Status Update: Everyone Else's Life Is More Exciting

Racy pics, suicide threats get would-be cops dumped

(NEWSER) - Law enforcement agencies are probing potential recruits’ digital lives for information that might make them unfit for the job, USA Today reports. More than a third of police agencies look into applicants’ social media presence, says a new report conducted for police executives. Reviewing postings to sites like Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube, some agencies require applicants’ online passwords, or want to see their text-messaging and email records. More»

Facebook, MySpace pals won't deliver chicken soup when you're sick

(NEWSER) - How many online friends is too many? Facebook insists users can only have 5,000—and that's not enough for some, discovers Stephen Levy in Newsweek. "Who am I to say no to friendship?" asks one user who spends 12 hours a day on Facebook and has a waiting list of 500 would-be pals. Levy even discovers a mere potato on MySpace with 2,695 friends. More»

Site might be ready to give up its proprietary approach for new standard

(NEWSER) - The day after MySpace announced it was joining a Google-led alliance meant to let applications written for one social networking site be used on others, it looks like lone outsider Facebook could join up, too. That's according to Fortune Magazine, which reported that Facebook and Google representatives met yesterday and that a board member said Facebook is open to the OpenSocial standard. More»

Average users has 130 friends, spends 55 minutes a day

(NEWSER) - Facebook's runaway growth is well documented, but some details still wow, and some are quite odd. Website Monitoring takes a look at the salient facts.

• Popularity: The US has the most active users, but 70% of Facebookers are international. Sure, the UK comes in at No. 2, but No. 3 is...Indonesia? Turkey grabs the No. 4 spot, just ahead of France.

failin.gs is the latest truth-seeking social networking site

(NEWSER) - If you really want to know what people think of you, the Web can help. A flurry of new sites—basically intense versions of Truth or Dare—offer constructive criticism or, in the case of the latest, just plain truth. Sites like Formspring.me allow people to ask users anonymous questions, and a new site called failin.gs goes further, prompting users to dish on exactly what is wrong with you. More»