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In the Facebook Era, Colleges Are Dropping Yearbooks

Schools shut down tradition as online networks take over

(Newser) - The next generation of college graduates will have to rely on MySpace and Facebook to recall the good times and look up old friends, for the era of the yearbook is drawing to a close. With hardbound copies costing up to $75, the Economist cites Purdue University and nearby DePauw...

The (Middle) Name Is Hussein
The (Middle) Name Is Hussein
Jun 29, 2008 4:55 PM CDT

The (Middle) Name Is Hussein

More Obama fans adopt his name, angry that foes use it as a 'cuss word'

(Newser) - A growing group of Barack Obama fans are adopting his middle name, even as conservative pundits use it to label him a Muslim or terrorist, the New York Times reports. The trend of using "Hussein" has picked up speed since February and exists mostly online, in blogs and on...

Facebook to Ask Users to Specify Gender

But site remains sensitive to those who find gender limiting

(Newser) - Facebook announced a seemingly minor change today: Users will soon be prompted to specify a gender for their “mini-feed” updates. The site has been using the awkward “themself” to avoid gender specificity, but Facebook managers say that doesn’t work so well when the site is translated into...

When Is A Facebook Friend Just A Friend?

Social sites clash over letting users share info between services

(Newser) - There’s a movement among some social Web services, from MySpace and Yahoo to Plaxo, to let users share data, the MIT Technology Review reports. Take Google’s new Friend Connect, a service that lets users transport profiles and connections among sites. But Facebook, for one, is swimming against the...

Facebook Just 'Flavor of the Month': Murdoch

Rival that's overtaken his MySpace merely 'directory,' not network

(Newser) - Rupert Murdoch today insulted the rival of his popular MySpace, calling Facebook the “flavor of the month” and a mere “directory”—on the occasion of his social networking sinking to the No. 2 spot in worldwide traffic. The media mogul said Facebook was not a real social...

LinkedIn Scores $53M in Capital, $1B Value

All-business networking site plans European foray, acquisitions

(Newser) - LinkedIn—the buttoned-down, anti-Facebook social networking site for professionals—is about to up its profile with a $53 million infusion of private equity that will allow it to make acquisitions and expand its reach overseas, reports the New York Times. The new financing values the company at a hefty $1...

EBay Will Open Doors to Outside Programmers

Openness move won't take off until 2009

(Newser) - EBay has revealed a plan to let third-party software programs work within its Selling Manager, a tool used by 700,000 large merchants. Project Echo is the latest landmark in an openness movement that helped Facebook hit its stride, Reuters reports, as independent developers will soon have their software promoted...

Networks Social Indeed, But Ad Dollars Remain Elusive

MySpace's marketing-friendly makeover part of sites' evolving drive to cash in

(Newser) - A makeover planned to begin Wednesday for MySpace is the latest sign of the continued struggle to make social networking the cash cow many thought it would be when News Corp. bought the site three years ago, the New York Times reports. MySpace's user base has grown from 16 million...

'Lifestreaming' Challenges Traditional Social Networking

FriendFeed leads new aggregation services

(Newser) - A new kind of open social networking is gaining a foothold with online leaders. “Lifestreaming” services like FriendFeed—launched in February by ex-Google employees—let users bring online social activities from various sources together in one feed. Leader FriendFeed is logging 150,000 visitors a month, but the big...

Making Web More Social Has Google, Facebook Less So

Friend Connect threatens social-networking business model

(Newser) - Though Facebook cited privacy concerns in pulling the plug on a partnership with Google aimed at making the Web more social, dollar signs are more likely behind its withdrawal from Friend Connect, the Washington Post reports. "What Facebook is after really is control over their users," one analyst...

Facebook, MySpace Derail Alumni Magazines

New generations of grads find keeping in touch easier over web

(Newser) - Once upon a time, the college alumni magazine was an invaluable resource. Keeping up on old friends and enemies was as easy as flipping to the “class notes” section. But that once-mighty column now looks antiquated next to the constant updates offered on Facebook or MySpace, and it’s...

Facebook Readies User-Friendly Makeover

Site wants to offer easier access to other applications

(Newser) - Social-networking stalwart Facebook is redesigning its site to allow users easier access to an array of applications that might include search options, Forbes reports, and give advertisers more ways to reach the Facebook community. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, speaking at the All Things Digital conference, said the company hoped to work...

Online Social Networks Redefine 'Friends'
Online Social Networks Redefine
'Friends'
OPINION
May 23, 2008 11:00 AM CDT

Online Social Networks Redefine 'Friends'

Isn't 5,000 too many? Even spuds do well

(Newser) - Online social networks such as Facebook and MySpace have altered the meaning of friendship, writes Steven Levy in The Washington Post. Instead of genuine chums, people are collecting hundreds and even thousands of friends without any real-world contact. When it comes to rejecting friend requests, "it's socially awkward, and...

Online Friending Grows Stranger
Online Friending
Grows Stranger
ANALYSIS
May 18, 2008 6:00 AM CDT

Online Friending Grows Stranger

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...

Growing Pains Plenty Evident at Facebook

But Zuckerberg stays put, gets veteran help after hitting potholes

(Newser) - 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...

Google Making Whole Web Social Network

'This is the evolution of the walled garden to the social Web'

(Newser) - 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...

Zuckerberg Pal Quits as Facebook CTO

Expanding site borrowing $100M for more servers

(Newser) - 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...

Microsoft Not About to Buy Facebook (or Yahoo)
Microsoft Not About to Buy Facebook (or Yahoo)
analysis
May 9, 2008 4:24 PM CDT

Microsoft Not About to Buy Facebook (or Yahoo)

Everything else is just rumor

(Newser) - Rumors that Microsoft is about to buy Facebook are just rumors: Despite the press corps’ desire to keep the Microsoft acquisition jones alive, it's not going to happen anytime soon, writes David Kirkpatrick in Forbes. And talk of the Yahoo deal suddenly resurfacing? Forget about it. Still, Microsoft may be...

Facebook Sets Safeguards Against Sexual Predators

Site adds more than 40 new protective measures

(Newser) - 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...

MySpace Web's 'Biggest Steal'
MySpace Web's 'Biggest Steal'
OPINION
May 8, 2008 3:22 PM CDT

MySpace Web's 'Biggest Steal'

Despite missing revenue targets, Mashable scribe not afraid to 'wax poetic'

(Newser) - 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’...

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