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Chess.com launches social network

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Chess.comWith a premium domain as such, I’d have to agree, Chess.com would have made a lot of money already, just parked as it is.

But the owners of Chess.com wants something more. And they made a good decision by turning it into a social network of, obviously, chess enthusiasts around the world.

Launched in June and now with over 10,000 members, and 1 million page views on the first month alone, Chess.com gives members access to a wide range of fun stuff including profiles, blogs, video sharing, events posting, directory of clubs, email (users get to have [email protected]), the opportunity to connect with people with the same love for chess, and a whole lot more.

You can visit this new chess hangout at.. well, ok, you know where.

Originally posted on July 9, 2007 @ 3:59 am

Mobiusgames launches online gaming mag

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Mobiusnet's ForPlayMobiusgames.net launches ForPlay, an online gaming magazine made “by players for players”, the first version of which can be found here.

ForPlay (pun NOT intended, or so they say) is geared towards providing the latest about mobius games, including news, promotions, as well as what’s up in the gaming industry around the world, everything written by, as their tagline implies, online gamers themselves.

Mobiusgames’ roster currently includes Gunbound, Rakion, MU, as well as some games for kids such as Toon Town, and Go Pets, and the recently launched award-winning sci-fi massively multiplayer online game (MMOG), Eve Online — South East Asian version.

Owned by Manila-based Digital Media Exchange, Mobiusgames currently caters to gamers in the South East Asia region. “About 60% of the market is from the Philippines, and the remaining 40% from Singapore, Vietnam, and other SEA countries,” Eric Roceles, DME’s New Media Creatives & Research Manager, said.

The direction, of course, is to expand globally in the coming months. And with the launch of this gaming ezine, as well as the addition of new games in their roster, surely, the Mobius gaming portal is one to watch out for.

Originally posted on July 9, 2007 @ 6:57 am

New website promotes Korea

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KoreaOrbitFounders of ChinaOrbit.com expands their territories with the creation of a new project, KoreaOrbit.com, with the intention of spreading information about this east-Asian tiger and its culture, economy, destinations, and more.

Jabgo Beijing Network Consulting Limited, the company behind ChinaOrbit and KoreanOrbit believes that the web seems to be lacking information related to the Republic of Korea. And since Korea is becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination and market for investors, providing access to rich information about this east-Asian country to a potentially large market is a venture they have to try out.

Jabgo Network Consulting is an online marketing company that provides various services includign consultancy, online marketing, e-commerce, content management, among others.

Originally posted on July 4, 2007 @ 10:48 pm

Filed Under: Web

NBC to shut down NBBC for a joint venture with Fox

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NBC UniversalNBC Universal is shutting down it’s video content syndication site this week to make way for a joint online video venture with Fox to be launched later this year.

George Kliavkoff, chief digital officer for NBCU and interim CEO for the new site, said that existing NBBC (National Broadband Company) content partners will be given the invitation to join this new venture, including an improved revenue share.

“It’s a broader distribution platform and better economics,” Kliavkoff said. “The revenue split on the business model for New Site provides a higher revenue share for the content partners than NBBC did.”

NBBC, NBCU’s online video syndication site, was launched late last year. There’s still no news as to what the name of this new venture will be, but for now, they’re dubbing it as the New Site.

Originally posted on July 5, 2007 @ 8:42 am

Social networks drive people to buy online, JC Williams Group says

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Just a few days ago, a study done by Jupiterresearch claimed that social and community networks have little impact influencing online retail sales.

Contrary to that report, however, a recent study released by JC Williams Group shows that social networks and other online community activities actually drive more people to buy stuff over the internet. This is said to be mostly rooted to buyers getting and exchanging opinions and insights from social networks to help them with their online shopping decisions.

According to the study, online shoppers are most likely to post a product review of their purchased merchandise to the internet, as opposed to those web users who do not shop online. This could only mean that as more people share about their experiences in various networks such as Bebo, Facebook, and Flickr, more people will potentially shop online as well.

“Consumers are increasingly turning to their online community or network for advice instead of traditional mass media,” said Jim Okamura, a senior partner at JC Williams. “It is indicative of the shift to an empowered consumer and the rapid fragmentation of media channels. It definitely presents a challenge for online marketers.”

The survey, sponsored by Visa and Yahoo Canada, took place between April 19 and 27. It included 1,500 online shoppers and 500 people who don’t shop online.

Originally posted on July 6, 2007 @ 12:12 pm