Recently in Hi5 Business Category

Today marks a significant milestone in the evolution of hi5, as we have launched a robust new developer platform that will help bring about many new ways to communicate, interact and have fun within the hi5 community. Now, developers of social networking applications will be able to more easily create, deeply integrate and increase the success of their applications on hi5, by leveraging a suite of common APIs, including those of OpenSocial.

hi5 has also announced today that our company will be joining Google, Yahoo! and MySpace to help establish the OpenSocial Foundation. This new non-profit organization is being formed to focus on advancing the neutrality and longevity of an open, community-governed specification for building social applications across the Web, hence the name OpenSocial. What this commitment ultimately means for us is more ways for you to enjoy hi5!

For the second year running, media firm AlwaysOn is recognizing the top 100 emerging companies that are demonstrating 'game-changing' innovations in marketing, branding, advertising and public relations. Known as the OnMedia Top 100, this year hi5 is among the honorees within the "Community Platforms" category.  

To make the cut, hundreds of private companies were nominated and judged based on AlwaysOn’s five primary evaluation criteria: innovation, market potential, commercialization, stakeholder value creation, and media attention. Among those who weighed in to determine the honor roll: KPMG, Bridge Bank, Merrill Corporation, Manatt, Phelps & Philips, and the AlwaysOn editors.

In a congratulatory message to hi5, AlwaysOn founder and CEO, Tony Perkins said, "The nominations were extremely competitive and...the level of excellence in the top 100 was remarkable. These companies are proving to have significant innovation, substantial customer adoption, large market potential, noticeable buzz, and are well on their way to creating tremendous value for their investors."

We appreciate the kudos Tony, and are pleased to be included in this distinctive group. 

Google's 2007 Year-End Zeitgeist is out, and as many bloggers and reporters have noted — social networking is topping the charts! From the billions of Google search queries this year…

hi5 comes in at #9 of the "fastest rising global" search terms. We’re honored that so many folks around the world are looking for hi5, and even more pleased that Google is helping them find us!

At long last, we have decided to dive into the blogosphere with our new hi5 blog! The hi5 blog is our way of telling you a little more about what goes on behind the scenes at hi5 and connect with you, our members, on a personal level. Here's a little of what you can expect to see in the hi5 blog:

• hi5 Site will cover all the latest important updates and give you a heads-up about upcoming changes to the site
• hi5 Life will tell you a little about the people who work at hi5, including a peek at our recent company outing in California's Sonoma Valley and share some "fun facts" about our staff
• hi5 Engineering will be the place where our engineering team transmits some of the bits and bytes that make stuff work on hi5
• hi5 Member Mashup will feature tips and tricks about using the site and discuss ways to make sure hi5 is a safe, secure and fun place to hang out with your friends
• hi5 Corp will share with you how we are making the news and hosting events in countries from Portugal to Mexico.
  

Nothing is written in stone - like hi5.com, we'll be fine-tuning this blog as we continue to post and receive your feedback. Be sure to come back soon!