Robert says:

XING just entered the official premiere league of Web localization – and best of all, we’re the only social networking site to make the grade.

A January Netcraft survey estimated 155,583,825 Websites on the Net last month, so we’re pretty proud to make it to the global TOP 20 Websites! Here’s the definitive list of localization experts (you might recognize some of the other names):

We’re glad to be recognized for being ahead of the game. Whilst the likes of Facebook and MySpace are now starting to think pretty late in the day on a multilingual level, XING recognized the importance of high-quality localization way back at its founding in 2003, and has produced 100% of its content in no less than 16 different languages ever since.

This impressive feat involves a massive on-going operation and constant quality assurance. So a great big thanks must go to everyone involved in the localization process – from programmers and engineers to the production team, our localization company Beluga Linguistics, and last but not least the translators and proofreaders themselves. Well done!

You can find out more about the The 2008 Web Globalization Report Card here.

This week we launched a XING application for Facebook! (Yay!) If you remember we launched mynetworkvalue.com a few months ago. This little website calculates the value of your business network and converts it into hard cash. mynetworkvalue.com has been spreading like wildfire in the World Wide Web. To date over 58,000 users have taken the test and over 120 blogs have picked up on it, so we decided to pour more oil in the fire by developing a mynetworkvalue application for Facebook.

We’re really excited about this little gadget. Facebook users can now install the network value application and can calculate the value of their professional network. Users can compare results with friends, challenge colleagues to take the test, download cool buttons for their own blogs or websites and become a fan of the application for everyone to see. Once the test has been completed a nifty graphic appears on the profile page informing visitors how they fared and the News Feeds can help spread the word within an individual network.



We’re delighted to bring mynetworkvalue.com to Facebook users and are looking forward to any feedback we get.  Check out the value of your business network here!

Happy Birthday Kristina! Today we have the pleasure of introducing a new colleague on her birthday. We asked her how she's enjoying her new job and how her first day at XING has turned out: 

Kristina (Assistant to the Executive Board): Even before I started on my first day I’d already had the opportunity to get to know all my new colleagues at the office christmas party – I thought it was a great idea and it has really made my start at XING much easier. I have been particularly impressed by the relaxed atmosphere in the office and the thoughtful way in which people treat one another. Everyone is very friendly and open, so I haven’t had any problems asking questions whenever I wasn’t sure about anything. My new colleagues come from such a wide range of different backgrounds and have a wealth of different experiences. In the past I have worked in sales and the hotel industry, and now I am able to put some of these international experiences to good use in my new job. I have been a member of XING for a long time and am also an active member in several different XING groups. I have made useful contacts over the years and managed to generate one or two business opportunities for my former employer through my network.

If you are interested in working for XING please have a look at our job vacancies -  we are currently looking for 27 new colleagues.

I´ve heard about Spinvox every now and then and as things happen, somehow never really paid attention to it. It changed in a second when I was listening to a speech at the last DLD conference and a simple chart reactivated my gadget reflex. On top one of my most favorite German bloggers certified Spinvox as the following: "It works like magic. love it!".

Let´s have a quick look what Spinvox could do for you. First of all: you need a mobile device, since this is a mobile app. In Germany you can choose between 4 different carriers and in general they offer you a free trial with no ties - they say. But their offer really differs depending on what you want to do.

You can speak into your phone, they convert it to a text message and send it to your blog. I haven´t tried it yet so make sure you tested it before and check if your thoughts about your latest pub experience  go live straight away ... or not ;)

It´s also useful and speedylicious dangerous for micro blogging on twitter or jaiku. You say it, they produce a text and publish it. Unfortunately they classified twitter as a social network.  So if you want to try it pick the social network option.

Strike! In a new twist on the standard networking event, the first-ever XING Bowling Tournament was organized in Dubai this month by Ambassador Hamdan Mohamed. Networking while bowling is a true experience, one the participants will not soon forget! On the big day, participants were divided into eight teams, based on the first-come, first-served principle. For networkers who were meeting each other for the first time, there was an unexpected element of sportsmanship in the encounter: not only did participants get to know each other, they tried to outscore each other!

While waiting for their turn to play, networkers had plenty of opportunities to catch up with acquaintances and make new contacts. Although the official winners of the evening were Team Number One, even the non-winning teams gained a lot from the experience, in the form of new friends and contacts. In that way, all participants left the event with big smiles on their faces, determined to do it again soon.

Sometimes in life there´s lunch for free :)

CeBIT is giving away some VIP tickets for free, including special services like access to keynotes and Executive Labs, catering and reserved seats and so on.

I am happy to present this offer to our members, especially to all bloggers who wanted to go but didn´t get the press accreditation for whatever reason.

Just click here. Ah..only available till 1 March and if you´re quick.

