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Why startups shouldn't be afraid of Facebook cloning them

How long does it take a multibillion-dollar technology juggernaut to clone a popular social networking app? The answer: less than two weeks.

I am, of course, talking about Poke, Facebook's clone of Snapchat, the app whose messages self-destruct after 1 to 10 seconds. As many people like to point out, it's perfect for sexting, but there are a lot of other fun and innovative uses for this clever type of messaging.

For all intents and purposes, Poke is almost identical to Snapchat. Snapchat is focused on photos and videos, while Poke adds self-destructing messages and the classic Facebook … Read more

Chat, message, and manage contacts on all your social sites with Trillian for Mac

Trillian for Mac is an instant messaging app with quite a few extras added. Trillian for Mac is available from the App Store as well as many download sites. It installs easily. The main Trillian for Mac client is free, and there is a Pro version that removes ads and allows for cloud storage, although most people will opt for the free app.

The main purpose of Trillian for Mac is an IM platform that connects to all the popular messaging and social networking platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, GTalk, Yahoo, Windows Live, and many more. Of course, you have to … Read more

Policy and privacy: Five reasons why 2012 mattered

This was the year of Internet activism with a sharp political point to it: Protests drove a stake through the heart of a Hollywood-backed digital copyright bill, helped derail a United Nations summit, and contributed to the demise of a proposed data-sharing law.

In 2012, when Internet users and companies flexed their political muscles, they realized they were stronger than they had thought. It amounted to a show of force not seen since the political wrangling over implanting copy-protection technology in PCs a decade ago, or perhaps since those blue ribbons that appeared on Web sites in the mid-1990s in … Read more

The social 'gifting' boom: Wrapp now sending 1M cards a week

A handful of players -- one of them named Facebook -- have worked hard over the past year to create a new category of business known as social gifting. Facebook saw enough opportunity that last spring it snapped up a startup called Karma and built what became Facebook Gifts -- a way for any of Facebook's billion-plus users to send a gift a friend, whether it's a bottle of wine, an iTunes gift card or an item of clothing.

Square, meantime, added gift cards this month to Square Wallet to help its battle with PayPal. And a … Read more

Offbeat game recasts Xmas tune as 'Little Bummer Boy'

There's a bigger danger this holiday season than ending up on Santa's naughty list. A lump of coal in a Christmas stocking is one thing. What can happen to you if you hear "Little Drummer Boy" is something else altogether.

You know the tune: "Come they told me/Pa rum pum pum pum/A newborn King to see/Pa rum pum pum pum." It's a Christmas standard, and in cities and small towns everywhere, it emanates from department store sound systems, TV commercials, Web sites -- you name it. To the average modern-day sophisticate, "Little Drummer Boy (note: read the story before clicking the link)" is nothing more than a song to love or hate, to endure or enjoy. But to the many players of the LDB Game, the song's aesthetic merits are hardly the point. … Read more

Poke for mobile: Facebook's new sexting app

Cue the inappropriate poke jokes. Facebook just released a Poke for mobile app that lets people send messages, photos, and videos that expire seconds after they're sent.

The news confirms a report by AllThingsD earlier this month.

This standalone app, similar to the app Snapchat, is perfect for sending messages and images you don't want unintended recipients to stumble across. Facebook calls this sending things in a "lightweight way." The rest of the world calls it sexting.

"With the Poke app, you can poke or send a message, photo, or video to Facebook friends to … Read more

Friday Poll: Are you sticking with Instagram?

Instagram and its owner Facebook really stepped into it this week. A new terms of service update set to go into effect on January 16 would have given Instagram the right to sell users' photos or use them in ads.

As you might expect, the prospect of Instagram running rampant with photos didn't sit well with its 100 million users. The interest in escaping Instagram grew, with nearly 6,000 readers sharing over Facebook CNET's instructions for backing up and deleting their Instagram accounts.

It took a little while, but Instagram finally coughed out an apology and backtracked … Read more

Facebook's about-face over Instagram (week in review)

It didn't take Facebook long to backtrack over controversial policy changes it intended to make regarding its photo-sharing app Instagram.

A public backlash was ignited by Instagram stating that had it the perpetual right to sell users' photographs without payment or notification. Under the new policy, Facebook claimed the right to license all public Instagram photos to companies or any other organization, including for advertising purposes, which would effectively transform the Web site into the world's largest stock photo agency.

"Instagram is now the new iStockPhoto, except they won't have to pay you anything to use … Read more

Facebook quietly tests new Timeline design

Facebook has been quietly testing a new Timeline design, the company has confirmed.

The world's largest social network yesterday confirmed to ABC News that it's testing a new Timeline design "with a small percentage of people." The move, the spokesperson told ABC News, is to "make navigating Timeline even easier."

According to ABC News, which tested out the new Timeline, the design includes a tabbed look, allowing users to switch between friends, photos, and a person's About page. In addition, Facebook's current method of displaying Timeline updates by placing them in two … Read more

Kim Kardashian: Instagram's No. 1 enemy?

As you tense your loins, waiting for the end of the world, those in charge at Instagram are squeezing other muscles. For rumors have emerged that the site's most popular user, Kim Kardashian, is considering shutting down her account and taking all of her pretty pictures with her.

Oh, yes.

Kardashian is, reportedly, appalled, sickened, nauseated, shocked and stunned to the core (I might be exaggerating some of these emotions) at Instagram's audaciously offensive policy changes.

Should you have been detained at an office party for the last few days, Instagram suddenly decided it could sell all your … Read more