differentiate your skills What other applications does Google create that you are interested in learning to help collaborate and communicate with peers and co-workers

Secure Collaboration As the methods and modes of communication continue to evolve, challenges will mount for businesses trying to secure their data and for law enforcement agencies looking to monitor communications as part of their investigations. That was the theme of the keynote that Sun Microsystems chief security officer and renowned cryptographer Whitfield Diffie delivered at the AT T Cyber Security Conference. Diffie believes that with millions of people joining Second Life and companies building facilities there, it may be that virtual communities will become the preferred communication method for humans as virtual communities become a growing source of collective intelligence that can be easily watched and monitored. Who would be interested in monitoring and spying on the collective intelligence of virtual communities What is your answer to the following question: As we create new and better ways to collaborate, what happens to information security

City Council Member Fired for Playing Farmville Game at Work More than 80 million Facebook users are obsessed with Farmville, and one of the more devoted players is Bulgaria's Plovidv City Council member Dimitar Kerin. During council meetings, Kerin would take advantage of the city hall's laptops and wireless connection to tend to his farm. This caught the attention of the council chair, who many times scolded Kerin for his virtual farming, warning him that the game was not allowed during meetings. Kerin kept on, arguing that he had to catch up with other council members, who achieved higher levels on the game. Kerin pointed out logically that many other members used city hall for their Farmville pleasures, and he cited the fact that one councilman had reached level 46, whereas Kerin was stuck at level 40. Shockingly, council members voted Kerin off the board in a split 20-19 decision, suggesting that perhaps half the council members in Bulgaria's second-largest city are committed to the Facebook application. Do you agree with the firing of Dimitar Kerin Do you agree that it is inappropriate to use social networking applications at work If Dimitar Kerin was fired for playing Farmville, should all other council members who use social networking applications at work be fired Have you ever been reprimanded for playing a game while at school or at work What could you do differently to ensure this situation does not happen to you

48 Hour Magazine That sound you hear, of thousands of writers, designers, and photographers banging their heads against the wall to the beat of a ticking clock That's the sound of 48 Hour Magazine, an innovative publication that aims to go from inspiration to execution in 48 hours and begins... now. 48 Hour is available to the eager public as a real, printed magazine and as a website too. What are the limitations of "old media" How are the editors of the 48 Hour Magazine using Web 2.0 to overcome these limitations What are the advantages and disadvantages of 48 Hour Magazine's model What type of revenue model would you recommend 48 Hour Magazine implement If you had $50,000 would you invest in the 48 Hour Magazine Why or why not

BBC Taps Web 3.0 for New Music Site The BBC's recently launched semantic web music project could indicate the future direction of the corporation's online presence. The public beta of the BBC Music website has been recently relaunched incorporating semantic web technology in its artist pages resource. The BBC artist pages, a repository of information on singers and bands played on several BBC radio stations, has been running as a closed beta project since June 2008, but with the launch of the new BBC Music website, its semantic web technology has now been exposed to the wider public. For the BBC, the site represents a new way of thinking about online content-where the priority is publishing data rather than simply publishing web pages. Such thinking is likely to filter through to other parts of the BBC, with discussions taking place between editorial departments on how to aggregate and meaningfully link data. Matthew Shorter, interactive editor for music at the BBC, told silicon.com: "We're kind of on a journey of moving from what's effectively a magazine/ print publication-based metaphor around web publishing... to a world where we recognize that that's not the way that people use the web. We're working towards a scenario where we really don't want to see any dead ends between bits of the BBC online offering." The semantic technology is not the only improvement on the BBC Music site. The way in which the BBC's online music resource is constructed now makes it easier to search for content due to the way it's been tagged and linked to other content, according to Shorter. "From an SEO point of view, once we start generating a lot of meaningful links among our pages, then we're going to improve the find-ability of our content via web search which is a part of our strategy of doing this." The BBC is also making its music-related application programming interfaces (APIs) available for third-party developers so they can reuse the content-in a similar way as YouTube and Flickr. The open platform could see individuals use the artist play-count data as shown on the BBC Music homepage and display it in a different way, for example. By having an open system, the BBC hopes that people will create unique content that will benefit from incoming links. Do you consider the BBC's use of semantic technology a disruptive or sustaining technology

BBC Taps Web 3.0 for New Music Site The BBC's recently launched semantic web music project could indicate the future direction of the corporation's online presence. The public beta of the BBC Music website has been recently relaunched incorporating semantic web technology in its artist pages resource. The BBC artist pages, a repository of information on singers and bands played on several BBC radio stations, has been running as a closed beta project since June 2008, but with the launch of the new BBC Music website, its semantic web technology has now been exposed to the wider public. For the BBC, the site represents a new way of thinking about online content-where the priority is publishing data rather than simply publishing web pages. Such thinking is likely to filter through to other parts of the BBC, with discussions taking place between editorial departments on how to aggregate and meaningfully link data. Matthew Shorter, interactive editor for music at the BBC, told silicon.com: "We're kind of on a journey of moving from what's effectively a magazine/ print publication-based metaphor around web publishing... to a world where we recognize that that's not the way that people use the web. We're working towards a scenario where we really don't want to see any dead ends between bits of the BBC online offering." The semantic technology is not the only improvement on the BBC Music site. The way in which the BBC's online music resource is constructed now makes it easier to search for content due to the way it's been tagged and linked to other content, according to Shorter. "From an SEO point of view, once we start generating a lot of meaningful links among our pages, then we're going to improve the find-ability of our content via web search which is a part of our strategy of doing this." The BBC is also making its music-related application programming interfaces (APIs) available for third-party developers so they can reuse the content-in a similar way as YouTube and Flickr. The open platform could see individuals use the artist play-count data as shown on the BBC Music homepage and display it in a different way, for example. By having an open system, the BBC hopes that people will create unique content that will benefit from incoming links. Do you consider the BBC's new music site a form of Web 1.0 or Web 2.0

