LinkedIn is now trying to provide a site that is somewhat lighter by offering applicatons that are created by other companies.

8 such external programs debuted on Wednesday. By using these, linkedIn is hoping to become a more attractive place to keep in touch with business contacts or further one’s career options.

More than 30 million people worldwide have created a LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is now trying to imitate sites such as Facebook or Myspace who allow games and media sharing with fellow members.

Clearly the applications still have to be of a professional nature and are being screened to prevent the loopholes that negatively affected MySpace and Facebook applications.

Some of the initial LinkedIn external applications include a file management system from Box.net, a business presentation software from Google, a Tripit travel itinerary tool, and an Amazon application for sharing book recommendations.

Thanks a lot, Mattel. Although, I can’t really blame you – it was an obvious intellectual rights infringement. However, that doesn’t stop me from pining for Scrabulous.

One of the few Facebook (third party, of course) apps worth having, is now blocked in pretty much everyone’s neck of the woods, seemingly permanently. Scrabulous, which was already blocked last month for North American users, has now been cruelly banished from most international Facebook sites – due to a warning Facebook received from Mattel.

Scrabulous creators, the Argwalla brothers, have produce a some-what less-addictive clone called Wordscraper. The new app has a few tweaks such as circular tiles and the possibility of earning triple points in some cases. I suppose they feel Wordscraper is different enough to avoid further legal issues, but that’s yet to be determined – so try not to get too addicted, as the rug could be yanked out at anytime.

Hasbro, the American rights holder of Scrabble, have gone ahead and released their own scrabble-themed app, which is receiving mixed reviews. The main drawbacks appear to be an abundance of bugs, and the inability to play along with users outside of North America. We’ll see which of the apps wins out in the end.

Bite me, Blockbuster Online. Oh, and you too, Facebook.

About three years ago, I signed up for Netflix, Walmart DVD Online, and Blockbuster Online. I wanted to see which interface was better, and who was quicker about sending me DVDs in the mail. Netflix won, hands down.

Blockbuster has recently come out with an interesting idea, however, where you can rent online, as well as in the store. They have been pestering me to “come back” for years, and yesterday they sent me a free month. So I thought, what the heck. I’ll sign up, rent a few, and then cancel after 29 days.

I canceled after one. Here’s why:

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So I joined MySpace about a week ago and was already annoyed at the way they sent me my password over email. But then, just a few days later, I got an email with my first MySpace message / friend request from someone named Riley whose profile picture is a girl in a swimsuit. Originally, her (or his?) profile showed the same city and state that I live in, though now it’s been changed to Greenville, Ohio. Here’s the text of the message:

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So I finally gave in and started using Twitter this past weekend (if you’re on Twitter, follow me at twitter.com/bobcaswell). What is Twitter? It’s a mix of instant messaging, email, Facebook, and text messaging. It’s a network of users that follow each other. Here’s how it works:

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I was perusing the Facebook Marketplace this morning (for those unfamiliar, the free classified ads section of Facebook) and was hoping to find some deals on cheap computer hardware being sold here at my school when an interesting idea popped into my head. Why doesn’t Facebook use this marketplace as part of its advertising system? Here’s how it would work:

In my hypothetical system, as users post a new item for sale in the marketplace, they would be prompted to attach a few keywords to the sale listing. Next, these keywords would be used to create ads for this particular sale listing. These ads would then be shown (in the usual spot in the sidebar) to other Facebook users whose interests are similar to the keywords the seller selected.

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Facebook applications are no longer a new thing, and many users are getting tired of clutter added each time an application is installed. According to Adonomics, 13,677 Facebook applications are now installed. Sites that used to review each new application now require that the application developer pay to avoid being ignored. Many of the applications have only a few users and are really nothing more than recycled versions of other Facebook applications.

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The privacy and portability of your online data may become more of an issue in 2008. News is out today of a Federal case which will investigate whether the use of a false identity could be considered Internet fraud under federal statutes. This was originally triggered by the October 2006 case in which a 13-year-old named Megan Meier committed suicide after receiving “cruel” messages on MySpace (messages allegedly received from the mother of a school rival who was posing as a 16-year-old boy).

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A few months back we asked the question, “LinkedIn – What’s the big deal?” TechConsumer author Marion Jensen hadn’t signed up and was excited to get started, only to find out that the site offered little to do. It seemed like Facebook without the fun factor, a social network for professionals. You create a profile, describe your professional history, and connect with others. In turn, you can see who your “friends” (or is that business associates?) are connected with. The idea is to build your professional network. But to what end?

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