Reporters Try to Live on Twitter, Facebook Alone

They aim to gather 'open source' intelligence

(NEWSER) - Somewhere in Virginia, hundreds of CIA analysts are hunched over computers right now, reading Twitter and Facebook posts. This team—affectionately dubbed the “vengeful librarians”—monitors some 5 million social media posts a day, looking for signs of unrest and a general read on the zeitgeist overseas, the AP reports. They predicted the Egyptian revolution, let Barack Obama know how his policies are perceived abroad, and can provide the US with reports during traditional media blackouts, such as during last spring's riots in Bangkok . More»

Obama, Jay-Z, Steve Jobs help win crown

(NEWSER) - When it comes to foreign policy, perhaps Americans aren’t the world’s favorite nationality. But the US has clearly cornered the market on coolness. Just ask the 30,000 people from 15 different countries polled by social networking site Badoo.com. When asked to choose the coolest country, America came first, Reuters reports. “We hear a lot in the media about anti-Americanism,” says a rep for the site. “But we sometimes forget how many people across the world consider Americans seriously cool.” More»

Guess what? A lot of them should be followed by the general public

(NEWSER) - The US Army has some rules for social media use—but even if you’re not a soldier, you might do well to adhere to some of those rules. From the Atlantic Wire :

• On Facebook: DO “spell check every post prior to posting; the Army’s reputation is at stake.”
• On Facebook: DON’T “use social media (teen) language in professional posts (ex: i wanna b ur bff 2day & 4evr)."

Would value FarmVille creator at $20B

(NEWSER) - Zynga, the gaming company behind such Facebook behemoths as FarmVille and CityVille, is poised for an IPO that could raise as much as $2 billion—which would turn it into a $20 billion company, reports Reuters . Analysts expect Zynga, with 215 million active monthly users, to file its paperwork today for the IPO, which would be an important bellwether for the value of social media companies. More»

France regulator says it amounts to free advertising

(NEWSER) - Weird rule of the week: It is now against the law in France for broadcasters on TV or radio to mention "Facebook" or "Twitter" on the air, notes the This I Know blog . To be precise, they can mention them if they're doing news stories, and Facebook or Twitter are relevant to them. But they can't say things like, "Find us on Facebook" or "Follow us on Twitter." The nation's broadcast regulator views it as free advertising that is unfair to other social networks trying to compete. More»