Hollywood-based Geni , the venture-backed firm which has developed an online, Web 2.0-style genealogy and social networking web sites for families, has connected the company's service with the popular Facebook social networking web site. Geni said that users can now connect their Facebook account to Geni, allowing users to use Facebook's standard invite tools to invite relatives to join Geni's family tree serviecs. The new Facebook connection also allows users to post their Geni activity to their Facebook newsfeed, the Facebook feature which posts status updates and information to other users.

Individuals use social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Plaxo as career-advancing tools, even more useful in a down economy. 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?" Top officers of some of the leading social media websites and tools (including Facebook, MySpace and Yammer) will be 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.

West Hollywood-based family tree site Geni has rolled out a slew of updates for the service, saying today that it has added features to help users collaborate with others, map out locations, and see recent photos. Tags: geni genealogy family tree social networking web Among the new features, the firm said it will now allow users to collaborate with others when building a family tree. The new collaboration feature--only available to paid, "Pro" user on the service--makes it easier for different users to view and edit profiles in the system, and merge duplicate profiles.

West Hollywood-based Geni , the venture-backed, online family tree and networking site, said today that it has added a number of new features to its site, including the ability to search for similar profiles on the site, and improved access to popular features. According to Geni, the new features include the ability to look for profiles with similar names and birth and death dates, to help users find information on relatives that might have been entered by other users. In addition, the firm said it has created new tabs for accessing statistics and relatives on the site, among other navigational changes.

Los Angeles-based startup Knowledge Genie is launching a new, online site today which allows people to publish, share, and sell their knowledge online. The startup, headed by authors and husband-and-wife team Milo and Thuy Sindell, allows book authors and other experts to follow some basic steps to take their expertise and convert it into an online, organized knowledge base--which the firm calls a "genie." The service The new startup is the outgrowth of work the Sindells did for author and leadership consultant Marshal Goldsmith, powering Goldsmith's interactive web app called the Marshall Goldsmith Professional Success Systems.

Los Angeles-based Geni rolled out a number of enhancements to the site, plus told its users late Wednesday evening that it will now allow all of its users a 14 day, free trial of the firm's premium offering, Geni Pro. According to Geni, the new features include a bookmark feature which allows users to bookmark any information in the system, including profiles, photos and videos; plus an additional tool which helps its users merge and find similar profiles already added by others. Geni operates an online genealogy and family networking site; the firm launched its premium offering in March.

Los Angeles-based Geni, an online genealogy and social networking site, upgraded the firm's services last night, adding new statistics features and gift accounts. According to the firm, it now allows users to view statistics on profiles, and has added the ability of users to give "Geni Pro" accounts as a gift to relatives. Geni allows users to create online, Web 2.0-style family trees, along with other social tools. The gift accounts will cost $50, and allow recipients to gain access to the site's additional features. READ MORE>> ...Tags:

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 David Sacks: As you know, Geni is creating a family tree of the whole world, and layering in a family social network and family wiki on top of that. What's the ultimate business model behind Geni? David 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. David has a unique

Twitter can already be a great tool for networking and collaboration, so I’m surprised the service hasn’t been tapped for this already. The genie is back, except this time, he reads the fan tweets live (sponsored by Coca-Cola!). As reported by Variety ,  a Twitter-themed television show is now under development. It’s being described as “putting ordinary people on the trail of celebrities in a revolutionary competitive format.”

Twitter can already be a great tool for networking and collaboration, so I’m surprised the service hasn’t been tapped for this already. The genie is back, except this time, he reads the fan tweets live (sponsored by Coca-Cola!). As reported by Variety ,  a Twitter-themed television show is now under development. It’s being described as “putting ordinary people on the trail of celebrities in a revolutionary competitive format.”