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hi5 Teams with Mochi Media for More Money-Making Games Posted: 01 Apr 2009 02:16 AM PDT hi5 is extending its Games section by partnering with Mochi Media, the online games network. After launching Games earlier this year, hi5 is quickly expanding on its gaming portal, incorporating several new entertainment options for users and more revenue options for itself. As with its own native games, those offered through the partnership with Mochi media will take advantage of the recently launched hi5 Coins, the social network’s virtual currency. While users will not be able to use hi5 Coins for direct transactions, there are plans for future options of purchasing downloadable games, challenging friends, accessing premium game content and status upgrades. The use of hi5 Coins for the new games is of course beneficial to hi5 as well as Mochi Media. This tactic also touches on several segments of the direct pay spectrum, appealing to users that enjoy individual play, offline play, premium features and content as well as social gaming capabilities. This is a smart approach to integrated gaming options, and greatly extends the revenue-generating potential of Mochi Media itself. We’ve seen such potential from many of the platform-upon-platform companies that have created a network of games to operate on Facebook and other open platforms across other social networks. This format works for advertising as well, though ads don’t leverage the direct payment options of end users. Nevertheless, it’s clear that hi5 is really looking to its users for the growth of its own monetization channels, turning to companies like Mochi Media to provide additional content as well. While hi5 launched Games without much help from outside developers, the inclusion of Mochi Media really sets the stage for how hi5 can continue to encourage third parties to create or adapt content for the hi5 platform. Everything hi5 has been doing regarding its virtual currency since last December has been building on the groundwork hi5 has initiated for empowering other developers, brands and marketers to participate in a socially engaging environment. As the options for the virtual currency grow, so too will the marketplace hi5 is setting up, which could eventually become a self-sustained portal for businesses and users alike.

MySpace Teams with CitySearch to Launch Local Business Portal Posted: 31 Mar 2009 10:25 AM PDT MySpace has teamed up with business directory Citysearch to create a socially-oriented search portal within the MySpace community. The result is a new section called MySpace Local. This new directory is not yet available, but will be launched in beta later on this week. Citysearch is bringing its database to the table, while MySpace is going to be “socializing” the whole affair. In doing so, businesses will be able to connect with each other, and users will be able to connect with businesses. MySpace Local will over listing pages for small businesses, which will cover three categories at launch: Restaurants, Bars and Nightife. On each listing page, users will be able to rate, review and share media for each business. Users will also be able to add the business to their profile, share a business listing with friends, and add it to their bookmarks. To actually localize the upcoming MySpace Local section, MySpace wil be creating hubs for all major cities in the U.S. These hubs will be ripe with search functions with filtering options for neighborhoods, business categories, cuisine type, etc. MySpace has also indicated that celebrity reviews will be incorporated into the hub pages, which appears to be a form of editorial content garnering the interest of users. It’s not a far stretch for Myspace to create a dedicated space on its site for business directory listings, search options and networking capabilities. For years now, MySpace has been a good promotional tool for businesses, especially those in the music industry. And other changes made to the MySpace layout in the past year have also made it more possible for brands to create specialized pages through which they can connect with users. Layering in Citysearch only enhances the direction in which MySpace has been headed for some time. For MySpace, there are several implications that come along with the introduction of MySpace Local. On the one hand, this new directory portal will compete with the likes of Yelp and even Facebook’s own recently modified Public Pages. One benefit MySpace may have over Facebook in this regard is the ready-made database that Citysearch provides, as opposed to relying completely on the businesses themselves to crerate their pages. MySpace Local could also offer up useful channels for direct content distribution to users, sending them coupons, special discounts, exclusive content, and more. This would be especially powerful as there will likely be added integration with MySpace’s own platform, which adds to the viral potential of a business utilizing the Local portal. Building on MySpace Local will be a slew of commercial opportunities for the businesses as well as for MySpace. It sets the stage for integrated payment options from which users can benefit, as well as extended revenue generation for MySpace, from ads or premium features. This is a particularly useful format that mimics some of the updates we’ve seen on other sites seeking more commercial integration, such as Trulia.

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