social media

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Facebook Has 300M Users, Most Bored
Facebook Has 300M Users, Most Bored
What's Next?
Oct 19, 2009 11:54 AM CDT

Facebook Has 300M Users, Most Bored

Hunger for next big thing could bring social network down

(Newser) - Facebook has finally turned a profit, and can boast 300 million users—and it may be on its way out. The web has seen dozens of social networking sites come, gain buzz, get huge, and then implode or mutate as users looked for the next big thing—remember Friendster, Livejournal,...

UK Gags Guardian, but Twitter Airs Suppressed Story

Social media site explodes with toxic waste scandal

(Newser) - The Guardian has been slapped with an unprecedented gag order forbidding it from reporting on a question in the British parliament, as well as who asked the question and why it's being gagged. The paper says constitutional rights are being infringed upon and it's already suing—but meanwhile, the suppressed...

Soundbite Nation: Tweet First, Think Later

Social media leading to 'general derangement': Dumenco

(Newser) - Time was, only politicians were expected to speak in soundbites, but these days, writes Simon Dumenco in Advertising Age, "tens of millions of us do it as a matter of course." Twitter and other social media have made us all into reaction machines, with errors and exaggerations cropping...

Secret Service Closes In on Obama Death Poll Creator

(Newser) - The developer whose software was used to create the “Should Obama be Killed?” Facebook poll has talked to the Secret Service. “The conversation with the SS was fine,” Jesse Farmer wrote on Twitter, but “If the goal was to resolve the issue + inform the SS,...

Forget Fetching Coffee: Interns Work From Home

'Virtual internships' take among small business

(Newser) - Companies have long used internships to avoid paying young people, but increasingly they don't want to see their interns at all. "Virtual internships," where recent grads do research and sales or work with social media from home, has expanded from an unheard-of practice to "something almost every...

Facebook Makes Money At Last
 Facebook Makes Money At Last 
Sep 16, 2009 8:55 AM CDT

Facebook Makes Money At Last

Social networking site hits profitability ahead of schedule

(Newser) - After mountains of hype, Facebook has joined the ranks of profitable enterprises, despite an advertising model that Ad Age describes as “nascent.” Mark Zuckerberg announced yesterday that the social site had passed the 300 million registered-user mark and become “cash-flow positive” last quarter. That actually puts it...

Wilson Enlists Personal Tweeter
Wilson Enlists Personal Tweeter
Sep 12, 2009 10:30 AM CDT

Wilson Enlists Personal Tweeter

Part of a new-media push to take on critics, raise campaign cash

(Newser) - Joe “You Lie” Wilson has hired a new-media strategist, intent on responding to his now-numerous critics, the Hill reports. So far, that strategist’s chief job seems to be to send Twitter messages—Wilson dispatched 15 within 5 hours of hiring him, four shy of his total for all...

New Twitter Rules 'Leave the Door Open' for Ads

Microblogger makes users' ownership of tweets explicit

(Newser) - Twitter’s new terms of service allow advertising, although the company has not proposed or implemented any yet, the East Bay Business Times reports. "We leave the door open for advertising. We'd like to keep our options open, as we've said before," wrote creative director Biz Stone. The...

With Job Openings, Employers All a-Twitter

Social-networking site gives companies a cheap medium to find the techno-savvy

(Newser) - For some firms, Twitter is playing the role of headhunter: companies like Verizon and Microsoft are posting openings on the social-networking site, the Wall Street Journal reports. Job boards have “become saturated,” says a Newell Rubbermaid VP. “With Twitter, we don't have to go through that huge...

The 19 Personalities You Meet on Facebook

From the 'grudge holder' to the 'Erin Brockovich'

(Newser) - Like any community, Facebook is home to a diverse range of personality types. The Boston Phoenix identifies 19 distinct varieties:
  • The failed model. "Poses repeatedly in front of a computer and pouts in emo fashion." Giveaway: the "Warholian or sepia-toned" profile photo.
  • The archivist. The
...

