Magnify.net Archive

NY-based Magnify.net has created a news and information portal around the swine flu outbreak. The portal includes videos from CNN, news from the AP, Twitter search results, videos from MSNBC, videos from around the Web and the  Twitter stream from the CDC. They also include the swine flu map we posted yesterday.

It’s a smart move for Magnify as it gives the service some broad, mainstream traffic where users can see how the technology works. Other services should think about this and how they too can play off all important news events with their startups.

Not sure I would prioritize a general Twitter search so high on the page as the information is typically not researched and could provide poor information. Would rather see “official” news higher up on the page.

Just hours after KickApps released their latest stats and just a few blocks north in Manhattan, Magnify.net is also releasing their latest stats. Magnify is celebrating their first anniversary this month as well.

While not a completely accurate comparison, Magnify’s PR firm has put together a chart showing that Magnify has broken into the top 10 most popular online video networks worldwide. I say not completely accurate as Magnify’s numbers come from their own stats and the other companies stats come from comScore. We know that comScore has had some reporting issues with Flux recently so perhaps Magnify actually ranks higher.

Here are the numbers reported to us (unaudited):

• Page views totaled 15,745,953, which represents a 23.71% increase
• Unique visitors jumped by 30.18% increase
• 2,209 new channels created
• 1,134,376 new content items were submitted to the network
• Total channels on the network are now over 30,000, up from 14,000 in September 2007
• Worldwide growth has skyrocketed by 174% in six months

This should be an interesting year for the white-label social networks including KickApps, Magnify and Ning. Just how many social networks can we handle?

Have you ever wanted to cry into the camera about Britney or yell about teen Jamie Lynn’s baby announcement? Have you considered dropping a mentos into a coke? What about talking about maps? Well if that’s you, Magnify.net has the product for you!

We covered the private beta release of NY-based Magnify.net’s "video blog in a box" setup which basically allows anyone with a webcam to start a video blog in 5 minutes or less. I think of this tool as being similar to WordPress.com for text blogging. Unlike WordPress.com, publishers can share in the revenue generated on their video blog. It’s very easy to use from my testing.

You use a webcam to create a video channel on the network and can add in other videos to complement your own live action movies. Today they are showing off Jeff Hibbard and his mobile weblog. Frankly the videos were boring as heck. No one wants to watch a guy drive a car or eat at a Denny’s. Side note: I am absolutely against people videoblogging while driving, it’s just wrong.

Magnify.net has also released the following stats on service usage: passed 1 million unique visits in the month of November and there are currently over 22,000 dedicated channels online on Magnify.net.

Check out our previous Magnify.net coverage including the nextNYers interview with CEO Steve Rosenbaum.

Magnify.net is announcing today their "video blog in a box" setup which basically allows anyone with a webcam to start a video blog in 5 minutes or less. Sounds similar to the WordPress.com setup which also takes about 5 minutes. The service is in private beta and you can request a beta invite here.

It’s always an interesting discussion when we talk about video blogging. I can sit with 10 people and 5 love it and 5 hate it. Some are doing well with it like Justine, Sarah and Gary but video blogging is still in its infancy.

Podcamp co-founder and online media guru Chris Brogan will host a daily video blog called “Attention Upgrade” (http://www.attentionupgrade.magnify.net) to showcase Magnify’s new platform during the private beta.

They have also introduced a variety of new features in time for the holidays including:

• Widget Maker 2.0
• A Bookmarklet – allows others to refer videos to your channel on Magnify.net
• Custom Page Builder
• Flash Uploader
• and a new Profile Builder

Kristen over at Mashable has additional details on the announcement. Check out our previous Magnify.net coverage including the nextNYers interview with CEO Steve Rosenbaum.

Earlier today we reported on the announcement of a free Wi-Fi zone in midtown Manhattan by CBS. Part of the announcement includes information on the ad-supported homepage. The homepage is actually a white label social network provided by Ning.

As I started to think about this partnership some more while enjoying pizza with friends at Lombardi’s, why didn’t CBS select local providers KickApps or Magnify.net? Both provide robust social networking services on the same level as Ning and they are both local to NYC.

Ning has the Internet celebrity founder but otherwise I just don’t see why CBS wouldn’t select local. I am by no means saying Ning is inferior, they all basically provide the same service, each has a bit of innovation in different areas.

Any one out on the Interwebs have any thoughts? Was either site even in the running? Check out our previous Ning, Magnify.net and KickApps coverage.

I am very excited to announce the launch of a new NY-based video series all about New York technology companies and the people behind them. The show is called nextNYers and builds on the concept of nextNY which is an awesome tech networking group founded by Charlie O’Donnell.

The show is produced by For Your Imagination, an online show production house in NYC. And I am very excited to share that CenterNetworks is partnering with FYI on the show. I have spent a good bit of time learning about the team at For Your Imagination (the CN mxer was held in their studio) and think this is a great chance to show off what we do here on the east coast.

Check out coverage of the series launch on TechCrunch and Silicon Alley Insider. 

Hosting the show is actress Meghan Mitchell and the first profile is with Magnify.net CEO Steve Rosenbaum and is embedded below. If you are interested in participating in nextNYers, send me an email.