MySpace is in a public beta test of software it calls "ParentCare" designed to let parents keep an eye on their kids' profiles. According to the FAQ, ParentCare squats on the family PC to "automatically track any access to myspace.com from all the user accounts on your computer. The parent may run a check on their teen's activities by double clicking the ParentCareBeta system tray icon to view the events."
Note, however, that MySpace is still very concerned with privacy. Er, its own, that is. Check out this NDA you agree to by downloading the code:
By downloading the ParentCare Beta software, you agree to not disclose any information about its content, its look and feel, and your experience with the software or your opinions about the software to any party other than a representative of Fox Interactive Media. Examples of prohibited disclosures are as follows:
Communicating with reporters or media regarding the software
Posting comments on an internet bulletin board regarding the software
Sending emails regarding the software
Thank you for your compliance with this nondisclosure agreement ...
Plans for the tracking tool -- formerly codenamed "Zephyr" -- have been known since January, but it's unclear just how much monitoring ParentCare does. Also unanswered: does MySpace have another monitoring program (ParentCareCare?) that tells them if you violate your NDA by sending an e-mail describing your experiences monitoring your kid?
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Beta Test MySpace's Kid-Tracking Software
Monday, July 23, 2007
How to get emotions and zaps on myspace im?
It's easy -- just to go File -> Preferences - Emoticons & Zaps, select either "Emoticons" or "Zaps" at the top, then click the "Add" button.
For an emoticon, just pick any image that you like when prompted, as long as it's under 100k.
For a zap, you will also be prompted to select an image, along with a sound and some text to go along with it (think of a zap as an enhanced emoticon). After you select an image, just fill out the rest of the info in the box that appears - it will look something like this:
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Friday, June 29, 2007
MySpace’s Explosive Video Growth Ushers in Beta Platform, MySpaceTV
MySpace Sees 100% Growth In Total Number of Video Streams and More Than 15 Million New Unique Streamers Since January
Content Partnerships, User Interface Changes Usher in MySpaceTV Beta Launch
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MySpace, America’s most trafficked website, today announced plans to beta launch its new global video platform, MySpaceTV (http://www.myspacetv.com). The announcement comes on the heels of explosive video growth driven by dozens of industry content partnerships and user interface changes. According to comScore Media Metrix, MySpace’s total number of video streams has leapt by 100% and the site has added 15 million unique streamers since January.
MySpaceTV in beta, will be an integrated component of the company’s worldwide community and content platform, continues the evolution of the company’s video offering by aggregating the best elements of video and empowers MySpace users to view, create, and share videos in new ways throughout the community. MySpaceTV will serve as the community’s primary video channel and as a stand-alone user destination at http://www.myspacetv.com.
“This is the tip of the iceberg,” said Chris DeWolfe, CEO of MySpace. ”The incredible video growth trajectory we’re seeing is a testament to the unique content and high user engagement in all corners of the MySpace community. In the last year we’ve added nearly 20 million unique users in the U.S. alone and continue to see incredible growth around the world.”
According to comScore, 38% of people streaming video on the Internet are doing so on MySpace and the company’s total number of unique streamers has gone from 35 million in January to more than 50 million in April, a 40% increase in past three months. MySpace’s overall growth has continued to rocket with the site clearing 110 million global active users in May, more than three times the size of the next largest social networking site.
MySpace’s growth in videos streamed has leapt 100% from January to April as a result of the recent video-focused content deals and partnerships including:
Broadband Emmy Awards
Michael Eisner’s Prom Queen
Mark Burnett’s INDEPENDENT
National Basketball Association
National Hockey League
The Sony Minisode Network
Branded channel partners (including the New York Times, Reuters, National Geographic)
“When you see us going from 332 million to 648 million videos per month you know something big is happening,” said Tom Anderson, co-founder and president of MySpace. “We’re going to be rolling out innovative video products and features in the coming months to further empower our users.”
MySpace has made significant video interface changes in recent weeks to make it easier for users to view and share content. Site-wide changes include “cool new videos” on the user homepage, an optimized video search tool, one-click video add to profile, one-click video bulletins, video slide show functionality, and enabling subscriptions to keep track of videos from favorite content creators.
In addition, the recent acquisitions of Flektor, a cutting-edge online media editing tool set, and Photobucket, the number one photo sharing site online, are expected to help continue driving MySpace’s explosive video growth.
Localized in 15 international territories, MySpaceTV allows users to share and create videos in their own language, discover the most popular and relevant videos in their markets, and connect with other local users. Localized versions of MySpace TV are immediately available in seven different languages across the UK, Japan, Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Latin America, Sweden, and Austria.
The beta launch of MySpaceTV introduces a new video user interface, categorical organization for all content, a personalized video channel, exclusive and original content, user generated and partner driven branded channels, and video charts. The platform blends user generated, premium, licensed, and sponsored content.
MySpaceTV’s easy-to-navigate user interface includes:
Home Page – Includes a hot video of the day, a variety of featured videos, premium and other unique content.
My Videos – MySpaceTV evolves the company’s community driven approach to video by offering worldwide users the option to create a personal video channel in addition to their already existing MySpace profile. Users will have a personalized video channel within their MySpace page which will allow them to save their favorite videos, comment, and create playlists.
