Social Networking

LinkedIn's Mobile Strategy Gets a Pulse
April 12, 2013

LinkedIn on Thursday announced the $90 million acquisition of newsreader app Pulse, as the professional social networking site looks to add to its content and mobile strategies. Pulse, launched in 2010 by two Stanford University students, allows users to browse multiple media sources, including social networks, to choose the content they want to read.

Konnichi-Whoops! Japanese City Accidentally Tweets About North Korean Attack
April 12, 2013

The official Twitter page for the Japanese city of Yokohama announced that "North Korea has launched a missile." This would be scary if true, but because it didn't actually happen, it's just kind of embarrassing. The tweet, which was sent out to 40,000 followers, had been drafted in case, you know, North Korea actually did attack. It had blank spaces to indicate the time of the rocket launch. The city deleted the tweet and apologized to its followers.

Facebook Slices, Dices Consumers to Refine Ad Targeting
April 11, 2013

Facebook added another level of targeting to its advertising strategy Wednesday with the introduction of partner categories, a self-service feature that uses data collected from other channels to deliver ads on the social network. Partner categories will let advertisers target Facebook users based on browsing and purchase history, occupation, a wide range of specific interests, and location.

Who Gets LinkedIn When an Employee Is Kicked Out?
April 10, 2013

After almost two years of litigation, a federal judge has ruled on a dispute between an employer and former employee over control of a LinkedIn account. The case turned on a specific Pennsylvania law about using the likeness of another individual, so the impact may be limited, but since there is so little litigation concerning LinkedIn or other social media sites, it is important to understand the issues and implications.

Eggs in HTC's One Basket Showing Some Cracks
April 09, 2013

HTC announced earnings for the first quarter of 2013 that were decidedly not pretty. Its net profit dropped some 98 percent -- the lowest quarterly earnings for the company since its launch in 2006. HTC posted $1.4 billion in revenue for the quarter ending March 31, 2013, a 37 percent drop year over year. Simply put, these numbers are dismal, said Andreas Scherer, managing partner of Salto Partners.

Facebook Home: Brilliant Stroke or Desperate Measure?
April 08, 2013

Political and economic news from around the globe may bombard us with annoying regularity here in the tech community, and as most of us know, the news is almost always bad. That, of course, is why it's such a good thing we have Facebook to filter out what we don't want to hear. It's also why we all waited in rapt attention for the Facebook Home announcement.

Tweets Added to Bloomberg's Financial News Portfolio
April 06, 2013

The Bloomberg business and financial news service has begun streaming Twitter feeds to the 310,000 subscribers to its Bloomberg Professional service, including many who work in front of the media company's terminals that are widely used on Wall Street and in the finance industry. Bloomberg classifies tweets by company, asset class, person and topic. Its Twitter filter lets users control and specify what they want to monitor.

Facebook Stretches Out on Android's Couch
April 04, 2013

Facebook on Thursday announced a family of Android-based smartphone apps called Facebook Home, which can be downloaded from Google Play. "We're going to talk about how you can transform your Android phone into a great social phone," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at a company event. He added that the company doesn't want to build "a phone or operating system that only some people are going to use."

Twitter Hands Devs Some New Playing Cards
April 03, 2013

Twitter announced updates to its Cards feature for developers Tuesday. The enhancements enable greater integration of media and apps, and target mobile users of the social network, but the overall goal is to allow developers to stuff more content in and around a typical tweet while maintaining the 140-character tweet limit for texts.

SEC Lets Companies Go Social With Market-Moving News
April 03, 2013

The Securities and Exchange Commission released a new set of disclosure rules Tuesday that allow executives to use social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to update investors about significant corporate announcements that fall under Regulation Fair Disclosure mandates. As long as executives alert their investors about which blog or social networking sites will be used to post announcements, CEOs can fill those online venues with news about their companies.

All Things Appy: Top 5 iOS Video Camera Apps
April 03, 2013

Video cameras have been one of the killer hardware features in the smartphone revolution, and Apple's iOS platform for iPads and iPhones has made an important contribution to the video camera app market. Twitter's Vine lets you create arty 6-second looping videos for distribution on social networks including Facebook, Twitter and the Vine network.

Russian Clampdown on Web Content Raises Red Flags
April 01, 2013

The Russian government is using a law passed last year to restrict online content, and three major social networks have removed content authorities deemed objectionable. The Russian law created a blacklist of sites containing child pornography, drug-related and extremist material, and other illegal content.

Zuckerberg Lobbies to Become a Bigger Difference Maker
April 01, 2013

It appears Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is plunging into the controversial national debate on immigration reform. An issue-advocacy group he formed has hired two lobbying firms. It is unclear exactly what Zuckerberg's goals are, but he reportedly wants to push for comprehensive immigration reform, possibly including a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Facebook's Android-Themed Event Invite Redials Phone Chatter
March 29, 2013

Facebook is inviting the media to "come see our new home on Android" during an April 4 event, sparking speculation that the social network may indeed be getting ready to introduce a branded smartphone. There is also speculation that Facebook will unveil a modified version of the Android operating system with added social functionality.

Amazon Adds Goodreads to Its Library of Social Networks
March 29, 2013

Amazon announced Thursday that it had acquired Goodreads, the social networking site for bibliophiles. Goodreads will join Amazon's other online book communities, Shelfari and LibraryThing, as the retailer looks to expand its social insight into what book lovers are buying and sharing. Since its launch seven years ago, Goodreads has grown to include more than 16 million worldwide users.

Facebook to Slap Targeted Ads on News Feed Billboards
March 27, 2013

Facebook announced this week that it will test a new feature that allows select advertisers to run additional targeted ads in user's News Feeds. The test is an expansion of Facebook Exchange, one of the social network's most profitable advertising initiatives. The service allows marketers to check users' online viewing habits via a cookie-based system.

Google+ App Updates Focus on Photos, Tweak Text
March 26, 2013

Google has made another bid in its attempt to take on Facebook for social media supremacy with the launch of iOS and Android updates for Google+. The revamped apps have improvements in four areas -- photos, posts, profiles and communities. "Everybody wants to share whatever they're doing whenever they're doing it, and mobile is the place to be," said Andrew Eisner, director of community and content at Retrevo.

LinkedIn Lets Users Cast Wider Search Net
March 26, 2013

LinkedIn revealed revamped search features this week, making it easier for professionals to identify and engage with possible contacts on the networking site. The company added auto-complete and suggested search functions designed to give LinkedIn users a more complete set of results.

China's Great Big Holey 'Twitter' Net
March 23, 2013

A recent study by researchers at the University of Hong Kong suggests that China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo -- which boasted in February that it had surpassed 500 million users -- might be overrun by zombie accounts. The study, which looked at a random sample of 30,000 Sina Weibo accounts, revealed that 57 percent of users had nothing in their timelines.

The Perils of Making Up Your Social Media Policy as You Go
March 21, 2013

Social media and its close relative, social CRM, allow you to connect with customers in new and meaningful ways, on a greater scale and at a greater velocity than ever before. When it's done right, that is. When it's done wrong, like anything in this era of increasingly automated communication, your mistakes are amplified and intensified by customers.