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MixedInk is Digg for Collaborative WritersToday

In private beta until today, the MixedInk collaborative writing platform has launched the public beta version of its product. This is a democratic writing and publishing platform that takes the Creative Commons license to the next level, enabling entire communities to work together on a single document or publication.

While this isn’t the first time this concept has been approached with an online tool, D.C.-based MixedInk is using a new angle for automating much of the process, essentially eliminating the need for wikis in the traditional sense, or even editors. As MixedInk promotes a democratic process, each document submitted by a member of the community can be voted upon, which pushes that document up in rank.

The user that has initiated the topic for the collaborative document can then take the highest ranked document and use it for their purposes. The other highlight of MixedInk’s service is the way in which a collaborative document is created. Instead of many users re-editing a single document or an editor picking and choosing various aspects of multiple users’ content, any member of the community can mix and match different pieces of all related documents in order to create a single, cohesive submission which can then be voted upon.

Such a democratic process also requires the di

Soulja Boy Tell’Em - Social Media SuperStarToday

CES 2009 (Consumer Electronics Show) - Billboard Digital Music Live

Soulja Boy Tell’Em Social Media Success

Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em launched himself to success through social media. Soulja Boy is generating tens of millions of dollars in music and online digital revenue based on success achieved in social media. Soulja Boy told his story today at the CES‘ Digital Music Live, to a crowd of traditional record executives and digital media start ups. Soulja Boy started on SoundClick.com at the age of 16, uploading tracks that were downloaded 35K times a day at their peak.

His SoundClick success was the result of social media features, where the audience could tag his songs as their favorite, and the audience could see just how popular his songs were by the number of downloads. Soon his SoundClick comments were filled with requests from fans to build a MySpace page. In 2005 he did so with the help of his cousin, and a social media star was born.

Soulja Boy accumulated millions of page views, fans and streams that attracted the attention of Collipark and then a record deal with Interscope/Universal Music Group. Soulja Boy then used YouTube to launch highly popular dance

Nebraska Attorney General Wants Sex Offenders Banned from MySpace, FacebookToday

In Omaha Nebraska, Attorney General Jon Bruning is proposing a few legislative changes to increase public safety, and this includes cracking down on the presence of sex offenders using online social networking sites, according to MSN. Bruning wants them banned from sites like MySpace and Facebook all together, making their use of such social networks a crime.

This would be pretty difficult to enforce from a legislative standpoint, especially without the cooperation of social networks themselves. The state of Indiana has already banned sex offenders from using social networks, but enforcement is still an issue. And after a slew of threatened and imposed legal action on MySpace, networks (especially MySpace) have found ways in which to work with sate and federal authorities regarding sex offenders that have accounts online.

It’s been well over a year since MySpace helped track down several sex offenders using its service, but it looks like such measures won’t suffice for Bruning. While sex offenders’ use of online social networks can be considered a matter of public safety, the anonymity of such networks means that any legislative changes regarding a compl

Buddy Media Exceeds its Own Expectations in 2008Today

Buddy Media has revealed its numbers for 2008, and things are looking good for the “appvertising” company.  When Facebook launched its platform in 2007, many developers and ad networks were surprised but encouraged by the lack of restrictions Facebook imposed for third party applications that carried ads. Despite this seemingly open market for advertising campaigns, only a few have succeeded on a large scale, which includes Buddy Media.

The “app-vertisement” company reports exceeding its revenue goals for 2008, with campaigns for 50 brands and a 138% revenue increase from Q3 to Q4 2008.  By working as an application developer alongside major ad networks, and launching an ad network of its own, Buddy Media has grown its two core competencies in tandem.  Buddy Media also experienced growth through a number of acquisitions last year, having taken on AceBucks, a virtual currency application on Facebook, and Crushes. 

By also spreading its applications across multiple networks including MySpace, Buddy Media is also expanding the number of places a given advertising campaign can be viewed.  While many are becoming speculative towards the social media advertising market, Buddy Media has shown that there’s still an i

How Many Friends Do You Have? Not As Many As Me!Yesterday

This afternoon I was reading an article by Julian Sanchez which describes the scene yesterday as Republicans debated the future Republican National Committee Chair. One of the most memorable segments of the debate is highlighted by the Washington Post:

“We have to do it in the Facebook, with the Twittering, the different technology that young people are using today,” Duncan ventured.

“Let me just say that I have 4,000 friends on Facebook,” contributed Blackwell, putting his hand on Dawson’s and Anuzis’s knees. “That’s probably more than these two guys put together, but who’s counting, you know?” Acknowledged Saltsman: “I’m not sure all of us combined Twitter as much as Saul.”

Anuzis claimed he had “somewhere between 2- and 3,000″ Facebook friends, which prompted Blackwell to remind the audience that he has 4,000 friends on the social networking site by waving four fingers behind Anuzis’s head.

What was interesting is how some of the leading members of the Republican party could not help but exchange in a friendly debate over who has the most friends on Facebook and Twitter. It’s amazing the power that the number of our friends in social networks has in the general perception of our socia