isJupiter Research has released the results of two studies of the online dating industry. While the online dating market in the US appears to have saturated, with the value of the market actually declining by 1% in 2005, the European… Continue Reading
Recently published research by Nielsen/NetRatings suggest that over half the UK internet population visits "online member communities" in any given month. Friends Reunited comes top of the list, followed by Blogger, Bebo, MySpace and Genes Reunited. I reckon the list… Continue Reading
A federal lawsuit filed in Chicago last week accuses the online site Craigslist of violating fair housing laws by publishing discriminatory classified ads. The lawsuit, filed by a group of lawyers working to enforce and gain awareness for civil rights,… Continue Reading
Just a reminder that I’m giving away a free flickr pro account to a cybersoc.com reader on Valentines day. Yes, it really truly is free and you have to do almost nothing at all for your chance to win. I,… Continue Reading
A colleague of mine pointed out that several of the BBC’s Radio One DJ’s (including Jo Whiley, Chris Moyles, Huw Stephens, and Bethan Elfyn) have profiles on myspace. Ok, so the comments on their profiles look a bit like billboards… Continue Reading
This morning I came across two interesting studies on tagging: Folksonomies: Tidying up Tags? By Marieke Guy and Emma Tonkin A social analysis of tagging (or how tagging transforms the solitary browsing experience into a social one) by Rashmi Sinha… Continue Reading
When giving workshops about how to start an online community, I often suggest that sites "seed" their online discussions before public launch. There’s nothing wrong with doing a bit of seeding. When users arrive immediately following launch it ensures that… Continue Reading
As I’ve explained in previous months, the point of having google ads (and search) on cybersoc.com is to try to pay for the hosting of the old cybersoc content and the typepad account used by this blog. The two services… Continue Reading
The Home Office, Ofcom and InternetSafetyZone.co.uk have organised a one day conference (Tues 07 Feb in London) to help the UK internet industry protect children online. Speakers include Dr. Rachel O’Connell (Univ. of Lancashire), Dr. Jo Twist (IPPR), John Carr… Continue Reading
I got a message on flickr today from the Director of Contributor Relations at NowPublic.com. It would seem that NowPublic, a site that publishes articles, photos and videos submitted by “citizen journalists” is now actively approaching content producers and encouraging… Continue Reading