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Yesterday, the surprising news that Facebook and MySpace are negotiating a content-sharing partnership broke, yet that’s not all the latter social network has on its plate.  A fresh report indicates MySpace is also in talks with MSN over some sort of music deal.

MSN is interested in “using the social networking site’s music service, MySpace Music, to help power music offerings on the giant portal,” according to Kara Swisher.  She then continued, “While sources at both companies cautioned the talks were still early, Microsoft (MSFT) - which has its own music site that it programs with original and partnered content - execs are interested in goosing it.”

An arrangement that would give MSN users access to more music would be of obvious benefit to Microsoft.  The exposure - and/or cash - that MySpace would receive from such a deal would no doubt help it, too.

Plus, it’s not like either company has defined itself as some sort of lone wolf.  Microsoft’s reached out to Yahoo and Twitter in recent months, and MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta was quoted yesterday as saying, “Partnerships are going to be a big part of our strategy moving forward as a lot of value can be derived from them.”

So stay tuned and see what happens.  It may be that little “powered by MySpace” graphics will start popping up in quite a lot of places.

Related Articles:

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> MySpace Introduces New Music Features

> Facebook, MySpace May Share Content

With the holiday season on the way, online retailers are obviously going to be looking for big sales. A lot of retailers are turning to Facebook and Twitter to help in that department, but if you sell goods online, there’s no better place to start than on the site itself.

Amazon, probably the most successful online retailer there is, knows this, and that is one reason why it has prepared for an influx of holiday shoppers by creating its own Holiday Toy List. Amazon knows what people are going to be looking for, and it has put together this list to make finding these things as easy as possible. It’s not just a list, but a page that points to these items.

“The Holiday Toy List is a helpful tool for parents, friends and family members who are searching for the perfect toys for the kids on their list,” says Sarah Wood, director of the Toy Store for Amazon.com. “With navigation that’s simple, convenient and fun to use, it’s easier than ever to find great gifts at Amazon’s everyday low prices.”

Not only has Amazon created the page, but they have promoted it. They have issued a press release for news organizations and bloggers to pick up, which should give the list plenty of coverage. It will likely lead to increased sales on popular items.

Now, granted, not everyone can put out a press release and expect to get the kind of coverage Amazon does. Amazon’s huge. Your online business is probably not quite so big. That doesn’t mean you can’t put special focus on the items you expect to sell the most during the holiday season and promote them in other ways.  You may still issue a press release, but you can simply use social media marketing, search marketing, email marketing, etc., but have a focused landing page where customers can easily find what they want, or what you expect them to want.

This may seem like common sense, and perhaps it is, but there is a lot of competition online, and if you are not focused on promoting what has the best chance of bringing you business, you may not be getting the sales you’re after.

Related Articles:

> Online Retailers To Focus On Facebook And Twitter During Holidays

> Amazon Launches Same-Day Delivery Option

> Good Chunk of Holiday Spending Will Be Online

> More People Plan To Shop Online During The Holidays

> Test Landing Pages for Big Impact on Bottom Line