Despite all the hardware Apple introduced at its press event Wednesday, the most radical news was Ping, a social network for music that’s launching as a feature of iTunes 10. I’ve taken a brief test drive of Ping to see what it’s about, but even before updating iTunes, I knew Apple’s new social network was not for me. Here are five reasons I won’t be using Ping

ATLANTA, GA, September 02, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ — SocialTerrain, Inc. today announced the launch of its new online business directory, DirectoryCentral.com, connecting businesses to customers via social media. The system allows businesses to use the larger social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for communicating updates, blogs, and coupons.

Businesses can post information on the business directory, and it will be automatically sent out to all of its followers on the social network sites, thus providing a centralized platform to simplify the online marketing world. All of this functionality is provided at no charge to either the business owners or consumers. When a customer posts a review or question on a business’ profile, the business can reply to the post. The ability to integrate the communication with other social networks between the consumer and business is what sets this directory apart.

“DirectoryCentral.com is an exciting way to help small to mid-sized local businesses augment their online marketing efforts,” co-founder Dwight Ringdahl said. “We drastically reduce the time needed to communicate with their customer base while optimizing their SEO efforts in the background. DirectoryCentral gives business owners a way to really be seen on the internet, not overshadowed by larger companies. This is truly social networking 2.0 for business.”

Currently more than 30-million active businesses are online waiting for their owners to claim their profile. Business owners just need to go to the DirectoryCentral.com, find their business and click the “Claim this Company” link. After the owner has gone through the verification process which usually takes 24 hours, the business’ profile can be set up. Business owners can then link up all their different social media accounts to their DirectoryCentral.com account. This allows the business a one stop marketing solution.

Customers using the site can search for a business by name or category in a city. After clicking on a business, they are presented with a location map, reviews, and coupons for the business. Then after visiting the business, they have the option of posting their own review, becoming a fan or messaging the business directly.

“Business is about customer service and a commitment to excellence whether in manufacturing or technology,” said Randy Dobbs, Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors for SocialTerrain, Inc. “DirectoryCentral.com has been created with customer service, performance and excellence at the heart of its design and implementation. I have no doubt that the user audience will find this to be a differentiated offer to their online marketing efforts.”

“DirectoryCentral’s unique value proposition for businesses goes way beyond what the traditional online directory services have been able to offer to date,” said Brian Handly, Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors for SocialTerrain, Inc. “Combined with their extremely scalable business model, Directory Central is poised for rapid growth. I am very excited to be associated with Dwight and his team as they continue to implement their strategy and expand their business.”

DirectoryCentral.com offers business owners the option to link to customers with minimal effort and time. For more information, visit http://www.directorycentral.com.

About Dwight Ringdahl
Currently Dwight Ringdahl serves as President and CEO of both SocialTerrain, Inc. and the Zenovia Group. He has founded several successful IT businesses that include WebUseNet Corporation, InterAxis Inc. and Gold Coast Software. Ringdahl has been instrumental in several consulting positions, including reviews of technologies, business plans, and assisting other companies in raising capital funds for start-up or established businesses.

About Randy Dobbs
Randy Dobbs spent 27 years with General Electric Company where he held various senior level positions, including President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Capital, IT Solutions. Dobbs is currently the Senior Operating Executive at Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, a private equity firm. He also currently serves as the Co-Chair on the SocialTerrain, Inc. Board of Directors.

About Brian Handly
Brian Handly spent much of the past three years as General Manager for Microsoft’s Advertiser and Publisher Solutions group. He came to Microsoft through their acquisition of aQuantive and Accipiter, which Handly founded and served as CEO. Handly is now an Operating Partner with Frontier Capital, as well as, a board member of the North Carolina Center for Entrepreneurial Development. He also currently serves as the Co-Chair on the SocialTerrain, Inc. Board of Directors.

As an open source Web developer, David Clark is in demand — he gets at least five calls a week from recruiters.

Despite that fact — and his 15 years of experience — Clark has been looking for a permanent job for more than a year since his last position ended when the organization closed because of lack of funding. Although he has no definitive evidence, Clark, who has been doing independent contract work, believes his job search may be hindered by his disability; he has cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that can affect speech and movement. He is one of the about 54 million Americans with disabilities, and he feels that he frequently encounters unspoken barriers, such as an employer’s perception of the costs and difficulty of accommodating people with disabilities.

Houston: Social networking groups are no more an exclusive domain of teenagers or youngsters as it was a few years back, but now it is catering more for all those who are older but still young at heart.

The phenomenal growth of Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites in the past year has come in part because of a surge in adoption by older members, with a national poll released Friday providing a surprising new measure for how fast baby boomers and seniors are adopting online social networks to bridge generations and geography.

According to the report, 35 percent of social network gamers are new to gaming, never having  participated in any other type of gaming before they started playing games on social networks. Females and older age groups are more likely to be new gamers than other groups measured in the study.

Interestingly, despite the perception that social network gamers are primarily females, the study finds that social network gamers are fairly evenly divided between genders, at 47 percent male, and 53 percent female.

