• Nokia partners with Tencent and SINA. The partnership is aimed at using Tencent and SINA’s vast online community to bring location-based services (check-ins and recommendations) to Nokia’s Ovi maps. The partnership forms a strategic base for Nokia to create partnerships with established brands to extend services which has already taken off in the US. http://bit.ly/dHUyYD

• 2 More days until the internet runs out of Ipv4 addresses. With IPv4 addresses exhausted, the internet is finally set for the full integration of the IPv6 standard. http://ipv6.he.net/statistics/ (Countdown site)

• Orange and Barclaycard launch UK’s first commercial NFC service. UK consumers will be able to purchase NFC phones from Orange and use them to make payments from a MasterCard prepaid account stored on mobile phones. There are currently 42 500 points of sale equipped to handle contactless payments in the UK. http://bit.ly/gNZz30

• Googles worldwide hiring spree. Google is set to hire more than 6200 workers in 2011, which will boost its work force by a quarter (up from the 23% it grew in 2010). http://yhoo.it/hzgkqH

• Akamai releases quarterly internet report. Akamain, as a very large content distribution network, is in a unique position to obtain an overview of the state of the internet. Theirr report includes data on traffic attacks, network connection speeds, internet penetration, broadband adoption and mobile usage statistics. http://bit.ly/fBykc5

• Next generation mobile telephony without base stations. This university dissertation presents a program which allows mobiles phones to communicate via messaging without relying on base stations. http://bit.ly/fLUty5

• Amazon launches its email service. The email service utilises scalable technology used by Amazon sites worldwide. The service is differentiated by its ability to provide email metrics and performance data which can be used in email campaigns. http://bit.ly/hGHXmc

• Facebook introduces new Ad format. ‘Sponsored stories’ utilises users news feeds to promote the company endorsement or mention. User actions included in featured stories include: likes, check-ins, user actions in applications and page posts (critics point out the similarities to Facebook’s Beacon program, which failed dismally). http://on.mash.to/gzdYys

• Facebook releases HTML5 game benchmark. Facebook released a JavaScript library that measures HTML5 gaming performance. These measures will assist the developer community to improve performance and HTML5 standards in gaming (across different browsers, systems and devices). http://on.fb.me/gMTgc7

• Google buys Fflick. Fflick is a recommendation engine that uses social media to conduct sentiment analysis. Google might look to use the software to develop a contextual discovery which can be extended across domains and verticals. http://selnd.com/foG0kN

• Twitter test ad self-serve platform. The ad service creates two types of campaigns: promoted tweets and promoted accounts. The self-serve platform also integrates analytic tools that allow advertisers to determine return on investment (ROI). http://bit.ly/grU2Pb

• Ubuntu opts for LibreOffice over Open Office. Ubuntu will be the first Linux distributor to release a Linux platform with LibreOffice. Fedora and openSUSE are set to follow. This may be seen as a backlash against Oracle’s perceived attempts to control open source products after it’s acquisition of Open Office via the acquisition of Sun Microsystems in January 2010. http://zd.net/fQ6vwb

• OpenOffice.org 3.3.0 released. After 10 release candidates in 7 seven months, developer teams announced that a final version of OpenOffice 3.3.0 is now available. http://bit.ly/fyeyMF

• LinkedIn looks to raise $175 million in IPO. The funds will be used to further develop the professional network’s ability to monetise solutions. Linkedin’s IPO is the first of many anticipated IPOs, including Zynga, Chegg and Facebook. http://bit.ly/gekq0q

• Monster’s iMotion adds gesture gesture control to Ipods. The car adapter allows for motion control to change and pause tracks. Developments in motion control indicates a spin-off of consumer goods that has resulted from the success of the Kinect. http://engt.co/eKBJdj

• Facebook discontinues FBML. Facebook will continue to support existing FBML tabs and applications, but in future IFrames will be the sole mechanism for embedding applications in tabs. http://bit.ly/ddr2N2

• BusinessInsider.com : ’35 up and coming entrepreneurs you need to meet’. A list of 35 entrepreneurs from the New York technology scene – the list gives insight into the growth of the New York entrepreneurial environment, and may give a glimpse of up and coming companies for 2011. http://goo.gl/sRm5p

Naspers/MIH has one of the largest developing market investment portfolios in the Internet/Mobile space. You can see our investment portfolio here.

The SWAT team is a global product development and Internet Strategy team, comprised of Internet Analysts, Product Specialists and software engineers. Together we form a think tank and execution arm of the Internet division within Naspers, and this blog serves as our outlet for strategic thoughts, technological idea sharing and general discussion both with the users of the products within Naspers/MIH Internet as well as other new WWW destinations.

We encourage our team members as well as other Internet thinkers within our Group to write blog posts and welcome feedback and debate from the wider community.

Welcome All!

John Kotsaftis

CIO Naspers/MIH Internet