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Source:Mashable!

Get ready to hear streaming music in a lot more places around the Web. iLike, the music sharing service with hugely popular apps on Facebook, hi5, and Orkut is rolling out its own platform, allowing any developer to incorporate the company’s music catalog into their applications and websites. And, they are launching it with some major partners, including Blogger, Typepad, Evite, and some of the most popular applications on Facebook.

From a technical standpoint, iLike’s platform is unique (for the moment) because it allows developers to utilize HTML and Javascript as opposed to Flash, enabling apps to offer music features that can be tightly integrated with existing functionality. For example, here are a few of my favorite use cases from iLike’s launch partners, which co-founders Ali and Hardi Partovi shared with me ahead of today’s release:

eVite: The original event management service will allow invitees to contribute songs to the playlist for the party.

Blogger and Typepad: Post a playlist to your blog and invite your readers to contribute.

Connected Weddings (Facebook App): Wedding guests can suggest songs, with the bridge and groom ultimately having control over what songs make the cut.

Similar to iLike’s own website and applications, there are some restrictions on the streaming music. Each listener can only stream up to 25 full tracks per month, at which point they’ll need to either upgrade to Rhapsody’s subscription service (iLike’s main digital music partner) or be restricted to 30-second previews.

This is in part where iLike hopes to make money out of the new platform. The Partovi’s believe that expanding their distribution by several orders of magnitude will lead to more Rhapsody upgrades, in addition to more concert ticket and merchandise sales – another piece of iLike’s business model.

iLike’s development partners don’t get a cut of this money, however, since the platform allows them to integrate music within their apps from front-to-back, the added user engagement should create more page views and ultimately additional revenue for them.

Essentially, with this move iLike has become both one of the top application providers for social networks as well as a platform provider of its own. As evident by their launch partners – which also include Slide, Flixster, and SGN – there is no shortage of demand to integrate music into applications, and with what seems like a superior technical approach, iLike may have the leg up as competitors including Imeem and the soon-to-debut MySpace Music scramble to keep up.

—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:iLike Launches New Tools for ArtistsiLike Sees Exponential Growth with Facebook AppiLike, Billboard Team Up for New Music ChartsiLike Offers Free Full Track Streaming and Announces New Ad PlatformHear The New R.E.M. Album on iLike Before it Hits the StoresMySpace Slated To Launch Improvements To Developer PlatformInitial Applications for MySpace Platform Launching on March 13th

Source:Mashable!

With the Internet already playing a crucial role in this year’s election, it’s not altogether too surprising that MySpace and the Commission for Presidential Debates (CPD) have teamed up to launch MyDebates.org. The website will allow viewers to interact and become more engaged during the upcoming Presidential debates, which begin on September 26th and will also include a debate between Vice Presidential candidates - Sarah Palin and Joe Biden

Virtual Toolkit for Voters

MyDebates will contain an arsenal of useful tools for voters as they watch the debates unfold. Some of the tools and features available will be scorecards measuring where you stand on the issues, polling, national statistics in real-time, and live video streaming.

Hitch a Ride on Al Gore’s Information Super-Highway!

Who knew Al Gore’s invention of the Information Super-Highway would become so involved with the Presidential Election? In all seriousness, the marriage of politics and the Internet via one of the largest social networks in the world is a powerful union, especially for voters. For example, during these debates there is always a tremendous flood of information and misinformation that makes it extremely difficult for us to follow what’s really important.

Now, thanks to these real-time interactive tools, all of this data will be captured and presented in an organized and digestible manner. For example, at any moment you’ll be able to view “top fives” on a wide variety of statistics.

Tailor-made Fit for Each Voter

Since profiles are one of the forte’s of MySpace, they’ve created an environment that allows each and every viewer to customize their experience on the site. It all begins with the “Issues Quiz” that everyone takes that will assess your stance on 14 issues, including the economy, national security, the environment, same-sex marriage, education, and healthcare. You will then be able to see how your values line up with the candidates and view a state-by-state breakdown of how your fellow Americans feel about these issues. You’ll also be able to embed customized widgets with all of this information on your blog or social networks including MySpace itself.

Live and in Living Color

All throughout the debates you’ll be able to view High-Quality streaming videos and witness the “Issue Icons” that’ll light-up whenever key issues are discussed. These videos will be bookmarked so you can jump to the exact point in time when a candidate actually discussed a main issue. You’ll be able to save and share these videos.

Stand Up and Be Counted

During the debates there will be short periodic polls where viewers will be asked to provide feedback. The results will be available after each debate. It’s a good way to contribute to the process. The other way to get involved is to submit your own questions which could actually be asked during the debates! You can begin submitting questions on September 25th.

The Final Vote

Whether you’re an experienced political veteran or a borderline interested young voter, MyDebates.org will breathe new life into the Presidential debates and the entire political process. This is merely the beginning of a new era for politics in the information age. The road to the White House could very well mean traveling through the Internet this year.

—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:Live Talks for Readers & Presidential Candidates at Washington PostBreaking: MySpace and MTV Partner for Presidential Debate SeriesGather Holds Contest to Find Political CorrespondentsGMI Says MySpace Can Tilt the Vote for PresidentYouTube to Sponsor Official Democratic DebateObama on LinkedInWill McCain Bore the Teens on MySpace and MTV?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 at 11:42 pm and is filed under News, social networking, myspace, election, politics, presidential debates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.