BBC Taps Web 3.0 for New Music Site The BBC's recently launched semantic web music project could indicate the future direction of the corporation's online presence. The public beta of the BBC Music website has been recently relaunched incorporating semantic web technology in its artist pages resource. The BBC artist pages, a repository of information on singers and bands played on several BBC radio stations, has been running as a closed beta project since June 2008, but with the launch of the new BBC Music website, its semantic web technology has now been exposed to the wider public. For the BBC, the site represents a new way of thinking about online content-where the priority is publishing data rather than simply publishing web pages. Such thinking is likely to filter through to other parts of the BBC, with discussions taking place between editorial departments on how to aggregate and meaningfully link data. Matthew Shorter, interactive editor for music at the BBC, told silicon.com: "We're kind of on a journey of moving from what's effectively a magazine/ print publication-based metaphor around web publishing... to a world where we recognize that that's not the way that people use the web. We're working towards a scenario where we really don't want to see any dead ends between bits of the BBC online offering." The semantic technology is not the only improvement on the BBC Music site. The way in which the BBC's online music resource is constructed now makes it easier to search for content due to the way it's been tagged and linked to other content, according to Shorter. "From an SEO point of view, once we start generating a lot of meaningful links among our pages, then we're going to improve the find-ability of our content via web search which is a part of our strategy of doing this." The BBC is also making its music-related application programming interfaces (APIs) available for third-party developers so they can reuse the content-in a similar way as YouTube and Flickr. The open platform could see individuals use the artist play-count data as shown on the BBC Music homepage and display it in a different way, for example. By having an open system, the BBC hopes that people will create unique content that will benefit from incoming links. What benefits will the BBC receive from using an open system

BBC Taps Web 3.0 for New Music Site The BBC's recently launched semantic web music project could indicate the future direction of the corporation's online presence. The public beta of the BBC Music website has been recently relaunched incorporating semantic web technology in its artist pages resource. The BBC artist pages, a repository of information on singers and bands played on several BBC radio stations, has been running as a closed beta project since June 2008, but with the launch of the new BBC Music website, its semantic web technology has now been exposed to the wider public. For the BBC, the site represents a new way of thinking about online content-where the priority is publishing data rather than simply publishing web pages. Such thinking is likely to filter through to other parts of the BBC, with discussions taking place between editorial departments on how to aggregate and meaningfully link data. Matthew Shorter, interactive editor for music at the BBC, told silicon.com: "We're kind of on a journey of moving from what's effectively a magazine/ print publication-based metaphor around web publishing... to a world where we recognize that that's not the way that people use the web. We're working towards a scenario where we really don't want to see any dead ends between bits of the BBC online offering." The semantic technology is not the only improvement on the BBC Music site. The way in which the BBC's online music resource is constructed now makes it easier to search for content due to the way it's been tagged and linked to other content, according to Shorter. "From an SEO point of view, once we start generating a lot of meaningful links among our pages, then we're going to improve the find-ability of our content via web search which is a part of our strategy of doing this." The BBC is also making its music-related application programming interfaces (APIs) available for third-party developers so they can reuse the content-in a similar way as YouTube and Flickr. The open platform could see individuals use the artist play-count data as shown on the BBC Music homepage and display it in a different way, for example. By having an open system, the BBC hopes that people will create unique content that will benefit from incoming links. Why would collaboration, collective intelligence, and crowdsourcing be important to the BBC's radio station

BBC Taps Web 3.0 for New Music Site The BBC's recently launched semantic web music project could indicate the future direction of the corporation's online presence. The public beta of the BBC Music website has been recently relaunched incorporating semantic web technology in its artist pages resource. The BBC artist pages, a repository of information on singers and bands played on several BBC radio stations, has been running as a closed beta project since June 2008, but with the launch of the new BBC Music website, its semantic web technology has now been exposed to the wider public. For the BBC, the site represents a new way of thinking about online content-where the priority is publishing data rather than simply publishing web pages. Such thinking is likely to filter through to other parts of the BBC, with discussions taking place between editorial departments on how to aggregate and meaningfully link data. Matthew Shorter, interactive editor for music at the BBC, told silicon.com: "We're kind of on a journey of moving from what's effectively a magazine/ print publication-based metaphor around web publishing... to a world where we recognize that that's not the way that people use the web. We're working towards a scenario where we really don't want to see any dead ends between bits of the BBC online offering." The semantic technology is not the only improvement on the BBC Music site. The way in which the BBC's online music resource is constructed now makes it easier to search for content due to the way it's been tagged and linked to other content, according to Shorter. "From an SEO point of view, once we start generating a lot of meaningful links among our pages, then we're going to improve the find-ability of our content via web search which is a part of our strategy of doing this." The BBC is also making its music-related application programming interfaces (APIs) available for third-party developers so they can reuse the content-in a similar way as YouTube and Flickr. The open platform could see individuals use the artist play-count data as shown on the BBC Music homepage and display it in a different way, for example. By having an open system, the BBC hopes that people will create unique content that will benefit from incoming links. Brainstorm a few of the security issues a company should prepare for when using Halo.

