You’re all educated, gorgeous people so you are fully aware that shares in Facebook won’t be publicly available for several more weeks. But that didn’t stop a woman in Wisconsin from using fake stock in the website to pay for home repairs — she even gave some to her daughter for Christmas. [More]
Facebook Officially Files For IPO; World Continues To Turn
Facebook, the startup website that the kid from Squid & the Whale was accused of stealing from those twins in that pistachio commercial (or at least that’s what I learned from fast-forwarding through The Social Network), is finally set to join the ranks of the publicly traded. The company has filed papers for its initial public offering, which is expected to make a bunch of people really, really rich and maybe, just maybe, make us all love one another again. [More]
![FTC Commissioner Puts Verbal Smackdown On Facebook & Google Over Privacy](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/ftcpleasemb.jpg?w=240&h=161&crop=1)
FTC Commissioner Puts Verbal Smackdown On Facebook & Google Over Privacy
Aww, snap! Federal Trade Commissioner Julie Brill doesn’t care that her speech opening a forum on Data Privacy Day was being streamed on Facebook and likely Googled by many — she still put the verbal smackdown on those two companies for their problems protecting user privacy. [More]
![Ready Or Not, Here It Comes: Facebook's Timeline Will Become Mandatory On Profiles Soon](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/ughtimeline.png?w=240&h=150&crop=1)
Ready Or Not, Here It Comes: Facebook's Timeline Will Become Mandatory On Profiles Soon
You’ve seen it lurking on your friends’ Facebook profiles, and felt the oppressive weight of the stress to eventually pick the perfect, horizontal cover image, and now the time is almost nigh — the Timeline feature will soon be the default interface on Facebook, and mandatory for all users. [More]
![Mark Zuckerberg: We Need Political Leaders Who Are Pro-Internet](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/zuck.png?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
Mark Zuckerberg: We Need Political Leaders Who Are Pro-Internet
The folks at Facebook have made no secret of their objection to the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act. And while it would have been a huge statement for Facebook to shut down, even for a few hours, you can’t fault the company for not wanting to turn off the money machine. Regardless, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg just took to his personal page to quickly voice his opinion on these pieces of legislation. [More]
![Facebook Brings Listening To Music With Your Friends From Parents' Basements Everywhere To The Internet](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/listenfacebook.png?w=240&h=150&crop=1)
Facebook Brings Listening To Music With Your Friends From Parents' Basements Everywhere To The Internet
Many Facebook users are already familiar with programs like Spotify and Rdio that can let friends know what the other is listening to, and allow you to judge that girl from high school for playing Spice Girls repeatedly. But now overlord Mark Zuckerberg and his minions are pushing the game a step further with a feature that allows users to listen along with pals in real time. [More]
![Malware Worm Has Reportedly Stolen 45,000 Facebook Logins & Passwords](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/inchwormramnit.jpg?w=240&h=160&crop=1)
Malware Worm Has Reportedly Stolen 45,000 Facebook Logins & Passwords
A nasty bit of malware making the rounds on Facebook has reportedly made off with the usernames and passwords of more than 45,000 users. The worm, dubbed Ramnit, has the ability to infect Windows, Microsoft Office and HTML files, say the experts at McAfee. [More]
![Lawsuit Over Facebook "Sponsored" Updates Allowed To Proceed](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/starbuckssponsored1.jpg?w=286&h=165&crop=1)
Lawsuit Over Facebook "Sponsored" Updates Allowed To Proceed
It’s been almost a year since Facebook began taking your “like” list and turning it into advertising via so-called “sponsored stories,” and on Friday, a U.S. District Court judge in California rejected the social networking site’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit that claims Facebook unjustly enriched itself with these ads by violating a California law pertaining to commercial endorsements. [More]
![Facebook Agrees To Settle With FTC Over Privacy Violation Charges](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/plssoprivate.jpg?w=180&h=225&crop=1)
Facebook Agrees To Settle With FTC Over Privacy Violation Charges
Three years after the Federal Trade Commission leveled charges against Facebook, claiming the social networking site violated users’ privacy, a settlement has been reached. Part of the terms of the proposed settlement requires Facebook to undergo audits for 20 years. [More]
![Heinz To Sell Upmarket Version Of Ketchup](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/hautekechup.jpg?w=240&h=225&crop=1)
Heinz To Sell Upmarket Version Of Ketchup
Heinz didn’t get the message that it’s unfashionable to cater to the 1% crowd. They’re coming out with a 58th variety of ketchup. A kind for fancypants. It’s more “upscale” because it uses balsamic vinegar instead of white wine vinegar. [More]
![Credit Cards To Sell Your Buying History So Online Advertisers Can Target You More Precisely](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/manadlaptop.jpg?w=160&h=225&crop=1)
Credit Cards To Sell Your Buying History So Online Advertisers Can Target You More Precisely
How about a world where you swipe for a Big Mac and then the next time you go online you get an ad for Slimfast? That’s the big idea behind Visa and Mastercard’s new business foray: selling off all your swipe data to online advertisers so they can more precisely target their ads to what’s going on in your skull. It’s another nail in the coffin for the quaint fiction we call “online privacy.” [More]
!['Hunger Games' Viral Site Requires You To Give Marketers Control Of Your Facebook Or Twitter Account](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/hungergamesgrab.jpg?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
'Hunger Games' Viral Site Requires You To Give Marketers Control Of Your Facebook Or Twitter Account
The Hunger Games is a wildly popular series of books about a dystopian future where the government spies on your every move and teenagers square off in a to-the-death tournament for the amusement of the upper-class residents of the capitol city. The books are soon to become a big-time Hollywood franchise and as part of the much-hyped countdown to that release, millions of people are getting in on the viral marketing by logging onto a website that creates a unique badge for each user. But are these people looking at the permissions they’re signing away when they log in? [More]