Consumerist
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social networking
Facebook Nags You To Communicate With The Dead
If you've logged in to Facebook lately, you may have noticed the site's suggestions on the right-hand side telling you to write on the wall of someone you haven't communicated with in a while. This is merely annoying for most of us, but sort of a punch in the gut when the person you're being told to get back in touch with is dead. More » -
follow-ups
10 Extinct Twitter-Types Thanks To New Terms Of Service
Instead of cranking out cumbersome terms of service Magna Cartas that only lawyers will actually read, Twitter should follow the lead of Mashable and just come out and say what types of users it's attempting to get rid of. More » -
social networking
Quiz Yourself About Facebook Quiz Applications And Privacy
What do Facebook applications know about you and your friends? What do you know about what Facebook applications know about you? If you have Facebook, you can take this handy quiz from the ACLU of Northern California that tests your knowledge of Facebook, privacy, and outside developers. More » -
privacy
Complaint From Canada Prompts Facebook Privacy Changes
If you're suspicious of Facebook's use of your personal data, the social networking site has made some recent changes that may make you very happy. And for this, you canblamethank Canada. More » -
in your facebook
Facebook Deactivates Game Developer's Fan Page Without Explanation
Carlo, a Pittsburgh lacrosse coach who is helping make the video game College Lacrosse 10, built a Facebook fan page that amassed tens of thousands of fans, in part by spending thousands in ad dollars on Facebook promoting the page. More » -
tagged.com
NY Attorney General Unfriends Tagged.com, Files Lawsuit
New York's crusading Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, has a new target:social networkingcontact-spamming site Tagged.com. He intends to stop the company's practices and seek fines from them. Were the fine $1 per spammy e-mail they've sent, the total would be $60 million. Too much? More » -
facebook
Facebook Twice Feared Letting Angel Tread Its Network, Changed Its Heart
If you think 20th Century Fox was cruel to Dark Angel, canceling the show after just two seasons, get a load of what Facebook did to Dark Angel. Not the show, the person. Yes, there's a guy out there who legally changed his name to Dark Angel. And on top of the gloom of instilling massive disappointment in everyone who meets him hoping he'll be Jessica Alba, Dark Angel was deemed too fake of a name by the Facebook cops. So they booted his account twice. More » -
privacy concerns
Facebook, Where Are You Getting These Crazy Friend Suggestions From?
This morning, I woke up to find an inbox full of readers freaked out about Facebook friend suggestions. What's the big deal about that? Privacy-minded Facebook users can't figure out where these suggestions are coming from, and aren't happy with the possibilities. More » -
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The New York Times takes a look at "contact scraping," which is when a website tricks you into providing access to your address book and then spams all of your friends by saying you asked them to join. Some of the offenders include Tagged.com, MyLife.com (formerly Reunion.com), and desktopdating.net. [New York Times]
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public shunnings
Facebook Bans Guy For No Reason, Acknowledges Error, Re-Bans Guy For No Reason
Matt was kicked off of Facebook for no reason in March, got the social networking site to admit its error and reinstate him after a few weeks in April, then got the boot again and has been floating around in outer darkness ever since. His tale of despair: More » -
time wasters
At Ease, Facebook, Twitter: Soldiers Can Access You On Base Now — MySpace? Not So Much
The Army's network administrators have stopped blocking base access to social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter and Flickr, as well as personal e-mail accounts, Wired reports. More » -
facebook
Pseudonymbook? Facebook Will Let You Use An Alias June 13
Facebook has prided itself on forcing users to stick hard and true to their real names, eliminating the zany, anonymous nonsense on other social networking sites. The real-name policy isn't changing, but Facebook is finally letting wacky nicknames into the mix, announcing that it will let you choose an alternate name for your profile page, letting friends who know you only as "Spanky" find you without having to recall your given moniker. The new name can also replace the nine-digit number assigned to you on your Facebook URL. More » -
e-mail harvesting
Tagged.com Will Spam Your Friends And Family
Tagged.com has been around for a few years now, but it's spread across the Internet with a vengeance in the last few weeks. The service promotes itself by getting inside the address book or e-mail contacts of people who sign up and e-mailing everyone they know. It's disingenuous, since the e-mail looks like an invitation from your friend or family member...but they didn't initiate it at all.
Let this serve as a warning: don't sign up with tagged.com, and warn anyone in your life who you think may be susceptible to this kind of scam. More »
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social networking
Xbox 360 To Get Facebook And Twitter, Still Breaks
Good news for gamers, bad news for anyone who count the pixel-obsessed among their social media friends: This Fall Microsoft will bring Facebook and Twitter applications to the Xbox 360, allowing gamers to more easily stalk acquaintances from their couches and brag about their gaming accomplishments. Gaming blog Joystiq covered the announcement, which came at Microsoft's Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference in Los Angeles Monday: More » -
facebook
Jobless Guy Buys Facebook Ads To Land Microsoft Gig
Eric just graduated from an MBA program Monday and landed smackdab in the middle of our job-shriveling recession. So what did he do? To try to land a job at Microsoft, he bought Facebook ads that specifically targeted employees at the companies he wants to work for. It cost him less than $50, and he got over 20 Microsoft employees to contact him offering their help. Here's how he did it: More » -
social networking
Twitter Says No To Ads For Now
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and his partners are some cool cats. Facebook tried to buy the company for half a billion and they turned it down. The fledgling social networking service also staved off Google from gobbling it up. More » -
twitter
If You Use Twitter This Month, You Probably Won't Be Back Next Month
Oprah has given the world many discoveries: Dr. Phil, books and on April 17, when she devoted an entire show to it, Twitter. More » -
facebook
Update: Facebook Agrees To Take Down Dead Relative's Page
Stephanie Bemister says that after our post went up Facebook contacted her and agreed to take down the facebook page of her dead brother, an award-winning investigative journalist and Nazi hunter. "Thank you again, Ben," she wrote. "My family has no words that truly express how we feel." Previously Facebook told her they wouldn't remove the page because... More »
social networking
New York, 11:22 AM
Mon Nov 9
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