Accusing Facebook of violating federal wiretap laws by tracking her web use when she wasn’t logged in to the site, a Mississippi woman is taking the social networking giant to court. Her suit, which seeks class action status, is going after Facebook for trespassing, invasion of privacy, unjust enrichment and breach of contract. [More]
social networking
Google Will Pull The Plug On Buzz
By 10.17.11
Google Buzz, which always had trouble generating much positive buzz during its short lifespan, is going the way of Donovan McNabb’s football career. Google casually announced that it’s putting the little-used social networking add-on out of its misery. [More]
Don't Fall For Facebook Fee Hoax
By 9.26.11
It turns out you can’t trust all the news that reaches you via email forwards. A hoax that declares Facebook is about to start charging for its services is reportedly circulating, involving a request for users to post messages on their walls that will allow them to continue using Facebook for free. [More]
Netflix Wants You To Ask Congress To Let It Stream On Facebook
By 9.23.11
Netflix would like to buddy up with Facebook, but a 1988 law called the Video Privacy Protection Act, which makes it illegal to publish customers’ rental history, prevents it from doing so. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings noted the legal roadblock at Facebook’s f8 conference Thursday, and the company publicly asked customers for support. [More]
Facebook Thinks You Should Stop Making Friends
By 9.22.11
Kevin has had his Facebook account for quite a few years, but decided to poke around and go on a friending spree to make it easier to make contacts and find a new job. That’s how he learned the hard way that while Facebook wants you to connect with people, they don’t really want you to connect with so many of them that you look like a spambot. [More]
How To Get Rid Of The Facebook News Ticker
By 9.21.11
Facebook rolled out some new tweaks this week, like adding a real-time “ticker” of all your friends’ updates in the right sidebar, and making pictures bigger in the news feed, along with a few other tweaks. Some people woke up to them and promptly starting making Facebook status updates on how much they hate the new Facebook. Well, there’s a few ways to roll them back and get the “old” Facebook. [More]
If You Want A Piece Of Facebook, You'll Have To Wait Until Late Next Year
By 9.15.11
Potential Facebook investors who were salivating over snagging a piece of the company come April will have to wait several months longer than expected to buy in. The social networking behemoth delayed its initial public offering, which could possibly be the largest in history, from April to an undisclosed time late in 2012. [More]
Workers Fired For Facebook Post Get Jobs Back
By 9.12.11
According to the National Labor Relations Board, workers have the right to publicly gripe about workplace conditions without suffering retribution. An NLRB judgment in a messy case last week reaffirmed the stance. An employee at a Buffalo nonprofit complained about the work ethic of a coworker on Facebook, and coworkers piled on in comments. After the organization fired the employees, citing an anti-cyber harassment policy, one of them filed a complaint via the NLRB. [More]
Facebook Planning To Get Into Music Game
By 9.1.11
Now that Facebook is streaming movie rentals, it was only a matter of time until it got more deeply involved with music. Conflicting reports say that Facebook is going to either reveal its own music service or announce deeper integration with existing services at its developer conference Sept. 22. [More]
Facebook Backs Down In Its Challenge To Groupon
By 8.30.11
Facebook Deals, the four-month-old effort to compete with Groupon and LivingSocial, is on the way out. The social networking site plans to sever its daily deals arm in the coming weeks. [More]
Google Will Finally Eliminate The SuperPoke Menace
By 8.29.11
Although the days in which it was socially acceptable to SuperPoke someone via a social network have long since passed, Google is reportedly doing its part to make sure no one is ever again subjected to the annoyance. The company, which purchased SuperPoke developer Slide last year, is shutting down its social apps. [More]
Facebook Lets Users Post On Pharmaceutical Company Pages
By 8.16.11
Facebook is forcing pharmaceutical companies to open up and swallow public opinion. Before this week, the organizations were allowed to have closed walls that didn’t allow users to post. Thanks to a shift in policy, pharmaceutical companies now no longer receive the privilege. [More]
Google+ Adds Games, Wisely Segregates Them Into Their Own Corner
By 8.12.11
One of the most irritating aspects of social networking is the tendency of FarmVille-style game aficionados to inundate their friends with meaningless clutter in the form of game progress updates. Google+ is set to start integrating the addictive cash cows into its own service, but is showing mercy on its users by sticking them under a “games” tab. To be fair, Facebook’s “hide” function also allows you to block game news from your feed. [More]
Cops Use Facebook To Track Down Criminals
By 7.28.11
Facebook has become an effective crime-fighting tool for law enforcement officers, not only allowing cops to profile suspects but providing convenient ways for victims to report crimes. [More]
Fraudsters Already Exploiting Google+
By 7.26.11
It was inevitable. With the creation of Google+, a new social network already boasting over 20 million users, the scammers were sure to follow. Here’s a note a probable fraudster sent to reader Geoff through his Google+ profile, informing him that someone died in Africa and he needs to be contacted about a “business transaction” of “magnitude.” [More]
Law From 1988 Keeps Netflix And Facebook From Buddying Up
By 7.26.11
Back in the late 1980s, lawmakers were determined to prevent movie rental companies from publishing customers’ rental history. The Video Privacy Protection Act made violations punishable by $2,500 per offense. Now the law is causing headaches for Facebook and Netflix because it’s reportedly written in a way that would forbid Netflix from publishing your rental history on your Facebook page. [More]
Report: Google Deleting Google+ Accounts With Little Explanation
By 7.25.11
Google+ is reportedly becoming more like Google Minus after an account deleting binge. Administrators are apparently removing accounts that violate the social network’s community standards policy requiring users to use real names. [More]
Can't Anyone At LinkedIn Help My Employer?
By 7.21.11
The magic of the internet is that a company can have a huge, even ubiquitous presence, but a relatively small staff and an even smaller consumer-facing staff. We’ve featured a plenty of examples over the years: Facebook, Gmail, Skype… Time to add LinkedIn to the list. S. is in charge of social media for an unnamed organization, and has been trying to make LinkedIn’s way of sorting employers recognize the organization’s structure. It’s not happening, and there’s no clear way to reach someone with power at the site for help. [More]
