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Social.fm

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social.fm.
File:Social fm Logo.gif
Type of site
Social Network
OwnerSrivats Sampath
Created bySrivats Sampath
URLwww.social.fm
CommercialPrivate
This article is about the music network; for the fictional species, see Mercora (Animorphs).

social.fm was a free social music network run by Mercora Inc. It was shut down in August, 2008.[1]. social.fm allows Internet users to search and listen to a digital radio network of over three million songs, express their musical identity via a customizable profile page, and webcast music to other social.fm users.

social.fm's mission was to catalogue and organize the world's music and make it universally searchable and legally listenable. social.fm's catalogue contains over three million unique songs by over 200,000 individual artists across all music genres. The songs are available only through streaming media, and are free.


Company history

social.fm (which then was still called Mercora) was co-founded in 2003 by Srivats Sampath, president and CEO. Before founding social.fm, Sampath was the co-founder and president of McAfee.com, vice-president of server product marketing at Netscape, and president and CEO of Discussions Corporation.

How social.fm works

To listen to music, a user can search the social.fm network via a web browser and click a song link. Alternatively, a social.fm user can download a free software client that webcasts music from his personal music collection to other social.fm users worldwide.

Musical self-expression and discovery

social.fm allows music lovers to express their musical identity to others via a customizable profile page. Users can create musical profiles, upload digital pictures, and listen to and webcast their favorite artists.

A social.fm user can discover new music by viewing recent searches, listening to webcasts, exploring mixes, or browsing the profiles and collections of other social.fm users. A user can also search for artist biographies, discographies, reviews, images, and podcasts. social.fm users can also communicate and share their musical tastes via charts, messaging, and chat.


social.fm M

The social.fm M mobile music service provides users with wireless access to the social.fm network. social.fm M users can search and listen to a digital radio network of over three million unique songs and 200,000 individual artists. social.fm M also provides:

  • 100,000 channels of digital radio
  • Over-the-air access to the music library on the PC
  • Access to friends' music collections
  • Streaming podcasts from leading media services
  • Stereo Bluetooth support via A2DP profiles

social.fm M offers support for any Windows Mobile 5.0-based Smartphone or Pocket PC phone with Wi-Fi, GSM or GPRS (3G) connectivity. Windows Mobile 5.0-certified devices include the Motorola Q, Palm Treo 700w and Smartphone and Pocket PC phones by Hewlett-Packard, HTC, i-mate, Siemens, Samsung, and Audiovox.

IM Artist Program

The social.fm IM Artist Program is intended for independent artists and bands that want to increase promotion and publicity for their music. As members of the IM Artist Program, participating artists receive:

  • Five music channels webcasting to social.fm users worldwide
  • A "Now Playing" profile with artist pictures, biography, and discography
  • Website links to purchase CDs, merchandise, tickets, and more
  • The ability to communicate with fans and listeners via artist forums and chat

The IM Artist program is currently in beta and free.

social.fm Madwords

social.fm Madwords is a contextual advertising system that enables advertisers to target text placements by artist or music genre. The text placements are displayed in the "Sponsored Links" section of a webpage upon a search for artist or genre (such as "Coldplay" or "Alternative"). In some ways, this system is similar to Google AdWords.

Madwords enables advertisers to sign up directly via a credit card and is priced on a pay per click (PPC) basis. Advertisers can create and upload their text ads, select their targeting criteria, set their budget and PPCs, and view statistics and reports via a password-protected webpage.

Search boxes

social.fm search boxes enable consumers to search and listen to music from websites and blogs. Website and blog operators can customize the search box to incorporate their desired color scheme, size, logo, and preferred artists. Consumers can search for artists and listen through a separate browser window.

Music iFrames

social.fm Music iFrames enable consumers to view a subset of songs available from a particular artist and click a song to listen. The list of songs is dynamically generated and updated every 60 seconds. There is also a 'more' option if the consumer desires to listen to a song that is not currently displayed within the Music iFrame. Clicking the 'more' button displays a full list of songs available from a particular artist.

Similar to social.fm search boxes, website and blog operators can customize the Music iFrame to incorporate their desired color scheme, size, logo, and preferred artists.

System requirements

social.fm IMRadio v5 requires Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server and a broadband Internet connection. To support webcasting, audio files must be in Vorbis, MP3, or WMA formats. In 2006, social.fm expects to migrate to a browser-based model which will enable support for the Mac and Linux platforms.

See also

Press

Awards

  1. ^ Social.FM, Formerly Mercora, Shuts Down
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