Last November, when Google launched Open Social we asked readers if Facebook would join Google’s platform. The results were split right down the middle, but as we get farther from the Open Social launch, and the two sites continue to launch competing APIs (Google FriendConnect vs. Facebook Connect, for example — the former banned by Facebook), that seems less and less likely. This is becoming a social networking cold war according to Duncan Riley.

Even though the battle for social networking supremacy is a fight between Facebook and MySpace, the social networking arms race is really being played out between Facebook and Google. Google has demonstrated the unique ability to bring rival social networks together around its proposed open standard APIs, such as Open Social, FriendConnect, and the Social Graph API. Google has built up its own little iron curtain with MySpace, Yahoo!, LinkedIn, Ning, and the Google-owned Orkut to prop up its open source platform initiative. (Don’t bother trying to follow the Cold War analogy all the way through — it doesn’t really work.)

Facebook is now planning to follow Google’s lead and open source their platform. Previously, Facebook’s platform technology only powered an app development platform on one site outside its own — that of rival social networking site, bebo (recently acquired by AOL). An open sourced platform means that any social network could implement Facebook applications. More details should emerge in the next couple of days, according to TechCrunch, who broke the story.

Two questions immediately spring to mind following this news: 1. Does this help users? 2. Do platforms even matter?
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Seattle-based Pelago, which has been developing a mobile social network called Whrrl, plans to announce either today or tomorrow that it has secured $15 million in a second round of funding, however several media outlets are already reporting the news today. Participating in the round is Deutsche Telekom’s venture capital arm, T-Mobile Venture Fund, with funds coming from Reliance Technology Ventures and Palo Alto-based DAG Ventures. Original investors in Pelago’s first round, totaling $7.4 million, were Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, Trilogy Equity Partners and Bezos Expeditions, also participated. Originally, Pelago received funding from Kleiner, but after the prestigious valley firm announced it was launching the $100 million iFund, Pelago was transfered over to become the first iPhone application investment.

Think of the company’s application, Whrrl, as a mix between Facebook, City Search and Loopt. The social networking element is that you can share this information with friends, the directory part is that there’s a list of restaurants and events that your friends can rate and say whether they are going to or not, and the Loopt part is you can see what your friends are up to. The information is exclusive to Whrrl because it’s updated by a team in the Phillipines. Today, the application supports about 17 cities, and the Java application runs on a number of phones with Blackberry (and presumably iPhone) support coming shortly. With GPS support coming, users will also be able to update their whereabouts and write reviews of restaurants where they are at much faster. The new funds will be used for deploying the application across North America and into new overseas market
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Moguldom Media Group, an innovative new media company, today announced that its Livesteez site has become the first urban-focused social media property to embrace Google’s Open Social framework. Backed by leading social sites like Bebo, MySpace, and hi5, OpenSocial allows developers to create programs that can run on many social networks. Launched earlier this year, Livesteez has quickly won a strong following as the premier social media website geared to urban consumers. “While we’re pleased with the rapid success Livesteez has achieved, no site can afford to become complacent in today’s fast-moving social media space. We’re committed to making Livesteez the ultimate online destination for young African-Americans everywhere, and we continually explore the latest social media technologies and methods to enhance the experience we provide to our members. Our early adoption of OpenSocial positions Livesteez for the future by making it simple for us to integrate exciting new features into the site,” said Marv Frazier, CEO, Moguldom Media Group.

Moguldom’s embrace of OpenSocial enables the company to harness one of the most powerful trends in social media: the creation of add-on applications for social networking sites by third-party developers. In the past, site-specific technologies have limited the ability of developers to build applications compatible with a wide range of sites. As an emerging standard, OpenSocial makes it simple for sites to take advantage of the full range of innovation on the market. Other leading social networks implementing OpenSocial, includeBebo, Engage.com, Friendster, hi5, Hyves, imeem, LinkedIn, MySpace, orkut, Six Apart, Tianji, and XING.

“As the social networking space becomes increasingly competitive, the most successful sites will be those that harness the kind of innovative thinking behind OpenSocial,” said Chris Page, Chief Developer for Moguldom Media Group. “This leading-edge technology will make it simple for us to put the full creativity of the developer community to work on Livesteez.”

Livesteez combines online video and other unique content with social networking tools to offer a truly comprehensive online experience to urban consumers, from finding a date to debating politics to catching up on the latest news and entertainment. The site’s video content is powered by Limelight Networks, the content delivery network behind Facebook, brightcove, and iFilm.

About Moguldom Media Group

The Moguldom Group is a new media company with a portfolio of popular niche blogs that includes Bossip.com, the leading celebrity gossip website serving African American consumers; Lossip.com, a similar website serving Latin American consumers; F-Listed, which covers general celebrity gossip with a unique edge and male sensibility; MingXingYao.com, a Mandarin-language blog covering Chinese celebrities; and Livesteez, a video-oriented urban social networking site. All Moguldom Media Group properties benefit from a favorable online advertising environment, unique credibility within the communities it serves, and strong strategic relationships.

The coolest ad technologies aren’t the ones that cost the most–they’re the ones that engage users. Thankfully, this year’s crop of cool tools doesn’t require the kind of attention your MySpace page does. From reaching people on their mobile to enhancing your online videos, these innovative ad trends can set you apart as a tech-savvy company while reaching users right when they’re ready to buy–and encouraging them to buy more.Bar Codes With Extra Info
While you may think of “airline check-in” or “mail tracking” when you see the black-and-white squiggles that make up QR, or “Quick Response” codes, these 2-D data matrices are beginning to find their place in advertising.

For emerging companies, landing a capital investment can feel like a Catch-22.

Serious investors want to see examples of previous funding before they feel comfortable handing over their own money. That forces entrepreneurs to ask the question: How do I develop a history without securing investors?

That’s a reality of doing business regardless of when times are good or when the economy is backpedaling, as is the case now.

It is no secret that traditional lenders have tightened their standards, but some venture capitalists, private-equity firms and startup financiers have become more conservative, too, about where and to whom they float their funds.

Still, investors have money to invest. A Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst report released Monday showed that U.S. private-equity firms raised $58.5 billion in 81 different investment funds in the first quarter of 2008, up from $44.3 billion in 68 funds in the year-ago quarter.

“If you’re looking for money, it’s a never-ending process for any kind of venture,” said Thomas Duening, director of entrepreneurial programs at Arizona State University’s Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.