social media – News Stories About social media - Page 29

China, Thailand Applaud Twitter Censorship

Jan 31, 2012 1:24 AM CST

China, Thailand Applaud Twitter Censorship

Dissidents fear losing free-speech tool

(Newser) - Twitter's controversial decision to allow censorship of tweets on a country-by-country basis has won praise from two of the countries with the busiest censors. In Thailand—ranked 153rd in the world for press freedom because of its strict laws against offending the monarchy—the country's information minister called...

Google Just Killed
Its Search Engine

OPINION

Jan 13, 2012 11:03 AM CST

Google Just Killed Its Search Engine

Why Mat Honan is switching to Bing

(Newser) - Don't look now, but Bing just became the best search engine—purely because Google shot itself in the foot. Google this week launched its " Search, Plus Your World " overhaul, which deeply integrates Google+ into your results. "Long story short: It's a huge step backwards,"...

Facebook Coming
to ... Your Car?

Jan 10, 2012 12:29 PM CST

Facebook Coming to ... Your Car?

Mercedes installs new system, swears it's safe

(Newser) - Facebook has found its way inside what could be its most unlikely device yet: a car. Mercedes-Benz will soon be installing Facebook in its new cars, with a specially-designed, bare-bones version that, it hopes, minimizes the chance of someone crashing off the road while using it. The app, which was...

Kidney Requests Appear on Facebook, Social Media Sites

Need a
Kidney?
Ask on
Facebook

Jan 2, 2012 5:27 PM CST

Need a Kidney? Ask on Facebook

More kidney requests popping up on social media sites

(Newser) - People who once sought kidneys through word of mouth or church bulletins are finding a new forum: Facebook. The website has fulfilled at least three kidney requests as many more are popping up across social media sites, the AP reports. One plea came from Seattle father Damon Brown, who was...

Israeli Group to Twitter:
Ban Hezbollah or We'll Sue

Dec 30, 2011 1:00 AM CST

Israeli Group to Twitter: Ban Hezbollah or We'll Sue

Letting terror groups tweet is illegal, law center says

(Newser) - Terrorist organizations banned in the US should also be banned from Twitter, says an Israeli legal group threatening to sue the San Francisco-based company. Shurat HaDin—which says its mission is "bankrupting terrorism, one lawsuit at a time"—warns that allowing groups like Hezbollah and al-Shabab to use...

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Buys $300M Stake in Twitter

Saudi Prince Buys
$300M Stake
in Twitter

Dec 19, 2011 6:25 AM CST

Saudi Prince Buys $300M Stake in Twitter

Billionaire calls microblogging buy a strategic investment

(Newser) - The richest man in the Arab world has bought a big stake in the social media service that has helped protesters in the region organize. Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has paid $300 million for a stake of around 3% in Twitter, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Social...

Obamas: No Facebook
for Malia, Sasha

Dec 16, 2011 5:52 AM CST

Obamas: No Facebook for Malia, Sasha

Prez a big fan of Modern Family, Boardwalk Empire, Homeland

(Newser) - President Obama's elder daughter Malia is now 13, old enough to have a Facebook account, but the first couple has no intention of lifting their ban on their daughters using the site . And the girls don't mind, the president tells People , characterizing their view as, "Why would...

Theaters Add Tweeting Sections

Dec 3, 2011 9:41 AM CST

Theaters Add Tweeting Sections

Increasingly, patrons want to provide live updates

(Newser) - The bad news is, apparently some of us absolutely cannot sit through a play or opera or ballet performance without tweeting. The good news is, in some theaters, those tweeters will have their own section. As more theatergoers live-tweet performances, so-called "tweet seats" are becoming "a national trend,...

Condom Maker
Sends Friend
Requests From
Unborn 'Sons'

Nov 30, 2011 12:52 AM CST

Condom Maker Sends Friend Requests From Unborn 'Sons'

'Avoid surprises like this one,' Brazilian firm suggests

(Newser) - A Brazilian condom maker's attempt to scare young men into using its products could signal a new—and creepy—direction for advertising in social media. In Olla Condoms' "Unexpected Babies" campaign, selected Facebook users receive a friend request purporting to be from their unborn son, AdWeek reports. The...

Facebook IPO Could Top $10B

Nov 29, 2011 5:05 AM CST

Facebook IPO Could Top $10B

Firm to value itself at over $100B in deal next year, sources say

(Newser) - Facebook is readying its long-anticipated initial public offering for the second quarter of next year, and it's aiming for a deal that will value the company at more than $100 billion—more than $125 for each of its 800 million users, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal . The company...

