ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

MySpace and Citysearch are jointly announcing a new MySpace property this morning called MySpace Local. The site combines Citysearch business listings (including address, photos, menus, videos, maps and hours of location) from a thousand cities with the MySpace community. The site is launching into private beta this week, with a general U.S. launch next month. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/31/myspace-citysearch-partner-to-create-myspace-local/ 3/31)

Click the image below for a demo of the site.  I dig the marriage of Citysearch rating’s style and social networking partner.  My ideal scenario (if I could configure my own universe) would be Yelp and Facebook in the study with the candlestick.

Disney, looking to extend its presence in the online video space, has announced a deal with YouTube that will put a wide range of its content on the popular Web site best known for user-generated videos. The deal includes ESPN sports highlights, ABC News updates and snippets from the company’s cable and broadcast shows. Los Angeles Times (free registration) (3/31) , The New York Times (3/30)

Netflix says it will raise the rental price of its Blu-ray discs about 20%, effective April 27, but that customers who rent standard-format DVDs will not be affected by the change. The company said the higher fee on Blu-ray movies would enable it to offer a wider variety of the high-definition discs. Los Angeles Times (free registration) (3/31) , The Wall Street Journal (3/31)

Facebook will soon have its third chief financial officer in less than two years, the company announced today via a leak to the Wall Street Journal. Gideon Yu, the man who came back from Dubai empty handed, is out. The hunt for his successor is starting now. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/31/facebook-sure-does-have-trouble-keeping-execs/ 3/31)

Techcrunch has confirmed that hi5, the third largest social network in the world, is laying off employees today. hi5’s VP of Marketing, Mike Trigg, wouldn’t say how many employees were being let go but Techcrunch received multiple independent tips that the social network laid off 50% of its staff. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/31/more-layoffs-hit-hi5/ 3/31)

U.S. teenagers, a bellwether customer for the record industry, bought 19% less music last year and instead turned to free alternatives like Pandora and MySpace, according to NPD Group. The music industry is “being challenged anew by slowing digital sales among teens.” (Iwantmedia 3/31, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=acDHi80XI3nQ 3/31)

Newspapers should be using social media such as Facebook and Twitter to engage their readers and boost online revenue, says a survey by Gartner. Readers must become “brand stewards.” Few newspapers allow users to “tweet” stories directly from their Web sites.

(Iwantmedia 3/31, http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/03/31/newspapers-not-effectively-using-social-media 3/31)

Completely agree on this one.  Had this discussion on Twitter no less just last week.  Twitter’s news-breaking abilities out-pace any newspaper sponsored community.  The newspaper’s concern: fact vs. fiction.  Unfortunately, it seems like that distinction would be difficult to control on Twitter unless you allow the audience to self-regulate and call posers out.  Still, the line has blurred and there is no going back.

Paramount Digital Entertainment and French producer-distributor Gaumont are teaming up to produce a 12-episode online series in the vein of LG15 that will premiere exclusively on MySpace in the fall. Another elimination whodunit, “Section 8,” is a supernatural thriller whose characters are knocked off one by one as viewers try to guess who is trying to kill them and why. MySpace will also serve as the social hub of the series, offering users the chance to interact with characters and participate in the storyline. (Cynopsis 3/31)

Wikia is closing down its Wikia Search product. The service was intended to be a user-generated search engine, through which users could influence the rankings of results. Founder Jimmy Wales says Wikia needs to “do what we need to do to get to profitability.” (Iwantmedia 3/31, http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10207896-2.html 3/31)