Social network Facebook unveiled a new advertising system on Tuesday that will let Companies introduce ads into the user pages of its 50 million members, and launch dedicated pages on the site for their brands.

The privately held company has signed on several dozen partners for the system, including phone company Verizon Communications Inc, movie rental chain Blockbuster Inc and online auction market eBay Inc.

"What we're building here is a massive network of real world connections through which people can share information," Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told a gathering of advertising and media executives in New York.

Facebook's ad partnerships could pose a new challenge to News Corp's MySpace, the world's largest online social network, and Web search leader Google Inc.

Both seek to offer advertisers more direct and efficient ways of reaching audiences on the Web and have announced new advertising and social network programs in the last week.

Microsoft Corp took a minority investment in Facebook last month that valued the privately held company at $15 billion, largely on the expectation the social network would soon be able to mine user profiles for valuable ad data.

Facebook's new advertising system will test how willing users are to accept advertising in the most personal of media formats. Partners said users would soon make it clear what kind of advertising they wanted to hear.

"It's not about being commercial, it's about being useful," said Quincy Smith, president at CBS Interactive.

Zuckerberg was unapologetic when asked whether the influx of advertising could put off users who flocked to the site as a fun way to interact with friends.

"It's an ad-supported business," he said. "It's a free service and it's ad supported."

Other partners include media sites such as IAC/InterActiveCorp's CollegeHumor.com, New York Times Co and Sony Pictures as well as the National Basketball Association, Coca-Cola Co and Unilever Plc.

FACEBOOK ADS

Facebook users have their own profile pages, where they post updates on their daily activities, photos, hobbies, and other information. These updates are sent to the pages of their friends and social groups via a "news feed."

The news feed item is seen by dozens to hundreds of a user's friends on Facebook, creating a loose system of recommendations that is transmitted instantaneously.

The new "Facebook Ads" system will allow users to have their online behavior, including advertiser sites they visit or the products they buy, appear on the news feeds if they choose.

"It's way more organic and natural to have

Courtesy : Expressindia.com

Information Technology Companies in India are increasingly becoming proactive towards promoting women workforce across all verticals by taking special efforts to recruit, retain and develop their talents.

Rising number of women among .their customers and lesser attrition rate of women employees are some of the factors which make the fairer sex more attractive to the IT giants.

Kalpana Margabandhu, Director, Websphere Development, IBM, said maintaining women in almost all verticals has become a business imperative to understand the needs of a wider customer base that include a large number of women.

"We find our women employees stable and committed," said Sunita Rebecca Cherian, General Manager, Talent Engagement and Development, Wipro Technologies.

The attrition rate of women employees was comparatively lower than that of men, she said.

"Our exit analysis indicates that most women leave due to personal reasons like setting up a family or relocating with their family or to provide a support system at home."

When women step back and re-prioritise to fulfil these personal commitments, Companies tread that "extra mile" and extend innovative and personalised support, she said.

According to Tracy Ann Curtis, Senior Manager, Diversity &Inclusion- Asia Pacific, Cisco, despite the fact that women made up half of the world's population, they constitute only 28 per cent of workers in the IT industry. Cisco's main focus was to bridge this gap and develop the untapped talent.

Courtesy : Expressindia.com