Social Networking Not long ago, it seemed that four companies would forever dominate the web in traffic and ad dollars. Each of the Big Four-Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft's MSN, and Time Warner's AOL-attracts more than 100 million unique visitors a month. Collectively the group accounts for roughly 90 percent of gross ad dollars online. But now those companies are facing a threat to their dominance. Today's massive social networking systems are rapidly becoming webs within the web-one-stop shops for a wide range of services (from content to communications to commerce) that were once the unique province of the Big Four. Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, and other social-networking sites have been the rage of the tech industry lately. Following investments by Microsoft, News Corp. and Goldman Sachs, the companies are valued in the billions of dollars and are considered blueprints for how to build a website. Facebook has become the web's largest social network as measured by active users, which offers bread-and-butter portal services like email and instant messaging as well as photo posting and video sharing. In addition, Facebook has partnered with Amazon.com to produce a shopping application that lets users buy items at Amazon without leaving Facebook's site, while using opt-in "news feeds" that broadcast activities on Amazon, such as product reviews and wish list updates, to Facebook friends. Additionally, Facebook now uses a chat feature that automatically populates itself with a user's Facebook "friends," that may render older instant messaging services, such as AOL's AIM, defunct. Jumping on the wireless apps mega-trend, Facebook uses mobile alerts to deliver mobile services for traditional styled cell phones and more intelligent smartphones. Applications for popular devices, such as the iPhone or BlackBerry, deliver even richer social experiences. Video has taken off, too, with 45 million clips uploaded on Facebook including higher- resolution video formats allowing Facebook users to send video messages from the site and from mobiles devices. Launched in 2003, Myspace became one of the most visited websites in the world within a few years. With almost a billion visits per month, Myspace is considered the most popular social network (by traffic volume). The site was originally started by musicians as a tool to help users discover new music and engage with bands. Today, Myspace members leverage the service to discover people with similar tastes or experiences. Utilizing a system of adding friends to your network, the ability to customize your profile, write blog entries, play favorite MP3 tracks, join groups and enter discussions, Myspace allows users to interact in a way unparalleled before its emergence. However, the most compelling reason to join Myspace is for fun. There are many avenues toward entertainment on the social network including browsing through musician profiles and exploring areas dedicated to television shows or movies. But Myspace isn't just for fun, as many businesses maintain Myspace profiles in order to use the social media site as a form of marketing. For musicians, actors, authors, entrepreneurs, and others that maintain a public image, a Myspace profile can be a very important connection to fans. Since it scored a $900 million, three-year deal with Google in 2006, Myspace has been profitable. And it has given News Corp. a nice turn on its $650 million acquisition in 2005. Myspace has recently formed partnerships with major record labels Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and Vivendi's Universal Music Group to offer its 117 million members tickets, ring tones, and artist merchandise. Driving a good chunk of sales is a project launched last summer called HyperTargeting, software that mines the profiles of Myspace users to deliver ads tailored to their interests. Hundreds of advertisers are part of the program, including Toyota and Taco Bell. Another income source is the sale of mobile ring tones and ads. When it comes to enterprise collaboration and social software, LinkedIn rules the roost. LinkedIn is more effective at meeting the requirements of social computing the enterprise environment demands. With more than 30 million users representing 150 industries around the world, LinkedIn is a fast-growing professional networking site that allows members to create business contacts, search for jobs, and find potential clients. Individuals have the ability to create their own professional profile that can be viewed by others in their network, and also view the profiles of their own contacts. While Myspace and Facebook are tailored to keeping members in touch with friends and family, LinkedIn is perceived as being "more professional" for business users. Social networking sites are also growing at exponential rates and attracting users of all ages. Facebook's fastest-growing segment is users over 25 years of age. LinkedIn, the business-oriented social networking site, claims more than 30 million active members with an average age of 41. The social networking websites are typically divided into three categories: general interest, niche sites with a specific theme, and international sites. The following are the top sites in these three categories: General Interest Myspace: Started in 2003, Myspace was a driving force in popularizing social networking and still maintains the largest userbase. Facebook: Founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook was designed as a social networking site for Harvard students. After spreading from Harvard through the university ranks and down into high school, Facebook was opened to the public in 2006. Hi5: A fast-growing social network with a strong base in Central America, Hi5 has more than 50 million users worldwide. Ning: A social network for creating social networks, Ning takes the idea of groups to a whole new level. Niche Sites Flixster: With a tagline of "stop watching bad movies," Flixster combines social networking with movie reviews. Last.fm: Billing itself as a social music site, Last.fm allows members to create their own radio station that learns what the person likes and suggests new music based on those interests. In addition to this, you can listen to the radio stations of friends and other Last.fm members. LinkedIn: A business-oriented social network, members invite people to be "connections" instead of "friends." LinkedIn is a contact management system as well as a social network, and has a question-and-answer section similar to Yahoo! Answers. Xanga: A social blogging site that combines social networking elements with blogging. Members earn credits for participating in the site and can spend credits on various things such as buying mini-pictures to post in the comments of a friend's blog. International Sites Badoo: Based in London, Badoo is one of the top social networking sites in Europe. Migente: A social networking site targeted at Latin America. Orkut: Originally created by Google to compete with Myspace and Facebook, it has mainly caught hold in Brazil. Studivz: A German version of Facebook with a strong audience in students. Corporate Use of Social Networking Corporations and smaller businesses haven't embraced online business networks with nearly the same abandon as teens and college students who have flocked to social sites. Yet companies are steadily overcoming reservations and using the sites and related technology to craft potentially powerful business tools. Recruiters at Microsoft and Starbucks, for instance, troll online networks such as LinkedIn for potential job candidates. Goldman Sachs and Deloitte run their own online alumni networks for hiring back former workers (called boomerangs) and strengthening bonds with former alums. Maintaining such networks will be critical in industries like IT and health care that are likely to be plagued by worker shortages for years to come. Social networking can also be important for organizations like IBM, where some 42 percent of employees regularly work from home or client locations. IBM's social network makes it easier to locate employee expertise within the firm, organize virtual work groups, and communicate across large distances. As another example of corporate social networks, Reuters has rolled out Reuters Space, a private online community for financial professionals. Profile pages can also contain a personal blog and news feeds (from Reuters or external services). Every profile page is accessible to the entire Reuters Space community, but members can choose which personal details are available to whom. While IBM and Reuters have developed their own social network platforms, firms are increasingly turning to third-party vendors like SelectMinds (adopted by Deloitte, Dow Chemical, and Goldman Sachs) and LiveWorld (adopted by Intuit, eBay, the NBA, and Scientific American). Are Facebook, Myspace, and LinkedIn using disruptive or sustaining technology to run their businesses

