Your Guide to the Internet's 'Next Big Thing'

Lamar Smith seems unfazed by powerful opponents to piracy bill

(NEWSER) - Rep. Lamar Smith, author of the fiercely controversial Stop Online Piracy Act, doesn't sound like he's bothered much by the heated opposition from e-powerhouses such as Facebook, Google, Reddit, and Twitter. "It is amazing to me that the opponents apparently don't want to protect American consumers and businesses," the Texas Republican tells Reuters . The SOPA bill, which would authorize the government to seek federal injunctions against foreign-based websites suspected of piracy, is still in committee hearings and could reach the House floor in a few weeks. More»

Social network valuations head to the sky

(NEWSER) - Facebook and Google are among the companies circling Twitter and considering a colossal buyout deal, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal . The talks haven't gone anywhere yet, but the price under discussion is somewhere between $8 billion and $10 billion—roughly 100 times the amount of revenue Twitter, which lost money last year as it invested in expansion, expects to earn this year. More»

Social media platform hopes to be more intimate than Twitter

(NEWSER) - Caught off guard by Google Buzz, the social media service that's invaded Gmail? Not to worry; GeekOSystem.com breaks down what Buzz is, and isn’t:

• It’s not Twitter: Google went out of its way to point out that Buzz integrates with, rather than replaces, Twitter.
• It’s not Facebook: You won’t have thousands of Buzz friends; Google’s hoping for a more intimate experience.

Internet companies rush new tools for Iranian protesters

(NEWSER) - Twitter has taken extraordinary measures to keep its site running during the Iranian election protests, and now other websites are speeding up developments. Today Facebook launched an early version of its site in Persian, relying on 400 volunteers to translate pages into the local language. "We felt it was important to help more people communicate rather than wait," said a spokesman. More»

Michael Wolff points out that, in the end, Facebook is just an ad-driven site

(NEWSER) - "Facebook is not only on course to go bust, but will take the rest of the ad-supported Web with it." That's the bold statement Michael Wolff makes in the MIT Technology Review today, and he insists he's not exaggerating. In the end, Facebook is just another website selling ads, he explains, and online ad rates are constantly falling. "I don't know anyone in the ad-Web business who isn't engaged in a relentless, demoralizing, no-exit operation to realign costs with falling per-user revenues." More»