Previewing What's Next in Social Networks

NYC teen charged in robbery couldn't have done it, status update proves

(NEWSER) - We’ve all read about bonehead criminals getting caught because of social networks, or people’s online lives coming back to haunt them in divorce proceedings—but can Facebook actually help you in court? The answer is yes, at least for one New York teen, who is free after he provided probably the first ever Facebook alibi. Rodney Bradford was picked up for a robbery in October. Unh-uh, he said. Look at my status update. More»

Experts compare it to physical closeness

(NEWSER) - The mini-missives that friends post on websites like Twitter create what experts call "ambient awareness"—a form of contact akin to picking up a friend's body language or stray remarks. Alone they add up to little, "but taken together, over time, the little snippets coalesce into a surprisingly sophisticated portrait of your friends’ and family members’ lives, like thousands of dots making a pointillist painting," Clive Thompson writes in the New York Times. More»

From NBC's site to Twitter lists, little need for actual TV

(NEWSER) - With watching the Olympics on actual TV being so, like, 2008, TechCrunch presents the best places to keep tabs online:

• NBC Olympics : Lots of scores and news—and if you’re a premium cable customer, 400 hours of live events.
• Vancouver 2010 : The host committee’s site has the usual stuff, plus maps and more local flavor.
• Facebook : The news, plus status updates and photos from athletes.

Distressing response rate for fake Facebook friend requests

(NEWSER) - If someone you don’t know, represented only by a photo of a rubber duck, tries to friend you on Facebook, you’ll probably...accept. That’s the conclusion of a study by a security firm that created two fake accounts—the fictitious woman behind the duck was named Daisy Feletin—and sent out 100 random friend requests, with about a 50% success rate. And take a look at that name again, gullible ones: Does it not look suspiciously like an anagram of “false identity?” More»

Innovative integration and photo features make beta worth a test

(NEWSER) - The beta version of Microsoft’s Bing search engine maps feature could well give Google Maps a run for its money, Jason Kincaid writes for TechCrunch . The new feature challenges Google on every front: Streetside, the answer to Street View, functions similarly but uses 3D modeling to provide a seamless user experience. And the map is fully integrated with Twitter and other apps—with more to come. More»