“On a very basic level the name symbolizes socially driven news. Interacting with content by submitting, voting, commenting, and sharing interesting, entertaining, and otherwise important news items. but more than that it symbolizes what Netscape plans to do going forward, i.e. propel the social news model into the next generation through a mix of fixing the problems with the current generation and innovation.”

Muhammad Saleem - Netscape scout

Upon first impression, Propeller may appear similar to Digg; however there is one key differentiator that make it both interesting and unique. News on Propeller is submitted by a team of paid power-users and editors. That paid team also produces original content and appears to “steer” the content, conversation and the overall direction of the site.

I would imagine there must be several dozen Digg clones out there. Most would argue that with so much competition and a formidable runaway leader, it would be difficult for a newcomer to break through. Having said this, there was a ton of buzz surrounding Mixx at Pubcon so I spent this week checking out the site. In a nutshell, Mixx allows you to discover “personally relevant” media/news and interact within networks that you create based on interest and location.

This week I take a look at Mixx, by the numbers.

The Beginning:

Its official, Facebook’s Toronto network just surpassed the 1 million member mark (see screen print below … I captured it at the moment it hit 1,000,000 just for dramatic effect), and is growing in excess of 1500 new members per day. Toronto is the first city in the world to have this unique distinction. Here are the member numbers for some other significant cities:
New York City - 606,000
Chicago - 462,000
Los Angeles - 384,000
Atlanta - 280,000
Dallas - 235,000
Miami - 118,000

Admittedly, I’m not a Twitterer however during last weeks Pubcon in Las Vegas, virtually every Social Media session I attended mentioned the micro-blogging service which allows users to send instant updates to a network of friends. Their passion for Twitter was infectious. As such I decided to take a closer look.

This week I’ll review Twitter, by the numbers. Note to Twitterers, it’s not limited to 140 characters!

The Beginning:

“… it’s really not a matter IF the mobile phone will become the dominant internet platform any more but WHEN…” - Yahoo! analyst Russell Beattie

With 15 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers accessing news and information via the mobile browser, mobile search represents a huge growth opportunity for SEO’s. The Kelsey Group recently revealed that nearly half of mobile users will be looking for a mobile phone with better Internet capability when they make their next mobile phone purchase.

I came across the Neilson Net Ratings for the top U.S. social networking sites. It shows that MySpace had 49.5 million unique visitors in October 2007, growing 19 percent over October 2006. While their growth percentage lags behind Facebook’s 125% and LinkedIn’s 189%, MySpace is still the giant, with an 80% overall market share.

This week I look at MySpace, by the numbers:

The Beginning:

While Reddit is often compared to Digg, the two sites have some key differences. Reddit has a simple interface and no advertising. Reddit rankings are based on an absolute vote (+1 for hot / -1 for cold), meaning a negative vote decreases a story’s overall vote count as well as the ‘karma score’ for the user who submitted the URL. I for one love this simplicity.

This week I look at Reddit, by the numbers:

The Beginning:

* Reddit was founded by Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian in 2005, then 22-year-old graduates of the University of Virginia.

Office Depot’s announcement of new mobile marketing services caught my attention today. These new services include the launch of a mobile store locator, RSS feeds, text message coupons and offers, and mobile sweepstakes capabilities.

I doubt anyone’s getting exited about Office Depot RSS feeds on their mobile device and I’m not alone. According to Steve Levy, President of Market Research in Eastern Canada for IPSOS Reid, 27% of Canadian marketers agree that mobile marketing will be very important in the future with 9% indicating they are practicing it now.

This battle is a lot closer than most of you can imagine. I’m constantly hearing about how the Yellow Pages are dying and there’s no value in them. While most may say that I’m biased because of the number of years I spent in the industry, the same cannot be said for Google Analytics.

Google Analytics cannot lie, it has no biases and, thank goodness for the Yellow Pages, paints a much different picture than many so called experts. You just have to know what to look for.

Professionally, LinkedIn is my main social network. It provides for a more focused business networking environment than most social media sites. It�s a great tool, especially for finding people, references, job postings and business opportunities. Additional benefits I�ve discovered include; the ability to talk about your professional self, link to your other Google-friendly web content and customize your profile URL. I don�t know about you, but I�d rather a potential employer/client find my LinkedIn profile on Google, before any others of me!

This week, I�m taking a look at LinkedIn, by the numbers:

The Beginning: