social networking – News Stories About social networking - Page 7

Facebook Adds Features
to Help Prevent Suicide

Dec 13, 2011 4:12 PM CST

Facebook Adds Features to Help Prevent Suicide

It will connect people with counselors via Facebook chat

(Newser) - Facebook rolled out changes today designed to quickly connect people on the site who are thinking about suicide with counselors, reports AP . The site won't hunt for suicidal postings, but friends could report them to Facebook via a link next to the comment. Facebook would then contact the person...

Don't Blame Mark Zuckerberg for Facebook's Privacy Problems: Farhad Manjoo

Blame Yourself
for Facebook's
Lack of Privacy

OPINION

Dec 1, 2011 2:25 PM CST

Blame Yourself for Facebook's Lack of Privacy

Site is all about sharing, so stop expecting a 'silver bullet' fix: Farhad Manjoo

(Newser) - Facebook is submitting to a government crackdown on privacy, and Mark Zuckerberg acknowledges “a bunch of mistakes” on that front. But the site’s privacy issues are as much our own fault as Zuck’s, writes Farhad Manjoo in Slate . The “idea that we can control the audience...

Facebook Settles With FTC Over Allegations It Was Too Loose With People's Personal Data

Facebook Settles
Privacy Case
With FTC

Nov 29, 2011 2:14 PM CST

Facebook Settles Privacy Case With FTC

It agrees to independent audits for 20 years

(Newser) - Facebook is settling with the FTC over charges it deceived consumers with its privacy settings to get people to share more personal information than they originally agreed to. The charges go back to at least 2009, when Facebook changed its privacy settings so that information users may have deemed private,...

6 Degrees
of Separation
Down to 4.74

6 Degrees of Separation Down to 4.74

Most Facebook users fewer than 5 friends apart

(Newser) - The oft-cited "six degrees of separation" between individuals has—at least for the 721 million users of Facebook—narrowed to 4.74, researchers say. That's the average number of acquaintances that separate any two random Facebook acquaintances, according to a study that used algorithms to analyze the links...

Qantas Luxury Contest on Twitter an Embarrassment

Qantas Has
'Epic PR Fail'
With Twitter
Campaign

Qantas Has 'Epic PR Fail' With Twitter Campaign

It's not a great time to ask customers to tweet 'luxury' suggestions

(Newser) - It’s been a rough stretch for Qantas. First, the Australian airline abruptly stranded customers around the world amid a contract fight with its unions; then those talks collapsed entirely; this week, the firm ticked off customers again with a contest on Twitter . It asked people to tweet their “...

Facebook
Employees
Dreaming of
IPO Christmas

rumor mill

Nov 18, 2011 5:41 PM CST

Facebook Employees Dreaming of IPO Christmas

Rumor mill heats up that company is going public soon

(Newser) - Here come the Facebook IPO rumors again. An insider tells Business Insider that employees expect the company to go public soon, possibly next month. "The IPO talk inside Facebook has ramped up the past 6 weeks and Zuckerberg repeatedly has said that it is 'coming,' which he...

Diaspora Co-Founder Ilya Zhtiomirskiy Found Dead

Diaspora
Co-Founder, 22,
Found Dead

obituary

Nov 15, 2011 2:31 AM CST

Diaspora Co-Founder, 22, Found Dead

Ilya Zhitomirskiy may have committed suicide

(Newser) - A programmer and online privacy advocate some hailed as an "anti-Mark Zuckerberg" has been found dead at the age of 22. Ilya Zhitomirskiy, one of four friends from New York University who founded open-source social network Diaspora, was found dead on Saturday by police in San Francisco responding to...

'Dreary' Google+ Is Doomed

OPINION

Nov 12, 2011 9:29 AM CST

'Dreary' Google+ Is Doomed

Facebook has nothing to worry about from boring competitor: Farhad Manjoo

(Newser) - Did you think that Google+ was one of the hottest, fastest-growing phenomena on the Internet? Well, that was so last September. Just five months after Google launched its social media challenge to Facebook, signing up about 40 million users in record time, Farhad Manjoo of Slate is declaring Google+ to...

Google Looking to Buy Yahoo

Oct 23, 2011 8:59 AM CDT

Google Looking to Buy Yahoo

Google wants more users for Google+, more advertising markets

(Newser) - Google is trying to buy rival Yahoo and has talked to at least two private equity firms about financing the deal, reports the Wall Street Journal . Despite Internet ad revenues soaring around 20% a year, Yahoo revenue has foundered for several years, spurring talk the Internet giant could go private...

Google Engineer Rips Google+

Oct 13, 2011 4:41 AM CDT

Google Engineer Rips Google+

Service 'a knee-jerk reaction' to Facebook's success, Steve Yegge complains

(Newser) - While using Google+, senior Google engineer Steve Yegge accidentally shared a post heavily criticizing the company's social networking service with the general public instead of just his co-workers, the Huffington Post reports. He described Google+ as an example of the company's "complete failure to understand platforms,"...