Teen Tweeter
Won't Apologize
to Dissed Kan.
Governor

Nov 28, 2011 1:36 AM CST

Teen Tweeter Won't Apologize to Dissed Kan. Governor

'I raised my kids to be free thinkers,' says mom of Emma Sullivan

(Newser) - A Kansas teen who blasted her conservative governor in a tweet is refusing to apologize—even though she has been ordered to do so by her school. "Just made mean comments at Gov. Brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot," Emma Sullivan, 18, tweeted to pals...

6 Degrees
of Separation
Down to 4.74

6 Degrees of Separation Down to 4.74

Most Facebook users fewer than 5 friends apart

(Newser) - The oft-cited "six degrees of separation" between individuals has—at least for the 721 million users of Facebook—narrowed to 4.74, researchers say. That's the average number of acquaintances that separate any two random Facebook acquaintances, according to a study that used algorithms to analyze the links...

Qantas Has
'Epic PR Fail'
With Twitter
Campaign

Qantas Has 'Epic PR Fail' With Twitter Campaign

It's not a great time to ask customers to tweet 'luxury' suggestions

(Newser) - It’s been a rough stretch for Qantas. First, the Australian airline abruptly stranded customers around the world amid a contract fight with its unions; then those talks collapsed entirely; this week, the firm ticked off customers again with a contest on Twitter . It asked people to tweet their “...

Mexican Cartel Kills 4th Blogger

Nov 11, 2011 1:01 AM CST

Mexican Cartel Kills 4th Blogger

Nuevo Laredo website moderator was tortured, decapitated

(Newser) - In Nuevo Laredo, what you say on the Internet can cost you your life. A man who helped moderate a website that posted news of shootouts and other Zetas cartel activities—something local newspapers have largely stopped doing—was found dead at an intersection in the Mexican border city, the...

Divorcing Couple Told to Swap Facebook Passwords

Nov 10, 2011 12:45 AM CST

Divorcing Couple Told to Swap Facebook Passwords

Judge orders pair to surrender access to social sites

(Newser) - A judge has ordered a feuding Connecticut couple to turn their passwords for Facebook and dating sites over to each other's divorce lawyers. The unusual order was issued after the husband claimed that his soon-to-be ex-wife's Facebook account contained evidence that would help him win full custody of...

Gen Y on Jobs: Facebook Access Trumps Fat Salary

survey says

Nov 9, 2011 1:22 PM CST

Gen Y on Jobs: Facebook Access Trumps Fat Salary

40% of students would take less pay in exchange for social media freedoms

(Newser) - If you employ a lot of 20-somethings, don’t block their access to Facebook—they might revolt. Today’s young people value access to the Internet and social media extremely highly, according to a new Cisco report, which surveyed 1,400 students and 1,400 young professionals aged 21-29. Among...

CIA 'Vengeful Librarians' Watch Twitter, Facebook

Nov 4, 2011 2:30 PM CDT

CIA 'Vengeful Librarians' Watch Twitter, Facebook

They aim to gather 'open source' intelligence

(Newser) - Somewhere in Virginia, hundreds of CIA analysts are hunched over computers right now, reading Twitter and Facebook posts. This team—affectionately dubbed the “vengeful librarians”—monitors some 5 million social media posts a day, looking for signs of unrest and a general read on the zeitgeist overseas, the...

GOP Erasing Dems'
Twitter Advantage

Oct 25, 2011 3:31 AM CDT

GOP Erasing Dems' Twitter Advantage

Republican candidates have embraced social media

(Newser) - President Obama's campaign had the edge over the GOP on Twitter and other social media tools in 2008 but Republicans have now embraced Twitter warmly, the New York Times finds. House Republicans in particular are moving ahead of their Democratic rivals on Twitter, beating their counterparts by more than...

Google Engineer Rips Google+

Oct 13, 2011 4:41 AM CDT

Google Engineer Rips Google+

Service 'a knee-jerk reaction' to Facebook's success, Steve Yegge complains

(Newser) - While using Google+, senior Google engineer Steve Yegge accidentally shared a post heavily criticizing the company's social networking service with the general public instead of just his co-workers, the Huffington Post reports. He described Google+ as an example of the company's "complete failure to understand platforms,"...

Blogs Blame Military
for Egypt Violence

Oct 10, 2011 3:22 PM CDT

Blogs Blame Military for Egypt Violence

White House condemns violence; Coptics profess innocence

(Newser) - Eyewitness accounts of last night’s violence in Cairo are pouring in through social media, and they paint an ugly picture of Egypt’s security forces, the New York Times observes. “Army vehicles deliberately crushed protesters using APCs, shot at them at random as they drove at them. This...