Social Networking Not long ago, it seemed that four companies would forever dominate the web in traffic and ad dollars. Each of the Big Four-Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft's MSN, and Time Warner's AOL-attracts more than 100 million unique visitors a month. Collectively the group accounts for roughly 90 percent of gross ad dollars online. But now those companies are facing a threat to their dominance. Today's massive social networking systems are rapidly becoming webs within the web-one-stop shops for a wide range of services (from content to communications to commerce) that were once the unique province of the Big Four. Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, and other social-networking sites have been the rage of the tech industry lately. Following investments by Microsoft, News Corp. and Goldman Sachs, the companies are valued in the billions of dollars and are considered blueprints for how to build a website. Facebook has become the web's largest social network as measured by active users, which offers bread-and-butter portal services like email and instant messaging as well as photo posting and video sharing. In addition, Facebook has partnered with Amazon.com to produce a shopping application that lets users buy items at Amazon without leaving Facebook's site, while using opt-in "news feeds" that broadcast activities on Amazon, such as product reviews and wish list updates, to Facebook friends. Additionally, Facebook now uses a chat feature that automatically populates itself with a user's Facebook "friends," that may render older instant messaging services, such as AOL's AIM, defunct. Jumping on the wireless apps mega-trend, Facebook uses mobile alerts to deliver mobile services for traditional styled cell phones and more intelligent smartphones. Applications for popular devices, such as the iPhone or BlackBerry, deliver even richer social experiences. Video has taken off, too, with 45 million clips uploaded on Facebook including higher- resolution video formats allowing Facebook users to send video messages from the site and from mobiles devices. Launched in 2003, Myspace became one of the most visited websites in the world within a few years. With almost a billion visits per month, Myspace is considered the most popular social network (by traffic volume). The site was originally started by musicians as a tool to help users discover new music and engage with bands. Today, Myspace members leverage the service to discover people with similar tastes or experiences. Utilizing a system of adding friends to your network, the ability to customize your profile, write blog entries, play favorite MP3 tracks, join groups and enter discussions, Myspace allows users to interact in a way unparalleled before its emergence. However, the most compelling reason to join Myspace is for fun. There are many avenues toward entertainment on the social network including browsing through musician profiles and exploring areas dedicated to television shows or movies. But Myspace isn't just for fun, as many businesses maintain Myspace profiles in order to use the social media site as a form of marketing. For musicians, actors, authors, entrepreneurs, and others that maintain a public image, a Myspace profile can be a very important connection to fans. Since it scored a $900 million, three-year deal with Google in 2006, Myspace has been profitable. And it has given News Corp. a nice turn on its $650 million acquisition in 2005. Myspace has recently formed partnerships with major record labels Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and Vivendi's Universal Music Group to offer its 117 million members tickets, ring tones, and artist merchandise. Driving a good chunk of sales is a project launched last summer called HyperTargeting, software that mines the profiles of Myspace users to deliver ads tailored to their interests. Hundreds of advertisers are part of the program, including Toyota and Taco Bell. Another income source is the sale of mobile ring tones and ads. When it comes to enterprise collaboration and social software, LinkedIn rules the roost. LinkedIn is more effective at meeting the requirements of social computing the enterprise environment demands. With more than 30 million users representing 150 industries around the world, LinkedIn is a fast-growing professional networking site that allows members to create business contacts, search for jobs, and find potential clients. Individuals have the ability to create their own professional profile that can be viewed by others in their network, and also view the profiles of their own contacts. While Myspace and Facebook are tailored to keeping members in touch with friends and family, LinkedIn is perceived as being "more professional" for business users. Social networking sites are also growing at exponential rates and attracting users of all ages. Facebook's fastest-growing segment is users over 25 years of age. LinkedIn, the business-oriented social networking site, claims more than 30 million active members with an average age of 41. The social networking websites are typically divided into three categories: general interest, niche sites with a specific theme, and international sites. The following are the top sites in these three categories: General Interest Myspace: Started in 2003, Myspace was a driving force in popularizing social networking and still maintains the largest userbase. Facebook: Founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook was designed as a social networking site for Harvard students. After spreading from Harvard through the university ranks and down into high school, Facebook was opened to the public in 2006. Hi5: A fast-growing social network with a strong base in Central America, Hi5 has more than 50 million users worldwide. Ning: A social network for creating social networks, Ning takes the idea of groups to a whole new level. Niche Sites Flixster: With a tagline of "stop watching bad movies," Flixster combines social networking with movie reviews. Last.fm: Billing itself as a social music site, Last.fm allows members to create their own radio station that learns what the person likes and suggests new music based on those interests. In addition to this, you can listen to the radio stations of friends and other Last.fm members. LinkedIn: A business-oriented social network, members invite people to be "connections" instead of "friends." LinkedIn is a contact management system as well as a social network, and has a question-and-answer section similar to Yahoo! Answers. Xanga: A social blogging site that combines social networking elements with blogging. Members earn credits for participating in the site and can spend credits on various things such as buying mini-pictures to post in the comments of a friend's blog. International Sites Badoo: Based in London, Badoo is one of the top social networking sites in Europe. Migente: A social networking site targeted at Latin America. Orkut: Originally created by Google to compete with Myspace and Facebook, it has mainly caught hold in Brazil. Studivz: A German version of Facebook with a strong audience in students. Corporate Use of Social Networking Corporations and smaller businesses haven't embraced online business networks with nearly the same abandon as teens and college students who have flocked to social sites. Yet companies are steadily overcoming reservations and using the sites and related technology to craft potentially powerful business tools. Recruiters at Microsoft and Starbucks, for instance, troll online networks such as LinkedIn for potential job candidates. Goldman Sachs and Deloitte run their own online alumni networks for hiring back former workers (called boomerangs) and strengthening bonds with former alums. Maintaining such networks will be critical in industries like IT and health care that are likely to be plagued by worker shortages for years to come. Social networking can also be important for organizations like IBM, where some 42 percent of employees regularly work from home or client locations. IBM's social network makes it easier to locate employee expertise within the firm, organize virtual work groups, and communicate across large distances. As another example of corporate social networks, Reuters has rolled out Reuters Space, a private online community for financial professionals. Profile pages can also contain a personal blog and news feeds (from Reuters or external services). Every profile page is accessible to the entire Reuters Space community, but members can choose which personal details are available to whom. While IBM and Reuters have developed their own social network platforms, firms are increasingly turning to third-party vendors like SelectMinds (adopted by Deloitte, Dow Chemical, and Goldman Sachs) and LiveWorld (adopted by Intuit, eBay, the NBA, and Scientific American). What are some of the business challenges facing social networking sites

