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June 2009
- How MySpace Lost Its Crown
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jun 17, 09 7:50 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - MySpace was overtaken by Facebook for the first time last month and without some serious innovation, Rupert Murdoch's big buy may end up joining Friendster in the ranks of the also-rans, Dawn Chmielewski and David Sarno write in the Los Angeles Times . The world of social networking moves at an unforgiving pace, the two note, and MySpace has been playing catch-up instead of leading, as its own initiatives tanked. More »
- 550 Facebookers Per Second Vie for New URLs
  
  Bloomberg | Jun 13, 09 4:10 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Facebook’s offer of personalized URLs drew 500,000 members in 15 minutes after midnight today, Bloomberg reports. “We saw higher than usual traffic,” said a spokesman. “Planning allowed us to handle that traffic well.” The feature, designed to make Google searches easier, allows the site’s 200 million users to name the URL attached to their profiles—but analysts say it could backfire. More »
- Army Lifts Ban on Social Media
  
  Wired | Jun 11, 09 2:21 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The US Army has lifted a years-long ban on online social networks, commanding bases to let soldiers access sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr so they can “tell the Army story,” Wired reports. The change doesn’t apply to all overseas bases or other armed forces, and it leaves MySpace, YouTube, and Pandora blocked. But it marks a shift in the military’s thinking towards the web tools. More »
- Facebook Set to Offer Personalized URLs
  
  Mashable | Jun 9, 09 4:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Facebook will now offer users an alternative to the clumsy random URLs currently assigned for personal pages, Mashable reports. Starting Friday, users can apply for an actual named website to supplant a mix of numbers, such as facebook.com/john.q.public. The “vanity URL” system has been available on Twitter and MySpace, but this is Facebook’s first concession to the trend. More »
- Facebook Photo Busts Student Charged in DUI
  
  Chicago Tribune | Jun 5, 09 1:56 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A 20-year-old college student awaiting trial on reckless homicide and DUI charges learned the perils of too-candid Facebook photos yesterday, the Chicago Tribune reports. Erika Scoliere is now sporting an alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet after violating a court order not to drink while out on bail. “It appears the defendant is having a grand old time drinking tequila,” the judge said, rifling through the pictures. More »
- Real-Life Social Network Stays Same Size
  
  LiveScience | Jun 3, 09 12:57 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - It might not be so on Facebook, but the size of people’s actual social networks stays about the same throughout life, LiveScience reports. Most people replace half their friends every 7 years, a survey of 1,000 people finds. The study—which also notes that people often make new friends through familiar means—contradicts previous research that said social networks are shrinking. More »
- Facebook Wants Your Friendship and Your Money
  
  Financial Times (UK) | Jun 2, 09 3:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Facebook is breaking an age-old business rule: Never do business with friends. In a bid to achieve profitability, the social-networking site is testing an internal payments system that allows its 300 million users to purchase credits redeemable for virtual goods, from Facebook itself or third-party applications. “Over time, this will be very significant,” one analyst tells the Financial Times . More »
- Facebook Boobs Bungle Breast Rules Again
  
  Mashable | Jun 1, 09 4:42 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Facebook executives have again bungled rules banning breasts on the site, this time concerning cancer surgery. Facebook bans "sexual content" and bounced photos a cancer patient posted of her mastectomy scars to educate other women. After a torrent of complaints a Facebook spokeswoman admitted: "We made a mistake," and encouraged the woman to repost. Still an ongoing debate are breast-feeding photos. Facebook relented a tad on that ban and allowed "discrete" shots after complaints. More »
May 2009
- Iran Restores Facebook Access
  
  Associated Press | May 26, 09 2:36 PM CDT
  
  (AP) - Access to Facebook is back in Iran after being blocked late last week. Facebook was cut off Saturday, leading to accusations that authorities were trying to muzzle one of the main campaign tools of reformists opposing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 12 elections. The main pro-reform candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, is seeking a strong turnout from young voters and has used Facebook to try to mobilize support. More »
- $200M Russian Investment Values Facebook at $10B
  
  Associated Press | May 26, 09 11:49 AM CDT
  
  (AP) - Facebook is getting a $200 million investment from a Russian Internet investor that values the social networking company at $10 billion. The investment gives Digital Sky Technologies a nearly 2% stake in the Palo Alto, California-based company's preferred stock. More »
- Pope Benedict Wants to Meet You on Facebook
  
  Reuters | May 22, 09 1:05 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Pope Benedict probably isn’t at the computer himself, but the Vatican is making a major push to lure young believers online, Reuters reports. It’s launched www.pope2you.net, which offers Web 2.0 applications like “The pope meets you on Facebook,” and another that downloads the pope’s speeches for iPhones and iPods. “We recognize that a church that does not communicate ceases to be a church,” said one official. More »
- Social Sites Don't Delete Photos Promptly: Study
  
  BBC | May 21, 09 11:48 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Uploaded photos remain on social-networking sites long after users think they’ve deleted them, a study finds. Researchers put photos on 16 popular sites and then deleted them. A month later, the BBC reports, the photos were still accessible using their direct URLs on seven of those sites, including Facebook—which claims to delete them immediately. Photo-sharing sites like Flickr fared better. More »
- Zuckerberg: Facebook IPO 'a Few Years Out'
  
  Reuters | May 19, 09 8:06 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Mark Zuckerberg tells Reuters he does indeed intend to take Facebook public—just don't hold your breath waiting for it. The company is still "a few years out from that," said the 25-year-old co-founder. He said Facebook has plenty of capital, though he didn't deny that company execs have been talking with various investors about funding. More »
- Hackers Dupe Facebook Users
  
  Reuters | May 15, 09 8:49 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Hackers went Facebook-phishing yesterday, nabbing the passwords of an undisclosed number of users, Reuters reports. Facebook is working to restore the site and has blocked accounts hit in what it believes was a ploy to spread future spam. Hackers broke into accounts, sending users’ friends emails that contained links to fake sites resembling the Facebook homepage; these sites asked visitors to log in, thereby giving up their passwords. More »
- Give MySpace Hoaxer Probation: Lawyer
  
  Associated Press | May 4, 09 6:28 PM CDT
  
  (AP) - A Missouri mother involved in a MySpace hoax on a 13-year-old neighbor girl who committed suicide should be placed on probation for 1 year and fined $5,000 for her misdemeanor convictions, probation officials recommended. The recommendation was included in court documents filed yesterday by Lori Drew's attorney, Dean Steward, who portrayed Drew as out of work and harassed by angry neighbors. More »
- Army Uses Facebook, Twitter to Recruit
  
  Chicago Tribune | May 2, 09 11:19 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Uncle Sam wants you…to friend him on Facebook. Social networking sites have become a key part of the army’s recruitment process, the AP reports. Recruiters try to friend prospective soldiers on Facebook, while Gen. Ray Odierno updates his “fans” on the progress in Iraq. The sites have proven key in recruiting 18-to-24-year-olds, says one lieutenant general. “They live in a virtual world.” More »
- The White House Hits Twitter, Facebook, MySpace
  
  Washington Post | May 1, 09 8:35 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The White House is now tweeting, Facebooking, and showing off President Obama's hoops skills on MySpace, the Washington Post reports. Following a election run that relied on social networking sites, the Obama administration is attracting online friends and followers with regular updates. As of this writing, nearly 80,000 are following White House missives on Facebook about the Supreme Court and swine flu. More »
April 2009
- Colleges Snoop on Applicants' Online Lives
  
  Los Angeles Times | Apr 29, 09 6:30 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A quarter of colleges check applicants' social networking pages or run their names through search engines, according to a new report. The colleges didn't say whether their online findings could make or break an application, but the study's authors believe overly candid online postings have the potential to sink one's chances. "No school wants to give a prestigious scholarship to someone standing on a beer keg and wearing a lampshade," said its author. More »
- Facebook's Goal: 'Blowing Up the Browser'
  
  Time | Apr 28, 09 4:48 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Facebook has opened its user “feeds” to widget developers, paving the way to a new existence in the decentralized, cross-platform “AfterWeb,” Josh Quittner writes in Time . Though the move is seen by some as a counter to rival Twitter, which can already be accessed in myriad ways, Quittner sees a more radical rationale. Facebook is “blowing up the browser,” he writes. More »
- 'Sick' Worker Fired for Facebooking
  
  BBC | Apr 25, 09 1:48 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Hint to employees: If you say you're sick, don’t use Facebook. A Swiss woman was fired for doing just that, the BBC reports. She claimed her migraine prevented her from working on her computer and asked to lie in a darkened room—where she accessed Facebook through her iPhone. She asserted her innocence, and accused the company of creating a fake Facebook account to spy on her. More »