Broadband's Business Impact: Social Media Networking and the Economy

Beyond trading Thanksgiving recipes or engaging in election politics, businesses are tapping into the social media networking phenomenon.  This week's Broadband Now video talks about innovative uses of these communications from business to entertainment to medicine.  Highlights include:

• Innovative online services from Microsoft Xbox Live to CBS' new social viewing rooms are redefining "connected" entertainment.
• Movie studios are adding social networking features to some Blu-Ray discs, so people can watch a movie with their friends, regardless of their geography, and even exchange messages on their TV screens.
• More than 1.4 million people dedicated their Facebook pages to get out the vote, and doctors and the L.A. Fire Department are using Twitter to provide timely updates.

Also on the USTelecom blog this week, we're sharing some good news in these turbulent economic times.  The converging sectors of telecom, media and information technology are contributing nearly $900 billion in GDP growth annually.  The sector is projected to deliver high-paying, broadband-enabled jobs for at least the next decade, which will help fill the nation's growing unemployment gaps. Click here.