TripHuddle.com

I discovered this site while I was working on improving my LinkedIn profile; it was posted in one of the groups I am in on the site. I was intrigued by the name, so I decided to look in to it a little further. A quick Google search turned up plenty of information on the site, here is some of what I found.

TripHuddle was founded by six people who had become very close friends during their time in college and,  upon graduating, were spread out across the U.S. They were having difficulty planning trips to get together. They could plan trips on a surface level, but keeping track of all the details was very difficult to do between them. So they came up with an idea to develop a social network that was based entirely on the idea of planning trips and sharing ideas with friends.

There are three major areas to TripHuddle. Users can share their trip information with friends on other social networks by letting them know where they are going, how they are getting there, and when they will be arriving. It also allows users to collaborate with one another and organize all the aspects of their trip plans. They use a shared calendar and can even share ideas and vote on them.

I think this is an excellent way to help people plan trips with one another, whether they may be in the same area or across the globe.

The Xbox Live network

Xbox Live is an online service provided by Microsoft that has been around since 2002 for the first Xbox system. Now it is used for the Xbox 360 system, and is being made available for mobile devices that support the Windows software. There are currently two options available for users, Xbox Live Free and Xbox Live Gold, which charges users a fee.

Some of the current features that are available for Xbox Live Gold users are:
-voice chat, party chat, and video chat (these also require the use of a headset, the Xbox Vision Camera, or an Xbox Kinect)
-The use of Avatars, which can represent the users likeness
-An opportunity for downloadable content for the user's games
-Online Multiplayer
-Connect with Facebook, Twitter, and last.fm (must have an account registered with these sites)
-Can also use Zune, Vodafone Casa TV, ESPN3, and NetFlix (must have an account or a ESPN3 supported ISP address)
*Xbox Live Free offers only a few of these features, which include voice chat, downloadable content and the use of Avatars.

Some upcoming features that will be supported on Xbox 360 include connecting with Hulu Plus, which will allow users to watch videos through Hulu Plus. Also, users will be able to interact with their Avatars, as well as other Avatars through the use of the Kinect.

I feel that Xbox Live provides users many opportunities to interact with other users, much like many other social media sites. You can develop a user profile, connect and chat with friends, and play games through the site. It also allows people to connect with other social media sites and it also allows users to use tools like NetFlix and, eventually, Hulu Plus. This would be an excellent way for advertisers to reach consumers, and seems to pull a lot of the major benefits of many other social media sites and roll them all into one.

Social Media Sites: A Hunting Ground for Cyber-criminals

One thing for businesses, and the general public, to consider before they create an account on Social Media sites is the quickly growing rate of attacks that are being made on these sites by cyber-criminals. According to Symantec, a computer security firm, there were 286 million new cyber threats that emerged during 2010 that targeted social media sites. Due to the popularity of these sites, coupled with the new ground of social media for writers of viruses, these cyber-criminals have a wide range of opportunities to attack people. These new attacks represented a 93% increase in web-based attacks, which were created to steal money or data, and in some cases, taking over entire businesses.

The things to watch out for right now are viruses that piggyback off of news events that get clicks towards malicious links. They also get users to click on these links by telling them they have been tagged in photos or videos. There is also an increase in attacks on mobile devices and tablets. This will only increase as the use of these devices increases.

While the attacks of these sites will continue, it is important not to worry. Spyware and virusware are never far behind in finding ways to detect these malicious attacks and keep them from doing to much damage. Plus, most of these attacks haven't proven to be too lucrative for cyber-criminals. The upside of social networking sites to companies, as well as individuals, is far more beneficial, in my opinion, than the very low probability of getting a virus.