This week we welcomed Caglar and Nihan in the office, our new colleagues from Istanbul. They are the joint Founders and CEOs of cember.net, the Turkish business network recently acquired by XING AG. They came to Hamburg for two days – a trip jam-packed with meetings and events aimed at getting to know the whole XING team on both a professional and personal level, finding out all about the workings of individual departments and exchanging ideas on current and future tasks. We’ve all enjoyed these busy days, and we feel very fortunate that we have found such competent and likeable new additions to the ever-growing XING family.

Caglar and Nihan are a married couple who basically built up the cember.net platform all on their own. They both have a background in engineering and have also both lived in Germany for a couple of years, having worked for Accenture. So it is an added bonus that speak fluent English AND almost perfect German! They came across openBC whilst they were living in Germany and immediately recognized the potential for a similar service in their native country. The rest, as they say, is history - cember.net became the largest professional network of its kind in Turkey.

In the past marathon of meetings, every department, from Marketing to Community Relations to Engineering, all took the opportunity to sit down with the two Founders, introduce their work and learn as much as possible about the Turkish market. Caglar and Nihan will support the integration of cember.net with XING, as well as supporting the Turkish community with a small team on behalf of XING and continuing to promote strong growth. 

Thursday culminated in a Turkish night at the XING office: We celebrated the arrival of our newcomers with traditional Turkish food, Turkish music and decorations. A great time was had by all, and it turns out that Caglar was also able to beat the XING table soccer king!

On this Friday Angela tell us a little bit about  her piece of XING. (click on the image to enlarge)

A picture is worth a thousand words

Exactly! This little gadget is for everyone who wants to twitter from the road and loves to juice up their tweets with photos. It works as an app on your mobile (currently only iPhone client available, but others like Nokia soon to come!). Seems to be useful fun since a lot of my twitteristas are already using it.

The XING team seems to be getting bigger every week, and in the spirit of open communication, we want to keep introducing new colleagues to you via openBLOG.

Jörn (Market Development): "My background is in finance, and up till now I've always been one of the youngest employees wherever I've worked. When I started at XING, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I'm right in the middle: 32 is the median age of the team! The advantages of a young team became clear right away: The atmosphere at XING is natural and uncomplicated, and there's no focus on status among my coworkers. I applied to work at XING because I've always enjoyed working in an international context, and as Manager Market Development, I can do just that. My first big project sent me to Turkey, and let me know just how much responsibility XING gives its new employees from day one. You're right in the middle of things, and that was very motivating for me."

Would you like to work for us? We're hiring professionals who are passionate about what they do, whether it be programming or marketing, and everything in between. Have a look here to see our current job listings.

Good news for those who use XING with Windows Vista and Outlook 2007: the XING Plugin now supports the latest version of Microsoft. With just a few clicks, members can compare which of their personal contacts are already on XING. The process is simple: Your XING Address Book is imported into Outlook, where all of your XING contacts (including contact details and picture) are then accessible. The Plugin also allows you to search all of XING for people in your Outlook contact list, and to invite anyone who is not already a member of XING. The Plugin makes it quick and easy to expand your network. To get the XING Plugin, go to the "Download" section (the button is on the top right of every page). While you're at it, you can also download the XING Searchbox, which integrates a XING search function directly into your web browser. 

P.S.: As always, privacy protection is at a premium: your contact list data will only be used for a single comparison, and XING will never save or view your personal contact data. What's more, XING uses the latest, most comprehensive data protection and encoding technology to make sure no one else does, either.

We just keep on growing - every month, we welcome new coworkers to the XING team. It's time to introduce another new colleague and to ask him about his first days at XING, and how he enjoys his new job.

Horacio (Member Relations): "I was born in Argentina, and since then have lived all over the world, have come into contact with lots of different cities, people, and cultures. The XING platform really helps me keep in touch with my contacts. I became a XING member long before I started working here, so I can identify with the "product" completely. I studied International Relations, and am now responsible for supporting the Spanish-speaking and English-speaking communities, which fits with my qualifications. From my very first day in the office, I heard my mother tongue spoken--from the lips of my dear colleague Joaquín. Right after that I saw another coworker drinking an Argentinian Mate—he turned out to be a great fan of my country (Viva Sönke Martens!). It was then I knew I felt at home in the Company.  I noticed two things in particular about XING: how committed the employees, and how quickly ideas are implemented. Everyone in the team wants the best, everyone is looking towards the future. That's my motto, too! No one just does his job. That impressed me about XING, as did the tempo of the place. A feature is planned, and the next week it's already on the platform."

XING is currently looking for committed employees for most departments, from Engineering to Marketing. Click here for the current job listings.

Ever wanted to contact a friend in the States or a business partner in China, but weren't sure what time it is in LA or Beijing? Last Friday we launched a new mini function which can help you in such cases: When you look at a XING member profile, you see the person's local time, based on information in their profile. Now you can see at a glance wether you catch your contact during business hours or more likely sound asleep at night. International business people benefit most: the more international phone calls you have to do the more you will appreciate this feature!

Today Christine & Katharina are happy to share their "My Piece of XING".

(click to enlarge)