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This Week In Social Media – November 6, 2009

This Week in Social Media – Nov 6, 2009 iePlexus from iePlexus on Vimeo.

This Week in Social Media – Nov 6, 2009 iePlexus from iePlexus on Vimeo.

Here’s a look at some of what happened this week in the world of social media and elsewhere on the Web.

-It should be no shock that MySpace is losing users, but now the company is in jeopardy of losing nearly $100 million.  In 2006, MySpace made a $900 million deal with Google that would allow the search engine to be the exclusive search advertiser on MySpace, which at the time was the most used social networking site.  The site is coming dangerously close to maintaining a minimum traffic level, which could break the deal with Google. In the past three months, MySpace’s page views have dropped 22.75 percent. 

-On Monday, a report released by the European Commission stated that the world could possibly run out of Web addresses by the end of 2010.  This comes after the commission found that only a small percentage of companies are switching to the new Internet Protocol.  Most companies and Web sites run on IPv4, however that version can only support about 4.3 billion unique Web addresses.  With the newest version of the protocol, IPv6, the Internet will be able to host a much larger number of sites.  In fact, some experts estimate that the new system could create as many unique addresses as there are individual blades of grass on Earth.

-Google debuted two new features which should help you and your business succeed.  First, Google Checkout has rolled out a new “Promotional Checkout” option, which will allow online merchants based in the U.S. to offer checkout promotions at any time.  Sellers will be able to choose from a wide selection of discounts that they want to offer potential buyers and choose when that sale goes live.  When it does go live, Google will automatically change the standard checkout icon to display the discount amount along with a cart minimum. Google also released the Google Commerce Search tool, which will prove useful for online businesses by improving product searches on their site, along with increasing sales.  The search is almost identical to Google’s main search, but gears specifically toward online businesses, making finding products being sold much easier.  For example, when a potential consumer arrives on the website, they will be able to use the search tool to search for a product.  A second later, the results will be returned in a user-friendly product page.  If users want, they’ll be able to click on the item they want and add it to their cart. The best part for website owners?  They have total control over how it looks. Google hasn’t publicly released how much this will actually cost but many small businesses are expected to jump into using this new feature. 

-Late last week, a San Jose, California judge awarded Facebook $711 million.  This comes after Sanford Wallace, a spammer who had hacked into users’ profiles, posted phony wall post and messages to those users’ friends.  In March of this year, Wallace along with Adam Arzoomanian and Scott Shaw had all been sued and issued a restraining order by Facebook.  According to the California Federal Court, Wallace did not appear for his court hearing on September 18 and alas awarded Facebook the $711 million judgment last week.  Facebook wrote on their blog that they they don’t expect to receive the majority of the money, but the company hopes the case will deter other criminals from hacking in the future. 

–MSN.com rolled out a preview of its new site this week.  Since August 1995, MSN.com has offered visitors a look at some of the latest headlines from around the globe, a look into the entertainment world, a place to check out new items to purchase, and has even offered its own search engine. The preview of MSN’s new site looks more clean-cut and has more of a modern feel.  The site will offer the same sections as it currently does but will primarily focus on videos, and new sections to keep you updated on your social media feeds.  They’ll also bring more local customization. Overall, Microsoft hopes that the new look will appeal more to users and bring more people to the site.  In June, Microsoft released its new updated version of the search engine Bing, which has been given its own Web site but will continue to be featured on MSN’s homepage.  MSNs big makeover is expected to be rolled out in full within the next several weeks.  You can check out the preview for yourself at http://preview.msn.com.