Social Networking Not long ago, it seemed that four companies would forever dominate the web in traffic and ad dollars. Each of the Big Four-Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft's MSN, and Time Warner's AOL-attracts more than 100 million unique visitors a month. Collectively the group accounts for roughly 90 percent of gross ad dollars online. But now those companies are facing a threat to their dominance. Today's massive social networking systems are rapidly becoming webs within the web-one-stop shops for a wide range of services (from content to communications to commerce) that were once the unique province of the Big Four. Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, and other social-networking sites have been the rage of the tech industry lately. Following investments by Microsoft, News Corp. and Goldman Sachs, the companies are valued in the billions of dollars and are considered blueprints for how to build a website. Facebook has become the web's largest social network as measured by active users, which offers bread-and-butter portal services like email and instant messaging as well as photo posting and video sharing. In addition, Facebook has partnered with Amazon.com to produce a shopping application that lets users buy items at Amazon without leaving Facebook's site, while using opt-in "news feeds" that broadcast activities on Amazon, such as product reviews and wish list updates, to Facebook friends. Additionally, Facebook now uses a chat feature that automatically populates itself with a user's Facebook "friends," that may render older instant messaging services, such as AOL's AIM, defunct. Jumping on the wireless apps mega-trend, Facebook uses mobile alerts to deliver mobile services for traditional styled cell phones and more intelligent smartphones. Applications for popular devices, such as the iPhone or BlackBerry, deliver even richer social experiences. Video has taken off, too, with 45 million clips uploaded on Facebook including higher- resolution video formats allowing Facebook users to send video messages from the site and from mobiles devices. Launched in 2003, Myspace became one of the most visited websites in the world within a few years. With almost a billion visits per month, Myspace is considered the most popular social network (by traffic volume). The site was originally started by musicians as a tool to help users discover new music and engage with bands. Today, Myspace members leverage the service to discover people with similar tastes or experiences. Utilizing a system of adding friends to your network, the ability to customize your profile, write blog entries, play favorite MP3 tracks, join groups and enter discussions, Myspace allows users to interact in a way unparalleled before its emergence. However, the most compelling reason to join Myspace is for fun. There are many avenues toward entertainment on the social network including browsing through musician profiles and exploring areas dedicated to television shows or movies. But Myspace isn't just for fun, as many businesses maintain Myspace profiles in order to use the social media site as a form of marketing. For musicians, actors, authors, entrepreneurs, and others that maintain a public image, a Myspace profile can be a very important connection to fans. Since it scored a $900 million, three-year deal with Google in 2006, Myspace has been profitable. And it has given News Corp. a nice turn on its $650 million acquisition in 2005. Myspace has recently formed partnerships with major record labels Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and Vivendi's Universal Music Group to offer its 117 million members tickets, ring tones, and artist merchandise. Driving a good chunk of sales is a project launched last summer called HyperTargeting, software that mines the profiles of Myspace users to deliver ads tailored to their interests. Hundreds of advertisers are part of the program, including Toyota and Taco Bell. Another income source is the sale of mobile ring tones and ads. When it comes to enterprise collaboration and social software, LinkedIn rules the roost. LinkedIn is more effective at meeting the requirements of social computing the enterprise environment demands. With more than 30 million users representing 150 industries around the world, LinkedIn is a fast-growing professional networking site that allows members to create business contacts, search for jobs, and find potential clients. Individuals have the ability to create their own professional profile that can be viewed by others in their network, and also view the profiles of their own contacts. While Myspace and Facebook are tailored to keeping members in touch with friends and family, LinkedIn is perceived as being "more professional" for business users. Social networking sites are also growing at exponential rates and attracting users of all ages. Facebook's fastest-growing segment is users over 25 years of age. LinkedIn, the business-oriented social networking site, claims more than 30 million active members with an average age of 41. The social networking websites are typically divided into three categories: general interest, niche sites with a specific theme, and international sites. The following are the top sites in these three categories: General Interest Myspace: Started in 2003, Myspace was a driving force in popularizing social networking and still maintains the largest userbase. Facebook: Founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook was designed as a social networking site for Harvard students. After spreading from Harvard through the university ranks and down into high school, Facebook was opened to the public in 2006. Hi5: A fast-growing social network with a strong base in Central America, Hi5 has more than 50 million users worldwide. Ning: A social network for creating social networks, Ning takes the idea of groups to a whole new level. Niche Sites Flixster: With a tagline of "stop watching bad movies," Flixster combines social networking with movie reviews. Last.fm: Billing itself as a social music site, Last.fm allows members to create their own radio station that learns what the person likes and suggests new music based on those interests. In addition to this, you can listen to the radio stations of friends and other Last.fm members. LinkedIn: A business-oriented social network, members invite people to be "connections" instead of "friends." LinkedIn is a contact management system as well as a social network, and has a question-and-answer section similar to Yahoo! Answers. Xanga: A social blogging site that combines social networking elements with blogging. Members earn credits for participating in the site and can spend credits on various things such as buying mini-pictures to post in the comments of a friend's blog. International Sites Badoo: Based in London, Badoo is one of the top social networking sites in Europe. Migente: A social networking site targeted at Latin America. Orkut: Originally created by Google to compete with Myspace and Facebook, it has mainly caught hold in Brazil. Studivz: A German version of Facebook with a strong audience in students. Corporate Use of Social Networking Corporations and smaller businesses haven't embraced online business networks with nearly the same abandon as teens and college students who have flocked to social sites. Yet companies are steadily overcoming reservations and using the sites and related technology to craft potentially powerful business tools. Recruiters at Microsoft and Starbucks, for instance, troll online networks such as LinkedIn for potential job candidates. Goldman Sachs and Deloitte run their own online alumni networks for hiring back former workers (called boomerangs) and strengthening bonds with former alums. Maintaining such networks will be critical in industries like IT and health care that are likely to be plagued by worker shortages for years to come. Social networking can also be important for organizations like IBM, where some 42 percent of employees regularly work from home or client locations. IBM's social network makes it easier to locate employee expertise within the firm, organize virtual work groups, and communicate across large distances. As another example of corporate social networks, Reuters has rolled out Reuters Space, a private online community for financial professionals. Profile pages can also contain a personal blog and news feeds (from Reuters or external services). Every profile page is accessible to the entire Reuters Space community, but members can choose which personal details are available to whom. While IBM and Reuters have developed their own social network platforms, firms are increasingly turning to third-party vendors like SelectMinds (adopted by Deloitte, Dow Chemical, and Goldman Sachs) and LiveWorld (adopted by Intuit, eBay, the NBA, and Scientific American). What are the characteristics of a social network

