social networking

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Google, Facebook Eye Twitter, Price Tag: $10B

Social network valuations head to the sky

(Newser) - Facebook and Google are among the companies circling Twitter and considering a colossal buyout deal, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal . The talks haven't gone anywhere yet, but the price under discussion is somewhere between $8 billion and $10 billion—roughly 100 times the amount of revenue Twitter, which lost...

Syria Lifts 5-Year Facebook, YouTube Ban

'Appeasement' measure dumps 5-year shut-down

(Newser) - Syrian authorities are lifting a 5-year-old ban on Facebook, YouTube and other Internet sites in a move seen as an attempt to appease the public and stave off the kind unrest rocking Egypt. The country's state-owned ISP is in the process of unblocking sites including Twitter and Blogspot, although Wikipedia...

60% Remain Facebook Friends With Exes

And three in four at least Google them

(Newser) - The Internet—and Facebook in particular—is making it hard to break up and stay broken up, a new survey suggests. Nearly 60% of people stay Facebook friends with their exes after the split, and 74% admit to Googling them, the New York Post reports. One-third say they've had sex...

Flirting on Facebook Counts as Foreplay

Men, women say social networking leads to bedroom more quickly

(Newser) - Looking for a way to minimize the time you spend trying to convince someone to hop in the sack? It turns out Facebook is the answer—in a sex survey from Shape and Men's Fitness magazines, 58% of men said flirting over Facebook and other social media helps them get...

Pope: Don't Let Online Friends Trump Real Ones

Social networking requires 'serious reflection,' says Benedict

(Newser) - Pope Benedict issued a warning to Facebookers, tweeters, et al today: Don’t let your online world overshadow your real one. While social networks offer "a great opportunity," he said, "It is important always to remember that virtual contact cannot and must not take the place of...

20% of Your Facebook Friends Are Strangers
20% of Your Facebook
Friends Are Strangers
study says
Jan 14, 2011 8:37 AM CST

20% of Your Facebook Friends Are Strangers

60% are just acquaintances, study finds

(Newser) - A fifth of your Facebook friends are people you don’t even know—and three-fifths are just acquaintances, a study finds. The fact that only 20% of your friends are your actual friends may not come as a surprise to the average Facebook user, notes AllFacebook.com , but it’s...

MySpace Lays Off Nearly Half its Employees

Site gets smaller now that it's not trying to compete with Facebook

(Newser) - MySpace cut roughly 500 jobs today, slashing its global staff roughly in half. CEO Mike Jones called the expected cuts “tough but necessary,” following an October revamp that made much of its staff unnecessary. The site has downsized its ambitions, attempting to transform itself into a music, videos,...

MySpace to Ax Up to Half Its Workers

Downsizing could be announced this month, sources say

(Newser) - Another blow for struggling MySpace : The social networking site is planning massive layoffs, and could ax between a third and a half of its employees, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . The News Corp-owned company, which employs about 1,100, is expected to announce the reductions this month. Its staff...

New Site Aims to Be 'Gay Military Facebook'

Founder hopes site can provide support for gay members of armed forces

(Newser) - After two decades of "don't ask, don't tell," the social networking website Out Military is saying: "Do ask, do tell," reports Reuters . Out Military has only 53 members so far, but its backers say that will change as the US military implements the policy repeal. The...

Kids Curse, Oldsters Ramble: Facebook Study

Analysts probe data for behavioral trends

(Newser) - You can learn a lot when you’re listening to 550 million people. Using linguistic software, Facebook analysts investigated what people were saying in status updates, and came up with a number of interesting trends, Business Insider reports:
  • The oldsters chatter quite a bit: Status update length was the best
...

Everyone's Magic Number of Friends: 150

Anthropologist: That's the limit for meaningful relationships, online or off

(Newser) - Facebook and other social networks promise an unlimited number of potential friends, but anthropologist Robin Dunbar spots a "fundamental flaw" in that logic: "Our minds." Humans are cable of having meaningful relationships with a maximum of about 150 people, whether they're online or off, writes Dunbar in...