Man Allegedly Hits Wife Who Didn't 'Like' Facebook Post

Oct 7, 2011 10:10 AM CDT

Man Allegedly Hits Wife Who Didn't 'Like' Facebook Post

'Everyone likes my status but you,' Benito Apolinar tells estranged spouse

(Newser) - It's a bad day for bizarre violence. Earlier, we heard about karaoke-inspired fisticuffs ; now an apparent Facebook-based argument has led to an attack. A Texas man who reportedly said he was furious at his estranged wife for not "liking" his Facebook status allegedly punched her in the face...

Facebook Delays
Timeline Launch
in Battle Over
Name

Oct 3, 2011 10:58 AM CDT

Facebook Delays Timeline Launch in Battle Over Name

Another site has 'timeline' rights

(Newser) - Whether you’re dreading it or desperate for it , you’ll have to wait at least a few more days to use Facebook’s new Timeline . There’s already an online firm called Timelines, and it’s not happy about the plan: The company, whose service is similar to what...

Google+
Membership
Skyrockets

Sep 28, 2011 6:16 AM CDT

Google+ Membership Skyrockets

Traffic up 1,269% after membership opened up

(Newser) - Google+ ditched its invite-only policy last week and was rewarded with a massive surge in traffic—a 1,269% rise, according to Experian Hitwise. The Internet metrics company believes that on the day after the policy changed, Google overtook Twitter to become the third-most popular social media site in the...

Fired Twitter
Ghostwriter Gets
Hilarious Revenge

Sep 22, 2011 2:54 PM CDT

Fired Twitter Ghostwriter Gets Hilarious Revenge

Ex-boss never changed account password

(Newser) - If you’re going to fire the guy who ghostwrites your tweets, it’s probably best to change your password. Otherwise, that fired employee might just log in to your account to take his revenge. That’s what appears to have happened to one Mark Davidson, an "Internet sales...

You Don't Need an Invite
for Google+ Anymore

Sep 21, 2011 9:39 AM CDT

You Don't Need an Invite for Google+ Anymore

New Hangouts features introduced as well

(Newser) - If you’re one of those poor, sad souls who couldn’t get a friend to hook you up with a Google+ invitation, good news: It's your lucky day. As of yesterday anyone can sign up for Google’s social networking service, Ars Technica reports. Google still considers the...

New Facebook Buttons:
Read, Watched, Listened

says source

Sep 20, 2011 7:56 AM CDT

New Facebook Buttons: Read, Watched, Listened

Facebook will reveal buttons this week, says source

(Newser) - Facebook is taking its "Like" concept to the next level, and will launch new buttons—Read, Listened, and Watched—at its developer conference this week, a source tells TechCrunch . The buttons will appear on users' walls, allowing them to proclaim that they Read, Listened, or Watched content in their...

Judge: It's OK to Whine
About Work on Facebook

Sep 7, 2011 6:00 PM CDT

Judge: It's OK to Whine About Work on Facebook

NLRB orders nonprofit to reinstate five fired employees

(Newser) - A potentially big win for those who like to carp about their jobs on Facebook: The National Labor Relations Board has ordered a Buffalo nonprofit to reinstate five workers who got fired for doing just that, reports Inc . They get back pay to boot. One catch: If you do want...

It's Official:
US Is World's
Coolest Country

15-country poll

Sep 6, 2011 11:26 AM CDT

It's Official: US Is World's Coolest Country

Obama, Jay-Z, Steve Jobs help win crown

(Newser) - When it comes to foreign policy, perhaps Americans aren’t the world’s favorite nationality. But the US has clearly cornered the market on coolness. Just ask the 30,000 people from 15 different countries polled by social networking site Badoo.com. When asked to choose the coolest country, America...

Inside the Army's Rules
for Twitter, Facebook

Aug 28, 2011 2:44 PM CDT

Inside the Army's Rules for Twitter, Facebook

Guess what? A lot of them should be followed by the general public

(Newser) - The US Army has some rules for social media use—but even if you’re not a soldier, you might do well to adhere to some of those rules. From the Atlantic Wire :

On Facebook: DO “spell check every post prior to posting; the Army’s reputation is at

...

Judge Blocks Missouri's
Teacher-Kid Facebook Law

Aug 26, 2011 2:36 PM CDT

Judge Blocks Missouri's Teacher-Kid Facebook Law

Law would have 'chilling' effect

(Newser) - A Missouri judge has blocked a law from taking effect Sunday that would have prohibited teachers from using social networking sites such as Facebook to carry on private conversations with students. Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem issued a preliminary injunction against the law today while declaring that it "...