social networking

Indian government warns Twitter over not censoring tweets

India's government is instigating a full-fledged crackdown on social networks and various Web sites. After working with Facebook and Google to censor content, it's now clamping down on Twitter.

If Twitter doesn't go along with the government's demands of censorship, it may face legal action, according to The Times of India.

Here's what the Times of India wrote in an article today:

...a senior government official has said that Twitter has already been told that legal action may be taken against it as it had failed to cooperate with the Indian government in its efforts … Read more

Leaked media kit points to 2004 ad sales pitch for 'TheFacebook'

Facebook seems to have understood from the very beginning that in order to make some cash, it would need help from advertisers.

Digiday today published an early Facebook media kit purportedly developed in the spring of 2004. The kit was designed to inform marketers on why they should place their ads on TheFacebook, the original name of what has become the world's largest social network.

The slides published by Digiday show off Facebook's earliest features -- which at the time, were only accessible by college students -- including personal information like relationship status and political views, as well … Read more

App.net: A social network made possible by Facebook and Twitter

SAN FRANCISCO -- Starting a new social network is a terrible idea, right? Facebook's stock debut has been the worst in history, and even Twitter's growth is slowing.

The problem with this theory is that it entirely fails to explain the early success that Dalton Caldwell, a San Francisco entrepreneur, has enjoyed in launching a would-be rival social network called App.net.

"I'm really burnt out on the rampant cynicism," Caldwell told a standing-room-only crowd of over 200 developers at AirBnB's headquarters here this week. Instead of complaining about other services' flaws, he said, … Read more

Google+ apps for Android, iOS updated with Hangouts tweaks

Google+ on iOS and Android has been updated.

The search giant yesterday offered up an update to Android-based devices, adding, most notably, support for joining Hangouts on Air from handsets. Unveiled last September, Hangouts on Air allows users to stream video chats with people around the world. It's differentiated from Google+'s standard Hangouts feature, which lets users hold video chats with a close group of friends.

In addition to that update, Google+ for mobile now allows teens using both iOS and Android to create and join their own Hangouts from their handsets. Hangouts were initially only offered to … Read more

Textbook seller Chegg sets sights on the 'student graph'

Amazon textbook rentals don't scare Chegg CEO Dan Rosensweig -- the well funded startup has grand plans of its own that it believes will propel it into a whole new league.

Chegg, which started as a textbook purchase and resale service for students, has set its sights on expanding what Rosensweig calls a "student graph," a social network for students that aids them in college planning and studies, from high school to college graduation and beyond.

The student graph aims to connect students in the Chegg network, similar to Facebook and other social networks. Rosensweig expects that … Read more

Google+ users can now view photo albums as slide shows

Google has added two new features to Google+ in response to user requests.

The first feature lets you view another person's photo albums as a slideshow. To check this out, surf to this album set up by a manager at Google+ Photos. Click on the Slideshow button in the upper right corner. Then just sit back and enjoy the show.

Hovering your mouse over any photo displays forward and backward buttons so you can quickly move to the next or previous photo. You can also pause the show or click the X button to stop it and return to … Read more

App.net hits $500K funding goal nearly two days early

App.net's goal of creating an alternative social network took a big step forward with the announcement that it had achieved the goal of raising $500,000 in a crowd-funding campaign.

The project, which seeks to build an open API framework for developers, achieved its pledge goal with almost two days to spare before its deadline, thanks mostly to a last-minute push for new sponsors.

More than 7,800 sponsors have pledged funds for varying membership privileges. A $50 basic membership gives donors an annual membership, while a $1,000 donation gives members access to the developer tools and … Read more

Social still can't beat search in online shopping

Social media's traffic contribution to online shopping sites increased 77 percent in one year, but few users actually buy anything, according to a new report published today by marketing firm Monetate.

The firm's study shows that search engine and e-mail referrals are more than holding their own against social media sites when it comes to generating sales in the second quarter of 2012.

Social media sites only contributed to 2.85 percent of online shopping traffic in the second quarter, but the figure did grow a substantial 77 percent from the beginning of 2011 to the beginning of … Read more

Facebook's design manager leaves for the Designer Fund

Facebook heavyweight Ben Blumenfeld is stepping down from the social network, according to a blog post he wrote today. Blumenfeld was the company's design manager and had been at Facebook since 2007. He is leaving to co-direct the Designer Fund.

This news comes as three high-level managers and directors left the company last week, including the director of platform partnerships Ethan Beard, platform marketing director Katie Mitic, and mobile platform marketing manager Jonathan Matus.

Blumenfeld was tasked with making Facebook's platform more accessible. "We were building great products, but not doing a great job of guiding people … Read more

Pinterest lets users sign up without an invite

One of the Internet's most popular social networks pushed its doors wide open today -- Pinterest has started open registration.

This means users can sign up for an account without having to wait for an invite, the company said in a blog post. Before today, people had to request an invite from Pinterest or be invited by a friend who already had a Pinterest account. Invites allowed the site to control the volume of new users so that its servers were not overwhelmed, according to Pinterest.

Now, the site can handle any new traffic that comes its way.

"… Read more