Amazon Peruses Book Social Network, Buys It.

Shelfari lets users showcase books they've read on virtual bookshelves. Books can be reviewed and discussed among "friends," which occasionally form on-site reading groups. Some months ago, Shelfari also made it possible to embed virtual bookshelves onto other websites.

Shelfari!

Vitamin Shoppe Launches Online Community

The Vitamin Shoppe has launched an online community including message boards and expert leaders giving health, wellness, and sports nutrition advice.

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New Platform Links Brands with Social Networks

Interpublic has quietly struck a deal to begin utilizing a promising new online marketing service that could finally enable Madison Avenue to unleash the power of social networks on behalf of their clients' brands. The deal, which is being officially announced today, involves a partnership between Interpublic's Emerging Media Lab and SocialVibe, a company that provides incentives for members of social networks to interact and endorse consumer brands.

The business--which has been in development for a couple of years--opened a public beta in May and already has begun quietly working with marketers ranging from Adobe to Coca-Cola Co. to Sprint, and now hopes to make a big push into the ranks of major advertising agencies. At the heart of SocialVibe's business model is a patented micro payment system that enables marketers to offer incentives--usually charitable donations to favored causes--directly to the members of social networks who promote their brands on their personal pages.

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Show Me The Money: Facebook Tests Engagement Ads

In what it calls the latest "evolution" of its ad model, Facebook is testing a new set of ads aimed at boosting click-throughs and further tapping into the social graph on behalf of marketers.

The first three types of Engagement Ads now in trial let users post comments, become a "fan" of a brand's Facebook Page and send virtual gifts. Within the units, people can also read friends' comments, and see who else is a brand fan or who shared virtual items.

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Konnects Eyes Turf Between LinkedIn, Facebook

Konnects formally launched its site Wednesday with the aim of filling what it views as a gap in the marketplace between business-focused LinkedIn and socially driven Facebook.

The company is targeting young professionals and early-stage companies with a social platform designed to be more open and informal than LinkedIn, but more business-oriented than Facebook.

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Advertisers Line Up To Reach Teens On Kiwibox

Facebook had its Beacon troubles, and Google brass has admitted that they're having a hard time trying to help News Corp. wring money out of MySpace, but for Kiwibox, a teen-oriented social network and online magazine, monetization is not a problem.

The New York-based company, a division of Magnitude Information Systems, has advertisers like Kohl's and Tampax lining up to reach its more than 1.9 million members.

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Bebo Produces Online 'Model' Drama Sponsored by Express

Bebo's newest web series, Model.Live, follows three IMG models as they globetrot to fashion shows in search of fame and fortune.

The show is 12 episodes long and begins in New York City with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Its intention, Bebo says, is to "[reveal] the truth about how professional models live." (Like most professions, the "truth" is about putting in the hard work and commitment necessary to achieving fame.)

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iVillage's Momtourage Rolls Out Facebook Apps

Momtourage--iVillage's newest property devoted to moms and the people that help them juggle careers, kids and households--has developed a pair of Facebook applications. The apps allow moms to share instant messages with their "momtourage" and get mom-themed astrological readings, as well as take quizzes to discover the type of mom they are.

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Seven Ways to Advertise on Facebook

Here's a nice and concise overview on Facebook's advertising options: Facebook Pages, Sponsored Story, Sponsored Social Story, Video Sponsored Story, Box Ad Unit, Display Ads and Gifts.

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Roll It: Facebook Launches Sponsored Video Ads

Facebook has launched a sponsored video ad offering as displayed in the image below. The videos display on the right hand side of the homepage in the area that Facebook announced would have sponsors when the site was redesigned. The only thing that the company failed to mention was that those sponsorships would be videos. The videos also enable comments. You can then view the comments that your friends have posted pertaining to that video.

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Facebook Adopts New Metric for Widgets

Facebook took a step toward standardizing the wild world of Web metrics by switching its engagement rating for applications from reporting daily usage to measuring monthly active users.

The social networking site disclosed the change last week via a company blog aimed at an audience of developers. The goal is to help developers focus on "longer-term engagement" and show them "the number of users who visit [their] application over a longer time frame than just one day," according to Facebook.

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Gather.com 'Rewards' Use of Social Network

Before, there was Microsoft's Live Search for Cashback program. And PayPerPost's get-paid-to-brand-blog model. Now Gather.com, an online social network for the over-30 crew, has announced an enhanced program that rewards members for using its social network.

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