One of the biggest dilemmas for print and mainstream media today is how to transition from a free-for-all model to one where its users actually pay for the content they consume. Should each site enact its own paywall, forcing users to purchase a subscription to just that site? How about a pay-per-article solution, which would still require a separate login for each publication? A report in Italian publication La Repubblica last week tells us that Google might launch its own solution to this problem later this year and we have to admit, there might be few companies better positioned to take on this role than the one thought to be the reason for the industry’s decline in the first place. Sponsor According to the article, the one-click payment solution will be called “Newspass” and would be available for Web, mobile and tablet platforms. Google would not confirm any specific details, but instead offered the following statement: We’ve consistently said we’re talking with news publishers about ways we can work together, including whether we can help them with technology to power any subscription services they may be thinking of building. Our aim, as with all Google products, is to reach as broad a global audience as possible. We have nothing specific to announce at this time. A Google-provided micropayment solution is anything but far-fetched, of course, as the company proposed one such platform to the Newspaper Association of America last September. The system would come as an extension of Google Checkout and could help to reposition Google in the news business. As we’ve written before, sources like Google’s search and Google News have given up their top position to social networks like Facebook as the top drivers of traffic to media sites. As more and more media outlets go pay , a unified payment service across the Web could become increasingly important and Google, a service we already trust with so much of our information and Web activity, could be in a perfect position to provide this service. Discuss

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A company called SocialShield has launched new technology aimed at keeping children and teens safe on social networking sites like Facebook . Using patent-pending “Safety Engines,” the service scans a child’s social networking profile to look for inappropriate, dangerous or otherwise suspicious content or behavior. When it finds questionable material, parents are alerted immediately via email. Sponsor Protecting Children on Social Networks with SocialShield SocialShield works across a number of social networking sites, including popular outlets such as Facebook and Twitter . But it also supports several other social networks available today, like MySpace, Flickr, Photobucket – even LinkedIn – and dozens more. Wait, kids wouldn’t be on LinkedIn , the business networking site for adults, would they? No, probably not. But their new “friend” may be. SocialShield will actually check the friends a child adds against a number of databases, including LinkedIn, Costco.com’s customer list and lists of registered sex offenders, in order to determine if a child’s friend is who they say they are. If, for example, a child’s new friend “Jimmy,” is found on LinkedIn, they might not be the 13-year old boy they claim to be. In total, one hundred different data points are used to in these comparisons. In addition to friend verification, also included in the $99/year service are tools for parents like cyberbullying detection, and reputation management. Parents are alerted if their child is a victim of cyberbullying (or is the bully), and the service even goes so far as to assist the parents of victims in identifying the cyberbully, documenting the problem incident and reporting the bully to the school, his or her parents and/or law enforcement, if necessary. Meanwhile, SocialShield’s reputation management service looks for potentially risky behavior on the child’s part, including the posting of “inappropriate” photos or other content that could hurt the child’s future job search efforts or college acceptance. In these cases, the algorithm itself doesn’t make the determination about what’s considered “risky,” it’s left up the parents to decide. The service simply alerts parents photos have been posted. PTA Backs SocialShield This news of the service’s launch comes on the heels of a Facebook partnership with the National PTA, “a formal collaboration geared towards kids, parents and teachers to promote responsible and safe Internet use,” notes the social networking site in a company press release posted June 10th. Both organizations will utilize their respected resources to raise awareness as well as provide tools and resources regarding online safety, good citizenship and cyberbullying. But being aware of the problem is only half the battle, the other half is taking action. Today, that means parents often co-op their child’s social networking password and then have to manually scan the site on a regular basis in order to stay informed of the child’s activities. Socialshield automates this process, a benefit not only to time-crunched parents but also to those who aren’t as tech-savvy as their children. Comparisons with Other Services Although no automated service is going to be 100% effective – something like SocialShield is considered a worthy enough solution that the PTA has partnered with the company. Like its primary competitor, SafetyWeb , SocialShield requires no software installation – the service is completely online. But SocialShield claims it can access private data, too, while SafetyWeb focuses more on what’s publicly available. The company also claims it will offer a more comprehensive educational community via its Knowledge Center which will connect parents with experts like best-selling author and former bullying victim, Jodee Blanco, as well as psychologists and law enforcement officials for help in understanding what to look for and what to do when troubling content is found. At the moment, however, the Center is sparse in comparison with that of SafetyWeb’s , which houses dozens of articles in addition to an informative company blog . The pricing for both services is the same as well: $10 per month (or $99/year for SocialShield if paying annually). But it’s the PTA endorsement that may be SocialShield’s biggest selling point, at least until more comparative testing can be done between the two services. Free Trial SocialShield has been in beta testing since April and publicly launched just this week. The name “SocialShield” has also been associated with another, similar company in the past, but that was a different entity altogether, with a different board of directors. Interested parents can sign up for SocialShield here and try it for 14 days, free of charge. Discuss

