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Userplane, Facebook developers to share revenue

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userplane1.jpgUserplane, the application platform for online communities and a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL, announced that its new revenue-sharing platform, Userplane Money, is now available to anyone developing applications for Facebook. The move enables developers to earn money with the widgets they make available to users of the wildly popular social networking site. Userplane offers customizable communication tools, such as live IM and chat, that can be added to any site for free, simply by cutting and pasting a few lines of HTML code. Userplane serves unobtrusive ads in its players, and splits the proceeds with participating publishers.

Userplane Money is a revenue-sharing program that helps websites of any size make money. Any publisher that embeds Userplane tools is eligible to receive a share of ad revenues. So far, thousands of sites have joined Userplane Money, including many of Userplane’s top publishers. In addition, Userplane is now directly supporting advertising within other Facebook applications.

Originally posted on June 21, 2007 @ 6:47 am

AOL launches travel guides to worldwide destinations

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aoltravel.jpgAOL announced the beta launch of 
AOL Travel Guides, an online resource that provides detailed information on more than 1,900 national and international locations and over 100,000 hotels. Also available through AOL Travel, Travel Guides include destination information – restaurants, bars, sights, activities and events – as well as hotel listings, with links to book directly from the site. In addition, the guides automatically plot these locations on a map using industry-leading technology and features from MapQuest.

“AOL Travel Guides give users the opportunity to expertly plan their vacations, based on ratings and reviews from other travelers, and share their own findings with our worldwide online audience,” said Jim Kovarik, Director and General Manager, AOL Travel. “By combining user-generated and editorial content, MapQuest technology and local search results, we can provide users access to an interactive travel site where they can help shape content.”

AOL Travel Guides also provide advertisers with an opportunity to reach users who are seeking information about specific destinations. Geo-targeted ad capabilities are available at the city, state, country and world region levels. Additionally, destinations focused on specific activities such as golf or skiing will also be packaged for interested advertisers. Specific user-submitted search queries will be targeted via sponsored links.

Originally posted on June 20, 2007 @ 6:41 am