Posts Tagged ‘Social Networking’

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Facebook Allows Users to Download Expanded Archive of Their Information (Inside Facebook)
The “Download Your Information” feature now includes catalogues of friend requests a users make, IP addresses they’ve logged in from and any previous names they’ve used, among other Facebook actions. This is in addition to the copy of photos, posts, messages, chat conversations, friend lists and other information that Facebook first made available for download in 2010. The New York Times Facebook, which is preparing for an initial public stock offering, most likely in May, has been trying to accommodate government officials in Europe, where privacy laws are more stringent than in the United States. Mashable The archive still doesn’t include your friends’ photos and status updates, other users’ personal info and comments you’ve made on other people’s posts. Facebook This feature will be rolling out gradually to all users and more categories of information will be available for download in the future. Read more

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Anonymous, Reddit Top ‘Time 100′ Poll (Mashable)
Time‘s poll asked Internet users to vote for the year’s most influential individuals spanning a range of fields and professions, from politics to entertainment. Time In the beginning, it seemed to be a runaway win for Erik Martin, the general manager of the online sharing community Reddit. And then Anonymous, the loosely knit network of like-minded Internet activists, surged to take the top spot just before deadline. The Verge What should be an Internet popularity contest might be more accurately seen as a ranking of who’s better at gaming poll results. PCMag Does any of this really matter, however? Not to Time: Its final list of influential entities for this year’s Top 100 issue will be chosen by the magazine’s editors for the big April 17 reveal, not by popular vote. Read more

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Facebook Acquires Instagram for $1 Billion (SocialTimes)
Facebook has acquired the photo-sharing site Instagram for a reported $1 billion in cash and stock. “This is an important milestone for Facebook, because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users,” wrote founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a statement on his Facebook page. Instagram Blog Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom also addressed the deal on the company’s official blog. “The Instagram app will still be the same one you know and love. You’ll still have all the same people you follow and that follow you. You’ll still be able to share to other social networks. And you’ll still have all the other features that make the app so fun and unique.” The New York Times / Dealbook With Instagram, Facebook will get a formidable mobile player — an area that is seen as a weakness for the sprawling social network. Gizmodo Facebook’s impending IPO probably didn’t have much to do with its ability to purchase Instagram — it already had globs of cash — but might shade how it uses Instagram going forward. Meaning, it’ll have public investors to appease, so it’s going to need to justify spending a ton of money. Read more

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YouTube co-founders Are Working on a Magazine Publishing Service Called Zeen (Fusible)
It looks like you’ll soon be able to discover and create “beautiful” magazines online. YouTube co-founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, who now run AVOS, posted a “Coming Soon” page on the website Zeen (a take on the word zine, which commonly refers to a narrowly focused self-published magazine). The Next Web The Privacy Policy page indicates that multimedia sharing will be a core part of the service and suggests that there will be a browser bookmarklet available. VentureBeat For now, though, we have relatively few details about how Zeen will work and what ‘zines will look like. You can go to the app’s landing page now to reserve a username and connect the account to an email address, Facebook identity or Twitter account. Business Insider After registering, users get an email to confirm their address, but it becomes a waiting game after that to see how Zeen works and what it’s all about. Read more

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Viacom Wins Reversal in Landmark YouTube Case (Reuters)
A U.S. appeals court dealt Google Inc a major defeat by reviving lawsuits by Viacom Inc, the English Premier League and various other media companies over the use of copyrighted videos on Google’s YouTube service without permission. Bloomberg Viacom sued in 2007, seeking $1 billion in damages and claiming that YouTube users were illegally uploading thousands of videos of Viacom television programs, such as South Park and The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, and movies from its Paramount Pictures studio. ZDNet The case translates to putting the burden of responsibility back on the website owner, rather than the uploader, which could send massive ripples through the online community from search engines to social networks, like Facebook and Google+. Gizmodo The outcome of the case will hinge entirely on whether YouTube “knew” that all of this copyrighted material was out there and what “knowing” actually means. Read more

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Google Begins Testing Its Augmented-Reality Glasses (The New York Times / Bits)
Yesterday, Google gave people a clearer picture of its secret initiative called Project Glass. The glasses are the company’s first venture into wearable computing. The glasses are not yet for sale. Google will, however, be testing them in public. Cnet A video of this augmented-reality experiment was posted by Google on YouTube showing someone wearing the glasses as he made his way around a variety of Manhattan venues, receiving up-to-the-minute updates as information streamed into his glasses. The Wall Street Journal / Digits Instant walking routes on maps, video chat, voice notes and a camera may be included in the glasses, Google suggests. Wired / Epicenter It’s also a timely means for Google to remind the public that its engineers have visions that transcend the current spats with Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, the DOJ and the European Union. Read more

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Welcome to the Morning Social Media Newsfeed! Here, we’ll compile the latest news from the social media world along with news from our blog network. If you were previously signed up for our daily blog newsletter, you will automatically receive the Morning Social Media Newsfeed instead. If you haven’t signed up and would like to, just click the registration link above.

