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.

It has changed my emotional outlook. Best damn marketing tool by an order of magnitude. Both And it's free. Other thoughts on the value of blogging: Value of Blogging - Thanks Tracy , Common Questions and Some Thoughts Around Blogs and Blogging , Top Ten Reasons To Blog and Top Ten Not to Blog . But from a value perspective, it really comes down to the numbers I showed for my eLearning Technology blog. Over the past 12 months, I've had roughly 284,000 people come visit that site and get exposed to things I write. But the web site visitors are

gid=1801653 , www.centurycitycc.org Self-description: "EPEC works with the Los Angeles community, via the Century City Chamber of Commerce, to facilitate business relationships through quarterly networking events drawing hundreds of people aimed at the same goal." and "The group is for software CTOs in the Los Angeles area. Weekly updates to the main SoCal Networking Event Organizations list . Please let me know if know of other organizations to add, or if you have any feedback on events. Name: Challenger Networking Group (CA) Review: I've been told the

Los Angeles-based Rubicon Project , which supplies ad optimization software to web publishers, announced today that it has released a new version of its VANTAGE Firefox browser plug-in, which helps provide its publishers with revenue and impressoin statistics and other information. Rubicon--which is backed by a health $42M in funding from Clearstone Venture Partners, Mayfield Fund, IDG Ventures and GE/NBC Universal's Peacock Equity Fund--said the new software includes such features as allowing publishers to screen ads being shown on their web sites, ability to see what

Los Angeles-based magnify360, a provider of web page optimization tools, has lauched a new product for optimizing Google AdWords advertising, the firm announced today. Among features of the new tool are the ability to tie specific individual leads and customers to the keywords that generated their clicks, and ways to optimize landing pages for specific keywords and profiles. magnify360 said its new Google Cost Optimizer automatically synchronizes with AdWords accounts, and provides campaign performance metrics to users about return on investment in individual keywords, cost per click, conversion rates, and other information.

Los Angeles-based EQAL , said this morning at Twiistup that the firm is launching a new, social publishing tool it is calling Umbrella, focused on independent producers, celebrity talent, and online personalities. According to EQAL, its new platform is focused on helping those producers and talent to create their own web sites, with features such as blogs, discussions, forums, and user profiles, as well as links to social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The launch of the platform extends EQAL beyond its roots in developing content and web sites for studios, into a broader customer base.

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 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. The service is available based on a subscription 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."

Los Angeles-based software-as-a-service developer CrownPeak has expanded the breadth of its offerings, saying this morning that it has launched a set of content management and marketing tools. CrownPeak said its new offering, the Online Marketing Management Suite, is targeted at online marketers, and helps them test, target, and measure content relevance in its web sites, landing pages, banner ads, mobile devices, social media, and other channnels. Pricing on the new offering was not released. CrownPeak is a developer of software-as-a-service for content management, which

Los Angeles-based X1 Technologies , the Idealab-backed software firm developing enterprise and desktop search tools, announced Wednesday that the firm has added web indexing capabilities to its software. According to X1, its latest Enterprise Search Server product can now index external and internal web sites. The firm said it has software, which is available immediately. The software previously only supported searching of files, office suites, portal software, databases, and other corporate applications.

Los Angeles-based Ticketmaster , which is the biggest provider of online ticket sales services for sports, entertainment, and other events, said today that it has launched a beta of a new, interactive seat mapping tool. The new, Web 2.0-style tool allows users to view visual maps of venues, and use interactive features to narrow down the types of tickets they want to buy by location, price, and other options. Ticketmaster said the new tool is available in beta for specific venues, including the San Antonio Spurs, Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic, and others.