Social networking sites and microblogs are used not only to build company brands, but to foster productivity; social media tools help build communities around the question, "What are you working on?" Companies also use social networking sites in the hiring process, and increasingly, to do innovative advertising (such as the recent Jack in the Box campaign). This Panel will Just a quick note that I'll be moderating a Technology Council Event : Social Networking as a Business Strategy May 19, 2009 - Culver City Social networking media are used on a daily basis to grow businesses and expand career opportunities.

Los Angeles-based Yammer, the corporate focused instant messaging service spun out of Geni.com, said today that the firm is updating its service and adding a new groups feature. According to Yammer, its new Groups feature allows messages and members on the site to be managed around specific groups within companies. The new feature allows companies using the firm's service to subdivide members into Yammer launched to much fanfare in September at TechCrunch50, taking the instant messaging features of Twitter and adding a corporate spin. Yammer said the new Groups feature

When I drill down on that term, you can see why with posts like: Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals Lops A Third Of Company THQ Lays Off 100 Employees, Closes San Diego Office Citrix Cuts 10 Percent; Santa Barbara Hit And it's also interesting to see what geographies are being associated with "Layoffs" more often than others: Layoffs Woodland Hills Layoffs San Diego Layoffs Santa Monica Layoffs Los Angeles I guess this is a sign of the times. The Scott Sanfilippo Interview Media Optimization Firms Are Red Hot In Southern California in 2009 Proliferate

Our interview this morning is with David Sacks, CEO of Geni.com, an online family tree and social networking site, as well as Yammer, the instant messaging startup spun out of Geni.com at TechCrunch50. We sat down with David to catch up on what Geni and Yammer are doing, plus got his insights into entrepreneurship and the Paypal mystique. Thanks Now, let's talk about Yammer. David has a unique perspective on the Southern California technology environment, having been the COO of PayPal before its acquisition by EBay, and having had the full Silicon Valley experience. Thanks

West Hollywood-based Yammer , the corporate microblogging site inspired by Twitter, is moving from the Los Angeles area to Silicon Valley, according to founder David Sacks. Sacks said that Geni, which spun out Yammer, remains in West Hollywood. Sacks revealed the move at the Twiistup conference Friday, explained the move by saying that "what I miss are all the technology companies are out of there, and According to Sacks, the entire firm--including its engineering team and executive staff--is moving to the Bay Area, to be closer to the startup scene in Silicon Valley. Yammer

The company said it managed to get the service back online at 4:30am Wednesday. No reason for the downtime was given, however, the downtime at Geni paralleled a similar, more widely reported downtime issues at sister firm Yammer. Instant messaging service Yammer--which recently moved to the Bay Area--reported its services came down due to "hardware issue within the supervisory engine of a switch". Los Angeles-based Geni , the online family tree and genealogy web site started by David Sacks, was hit by unexpected downtime Tuesday and today, the firm told its users Wednesday afternoon.

Pasadena-based Central Desktop has jumped into the enterprise micro-blogging area, saying Monday that it has launched a new tool which allows companies to use Twitter-style updates within the firm's project management software. The company said the new offering allows users to both share status among just team members, or also syndicate those status updates to Twitter and Facebook. Central Desktop runs a software-as-a-service product which allows business teams to share documents, track schedules, and collaborate on other team activities. The new microblogging tool, like Twitter,

The company also offers business services to manufacturers and retail businesses through its custom partnership opportunities. Meebo - Meebo is a new communications and media company that’s re-writing the way people have conversations and communicate on the Web. Yammer - Yammer is a tool for making companies and organizations more productive through the exchange of short frequent answers to one simple question: ‘What are This video will show you the sartups that will show off at the next Twiistup , an event which highlights promising startups.

A great opportunity for more visible networking . I roughly know about MakeItWork, but tell me a bit about where you spend your time day-to-day. A typical day starts with email, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Yammer checks/updates. We have traditionally been a company heard about through word of mouth, radio advertising (now our own show) and from a Mini sighting. I’ve recently had a chance to reconnect with Eric David Greenspan ( LinkedIn , Twitter ) He’s the CEO of Make It Work a high quality, personal, high touch technology service provider for homes and small businesses.

Yes, there is the mythical company you all heard about that walked into Sequoia and had a term sheet 24 hours later.  Geni.com beget Yammer.  I So for me seeing how you respond to market challenges, what you learn and how you adapt is one of the most critical pieces of information I can collect about whether or not I want to invest in your company.  It’s This is part of my new series on  what makes an entrepreneur successful .  I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs.