social media – News Stories About social media - Page 29

Mar 29, 2012 3:35 PM CDT

Ex-CIA Trainee Goes Public on Twitter

Lynnae Williams thinks the agency is corrupt because of how it fired her

(Newser) - It's not every day that you see a former CIA employee reaming out the agency on social media, but that's exactly what Lynnae Williams does. Williams, 35, had a four-month stint as a CIA trainee in 2009 before she was sent to the agency's mental hospital—or,...

Some Employers, Schools Demand Facebook Logins

Mar 6, 2012 10:33 AM CST

Some Employers, Schools Demand Facebook Logins

Maryland may ban practice

(Newser) - Some employers and colleges have found an ingenious way around Facebook's pesky privacy settings: Simply demand that applicants or students friend you, give you a tour of their account, or even divulge their usernames and passwords. MSNBC reports on a number of places instituting the troubling practices:

At Maryland'

...

Google+ Basically a Ghost Town

Feb 28, 2012 12:06 PM CST

Google+ Basically a Ghost Town

Visitors to the social network spend three minutes there a month

(Newser) - Google+ launched with ambitions of competing with Facebook, and if you listen to CEO Larry Page, it's on pace to do just that, with 90 million users registering since June. But there's one big problem, the Wall Street Journal observes: Those 90 million users aren't actually doing...

Ann Romney Joins Pinterest

Feb 22, 2012 12:45 AM CST

Ann Romney Joins Pinterest

Wanna-be first lady early adopter of rising social network

(Newser) - Mitt Romney's wife has signed up for up-and-coming social network Pinterest, dubbed "digital crack for women" by the Washington Post. Users of the site add photos to "virtual pinboards," and Ann Romney's page currently has seven, including recipes, campaign photos, and patriotic pics, the Post...

Facebook Defriending Triggers Double Murder

Feb 9, 2012 12:40 AM CST

Facebook Defriending Triggers Double Murder

Marvin Potter charged with 'senseless' Tennessee slayings

(Newser) - Two Tennessee men have been charged with killing a couple over what police describe as a "senseless and stupid" motive: A defriending on Facebook. Marvin Potter, 60, was enraged by the couple's decision to scratch his 30-year-old daughter from their list of friends, according to police. The two...

Careful, Facebook, or
You'll Become AOL

OPINION

Feb 8, 2012 1:44 PM CST

Careful, Facebook, or You'll Become AOL

Former editor Jesse Kornbluth explains how web giant fell from grace

(Newser) - Jesse Kornbluth has a cautionary tale for Facebook, which he says he worked for a decade ago. "Back then, it was called America Online," he writes in the Wall Street Journal . Kornbluth was AOL's editorial director from 1997 to 2003. In those days, AOL had lots of...

Facebook Launching IPO Today

Feb 1, 2012 7:52 AM CST

Facebook Launching IPO Today

Filing 'an American milestone'

(Newser) - The company Mark Zuckerberg founded in his dorm room eight years ago is expected to file for Silicon Valley's biggest-ever initial public offering today. The Facebook IPO will aim to raise $5 billion, and will value the company at between $75 billion and $100 billion, insiders tell Reuters . The...

China, Thailand Applaud Twitter Censorship

Jan 31, 2012 1:24 AM CST

China, Thailand Applaud Twitter Censorship

Dissidents fear losing free-speech tool

(Newser) - Twitter's controversial decision to allow censorship of tweets on a country-by-country basis has won praise from two of the countries with the busiest censors. In Thailand—ranked 153rd in the world for press freedom because of its strict laws against offending the monarchy—the country's information minister called...

Google Just Killed
Its Search Engine

OPINION

Jan 13, 2012 11:03 AM CST

Google Just Killed Its Search Engine

Why Mat Honan is switching to Bing

(Newser) - Don't look now, but Bing just became the best search engine—purely because Google shot itself in the foot. Google this week launched its " Search, Plus Your World " overhaul, which deeply integrates Google+ into your results. "Long story short: It's a huge step backwards,"...

Facebook Coming
to ... Your Car?