“Although 35 percent of social network gamers are new to gaming, it’s clear that a lot of existing gamers have been drawn into the social network gaming arena as well,” said Anita Frazier, Industry Analyst, The NPD Group. “This impacts both the time they spend with other types of gaming, as well as the amount of money they’re spending on gaming. As more players are drawn into these games, the entire games industry is going to feel, and have to adjust to, the impact.”

While you can play these games for free, it is worth noting that 10 percent of social network gamers have spent real money playing these games and 11 percent indicate that they are likely to make a future purchase.  Social network games are also impacting spending on other types of gaming activities as gamers report spending 20 percent less on gaming overall since they started playing social network games.

“There are many distinctions between the players who spend money and those that don’t,” said Frazier. “While social network gaming has caught on with a mass market audience, it’s not without its challenges.  Players are frustrated by slow loading and performance issues and report getting bored by the games easily.  Clearly, these types of games will have to continue to evolve if they hope to hold their audiences and incentivize them to spend money playing.”

Methodology
This study is comprised of two sample types: a nationally representative sample of social network gamers as well as a pre-identified sample of social network gamers. The source of the former is NPD’s Games Acquisition Monitor (fielded April 5-20, 2010), which is weighted and projected to be representative of the US population age 6+.  The pre-ID portion of the sample was fielded from June 1-9, 2010 via an online survey to NPD’s Consumer Panel, yielding qualified social network gamers (also age 6+), defined as those who are members of or users of at least one social network site and who also currently play games on at least one of these sites.   Also included in this report is data based on individuals who do not play social network games, but who are members/users of these sites.

Playdom shareholders will receive total consideration of $563.2 million, subject to certain conditions, and a performance-linked earn-out of up to $200 million.

In just two and a half years of operation, Playdom has established itself as a pacesetter in building popular games for social networks enjoyed by consumers around the globe. Through well-known titles like Social City, Sorority Life, Market Street and Bola, Playdom engages an estimated 42 million active players each month.

By acquiring Playdom, Disney will strengthen its already-robust digital gaming portfolio, acquire a first-rate management team and provide consumers new ways to interact with the company on popular social networks like Facebook and MySpace.

“We see strong growth potential in bringing together Playdom’s talented team and capabilities with our great creative properties, people and world-renowned brands like Disney, ABC, ESPN and Marvel.” said Robert A. Iger, President and CEO, The Walt Disney Company.

“This acquisition furthers our strategy of allocating capital to high-growth businesses that can benefit from our many characters, stories and brands, delivering them in a creatively compelling way to a new generation of fans on the platforms they prefer,” Iger added.

“We are at the start of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the way people of all ages play games with their friends across devices, platforms and geographical boundaries,” said Playdom Chief Executive Officer John Pleasants. “Disney is an incredibly forward-thinking company that shares our vision and is the ideal partner to further our mission to bring great entertainment to people around the world.”

Playdom, which has 15 game development studios, will remain headquartered in Mountain View, California. Pleasants will become an Executive Vice President of the Disney Interactive Media Group (DIMG) and General Manager of Playdom, reporting to DIMG President Steve Wadsworth.

Disney expects Playdom’s expertise in social gaming software tools, business intelligence and rapid innovation to broadly benefit DIMG, which already has a substantial global presence in online, console and mobile gaming.

The transaction, which is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act and certain non-U.S. merger control regulations, is expected to close by the end of Disney’s 2010 fiscal year.

About The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive media. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenues of about $36 billion in its most recent fiscal year.

Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this press release may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements relate to a variety of matters, including but not limited to: the operations of the businesses of Disney and Playdom; the timing and consummation of the transaction; the expected benefits of the integration of the two companies; the market for online social gaming and other statements that are not historical fact. These statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of Disney regarding future events and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty including uncertainties regarding the business of each company, the receipt or timing of regulatory approvals and continued consumer acceptance of online social gaming.

Disney undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that may cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements are set forth in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Disney for the year ended October 3, 2009 and in subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K and other filings made with the SEC by Disney.

Rumors that Google is building a new social network have persisted since late June, when Kevin Rose, CEO of Digg.com, posted on Twitter that the Web giant was working on a challenger to Facebook. The company’s recent actions–its reported investment in Zynga, a social gaming company, and its acquisition of Slide, a company that makes various applications for social networks–have fanned the flames.

Google already owns several products that encourage online social interaction–including YouTube, Google Talk, Google Reader, and Blogger. But it has struggled to deliver a successful dedicated social networking service. Its existing social network, Orkut, has far fewer users than Facebook (around 100 million, compared to 500 million), and is mainly popular in Brazil and India

Agoura Hills, CA ( Worldprline ) August 16, 2010 – SEOCompany.net has brought internet marketing to surpassing levels when it comes to web promotions. Search engine optimization refers to converting your website visitors to potential buyers by displaying you as an expert in your field and giving a substantial amount of external links that are linked back to your website on other popular sites. When it comes to Social Networking, a recent survey denotes that it is the second largest activity on the internet. SEOCompany.net fosters the viral nature of this extremely intriguing networking system and launches Social Networking Packages for businesses worldwide.
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