Sharpton Tweets During Jackson Burial

Reverend's thumbs stay busy during historic ceremony

(Newser) - The burial of Michael Jackson was a somber, private moment—and Rev. Al Sharpton made sure all 10,286 of his Twitter follows knew it, E! Online reports. During the ceremony, Sharpton chatted with MJ's friends and tweeted: "We are all discussing his battles. This is a real...

Facebook Beefs Up Privacy Protection

Canadian concerns prompt changes in how apps get info

(Newser) - In response to criticism by the Canadian government, Facebook is enacting far-reaching changes in how third-party applications gain access to personal data, TechCrunch reports. Currently, Facebook applications ask users once, upon installation, for approval to access personal information. Under the new rules, the apps will have to ask repeatedly as...

Tax Collectors Use MySpace, Google to Find Deadbeats

Public profiles can provide valuable income information for revenue agents

(Newser) - Internet-savvy state tax collectors are using a new tool in tracking down evaders: social networking websites. Tax collectors are taking advantage of the fact that an individual’s MySpace or Facebook profile often contains quite a bit of professional information, the Wall Street Journal reports. Agents in Nebraska, for example,...

Conservatives Out-Tweet Liberals
Conservatives Out-Tweet Liberals
Aug 24, 2009 12:16 PM CDT

Conservatives Out-Tweet Liberals

Early-adopting GOP Twitterati more organized, numerous

(Newser) - You might assume that Twitter, like most things having to do with the Internet, is dominated by liberals and “netroots” activists. But you’d be wrong, according to Johanna Neuman of the Los Angeles Times. John McCain hit the million-follower mark weeks before the White House did, and he’...

Nearly Half of Employers Screen Social Media Profiles

HR departments use Facebook, MySpace as source of information on candidates

(Newser) - It’s becoming increasingly likely that a prospective employer will check your Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn profile, Mashable reports. A recent survey found that 45% of human-resource departments search the social-media profiles of prospective employees, with another 11% planning to institutionalize a social-networking screen in the near future. And recruiters...

Facebook Buys Rival FriendFeed for $50M

Purchase sets up battle with Twitter for real-time search market

(Newser) - Facebook is buying fellow social networking site FriendFeed for nearly $50 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. Friendfeed, a 12-employee outfit founded by former Google engineers, allowed users to share information across multiple social media services but never took off beyond a core techie user base. The purchase may help...

Twitter Talks Alliance With Google, Plans World Takeover

(Newser) - Twitter executives are dreaming big, holding talks with seemingly every tech company on the planet, including Google and Microsoft, say confidential e-mails a hacker sent to TechCrunch. Among the revelations: Twitter was working on a reality TV pitch, has been in serious talks with Google, and aims to ultimately rack...

Singer's Complaint vs. United Proves Power of YouTube

(Newser) - When United Airlines baggage handlers broke Dave Carroll’s $1,200 guitar, he didn’t get mad—he got famous. Carroll and his band slapped together a $130 YouTube video titled United Breaks Guitars, which became so popular Oprah mentioned it. United eventually relented, donating $3,000 in Carroll’s...

Twitter Deserves a Nobel Prize
 Twitter Deserves a Nobel Prize 
OPINION
Jul 6, 2009 5:02 PM CDT

Twitter Deserves a Nobel Prize

(Newser) - Twitter’s been so instrumental in giving Iranians a voice that it, and its creators, deserve Nobel Prize consideration, writes Mark Pfeifle for the Christian Science Monitor. Scoff all you want at the 140-character “time waster.” “In the past month, 140 characters were enough to shine a...

Facebook, Google Roll Out Persian Updates

Internet companies rush new tools for Iranian protesters

(Newser) - Twitter has taken extraordinary measures to keep its site running during the Iranian election protests, and now other websites are speeding up developments. Today Facebook launched an early version of its site in Persian, relying on 400 volunteers to translate pages into the local language. "We felt it was...

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