Social Networking Not long ago, it seemed that four companies would forever dominate the web in traffic and ad dollars. Each of the Big Four-Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft's MSN, and Time Warner's AOL-attracts more than 100 million unique visitors a month. Collectively the group accounts for roughly 90 percent of gross ad dollars online. But now those companies are facing a threat to their dominance. Today's massive social networking systems are rapidly becoming webs within the web-one-stop shops for a wide range of services (from content to communications to commerce) that were once the unique province of the Big Four. Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, and other social-networking sites have been the rage of the tech industry lately. Following investments by Microsoft, News Corp. and Goldman Sachs, the companies are valued in the billions of dollars and are considered blueprints for how to build a website. Facebook has become the web's largest social network as measured by active users, which offers bread-and-butter portal services like email and instant messaging as well as photo posting and video sharing. In addition, Facebook has partnered with Amazon.com to produce a shopping application that lets users buy items at Amazon without leaving Facebook's site, while using opt-in "news feeds" that broadcast activities on Amazon, such as product reviews and wish list updates, to Facebook friends. Additionally, Facebook now uses a chat feature that automatically populates itself with a user's Facebook "friends," that may render older instant messaging services, such as AOL's AIM, defunct. Jumping on the wireless apps mega-trend, Facebook uses mobile alerts to deliver mobile services for traditional styled cell phones and more intelligent smartphones. Applications for popular devices, such as the iPhone or BlackBerry, deliver even richer social experiences. Video has taken off, too, with 45 million clips uploaded on Facebook including higher- resolution video formats allowing Facebook users to send video messages from the site and from mobiles devices. Launched in 2003, Myspace became one of the most visited websites in the world within a few years. With almost a billion visits per month, Myspace is considered the most popular social network (by traffic volume). The site was originally started by musicians as a tool to help users discover new music and engage with bands. Today, Myspace members leverage the service to discover people with similar tastes or experiences. Utilizing a system of adding friends to your network, the ability to customize your profile, write blog entries, play favorite MP3 tracks, join groups and enter discussions, Myspace allows users to interact in a way unparalleled before its emergence. However, the most compelling reason to join Myspace is for fun. There are many avenues toward entertainment on the social network including browsing through musician profiles and exploring areas dedicated to television shows or movies. But Myspace isn't just for fun, as many businesses maintain Myspace profiles in order to use the social media site as a form of marketing. For musicians, actors, authors, entrepreneurs, and others that maintain a public image, a Myspace profile can be a very important connection to fans. Since it scored a $900 million, three-year deal with Google in 2006, Myspace has been profitable. And it has given News Corp. a nice turn on its $650 million acquisition in 2005. Myspace has recently formed partnerships with major record labels Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and Vivendi's Universal Music Group to offer its 117 million members tickets, ring tones, and artist merchandise. Driving a good chunk of sales is a project launched last summer called HyperTargeting, software that mines the profiles of Myspace users to deliver ads tailored to their interests. Hundreds of advertisers are part of the program, including Toyota and Taco Bell. Another income source is the sale of mobile ring tones and ads. When it comes to enterprise collaboration and social software, LinkedIn rules the roost. LinkedIn is more effective at meeting the requirements of social computing the enterprise environment demands. With more than 30 million users representing 150 industries around the world, LinkedIn is a fast-growing professional networking site that allows members to create business contacts, search for jobs, and find potential clients. Individuals have the ability to create their own professional profile that can be viewed by others in their network, and also view the profiles of their own contacts. While Myspace and Facebook are tailored to keeping members in touch with friends and family, LinkedIn is perceived as being "more professional" for business users. Social networking sites are also growing at exponential rates and attracting users of all ages. Facebook's fastest-growing segment is users over 25 years of age. LinkedIn, the business-oriented social networking site, claims more than 30 million active members with an average age of 41. The social networking websites are typically divided into three categories: general interest, niche sites with a specific theme, and international sites. The following are the top sites in these three categories: General Interest Myspace: Started in 2003, Myspace was a driving force in popularizing social networking and still maintains the largest userbase. Facebook: Founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook was designed as a social networking site for Harvard students. After spreading from Harvard through the university ranks and down into high school, Facebook was opened to the public in 2006. Hi5: A fast-growing social network with a strong base in Central America, Hi5 has more than 50 million users worldwide. Ning: A social network for creating social networks, Ning takes the idea of groups to a whole new level. Niche Sites Flixster: With a tagline of "stop watching bad movies," Flixster combines social networking with movie reviews. Last.fm: Billing itself as a social music site, Last.fm allows members to create their own radio station that learns what the person likes and suggests new music based on those interests. In addition to this, you can listen to the radio stations of friends and other Last.fm members. LinkedIn: A business-oriented social network, members invite people to be "connections" instead of "friends." LinkedIn is a contact management system as well as a social network, and has a question-and-answer section similar to Yahoo! Answers. Xanga: A social blogging site that combines social networking elements with blogging. Members earn credits for participating in the site and can spend credits on various things such as buying mini-pictures to post in the comments of a friend's blog. International Sites Badoo: Based in London, Badoo is one of the top social networking sites in Europe. Migente: A social networking site targeted at Latin America. Orkut: Originally created by Google to compete with Myspace and Facebook, it has mainly caught hold in Brazil. Studivz: A German version of Facebook with a strong audience in students. Corporate Use of Social Networking Corporations and smaller businesses haven't embraced online business networks with nearly the same abandon as teens and college students who have flocked to social sites. Yet companies are steadily overcoming reservations and using the sites and related technology to craft potentially powerful business tools. Recruiters at Microsoft and Starbucks, for instance, troll online networks such as LinkedIn for potential job candidates. Goldman Sachs and Deloitte run their own online alumni networks for hiring back former workers (called boomerangs) and strengthening bonds with former alums. Maintaining such networks will be critical in industries like IT and health care that are likely to be plagued by worker shortages for years to come. Social networking can also be important for organizations like IBM, where some 42 percent of employees regularly work from home or client locations. IBM's social network makes it easier to locate employee expertise within the firm, organize virtual work groups, and communicate across large distances. As another example of corporate social networks, Reuters has rolled out Reuters Space, a private online community for financial professionals. Profile pages can also contain a personal blog and news feeds (from Reuters or external services). Every profile page is accessible to the entire Reuters Space community, but members can choose which personal details are available to whom. While IBM and Reuters have developed their own social network platforms, firms are increasingly turning to third-party vendors like SelectMinds (adopted by Deloitte, Dow Chemical, and Goldman Sachs) and LiveWorld (adopted by Intuit, eBay, the NBA, and Scientific American). What security issues do social networking sites create