Facebook Adds News Feed Filters
Facebook Adds
News Feed Filters
Dec 22, 2010 3:21 PM CST

Facebook Adds News Feed Filters

Users gain control over types of updates to view

(Newser) - Facebook is rolling out a revamped News Feed, featuring a drop-down menu that lets users isolate what kind of news they want to get. They can, for example, choose to see only friends’ latest photos, only status updates, or only updates from Pages (rather than friends). They can also opt...

Zuckerberg Spotted in China
Zuckerberg Spotted
in China
Dec 20, 2010 5:51 AM CST

Zuckerberg Spotted in China

Facebook founder tours country's leading search firm

(Newser) - Mark Zuckerberg is visiting what could be Facebook's final frontier. His social networking site is banned in China but Zuckerberg himself was welcomed on a visit to the offices of Baidu, the country's leading—and heavily censored—search engine, AP reports. Baidu's communications director says rumors that Baidu is considering...

Facebook Rolling Out New Face Recognition Photo Tags

Also: Site poised for $2B in revenue this year

(Newser) - Get ready for another Facebook update: Next week, the site will start rolling out new face-recognition technology for photos, the Huffington Post reports. It’s “comforting” to know that the service won’t be automatic, writes Larry Magid. If the site thinks it recognizes someone, it will ask you...

JCPenney Opens Facebook Store
JCPenney Opens
Facebook Store
Dec 15, 2010 4:28 PM CST

JCPenney Opens Facebook Store

People can go shopping without leaving the site

(Newser) - JCPenney has achieved a watershed in online retail: It's opened a full-fledged store within Facebook, Consumerist reports. The store's application looks more or less like a conventional retail website, except with the characteristic social networking features: users can "like" an item and share product pages and reviews with friends...

Another Tech Bubble Might Be Getting Ready to Pop

Venture capitalists are pouring money into social networking startups

(Newser) - The New York Times makes the rounds of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs and hears worry that another dangerous bubble is forming with tech startups. Because relatively young companies such as Groupon, Twitter, and Zynga have billion-dollar values, nobody wants to miss out on the next big thing—hence the flood...

Facebook Yanks Jailed Killer's Page

Oklahoma inmate posted pics of himself with booze, weed

(Newser) - In many ways, Justin Walker was a typical Facebook user who turned to the site to post gripes about everyday life and pictures of himself partying with his buddies. Problem was, Walker is serving 30 years in an Oklahoma jail for murdering a sheriff. Walker—a member of the Aryan...

Be Sure Your New Facebook Friend Is Human

Bots are gaining ground, raising malware risks

(Newser) - All Facebook takes note of a new prediction that 1 in 10 Facebook friends won't actually be human in 2015. Instead, they'll be bots—automated software programs that companies will use to push their brands and products. Most companies use actual humans for that at the moment, but "...

A Facebook Founder Meshes Charity, Networking

Jumo tries to build stronger ties between people, causes

(Newser) - A veteran of Facebook who served as the Obama campaign's digital organizer is now trying to transform charity with a new website that links donors and causes via social networking, the New York Times reports. The nonprofit Jumo , created by Chris Hughes, is unique among charity-based social networks in that...

Facebook, iTunes Ruining Web ... Says Web's Creator
Facebook, iTunes Ruining Web ... Says Web's Creator
in case you missed it
Nov 27, 2010 1:46 PM CST

Facebook, iTunes Ruining Web ... Says Web's Creator

Tim Berners-Lee blasts those chipping away at its 'egalitarian principles'

(Newser) - Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the British engineer credited with inventing the World Wide Web, has a message for us: Social networking sites, app developers, and other entities, if left unchecked, will ruin his creation—which now belongs to all of us. "The web evolved into a powerful, ubiquitous tool because...

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