Mag readers prefer online… Google calling… Online maître d’… Social networking for workers

• Mag readers prefer online…
• Google calling…
• Online maître d’…
• Social networking for workers…

Mag readers prefer online

An average 83% of visitors to the websites of 23 large-circulation monthly magazines only read them online, according to new data compiled by Nielsen/NetRatings and Mediamark Research, reports Marketing Charts.

According to the data, the web-only readership for particular magazines ranges from 65% to 96% – it makes you wonder why some of them bother with putting ink on paper at all.

Male visitors to online magazine sites were more likely than female visitors to read only the online version, but, surprisingly, there was little difference between older and younger readers.

Google calling

The company, which made billions of dollars in web advertising on computers, is courting wireless operators to carry handsets customised to Google products, claims the Wall Street Journal. The Google products would include search engine, emails and a new mobile browser – and capture a big chunk of the fast growing market for ads on mobile phones.

The paper claims to have talked to people briefed on the project who report that Google has invested hundreds of millions of dollars so far. Google phones will not be available until next year at the earliest, with a Google spokesman declining to comment on the project but saying that Google was partnering with almost all the carriers and manufacturers to get Google search and other applications on to their networks.

Google has announced it may bid for wireless-spectrum licences, which if successful would turn it into a phone operator. But that would take a long time, so for now Google will have to content itself with working with existing mobile phone operators to get its product to market.

Want a hard-to-get spot at that exclusive restaurant? Get online

Two New York-based websites are building their businesses by helping people get their hands on hard-to-obtain nightspot bookings, Springwise reports.

PrimeTables is an online booking service that specialises in procuring “impossible reservations” for its members. It’s not entirely clear how PrimeTables manages to get the reservations others can’t, although it may have something to do with the fact that its well-connected founder, a chap by the name of Pascal Riffaud, is a former concierge at hotels like the St Regis in New York and the Ritz in Paris.

Short notice to New York’s top dining destinations doesn’t come cheap, however. Premium membership to PrimeTables costs $US450 per year plus reservation fees, while non-members pay between $US35-45 per booking, depending on how far in advance they book.

A newer entrant to the New York night spot booking niche is TableXchange. Like PrimeTables, TableXchange offers tables for sale to members, but its edge is a service that lets users sell reservations they’ve made.

TableXchange confirms a seller’s identity by authorising their PayPal account and credit card information, and will terminate the account of any seller posting false reservations.

Unsurprisingly, TableXchange suggests users don’t mention the service to restaurants, who may not be too impressed about the market piggybacking of their hard work. TableXchange also recommends that buyers call the restaurant after buying a reservation, to make sure it’s legit.

Posting a reservation is free for registered users, with TableXchange making money by charging sellers a 12% commission on sold reservations.

Social networking for my staff

We’ve had social networking for teens (MySpace), university students (Facebook) and networkers (LinkedIn) – and now we have it for employees, too, in the form of a new site called CompanyLoop.

According to Mashable, CompanyLoop lets businesses create groups for co-workers to connect online. In order to join CompanyLoop, you must find your company if it’s already included on the list, or create a group for your company, which will be approved by CompanyLoop before becoming available on its site.

Once you’ve joined a company group, you can tag others in your company, or applaud them (a sort of recommendation tool for peers), find others that can help you with a work-related issue, and pose questions to co-workers.