Facebook Smacks Back at Yahoo With Patent Claims in Counter-Lawsuit (AllThingsD)
In its counter-claim filing, involving 10 patents held by Facebook, the social networking giant said that Yahoo is infringing via a wide range of its offerings, including its homepage, content optimization, relevance engine, Flickr photo-sharing service and advertising throughout its huge site. AllFacebook The timing is dangerous for both companies, as Facebook is nearing its initial public offering, while Yahoo is poised to announce massive layoffs in the thousands. paidContent Facebook’s rapid response suggests the company is spoiling for a fight. Ordinarily, a defendant in major litigation will use procedural tactics to delay filing its defense or counterclaim. PandoDaily This fight is about so much more than Yahoo and Facebook – it’s keying off of years of anger over software patent trolling that have long been coming to an ugly head. Read more

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Welcome to the Morning Social Media Newsfeed! Here, we’ll compile the latest news from the social media world along with news from our blog network. If you were previously signed up for our daily blog newsletter, you will automatically receive the Morning Social Media Newsfeed instead. If you haven’t signed up and would like to, just click the registration link above.

Pinterest Co-Founder, Paul Sciarra, Leaves for Andreessen Horowitz (Paul Sciarra /Pinterest Blog)
I’ve accepted a role as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Andreessen Horowitz. I hope that eventually leads me back to doing what I’ve done for the past three and a half years — namely, building cool things with awesome people with unexpected results. Startup Grind Paul takes a significant amount of time in his post to clarify his role in building the company, perhaps to make sure it’s clear in the history books what he actually did to make Pinterest the huge success it is today. TechCrunch Andreessen Horowitz is one of the leaders among VCs building out the services that they offer to young companies beyond funding. The EIC role will see Sciarra potentially help Andreessen evaluate future investments, offer advice and assistance to its portfolio companies and perhaps even aid Andreessen Horowitz to be more disruptive in its own ventures. SocialTimes Co-founder Ben Silbermann recently gave an interview for a lengthy feature in Fortune magazine. He also sat down for a Q&A with investor and entrepreneur Chris Dixon at the SXSW Interactive conference in Austin, TX. Silbermann has been the sole window to the inner workings of a company that hasn’t done much self-promotion outside the Facebook Timeline. Read more

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Welcome to the Morning Social Media Newsfeed! Here, we’ll compile the latest news from the business along with stories from our blog network. If you were previously signed up for our blog newsletter, you will automatically receive the Morning Social Media Newsfeed instead. If you haven’t signed up and would like to, just click the registration link above.

Facebook Delves Deeper Into Search (Bloomberg Businessweek)
Searching the social network could get a lot better in the near future. About two dozen Facebook engineers, led by a former Google engineer named Lars Rasmussen, are working on an improved search engine, say two people familiar with the project who did not want to be named because the company is in a quiet period ahead of its IPO. AllFacebook Speaking of the IPO, speculation about Facebook’s search initiatives heated up when the social network announced its intentions to go public February 1. That week co-founder and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg posted a picture of his desk, in which a MacBook displaying what looked like a Facebook page with a large search box was visible. SocialTimes Google, which owns 67 percent of the search market in the U.S., has a clear advantage in being able to index sites from across the Web, while Facebook appears to be working internally with pages and profiles. Mashable Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has consistently downplayed the level of direct competition between Facebook and Google. “I don’t think that this is going to be the type of situation when one company wins all this stuff,” he told Charlie Rose of PBS last fall. Tom’s Guide So how will this new search engine affect Facebook’s relationship with Microsoft? Zuckerberg still meets every few months with Qi Lu, president of Microsoft’s online services division, sources claim. There may be no ruffling of feathers at all, but rather a huge opportunity for two separate types of search engines to work together in harmony to create a huge Google rival, loaded with data Google probably still covets. Read more

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Star-struck Japan PM Befriends Facebook’s Zuckerberg (Reuters)
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda frequently entertains dignitaries from all over the world, but he was a touch star-struck on Thursday when he hosted a young billionaire with a whiff of celebrity: Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. As cabinet ministers filed through Noda’s residence for a late afternoon meeting, it was Zuckerberg who drew a fusillade of camera flashes from a hefty media contingent as he strode through the entrance like a movie star. ZDNet It is still not clear exactly what Zuckerberg’s visit to Japan will entail, but it is already appearing more business orientated than his holiday in China. AllFacebook The International Herald Tribune’s Rendezvous blog reported that Zuckerberg and girlfriend Priscilla Chan were spotted in Shanghai Tuesday, immediately fueling speculation that Facebook was making another attempt to gain a foothold in a market where access to the social network is severely restricted. Read more