Social Networking Not long ago, it seemed that four companies would forever dominate the web in traffic and ad dollars. Each of the Big Four-Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft's MSN, and Time Warner's AOL-attracts more than 100 million unique visitors a month. Collectively the group accounts for roughly 90 percent of gross ad dollars online. But now those companies are facing a threat to their dominance. Today's massive social networking systems are rapidly becoming webs within the web-one-stop shops for a wide range of services (from content to communications to commerce) that were once the unique province of the Big Four. Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, and other social-networking sites have been the rage of the tech industry lately. Following investments by Microsoft, News Corp. and Goldman Sachs, the companies are valued in the billions of dollars and are considered blueprints for how to build a website. Facebook has become the web's largest social network as measured by active users, which offers bread-and-butter portal services like email and instant messaging as well as photo posting and video sharing. In addition, Facebook has partnered with Amazon.com to produce a shopping application that lets users buy items at Amazon without leaving Facebook's site, while using opt-in "news feeds" that broadcast activities on Amazon, such as product reviews and wish list updates, to Facebook friends. Additionally, Facebook now uses a chat feature that automatically populates itself with a user's Facebook "friends," that may render older instant messaging services, such as AOL's AIM, defunct. Jumping on the wireless apps mega-trend, Facebook uses mobile alerts to deliver mobile services for traditional styled cell phones and more intelligent smartphones. Applications for popular devices, such as the iPhone or BlackBerry, deliver even richer social experiences. Video has taken off, too, with 45 million clips uploaded on Facebook including higher- resolution video formats allowing Facebook users to send video messages from the site and from mobiles devices. Launched in 2003, Myspace became one of the most visited websites in the world within a few years. With almost a billion visits per month, Myspace is considered the most popular social network (by traffic volume). The site was originally started by musicians as a tool to help users discover new music and engage with bands. Today, Myspace members leverage the service to discover people with similar tastes or experiences. Utilizing a system of adding friends to your network, the ability to customize your profile, write blog entries, play favorite MP3 tracks, join groups and enter discussions, Myspace allows users to interact in a way unparalleled before its emergence. However, the most compelling reason to join Myspace is for fun. There are many avenues toward entertainment on the social network including browsing through musician profiles and exploring areas dedicated to television shows or movies. But Myspace isn't just for fun, as many businesses maintain Myspace profiles in order to use the social media site as a form of marketing. For musicians, actors, authors, entrepreneurs, and others that maintain a public image, a Myspace profile can be a very important connection to fans. Since it scored a $900 million, three-year deal with Google in 2006, Myspace has been profitable. And it has given News Corp. a nice turn on its $650 million acquisition in 2005. Myspace has recently formed partnerships with major record labels Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and Vivendi's Universal Music Group to offer its 117 million members tickets, ring tones, and artist merchandise. Driving a good chunk of sales is a project launched last summer called HyperTargeting, software that mines the profiles of Myspace users to deliver ads tailored to their interests. Hundreds of advertisers are part of the program, including Toyota and Taco Bell. Another income source is the sale of mobile ring tones and ads. When it comes to enterprise collaboration and social software, LinkedIn rules the roost. LinkedIn is more effective at meeting the requirements of social computing the enterprise environment demands. With more than 30 million users representing 150 industries around the world, LinkedIn is a fast-growing professional networking site that allows members to create business contacts, search for jobs, and find potential clients. Individuals have the ability to create their own professional profile that can be viewed by others in their network, and also view the profiles of their own contacts. While Myspace and Facebook are tailored to keeping members in touch with friends and family, LinkedIn is perceived as being "more professional" for business users. Social networking sites are also growing at exponential rates and attracting users of all ages. Facebook's fastest-growing segment is users over 25 years of age. LinkedIn, the business-oriented social networking site, claims more than 30 million active members with an average age of 41. The social networking websites are typically divided into three categories: general interest, niche sites with a specific theme, and international sites. The following are the top sites in these three categories: General Interest Myspace: Started in 2003, Myspace was a driving force in popularizing social networking and still maintains the largest userbase. Facebook: Founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook was designed as a social networking site for Harvard students. After spreading from Harvard through the university ranks and down into high school, Facebook was opened to the public in 2006. Hi5: A fast-growing social network with a strong base in Central America, Hi5 has more than 50 million users worldwide. Ning: A social network for creating social networks, Ning takes the idea of groups to a whole new level. Niche Sites Flixster: With a tagline of "stop watching bad movies," Flixster combines social networking with movie reviews. Last.fm: Billing itself as a social music site, Last.fm allows members to create their own radio station that learns what the person likes and suggests new music based on those interests. In addition to this, you can listen to the radio stations of friends and other Last.fm members. LinkedIn: A business-oriented social network, members invite people to be "connections" instead of "friends." LinkedIn is a contact management system as well as a social network, and has a question-and-answer section similar to Yahoo! Answers. Xanga: A social blogging site that combines social networking elements with blogging. Members earn credits for participating in the site and can spend credits on various things such as buying mini-pictures to post in the comments of a friend's blog. International Sites Badoo: Based in London, Badoo is one of the top social networking sites in Europe. Migente: A social networking site targeted at Latin America. Orkut: Originally created by Google to compete with Myspace and Facebook, it has mainly caught hold in Brazil. Studivz: A German version of Facebook with a strong audience in students. Corporate Use of Social Networking Corporations and smaller businesses haven't embraced online business networks with nearly the same abandon as teens and college students who have flocked to social sites. Yet companies are steadily overcoming reservations and using the sites and related technology to craft potentially powerful business tools. Recruiters at Microsoft and Starbucks, for instance, troll online networks such as LinkedIn for potential job candidates. Goldman Sachs and Deloitte run their own online alumni networks for hiring back former workers (called boomerangs) and strengthening bonds with former alums. Maintaining such networks will be critical in industries like IT and health care that are likely to be plagued by worker shortages for years to come. Social networking can also be important for organizations like IBM, where some 42 percent of employees regularly work from home or client locations. IBM's social network makes it easier to locate employee expertise within the firm, organize virtual work groups, and communicate across large distances. As another example of corporate social networks, Reuters has rolled out Reuters Space, a private online community for financial professionals. Profile pages can also contain a personal blog and news feeds (from Reuters or external services). Every profile page is accessible to the entire Reuters Space community, but members can choose which personal details are available to whom. While IBM and Reuters have developed their own social network platforms, firms are increasingly turning to third-party vendors like SelectMinds (adopted by Deloitte, Dow Chemical, and Goldman Sachs) and LiveWorld (adopted by Intuit, eBay, the NBA, and Scientific American). What are some current social networking trends

