Social networks like Facebook and Bebo currently limit users and third-party developers from fully exporting most user data to other sites. However, there are a number of applications that are using these company’s social networking platforms to share data across sites, grow and even make money.
Virtual world Gaia Online, for example, recently introduced an application for Bebo that is now one of the social network’s most popular.
The trend of cross-site applications will pick up steam as social networks and other companies, including Facebook and Google, work to figure out more complete ways of sharing data.
The Gaia application, called Gaia OMG, lets Bebo users, mostly teenagers, sign in to their Gaia accounts while on Bebo, then interact with other Gaia users within the Gaia Bebo application — it’s a miniature, limited version of what you can do on the Gaia home site (see screenshot).
It launched alongside Bebo’s third-party developer platform last month. Now, the company says Bebo has gone from being the 430th largest traffic referrer to Gaia, to within the top ten.
This is easily monetizable traffic for the virtual world. Gaia users on Bebo must go to the Gaia home site in order to buy virtual goods, such as clothing for your Gaia avatar. Gaia currently has three million monthly users, and Bebo claims more than 40 million total users — and the two companies share a teenage audience — so the app is a clearly great market fit.
Other applications are also taking advantage of the Bebo developer platform, which closely mirrors Facebook’s. Bunchball, for example, offers Flash-based games that lets Facebook and Bebo users play each other from within either site. It tells us it averages more than 20,000 games played per day on Facebook, with around 10,000 daily active users. On Bebo, the company averages around 12,000 games played per day, with around 6,000 daily active users. See screenshot, below:
More than 150,000 games between Facebook and Bebo users have been played since the company launched its application on Bebo. Bunchball also integrates with other sites, such as Piczo and other sites, and says more than one million games have been played on it in the last thirty days. For more, see Mark Hendrickson’s write-up.
There are other interesting examples of cross-site applications emerging, such as Facebook application OutSync, which I first saw mentioned on Dare Obajanjo’s blog. It’s actually a combination Facebook-Windows application that shows you the pictures of Facebook friends who email you, within Outlook. More interestingly, it syncs with Windows mobile through your Exchange server or ActiveSync, so you can see photos of your friends during calls or mobile emails. It is compatible with Windows XP and Server 2003, and requires Outlook 2003 and 2007.
Tags: co:Bebo, co:Bunchball, co:gaia-online, co:outsync9 Comments
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Brij said:
Hey Eric,
Your emphasis on “works great” got me thinking on the overall user experience offered by different social aggregation offerings.
Aggregation per se doesn’t add whole lot of value to user, its the seamless user experience which makes a huge difference. Looks like Gaia is doing a good job of integrating “experience”.
Respect the context and enhance the experience - that will be the mantra for all aggregation services.
Brij
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dave mcclure said:
great piece eric. interesting topic, and i agree the “functional thumbnail app” concept makes a lot of sense.
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faineant said:
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joel said:
Hay peepz how it hanging ?
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keeley said:
alright kiid howz it hanging
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booksezez said:
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Naomi said:
Hey, This is the only way I can get to Bebo at my school…:(, but, I wanna join Gaiya, so, yeah.
To all my friends (Ameer G, Dale, ect. I cant go on Bebo…Check your email) WAAAAAAAA
(Ameer, no more smileys :( ) -
pkumar said:
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I have worked 7 years for the company.
Company has required your all
time to do job. you have no time for you for your family, friends. You can’t live freely without financially freedom. Many people facing this problem in his daily routine.
They want to search easy job that allow to go for holyday, time for family and friends without creating any stress. In this way you have few options.
1st. Start your own company. That will require too much cash in your pocket and has to sustain with risk factor.
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But across the internet all required some fee in initial stage. you can see overall 99% company has in this category. You can’t decide where you go and what happened after joining.
Yes I have suffered by this thinking already. But I continue to search Online as well as Offline. Now two years pass off. I am not getting even one way to give me financially freedom with offline.
But I got one real company that is helping me to reach my goal as well as financially freedom absolutely free of charge.
Now I have past my one year with this company. I feel free with financially
Problem, I can pay more attention with family, friends as well as my parent.
In this time I am getting $250 per week. (Rs.10000.00 per week).This is good for me.
In initial stage I had worked 3 to 4 hours per day,
Five days in week and when I want to work in 24 hours.
Rite now 1 to 2 hours required per day to complete my work.
I am not going to say every one to join online job.
But if you want to search with desperately.
Go to that company which give you test free of charge with his own risk, his own investment.
You don’t need to invest in initial stage. First take a test of work then you go for take decision.
When you go for any online program You need to work in first stage.
1. Advertisement ( Free of cost, No need to expanse your own money)
2. Get them some people to help you, your portfolio and Income.
3. To help you’re members under you to go with real income.
4. Do your job at least 2 hours per day.Than you go for your goal with real money $ 150 to $250 per week
As I before done and rite now.
You feel free to think first and take a decision.
If you have any comment or suggestions please mail me at.
submit60@yahoo.co.in
I will certainly reply you in positive sense.
Yours friend
Pkumar -
dominique said:
hi whats happening
11 Trackbacks
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GeorgeHopkin.com » Blog Archive » Digital projects, super broadband, social networking and Google’s running costs said:
[...] Via Venturebeat.com, social networking is still VERY big business: Gaia Online, the virtual world for teens, siad media conglomerate Time Warner has invested an undisclosed amount in the company. San Jose, Calif.’s Gaia says it has nearly three million monthly users. It also has a growing population of users on Bebo, who sign into the Gaia OMG application and play a miniature version of the virtual world (see [Venturebeat’s] article from earlier today). [...]
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[...] all developers. Information for developers here; a list of applications here. Earlier this week, I looked at how Gaia is gaining new traffic through its Bebo application. Facebook to let you hide [...]
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News I’m Following « Social Media Marketing by Debra Aho Williamson said:
[...] Gaia Online gets $12mm venture round. Investors this time include Sony (a previous investor) and Time Warner. What intrigues me the most about Gaia these days is that the teen-oriented VW has been building its audience by using a widget on Bebo. Bebo members can sign on to Gaia and play a trimmed-down version of Gaia right from Bebo (via VentureBeat). [...]
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