Jan 10, 2012 12:29 PM CST

Facebook Coming to ... Your Car?

Mercedes installs new system, swears it's safe

(Newser) - Facebook has found its way inside what could be its most unlikely device yet: a car. Mercedes-Benz will soon be installing Facebook in its new cars, with a specially-designed, bare-bones version that, it hopes, minimizes the chance of someone crashing off the road while using it. The app, which was...

Need a
Kidney?
Ask on
Facebook

Jan 2, 2012 5:27 PM CST

Need a Kidney? Ask on Facebook

More kidney requests popping up on social media sites

(Newser) - People who once sought kidneys through word of mouth or church bulletins are finding a new forum: Facebook. The website has fulfilled at least three kidney requests as many more are popping up across social media sites, the AP reports. One plea came from Seattle father Damon Brown, who was...

Israeli Group to Twitter:
Ban Hezbollah or We'll Sue

Dec 30, 2011 1:00 AM CST

Israeli Group to Twitter: Ban Hezbollah or We'll Sue

Letting terror groups tweet is illegal, law center says

(Newser) - Terrorist organizations banned in the US should also be banned from Twitter, says an Israeli legal group threatening to sue the San Francisco-based company. Shurat HaDin—which says its mission is "bankrupting terrorism, one lawsuit at a time"—warns that allowing groups like Hezbollah and al-Shabab to use...

Saudi Prince Buys
$300M Stake
in Twitter

Dec 19, 2011 6:25 AM CST

Saudi Prince Buys $300M Stake in Twitter

Billionaire calls microblogging buy a strategic investment

(Newser) - The richest man in the Arab world has bought a big stake in the social media service that has helped protesters in the region organize. Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has paid $300 million for a stake of around 3% in Twitter, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Social...

Obamas: No Facebook
for Malia, Sasha

Dec 16, 2011 5:52 AM CST

Obamas: No Facebook for Malia, Sasha

Prez a big fan of Modern Family, Boardwalk Empire, Homeland

(Newser) - President Obama's elder daughter Malia is now 13, old enough to have a Facebook account, but the first couple has no intention of lifting their ban on their daughters using the site . And the girls don't mind, the president tells People , characterizing their view as, "Why would...

Theaters Add Tweeting Sections

Dec 3, 2011 9:41 AM CST

Theaters Add Tweeting Sections

Increasingly, patrons want to provide live updates

(Newser) - The bad news is, apparently some of us absolutely cannot sit through a play or opera or ballet performance without tweeting. The good news is, in some theaters, those tweeters will have their own section. As more theatergoers live-tweet performances, so-called "tweet seats" are becoming "a national trend,...

Condom Maker
Sends Friend
Requests From
Unborn 'Sons'

Nov 30, 2011 12:52 AM CST

Condom Maker Sends Friend Requests From Unborn 'Sons'

'Avoid surprises like this one,' Brazilian firm suggests

(Newser) - A Brazilian condom maker's attempt to scare young men into using its products could signal a new—and creepy—direction for advertising in social media. In Olla Condoms' "Unexpected Babies" campaign, selected Facebook users receive a friend request purporting to be from their unborn son, AdWeek reports. The...

Facebook IPO Could Top $10B

Nov 29, 2011 5:05 AM CST

Facebook IPO Could Top $10B

Firm to value itself at over $100B in deal next year, sources say

(Newser) - Facebook is readying its long-anticipated initial public offering for the second quarter of next year, and it's aiming for a deal that will value the company at more than $100 billion—more than $125 for each of its 800 million users, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal . The company...

Teen Tweeter
Won't Apologize
to Dissed Kan.
Governor

Nov 28, 2011 1:36 AM CST

Teen Tweeter Won't Apologize to Dissed Kan. Governor

'I raised my kids to be free thinkers,' says mom of Emma Sullivan

(Newser) - A Kansas teen who blasted her conservative governor in a tweet is refusing to apologize—even though she has been ordered to do so by her school. "Just made mean comments at Gov. Brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot," Emma Sullivan, 18, tweeted to pals...

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 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 “...