Video Charts – A ranking of the most popular videos determined by the MySpace community available in 16 categories and 7 languages.
Categories – Includes unique video content based on user’s interests in 16 categories (animals, animation/ CGI, automotive, comedy and humor, entertainment, extreme videos, instructional, music, news and politics, schools and education, science and technology, video blogging, sports, travel and vacations, video games, and weird stuff).
Channels – A community where musicians, filmmakers and comedians can post videos along with other user generated content.
In advance of the launch, MySpace has already announced deals with a variety of content partners for branded channels that will appear on MySpaceTV. Partners include National Geographic, The New York Times, Reuters, and lifestyle outlets including Animation Show, The Daily Reel, Expert Village, Flow, FOX’s IGN Entertainment, Kush TV, LX.TV, Octane TV, Ripe TV, Studio411, VBS.tv (from the makers of Vice Magazine), and Young Hollywood.
The beta launch of MySpaceTV marks the first phase in a high volume of video-specific product innovations, partnership announcements, and new community-driven functionalities.
About MySpace.com
MySpace, a unit of Fox Interactive Media Inc., is the premier lifestyle portal for connecting with friends, discovering popular culture, and making a positive impact on the world. By integrating web profiles, blogs, instant messaging, e-mail, music streaming, music videos, photo galleries, classified listings, events, groups, college communities, and member forums, MySpace has created a connected community. As the first ranked web domain in terms of page views1, MySpace is the most widely-used and highly regarded site of its kind and is committed to providing the highest quality member experience. MySpace will continue to innovate with new features that allow its members to express their creativity and share their lives, both online and off. MySpace’s international network includes localized community sites in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany, Australia, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Austria, and Latin America.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
myspace zaps: MySpace launches instant messaging service
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA -- MySpace Wednesday officially launched an instant messaging service customized for users of the teen-oriented social networking Web site.
MySpace released the beta test version of the service without fanfare in a "soft launch" last year and says that it spread "virally" to more than 17 million users.
"This is a product with personality," said MySpace co-founder Tom Anderson. "MySpaceIM was born out of user feedback and we've spent the last year listening to our community and tweaking it to match their needs."
Now a "fully integrated beta service," MySpaceIM can be downloaded online at http://myspace.com/myspaceim, according to the US Internet company.
MySpaceIM is designed to let members of the Web site easily share videos, pictures, and other content from profile pages along with snippets of sound called "zaps" and music.
It is customized for countries including Australia, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Britain, Mexico, Canada, the Netherlands, and China.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
MySpace Opens Instant Messaging Beta
MySpace has officially launched a beta of its MySpaceIM instant messaging service - and the company says 17 million users have already tried it.
Social networking site MySpace officially launched a beta version of its MySpaceIM instant messaging client—although the company notes it began rolling out the software a year ago, and it's been spreading virally ever since, to the point where 17 million MySpace users have already given it a shot.
"This is a product with personality," said MySpace president and co-founder Tom Anderson, in a statement. "MySpaceIM was born out of user feedback and we've spent the last year listening to our community and tweaking it to match their needs. MySpace will continue to build an open, unique feature set that's as creative and expressive as our users."
MySpaceIM provides one-click access to a user's MySpace friends' profiles, and pops up instant alerts to comments, requests, and messages sent to a user's MySpace account. Users can create custom sounds ("zaps") and emoticons for use in their messages, can tap into a friend's profile song while chatting with them, and lets users share pictures by simply dragging them to friends. Users also get one-click access to their MySpace mail and bulletins, and can set their computer's background image to their MySpace photos.
The MySpaceIM client may have been sneaking around for a year, but Mac and Linux users are still left out in the cold: MySpaceIM requires Windows 98/2000/XP/ or Vista and Internet Explorer 5.0 or later.
Friday, April 20, 2007
MySpace launches news site beta
MySpace has launched a beta of a news site it hopes will attract more ads revenue to the service.
MySpace News is a hybrid between standard news-aggregation sites, like Google News, and a news-rating site such as Digg. Like Google and other news sites, MySpace News brings in content from a variety of news outlets. But the site also has Digg-like features that allow MySpace users rate stories they see on the site, and share stories with other site users.
MySpace hopes to derive more advertising revenue by placing ads on the site's main home page as well as the home pages of its various news category sites, a company spokeswoman said Thursday. She would not disclose how many news sources MySpace News searches for its content, but said the number is more than Google News uses for its stories.
MySpace's news aggregator, called Newroo, searches for stories on the web using an algorithm that posts content based on a number of factors, including relevance for MySpace users and the number of readers a news site has. Fox Interactive Media, the same company that owns MySpace, acquired Newroo from its creators last year.
There are 25 main news categories on MySpace's news site, with 300 subcategories. Some of the main categories – such as eco-friendly, gadgets, gossip and fashion – seem designed to appeal to the young, hip and web-savvy user base for which MySpace is known.
Clicking on a MySpace News item leads immediately to the original source of the story, which gets the traffic and ad impression. However, a banner runs across a story's source page identifying the news item as part of "MySpace News," and shows the rating for the story as well as related links to other stories in that category.
According to MySpace, the site currently has 170 million user profiles and is adding 320,000 profiles per day.
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