Technology News: Social Networking

Monday - May 12, 2008

Long before social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook set up shop online, there was a social element to playing video games. Gamers have always congregated together, extolling or deriding the merits of one game over another, participating in tournaments and broadcasting their gaming exploits and accomplishments. However, the flap that erupted in January when board game makers Hasbro and Mattel tried to the put the kibosh on "Scrabulous," a Facebook application very similar to the "Scrabble" word game, highlighted a growing trend -- social networks' gaming potential. [More...]

MySpace Walls Come Tumbling Down

Friday - May 9, 2008

MySpace has forged agreements with other popular Internet sites -- Yahoo, eBay, Photobucket and Twitter -- to permit MySpace users to migrate their data. Profiles, videos and friend networks are among the content that can be ported. They can then access the partner sites using their MySpace user names and passwords. [More...]

Will Microsoft Ask Facebook to Dance?

Friday - May 9, 2008

The long list of companies Microsoft might acquire post-Microhoo includes such outré possibilities as Netflix, Cisco and Salesforce.com. Facebook is also on that list -- but its potential as a Microsoft acquisition target is beginning to look less unlikely. In fact, it's looking downright plausible. Rumor has it Microsoft has already approached the social networking site about a possible sale. [More...]

Facebook Fences Off Bullies, Predators

Friday - May 9, 2008

Facebook, the world's second-largest social networking Web site, is adding more than 40 new safeguards to protect young users from sexual predators and cyber-bullies under an agreement with officials nationwide that was announced Thursday. The measures include banning convicted sex offenders from the site and limiting older users' ability to contact subscribers under 18. [More...]

Kids in Second Life: Does Danger Lurk?

Thursday - May 8, 2008

Second Life is no place for kids, a Republican congressman declared Monday. U.S. Representative Mark Kirk has sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission requesting a consumer alert warning about the dangers of Second Life, which he charges could expose kids to child predators and registered sex offenders. [More...]

Gates: We Don't Need No Stinking Yahoo

Wednesday - May 7, 2008

A few days after the seeming culmination of its failed bid to acquire Yahoo for $47.5 billion, Microsoft appears to be contemplating an entirely new Web 2.0 strategy: a partner-free, organic approach to besting Google. The news was delivered by none other than Chairman Bill Gates: "Now at this point, Microsoft is focused on its independent strategy." [More...]

The Dawn of Social Networking 2.0

Wednesday - May 7, 2008

I have been investigating the possibility that social networking is something that can be used inside an organization -- "intra-organizationally," as my bureaucratic friends might say. That should really be no surprise -- the entire employee base is a natural community. [More...]

Loopt's Brian Knapp: Mapping Out a Proactive Privacy Strategy

Tuesday - May 6, 2008

Loopt has taken friend connections to a new level. The startup's mobile social mapping application not only allows users to see where their friends are on a map, but also lets them text each other within the app and share photos. Since Loopt's beginnings, the company has been proactive in setting high standards for user privacy. [More...]

Xobni Spins Relationship Webs in Microsoft Outlook

Monday - May 5, 2008

For all those Outlook users who have ever thought there has to be a better way to organize and search e-mail content, Xobni, a startup out of San Francisco, has launched its attempt at a solution. A free add-on, Xobni -- "in-box" spelled backwards -- is designed to help users of Microsoft's Outlook e-mail program get a better handle on what's in their in-box. [More...]

Testing Out New Concepts to Refurbish the Online Store

Sunday - May 4, 2008

Most e-commerce sites are approaching their 10th birthday. The standard approach -- with left-hand navigation and search, a product catalog and product detail, cart and checkout -- is a tired format. Just like brick-and-mortar stores, Web stores need refurbishing, and retail is the new darling of Web innovation. [More...]

The Social Side of Fund-Raising Online

Sunday - May 4, 2008

Online social networks used to be just gathering places for friends and long-lost acquaintances. Then the marketers arrived, followed by politicians and job recruiters -- all looking to tap into a growing mass of young people who are spending much of their time on the Web. [More...]

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