Stories related to: social networking

MySpace has been awarded $234 million from spammers in what's believed to be the largest such judgment ever, AP reports. A federal court ordered two notorious spammers to pay damages for sending hundreds of thousands of messages to MySpace members. The social networking site hailed the award as a “landmark.” More »

Facebook is seeing a lot of challenges lately, with ads selling at rock-bottom prices, revenue not nearly rivaling MySpace, and third-party developers defecting to OpenSocial networks (MySpace, again). But unlike other companies’ young founders, Mark Zuckerberg isn’t about to step aside. And thanks to his tight control of Facebook's board, he’s not about to be pushed out, either, Fortune reports. More »

Today's youth are dangerously dumb, Mark Bauerlein writes in his new book, The Dumbest Generation. Here's why : Check out Jay Leno's "Jaywalking," where "the ignorance is hard to believe." They boast "a new attitude," taking pride in their illiteracy. More »

Google is unveiling a new service that could effectively turn the whole Web into a social network, the Washington Post reports. Friend Connect allows visitors to participating sites to meet and interact with others who visit the same site. "Wherever people go on the Web, they want to have their friends with them, and this makes it possible," says one Google worker. More »

In a surprise move, Facebook’s Chief Technology Officer is leaving the company, CNET reports. Adam D’Angelo, 23, felt the job no longer suited his skills and interests, sources told BoomTown. But there were also rumors of increasing tension between D’Angelo and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who have been friends since high school. Meanwhile, the company has borrowed $100 million to expand its server base. More »

Facebook has implemented more than 40 additional measures to protect users from pedophiles and online bullying, the AP reports. The site now limits results for older users searching for minors, and has banned sex offenders from registering. "Building a safe and trusted online experience has been part of Facebook from its outset," said the site’s chief privacy officer. More »

MySpace fell short of revenue targets in the most recent quarter, but, Adam Ostrow argues in Mashable, it’s still proven a phenomenal deal since Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. bought it for $580 million in 2005. Revenues from its unit are pulling close to its purchase price and it’s on track to make more with music downloads, sponsorships and targeted ads. More »

As its talks with Yahoo began to break down, Microsoft turned its attentions to Facebook as its possible Internet portal solution, reports the Wall Street Journal . Microsoft already has a $240-million stake in the $15-billion company, but it's uncertain if Facebook would consider a full acquisition. The Journal's source says there are no active discussions ongoing. More »

Questionable postings and photos on social-networking web pages are becoming an issue with younger US teachers, the Washington Post reports, raising questions about where to draw a line between private expression and standards for public employees. A case in point is a substitute special-education teacher whose page includes a so-called "bumper sticker" reading, "you're a retard, but i love you." More »

Unlike mom and dad, young Americans are likely to gab about salary with friends, the New York Times reports. To older generations, "it’s very hush-hush," one 22-year-old said. "You don’t talk about money, politics, or religion with friends. But in this generation, it’s important.” Many young professionals say it helps to navigate the workplace or simply plan a night out. More »

MySpace has signed with a British production firm for international distribution of video content it develops, in a sign that News Corp's social network aims to be a breeding ground for small-screen programming. Indeed, in revealing the deal with the Shine Group—whose CEO is News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch’s daughter—MySpace declared itself “Hollywood’s digital playground,” the New York Times reports. More »

Several new services join personal Internet feeds into a single space, meaning you don’t have to re-post the same new information to YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. The CEO of Seesmic, a video-conversation service, says it’s frustrating to pick through 10 different social networks—and his company has just bought Twhirl, which allows users to post on three different feeds at once, Technology Review reports. More »

A group of Silicon Valley startups is looking to bring the "social" back into social-networking and other popular websites, the New York Times reports. Vivaty is developing 3-D virtual chat rooms users can embed in web pages—including social-networking profiles—and will begin Facebook testing this week. And Meebo’s 2-D chat rooms, launched last year, have proliferated fast. More »

Want to see Peyton Manning’s Pop Warner games? Derek Jeter playing Little League? They’ll be on WePlay.com, alongside some game film from a lot of other not-yet-famous players. WePlay, which is launching today, is a youth sports social-networking site—a kind of little league Facebook. Athletes, coaches, and parents will all be able to network, coordinate schedules, and share game videos. More »

A customer-loyalty card, a new website and upgraded brewing machines highlighted changes in store at Starbucks, the Wall Street Journal reports, with CEO Howard Schultz using today's annual meeting to re-focus the firm on quality of customer experience. The card will offer rewards for regulars at the coffee giant, which aims for a social-networking flavor with its new internet presence. More »

The Internet's growing data richness could lead to major web traffic jams within a few years. Some research predicts that user demands—with the high-bandwidth needs of video clips, social networks, and online games—could top network capacity in short order. YouTube alone used more bandwidth in 2007 than the whole web did in 2000. More »

AOL will buy Bebo.com for $850 million in an attempt to enter the social networking market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bebo has 22 million unique visitors a month, well behind MySpace's 109 million, but the site’s strong European presence will give AOL access to key youth demographics outside the US. The move comes amidst reports of internal turmoil and a possible sale of the Time Warner subsidiary. More »

Facebook is changing the world. At least, that was a dominant theme during Mark Zuckerberg’s Sunday keynote at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival, during which interviewer Sarah Lacy of BusinessWeek drew heckles from an increasingly impatient audience. Zuckerberg talked about Colombian activists and Lebanese youth using Facebook to organize and broaden their minds. More »

What to do when their father starts talking about “getting poked" is a question many high school and college kids are asking themselves these days. It's a modern-day dilemma: Do teens allow their folks into their friends network on Facebook and grant them access to blogs, photos, and messages? Parents are increasingly seeking oversight and entrée into their children’s digital world, the Washington Post reports—and many kids aren’t all right with that. More »

Growing Web 2.0 companies like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Slide are biding their time before going public, making sure to run up their value as much as possible to fetch top dollar with an IPO, reports Business Week . It’s a far different approach than companies took before the dot-com bubble burst, when the fast track to an IPO was the goal. More »