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A year ago, we covered the global mapping of social networks by Vincenzo Cosenza , a public relations specialists and former Microsoft Italy marketer. Almost a year to the day later, Cosenza remapped the global use of social networks. Sponsor Like his previous effort, Vincenzo’s new maps were based on Alexa & Google Trends for Websites traffic data. Among the trends the earlier exercise identified were Facebook ’s near-colonization of Europe and its 200 millions users; the status of China’s QQ as the largest social network in the world, with 300 million users; and MySpace ’s loss of leadership everywhere except in Guam. Unsurprisingly, the biggest change is the furtherance of a trend: Facebook’s growth. +Facebook is eating its local competitors +Facebook now has almost 500 million users +In terms of visitors, Facebook is now larger than QQ +Out of 131 countries surveyed, 111 show Facebook as the leading social network In-country exceptions to the Facebook rule includes China, where QQ still rules, and seems to still have a few more active users than Facebook and Russia, where Odnoklassniki and V Kontakte social networks remain the most popular. Orkut is still the most popular in Brazil but is losing significant ground in India, where Alexa, but not Google, gives Facebook the #1 position. A scattering of other countries retains its affection for local networks. Some of these, like Syria ( Maktoob ) and Iran, ( Cloob ) may have political considerations that effect their choices. The use of non-Latin writing systems may also have a part to play. Cosenza concurs. “In my researches (I’m director of Digital PR , an Italian social media agency owned by Hill & Knowlton – WPP) I saw that social networks adoption is driven by cultural, social and political factors. So I strongly agree.” Other interesting elements to note are the gain by Twitter against MySpace in Australia and Canada and the (slow) growth of LinkedIn. Discuss

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According to an announcement issued today by Linden Lab , the company that controls the Second Life virtual environment, changes are afoot. 30% of the company’s employees will be laid off as the company consolidates, closing its bureaus outside North America. Linden Lab intends to move the Second Life environment to a browser- and mobile-based platform, obviating the need to download software. It will combine its product and engineering divisions. Future plans include migration to social networks, like Facebook. Sponsor In previous coverage , Tom Hale, Chief Product Officer for Linden Lab, said user-to-user transactions in the immersive world spiked 30% over last year to $160 million, breaking all previous company records. Clearly this was not enough for Linden to feel comfortable with the future. Its assertion that it is restructuring to “generate efficiencies” (?) doesn’t really answer the question of why. PaidContent pointed out that Linden Lab, “hasn’t raised outside cash since 2006. At least two of its backers have sold their stakes.” Massively reported that the company’s Singapore office is being shut and its Germany head leaving. Discuss

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Excitement is building for our upcoming Real-Time Web Summit on June 11 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City. This is our first East Coast summit and it has some absolutely amazing attendees . If you haven’t registered yet, I don’t know what you are waiting for – register today for this high-energy day! Supporting the conversation are a fantastic set of sponsors who are not only committed to releasing products that are shaping the future of the real-time Web, but also supporting that conversation. Sponsor Enterprise Sponsor: IBM Lotus One of the things we are really excited about is how the real-time Web is impacting life not just for consumers but also within the enterprise. IBM Lotus is partnering with us to support the dialogue about these themes (including, but not limited to IBM’s role) at the summit. IBM Lotus knows how to empower people to connect, collaborate and innovate while optimizing the way they work. Get started now with IBM social computing, mashups, online collaboration and mobile communication technologies that help organizations of all sizes work smarter and become more agile in today’s dynamic workplace. Drive better business outcomes through smarter collaboration. Lunch Sponsor: Alcatel-Lucent Alcatel-Lucent will be sponsoring the lunch at the Real-Time Web Summit. Similar to our mobile summit in May, Alcatel-Lucet has donated six iPads to be given away to attendees. So while ordering your lunch, make sure to drop your business card in for a chance to win! Betaworks At betaworks , nimble, loosely connected companies match users, data and content to create superb products, great APIs and profitable businesses. We’re investors in companies like Tweetdeck, Tumblr, Twitter and Superfeedr, and we’re builders of bit.ly and chartbeat. Betaworks is currently looking for developers and designers for a number of its core companies, so if being at the heart of the real-time Web and the New York tech scene is something that interests you, please contact tony@betaworks.com . Knowmore Knowmore is an entirely new class of social client. In fact, calling it a client just doesn’t do us justice. Sure we let you bring together all your social networks (an ever growing list) in one place and view them in an amazing interface, but that’s just the beginning. We are the first intelligent and rich-media social client. You can finally get out from under the sea of blue links and enjoy a stream of rich media. Get away from the tyranny of the time stream and enter a world of quality. Slice up your stream into a variety of new angles. And lest we forget, search all of your connected social networks for highly personal results. There’s a lot of other sweet stuff we know you’ll love but we’ll let you experience those for yourself. With knowmore you’ll finally attain social nirvana. Note: Reported side effects include sudden and lasting feelings of joy, enlightenment, connectedness and in some cases serenity. We are currently in private beta. Visit us at knowmore.com to request an invite. Collecta Collecta is the leading real-time search platform for the discovery, distribution and monetization of timely content. Through its streaming search technology, Collecta’s products give users the best way to experience what’s being posted right now across 15 million sites while giving media companies a compelling new way to engage their audiences, extend their reach, and ultimately to monetize real-time search. Discuss

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