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Probe on MySpace suicide case continues

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myspac.gifThe probe continues on the disturbing suicide case of the 13-year-old Megan Meier in 2006 triggered by a really nasty hoax on social networking site MySpace.

According to a news article, The LA grand jury already issued subpoenas to MySpace and other parties deemed connected to this incident. You might remember this tragedy started with a fake MySpace account created by a mother named Lori Drew living in the same neighborhood of Meier.

Posing as a 16-year old boy, she befriended Meier through MySpace and later sent cruel messages. Unable to handle those remarks, the poor little girl hanged herself.

Prosecutors are still studying the applicable laws to use in this case. Unfortunately, they cannot find a decent one. Fraud is an angle they are considering, wherein MySpace is the victim and Drew is the perpetrator because she created that false account.

Originally posted on January 9, 2008 @ 10:47 am

HarperCollins, MySpace launch online community for teen readers

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harperteen.pngHarperTeen, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, has partnered with MySpace to launch MySpace/HarperTeen, a customized interactive community for teen readers to connect with one another, read author blogs, interact on message boards and forums, learn about upcoming releases, post photos, and participate in HarperTeen contests, programs and online polls.

The MySpace/HarperTeen profile also provides user generated content tools where MySpace users can “Create and Share” by submitting their own creative writing and getting feedback from their peers in the HarperTeen community. It will also keep readers informed of new releases via their “Weekend Read” bulletin. Every Friday, users receive a book recommendation and can discuss the book the following week on the message boards.

Throughout the partnership, HarperTeen and MySpace will work together to update the HarperTeen/MySpace profile with the latest contests, video trailers, polls, quizzes and information about new releases. MySpace will also promote the HarperTeen profile throughout their site.

Originally posted on January 8, 2008 @ 10:28 am

Nielsen Online releases Top 10 U.S. Social-Network and Blog Site Rankings for November

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According to the latest custom report of Nielsen Online, MySpace and Blogger.com are still the leading social networking site and blogging platform, respectively.

nielsen online rankings november

However, Facebook remains one of the fastest growing social networking sites with 89% growth compared to the same month last year. The number of visitors also increased from 19.5 million in October to 22 million this month. In fact, Facebook has outpaced MySpace this month in terms of Alexa ranking.

Unfortunately, the sites Classmates Online, AOL Hometown, Reunion.com, AOL Community continue to decline at different paces.

This scenario is similar with blogging platforms. Blogger.com is the undisputed leader with 49% growth but visitors was down from 34.1 million last month to 33.6 million this month.

nielsen online blogging rankings

The challenger, WordPRess, is the talk of the town with its impressive 310% growth, the fastest in the industry. More importantly, it has retained the number 2 spot for the 2nd month now.

The declining Six Apart managed to grow by 22% to stay on the 3rd spot. Will its decision to open source help improve its performance?

via MarketingVOX

Originally posted on December 17, 2007 @ 7:44 am

MySpace shares initial results of ”Impact Presidential Poll”

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myspace impactAs a way to assess the major concerns and political perspectives of young adults in the U.S., popular social network site MySpace has released the initial results of its monthly “Impact Presidential Poll.”

MySpace’s Impact Channel is also a venue for social groups, politicians, and NGOs to express their ideas and converse with millions of MySpace members around the globe.

Here are the highlights of the initial poll:

  1. 27% of MySpace users 18+, or who will be 18 by the 2008 general election, define their political affiliation as Independent, compared to 8% of the general American population.

  2. 36% of Democratic and 38% of Republican MySpace users say the “War on Terror” is the most important issue

  3. Compared to the general online adult population, MySpace users are 139% more likely to have visited an online chat room with public officials or political candidates in the last 30 days.

  4. The vast majority (86%) of MySpace users 18+, or who will be 18 by Nov. 4, 2008, say they are ‘Extremely Likely’ or ‘Likely’ to vote in the 2008 presidential election.

[Read more]

Originally posted on December 13, 2007 @ 12:08 pm

MySpace and MTV present Presidential Dialogue with John McCain

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mccain.pngOn December 3 at 7pm ET, Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) will be the third presidential candidate, and first Republican, to participate in the groundbreaking MySpace/MTV Presidential Dialogue series. The interactive Dialogue will take place at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, NH with an in-person audience of university students, and for the first time, be simultaneously broadcast live on MTV, MySpace, MTV’s ChooseOrLose.com, cross-carriers on MTV Mobile, and translated live into Spanish via ImpreMedia’s LaVibra.

Myspace.com/election2008 and www.ChooseOrLose.com is now accepting user-submitted video questions (30 seconds or less) on the issues that matter most to young voters in the upcoming elections. Submissions will be accepted through Sunday, December 2, and the video with the highest ratings and community response on Monday will be posed to Sen. McCain during the evening dialogue.

A revolutionary online polling tool, powered by Flektor, allows the online audience to instantaneously register its approval or disapproval of candidate responses throughout the event. The Flektor tool enables the series’ industry-leading pollsters, John McLaughlin and Geoffrey Garin, to custom tailor in-depth response options for the online audience, providing viewers the means to register immediate feedback on the candidate’s responses and help to shape the direction of the forum. Poll results are displayed on the screen and viewers can compare their opinions to those of the entire community through a “popular vote” function.

Originally posted on November 29, 2007 @ 4:31 pm