social networking

Looks like Burger King has found a way to use social networking to promote its signature Whopper burger. With an unusual strategy, Burger King is using popular social-networking site Facebook as a way to reach out to consumers.

In a new ad campaign featuring a Facebook app, Burger King offers a coupon for a free Whopper -- but it comes with a catch. The campaign offers Facebook members the coupon after they publicly cut 10 of their friends from their Facebook list. Usually, members can delete friends anonymously, but not this time.

In a product release that could signal a new phase in the evolution of social networking, Cisco announced Wednesday the availability of a hosted social-networking platform designed specifically for the media and entertainment industries.

Called Eos -- short for Entertainment Operating System -- the platform was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Cisco says Eos is a powerful platform "that integrates social networking, content management, and site administration features into a single operating environment."

'Communities of Content'

Yahoo is making a bid for Internet television. The company's Connected TV group unveiled the next generation of technology and services for Internet-connected televisions, along with a slew of partnerships that promise consumers plenty of options.

The first fruits of Yahoo's partnerships with leading consumer electronics manufacturers, which include Samsung, Sony, LG Electronics, and Vizio, is a widget-based user experience that delivers Web content to TVs. The products that tap into Yahoo's Connected TV technology will be available in the spring.

Freescale Semiconductor is entering the fast-growing netbook market with a solution that promises to make possible portable devices that feature 8.9-inch displays, eight hours of battery life, and prices under $200.

Freescale's solution is based on its new i.MX515 processor featuring ARM Cortex-A8 technology. The solution includes software, components and resources that aim to help OEMs rapidly develop and deploy netbooks.

AOL purchased Bebo, a social-media Web site, for $850 million in March. Now Bebo is looking to gain market share against rivals Facebook and MySpace by making it easier to manage communications.

AOL on Wednesday said Bebo is now giving users a one-stop "social inbox" that combines e-mail, social networking, and media recommendations in a single interface.

IBM has joined with Virtual Bridges and Canonical to release a Linux desktop solution that aims to drive significant savings for corporations that rely on collaboration tools.

Big Blue is promising cost savings over Microsoft's desktop software by amplifying Lotus collaboration tools and Ubuntu Linux to a larger user base through virtualization. IBM has launched several Microsoft alternative desktops in 2008.

The admission by Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg -- that the social network's optimum revenue model remains a mystery four years after its launch -- has raised some eyebrows. Despite claiming that it will double its revenue to between $300m and $350m this year, the question remains as to when, if ever, Facebook will turn a profit.

Microsoft has lifted the veil on its forthcoming rollout of updated interactive services for Windows Live that will make it easier for the service's users to communicate, collaborate and share information.

Windows Live users maintain contact with friends and associates who typically communicate through many unconnected Web services and would benefit from having access to everything from a single location without worrying about how it's done, said Microsoft Corporate Vice President Chris Jones.

Yahoo has officially opened its platform to developers. It's all part of the search company's vision for a more open Yahoo that leverages outside innovation, unlocks the power of social networking, and meshes the Yahoo experience with other sites to bring viewers the best of the Web.

That's the vision. And Yahoo has taken one more step toward it by making its tools and data available to developers to build applications for a more customized network.