Social networking can be great fun if you're careful

The FBI recently announced that there has been an increase in the number of hacked social networking accounts.

Social networking profiles are getting hijacked with increasing frequency, according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). The FBI made sure to mention that social networking sites are generally safe, but that it might also be a good idea to exercise a little caution when visiting them. This could be good advice to follow no matter what sort of site you use.

The Feds say that you should consider: adjusting your privacy settings, carefully choosing whose friend requests you accept, limiting access to your profile and not clicking on any old link that seems like it might be interesting.

They also say that one popular scam involves online dirtbags planting dangerous software onto people's computers. This will send out a spam message to all of those people's online friends and their computers could be infected with a virus that steals passwords as a result.

If you think your profile might have been hacked, the FBI says you should go to the IC3 website.

New online dating site features personality assessment

A new online dating site launched on October 1 and it says it's taking dating back to the basics.

Guys And Girls Next Door (GND) is based in Seattle and wants to provide singles with a different sort of internet dating experience. It aims to do so by combining elements of regular dating with personality evaluations, feedback and coaching.

'Our goal is for all our members to find committed relationships based in authenticity, honesty and self-awareness,' said GND co-founder Angel Cruzado. 'Our philosophy focuses on self-discovery: the more you know yourself - what you want, how others perceive you - the easier it is to successfully find a long-term connection. We help our members meet like-minded, compatible people.'

On GND, you have a choice of two membership options: Group Membership and Individual Membership. Group features events like social mixers and Individual offers one-on-one discussions with GND staff to help you improve your dating skills.

Until October 31, you can become a member for free, although you'll be asked to pay an initiation fee of $50. Starting in November, participating on GND will cost $75 per month.

Social networking site has all the answers

A young woman recently launched her own group on a popular social networking site and she says that she's now ready to help people around the world.

Kimberly Clo is the creator of a DVD entitled Now You Know How To Blow Dry Your Hair and she's just created her own fan page on Facebook that's meant to provide further support.

'I know from personal experience that in most salons, stylists don't typically have the time to answer all of the client's questions about styling their hair at home,' said Clo. 'This feels like the best way to help people really get the answers they are looking for; instead of reading a magazine article that may or may not apply to them.'

Clo's group is called 'Bad hair days SUCK and their days are numbered!' She encourages everyone to join.

Clo can also teach you how to smoothen and straighten your hair as well as give it more body and bounce, according to her website. Of Clo's services, American country singer-songwriter Sara Evans said, 'I've never had a blowout done to my hair the way Kimberly Clo can do it.'

Social networking site chooses Intelius to run its searches

A social networking website has just announced that for the first time since its launch, its searches will be powered by an outside company.

Friendster has decided that Intelius, an information commerce company, should run its searches from now on. The new Intel-powered search bar will be located at the top of every Friendster web page.

'We're excited to work with Intelius on this important feature as it will bring a more robust and comprehensive search experience to our community,' said Friendster's VP of sales Aaron Barnes. 'It allows over 115 million Friendster users to find and connect with one another, and our users can even find people from across the web.'

Friendster says that it is a top global website. It bases this claim on the amount of traffic the site has seen since it was founded in 2002.

Intelius offers a variety of services, including background checks, employment screening and identity theft prevention. According to the internet marketing research company comScore, the Intelius website is in the top 100 of most trafficked locations on the internet.

Digitize your money for Facebook gaming

An alternative payment platform has introduced a new way for gamers to spend their money on social networking websites.

Offerpal Media is a virtual currency company. Rixty describes itself as an alternative payment platform. Together, the two have developed a solution for social networkers who don't have credit or debit cards but want to spend their money on online games anyway. You take your cash to Coinstar, the kiosk gives you a voucher and then you go online and start spending.

'We are very excited to partner with Offerpal and give game developers access to the $3 billion in coins that Coinstar sorts each year,' said Rixty CEO Ted Sorom. 'Offerpal has created an extremely easy way for online publishers to facilitate payment by their users, and Rixty extends this functionality by giving users a way to capture the value of their idle coins for virtual goods and currency purchases.'

Rixty says that many Massively Multiplayer Online game publishers already use its system. The company also says it plans to expand its network in order to further support online publishers.

Offerpal Media is headquartered in Fremont, California and claims it has served more than 115 million consumers to date.

Facebook game company continues to grow

A company that thought to combine the world of social networking with the world of video games was apparently on to something, as its growth is reportedly explosive.

Zynga is the company that developed FarmVille, Zynga Poker (obviously), Mafia Wars, YoVille, Vampires and a few others. The San Francisco-based operation just announced that it has quadrupled its monthly users over the past six months.

'The rise in social gaming reflects the immense popularity of Facebook and the need for people to connect, play and express themselves with others,' said Zynga CEO Mark Pincus. 'While it is still early in social gaming, the success of our games with the user community underscores the sheer size and potential of this new movement which will finally let fun become the biggest way people interact.'

Last April, Zynga says it had 30 million people playing its games. By September 30, that number had grown to 129 million. About 34 million people all over the world play a Zynga game every day.

Zynga games are available on MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, Friendster and several other sites too.

New social networking service allows trade show exhibitors to communicate with customers

Virtual Press Office (VPO) is an online trade show news distributor that is now taking advantage of social networking.

VPO recently announced EventBuzz, its new service that lets exhibitors follow social media conversations that could have an impact on their businesses. The monitoring system will cover communication taking place on sites like Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube.

'Social media measurement is all about listening, and based upon what you learn, responding in an appropriate manner,' said VPO's CEO Peter Brand. 'EventBuzz will allow companies to get real-time market feedback on products, technologies, competitors, and people with the added advantage of being able to respond in real-time.'

EventBuzz becomes available on October 1 for any trade show or corporate event in the world. The service costs $399 and allows individuals to monitor up to 10 keyword searches.

VPO was established in 1996 and says it has changed the way exhibitors and the media communicate by offering its online press office. The company claims it provides 400 events with support.