social networking

Twitter iPhone app appears slated for major upgrade

A new and improved edition of Twitter's iOS app may be around the corner, pleasing users who are less than thrilled with the current version.

Release notes and screenshots posted by 9to5Mac about the iOS 6 App Store seem to reveal a slew of changes destined for Twitter for iPhone version 4.3.

Among the features touted in the description are push notifications for tweets that you follow, an alert when new stories are available, better support for password entries, avatars that take you directly to someone's profile, and improvements to auto-complete.

Also promised are more interactive experiences … Read more

Facebook foibles failed to fend off fund managers

Facebook's stock plummet in May wasn't enough to push away fund managers, according to a new report.

The Wall Street Journal said yesterday that it commissioned Morningstar to compile information on purchases made by U.S.-based mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in May. Among the findings was the revelation that "at least" 160 of those funds bought Facebook shares in May.

According to the Journal, some of the funds that acquired Facebook shares during the month were so enamored of the social network that they disregarded their focus and went after a risky bet. In … Read more

Twitter to unveil major 'search and discovery' update today

Twitter could be planning a major update to its search and discovery feature later today, according to one of its employees.

Twitter's Pankaj Gupta, who runs the company's Personalization and Recommender Systems, sent out a tweet yesterday congratulating his team on an improvement to its search and discovery tools that, he says, will dramatically change the service.

"Search and discovery in Twitter [is] set to change forever after tomorrow," Gupta tweeted. "Team -- congrats and enjoy the enormity of your impact few understand today."

Twitter has quickly realized that improving the user's ability … Read more

Google+ is sleeker, optimized for tablets

Gone is the dashboard of icons that once greeted you upon opening Google+ for Android. Now, you can zip around the app with a sliding navigation ribbon on the left of the screen. This gives you easier access to your Stream, Profile, Messenger, Hangout, Photos, and Circles. As a whole, the app is easy to use and just as intuitive as its desktop counterpart.

Home What used to be called Stream is now simply your Google+ Home screen. This is the lifeblood of Google+. With the little drop-down at the top, you can choose to show feeds from All Circles, … Read more

Facebook could one day let you 'want' what you 'like'

Facebook has let slip a purported plug-in that would allow users on Web sites across the Internet to "want" specific items.

Developer Tom Waddington of Cut Out + Keep, a site allowing users to make and share craft tutorials, revealed on his personal blog earlier this week that he came across a "Want" button in the social network's JavaScript SDK. The button is not currently listed on Facebook's list of available site plug-ins, seeming to indicate that the company didn't want the news to slip just yet.

Waddington says that he tried to execute … Read more

Is Pinterest more popular than Tumblr in the U.S.?

It's well known that Pinterest is growing in leaps and bounds. But is that success starting to outpace even popular microblogging site Tumblr in the U.S.?

Royal Pingdom today revealed the results of data it compiled comparing traffic for both Pinterest and Tumblr. The blog first turned to Alexa, and found Pinterest to be just inching out Tumblr in traffic. On Google Trends, Pinterest scored more daily unique visitors than Tumblr. However, analytics services Compete and Quantcast gave the nod to Tumblr.

Not satisfied with the results, Royal Pingdom moved on to research firms, and found that Experian … Read more

Microsoft acquires corporate social network Yammer for $1.2B

[UPDATED at 1:14 p.m. PT]

The rumors were right. Microsoft announced on June 25 it has bought enterprise social networking vendor Yammer for $1.2 billion.

Yammer will join the Microsoft Office Division, led by division President Kurt DelBene, and the team will continue to report to current Yammer CEO David Sacks, according to a Microsoft statement.

I doubt seriously whether Microsoft will be integrating any of Yammer's technology into Office 2013, as the client, server and services that are part of this wave are already quite far along in development. A public beta of Office 2013 … Read more

Flipboard is more than just a news reader

If you're not familiar with Flipboard, it's a magazine-style news reader that has been wildly popular on iOS for quite some time. What gives it extra cool points is its ability to handle social media. See, Flipboard can integrate your social accounts into its feed, and present tweets or other status updates just as it would news stories or blog posts (complete with images and video thumbnails). Couple this with Flipboard's gorgeous tiled interface, and it's easy to see why the app is such a fan favorite.

With its clean design, vibrant display of photographic tiles, … Read more

Louisiana law says sex offenders must state status on Facebook

Louisiana lawmakers are known for being tough on sex offenders. Today, a new bill was passed that requires all registered sex offenders to note their criminal status on all of their social network accounts -- like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn -- similar to how state registration requirements work, according to CNN.

"It provides the same notice to persons in whose home you are injecting yourself via the Internet," Louisiana State Rep. Jeff Thompson said, according to CNN. "I challenge you today to walk down the street to see how many people and children are checking Pinterest, Instagram, … Read more