Social Networking Not long ago, it seemed that four companies would forever dominate the web in traffic and ad dollars. Each of the Big Four-Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft's MSN, and Time Warner's AOL-attracts more than 100 million unique visitors a month. Collectively the group accounts for roughly 90 percent of gross ad dollars online. But now those companies are facing a threat to their dominance. Today's massive social networking systems are rapidly becoming webs within the web-one-stop shops for a wide range of services (from content to communications to commerce) that were once the unique province of the Big Four. Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, and other social-networking sites have been the rage of the tech industry lately. Following investments by Microsoft, News Corp. and Goldman Sachs, the companies are valued in the billions of dollars and are considered blueprints for how to build a website. Facebook has become the web's largest social network as measured by active users, which offers bread-and-butter portal services like email and instant messaging as well as photo posting and video sharing. In addition, Facebook has partnered with Amazon.com to produce a shopping application that lets users buy items at Amazon without leaving Facebook's site, while using opt-in "news feeds" that broadcast activities on Amazon, such as product reviews and wish list updates, to Facebook friends. Additionally, Facebook now uses a chat feature that automatically populates itself with a user's Facebook "friends," that may render older instant messaging services, such as AOL's AIM, defunct. Jumping on the wireless apps mega-trend, Facebook uses mobile alerts to deliver mobile services for traditional styled cell phones and more intelligent smartphones. Applications for popular devices, such as the iPhone or BlackBerry, deliver even richer social experiences. Video has taken off, too, with 45 million clips uploaded on Facebook including higher- resolution video formats allowing Facebook users to send video messages from the site and from mobiles devices. Launched in 2003, Myspace became one of the most visited websites in the world within a few years. With almost a billion visits per month, Myspace is considered the most popular social network (by traffic volume). The site was originally started by musicians as a tool to help users discover new music and engage with bands. Today, Myspace members leverage the service to discover people with similar tastes or experiences. Utilizing a system of adding friends to your network, the ability to customize your profile, write blog entries, play favorite MP3 tracks, join groups and enter discussions, Myspace allows users to interact in a way unparalleled before its emergence. However, the most compelling reason to join Myspace is for fun. There are many avenues toward entertainment on the social network including browsing through musician profiles and exploring areas dedicated to television shows or movies. But Myspace isn't just for fun, as many businesses maintain Myspace profiles in order to use the social media site as a form of marketing. For musicians, actors, authors, entrepreneurs, and others that maintain a public image, a Myspace profile can be a very important connection to fans. Since it scored a $900 million, three-year deal with Google in 2006, Myspace has been profitable. And it has given News Corp. a nice turn on its $650 million acquisition in 2005. Myspace has recently formed partnerships with major record labels Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and Vivendi's Universal Music Group to offer its 117 million members tickets, ring tones, and artist merchandise. Driving a good chunk of sales is a project launched last summer called HyperTargeting, software that mines the profiles of Myspace users to deliver ads tailored to their interests. Hundreds of advertisers are part of the program, including Toyota and Taco Bell. Another income source is the sale of mobile ring tones and ads. When it comes to enterprise collaboration and social software, LinkedIn rules the roost. LinkedIn is more effective at meeting the requirements of social computing the enterprise environment demands. With more than 30 million users representing 150 industries around the world, LinkedIn is a fast-growing professional networking site that allows members to create business contacts, search for jobs, and find potential clients. Individuals have the ability to create their own professional profile that can be viewed by others in their network, and also view the profiles of their own contacts. While Myspace and Facebook are tailored to keeping members in touch with friends and family, LinkedIn is perceived as being "more professional" for business users. Social networking sites are also growing at exponential rates and attracting users of all ages. Facebook's fastest-growing segment is users over 25 years of age. LinkedIn, the business-oriented social networking site, claims more than 30 million active members with an average age of 41. The social networking websites are typically divided into three categories: general interest, niche sites with a specific theme, and international sites. The following are the top sites in these three categories: General Interest Myspace: Started in 2003, Myspace was a driving force in popularizing social networking and still maintains the largest userbase. Facebook: Founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook was designed as a social networking site for Harvard students. After spreading from Harvard through the university ranks and down into high school, Facebook was opened to the public in 2006. Hi5: A fast-growing social network with a strong base in Central America, Hi5 has more than 50 million users worldwide. Ning: A social network for creating social networks, Ning takes the idea of groups to a whole new level. Niche Sites Flixster: With a tagline of "stop watching bad movies," Flixster combines social networking with movie reviews. Last.fm: Billing itself as a social music site, Last.fm allows members to create their own radio station that learns what the person likes and suggests new music based on those interests. In addition to this, you can listen to the radio stations of friends and other Last.fm members. LinkedIn: A business-oriented social network, members invite people to be "connections" instead of "friends." LinkedIn is a contact management system as well as a social network, and has a question-and-answer section similar to Yahoo! Answers. Xanga: A social blogging site that combines social networking elements with blogging. Members earn credits for participating in the site and can spend credits on various things such as buying mini-pictures to post in the comments of a friend's blog. International Sites Badoo: Based in London, Badoo is one of the top social networking sites in Europe. Migente: A social networking site targeted at Latin America. Orkut: Originally created by Google to compete with Myspace and Facebook, it has mainly caught hold in Brazil. Studivz: A German version of Facebook with a strong audience in students. Corporate Use of Social Networking Corporations and smaller businesses haven't embraced online business networks with nearly the same abandon as teens and college students who have flocked to social sites. Yet companies are steadily overcoming reservations and using the sites and related technology to craft potentially powerful business tools. Recruiters at Microsoft and Starbucks, for instance, troll online networks such as LinkedIn for potential job candidates. Goldman Sachs and Deloitte run their own online alumni networks for hiring back former workers (called boomerangs) and strengthening bonds with former alums. Maintaining such networks will be critical in industries like IT and health care that are likely to be plagued by worker shortages for years to come. Social networking can also be important for organizations like IBM, where some 42 percent of employees regularly work from home or client locations. IBM's social network makes it easier to locate employee expertise within the firm, organize virtual work groups, and communicate across large distances. As another example of corporate social networks, Reuters has rolled out Reuters Space, a private online community for financial professionals. Profile pages can also contain a personal blog and news feeds (from Reuters or external services). Every profile page is accessible to the entire Reuters Space community, but members can choose which personal details are available to whom. While IBM and Reuters have developed their own social network platforms, firms are increasingly turning to third-party vendors like SelectMinds (adopted by Deloitte, Dow Chemical, and Goldman Sachs) and LiveWorld (adopted by Intuit, eBay, the NBA, and Scientific American). How can social networking sites generate revenue beyond selling banner and text ads