The USPTO just granted Apple a patent for iGroups, a mobile social networking application that could have immense value in this arena, especially if the relevant features are released as part of a public API for the company’s mobile devices – namely iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Social Times takes a look at some of this patent’s details, followed by a list of potential mobile social networking uses.
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OneRiot, the real time web search engine, has added MySpace user content to its aggregated search results. The MySpace content comes from users updating their public profiles, along with other publicly shared information such as shared links and media. The news comes with MySpace’s announcement of its new Real-Time Stream API, which made its debut this morning at LeWeb Conference in Paris, France.

What the MySpace real time search API does is give other third parties access to public MySpace user content. The positing of this content in search engines expands the distribution of that content, making it more visible and accessible across the web. While MySpace has yielded high search engine ranking for its public profile pages for some time, the incorporation of real time content is riding MySpace’s hopes of taking things to the next level.
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MySpace has begun the global beta rollout of MySpace Mail, the first major feature upgrade for the social network since the company laid off a good portion of its staff and announced that it would be focusing on innovation from here on out. And MySpace may have actually achieved something notable with this one, starting with the new user interface. It’s nice and well thought out, while also able to take advantage of some of the new capabilities that MySpace Mail has to offer.

For instance, the big selling point of the new MySpace Mail is the Mail activity stream, which summarizes all of your mail activity on your mail dashboard, or message center. This gives you a quick run down of what’s been sent to you and when, as well as real time updates as to your friends’ activity. The purpose behind the Mail activity stream is to give a continually flowing stream of accessible data points surrounding the communication threads between you and your friends.
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Networking online for professional purposes is more important than ever in this day and age, with people turning to their online networks to promote themselves and find new jobs. mySBX is a new network for professionals, with a focus on the individual.

This D.C.-based startup provides tools to connect individuals on multiple levels for their professional development. mySBX also offers tools for large and small companies alike. Below is an excerpt of an interview I had with mySBX President Jeff White, who speaks on the way in which mySBX manages to appeal to so many aspects of professional networking.
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National Journal, a site for nonpartisan reporting on current politics, has teamed with New Media Strategies and JESS3 in order to provide an exclusive networking community for members of congress and their staff. This secure portion of the National Journal site will be for work purposes, communication and collaborative efforts between congressional members and staff.

The new network is called 3121, and it’s aiming to make life “easier” for the sie members. You’ll need to submit a request in order to access the site, though a public blog is available as a basic resource within the National Journal site. 3121 is actually in beta, so there is likely to be a lot of experimentation and ongoing improvements to this network, as it is among the first to be a professional networking tool created specifically for members of congress.
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As I expected, yet another company has teamed up with OneRiot for added realtime search capabilities. Shareaholic, a browser-based content sharing tool, has released a new update called the Shareaholic Buzz Monitor, marking its entry into the realtime realm.

The idea behind the new Buzz Monitor is to offer easier and more readily accessible trending news, from across the web. It’s just another way to offer the instant gratification consumers seemingly crave from web content these days. And this not only encompasses the web content itself, but the ethos surrounding it. What are people saying, and where are they saying it? This all comes together to form a new and momentary glance at what is going on at any given moment.
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It was widely speculated that MySpace was getting ready to undergo massive layoffs at its company, and the social network has confirmed the rumors today.

Touting the layoffs as a plan for restructuring the company in order to become more “innovative, efficient and entrepreneurial,” MySpace is letting go of 30% of its staff, whittling the company down to 1,000 employees. MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta was quoted as saying that the staff had become bloated, making MySpace hindered in the innovation company.
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CollectiveX, the site where you can create your own professional network, is undergoing some major re-branding this week, changing the look of the site as well as the company’s name. CollectiveX is now Groupsite, which is more identifiable as a service designed for groups that would like to work together in an online environment.

Launching a couple of years ago, CollectiveX was among the first of the major services to offer free group collaboration products. With a distinct focus on professionals, CollectiveX’s feature set revolved heavily around action-oriented capabilities, and less on socialization. That being said, CollectiveX hasn’t seen the same success as some of its peripheral competitors such as Ning. While CollectiveX has been careful to distinguish itself from other self-sustained network creation sites, it’s clear that a new direction is necessary for the company’s long-term success.
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Meebo’s latest partnership is with myYearbook, the social networking site started by teenagers for fellow high schoolers. The partnership includes myYearbook using Meebo chat as a prominent feature on every page of its site, providing chat tools for Meebo users and guests alike.

The partnership should be a win-win for both Meebo and myYearbook, as instant messaging is a highly requested feature from myYearbook users. myYearbook is one of the largest networks dedicated to the high school age demographic. This specific user base is also quite active when it comes to online activity, making it a good fit for Meebo’s chat and media-sharing tools.
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Microblogging video service 12seconds.tv has added user-generated commercial options to its service today. 12seconds has emerged as a Twitter-like version of video sharing, with the bite sized update format being applied to its specific type of media. Add in Twitter integration and a recent iPhone application with a unique workaround, and it’s clear that 12seconds is determined to offer its features to as many users as possible, in every way possible.

But what about monetization? Creating revenue around the microblogging phenomenon has been difficult for the cream of the crop, so what does 12seconds think it can do in order to begin making money from the trend? User generated commercials. Called 12omercials, these tiny ads will be sponsored by brands, and created by 12seconds users. The point is to offer “dedicated” recommendations to the world, and generate some revenue all the while.
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