Generation Y is using online social-networking tools now and will likely continue to do so for the next 10 years, Pew Internet Research found in a recent study.

According to Pew, which surveyed technology experts on the future of social networking, 67 percent of respondents believe that those born in the 1980s and 1990s will be "ambient broadcasters" on social networks in 2020. They will continue to "disclose a great deal of personal information, in order to stay connected, and take advantage of social, economic, and political opportunities." Just 29 percent of respondents said that by … Read more

King Tawdry of Cleveland donned a shirt that looked like it came from Mervyn's, took out his earrings, and spoke down to his people. You knew he was serious because he was on ESPN and referred to himself in the third person.

He declared his commitment to leave the joys of his kingdom and "take his talents" to South Beach.

I like South Beach, a little more than I like LeBron James. So, in an attempt to see joy battle punishment, I decided to follow the Twitter feed specially created just for his vastly inflated moment of … Read more

It's the end of the line for those drinks, birthday cakes, and pieces of flair on Facebook.

The social network announced Thursday that its Gift Shop--the feature it launched in 2007 that allows users to send personalized items to friends on the network--will close on August 1 to allow the company to focus on improving other features. Gifts that users receive before that date will continue to appear on their pages, and users will still be able to use third-party applications to send and receive greeting cards and other items.

"Closing the Gift Shop may disappoint many of … Read more

There is no point bemoaning what the world is coming to, because it's patently obvious that the world has no idea.

So we look for signs that might indicate tendencies, patterns or merely sicknesses.

How, therefore, could one not be mesmerized by a study by Oxygen Media and Lightspeed Research that offers so many edible nuggets about how Facebook has altered people's lives?

This fine piece of investigation asks simple questions and gets simple, if happily disturbing, answers. It shows how we use media such as Facebook to express our inner beings. It also shows just how maddeningly … Read more

With one leap, he leaves followers in his wake. With one tweet, more than 122,000 followers come to his fingers. Until I finish this post, when it will be at least a few thousand more.

Yes, LeBron James, he who used to laugh at how other NBA players post their latest on Twitter, has now succumbed. He has created Twitter.com/KingJames, a feed which, before it had even been fed, had 45,000 followers.

At around 1:30 p.m. PDT Tuesday, the man who would be king finally tweeted. And the followers kept coming to his court.… Read more

As MySpace's search advertising deal with Google nears its expiration next month, parent News Corp. is reportedly trying to cut a new ad deal with Google, Microsoft, or Yahoo, according to a story in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Journal, which is also owned by News Corp., said that under MySpace's current deal, Google had agreed to kick in $900 million in guaranteed payments for the right to sell ads on MySpace and other, smaller News Corp. sites. But traffic at MySpace has been much lower than what Google … Read more

Google me this.

Can Google go face to face with Facebook? Can it somehow create a social network that will make real people, rather than engineers, leave at the click of a key? What might this nirvana network (and surely "nirvana" would be a far better name that the alleged "Google.Me") look like?

It seems that no one at Google is denying that it is working on something to protect its ad dollars. Um, I mean, something that will bring people together in perfect and private harmony.

And theories are already abounding as to what … Read more

Google has plugged a hole hackers used Sunday morning to festoon YouTube videos with off-color pop-ups and adult-site redirects, according to a news outlet.

Hackers took advantage of a cross-site scripting vulnerability that enabled them to insert code onto the popular video site's viewer-comments pages, IDG News Service said in a report. The hackers apparently had it in for Justin Bieber, focusing on clips related to the teen pop star, who's set to appear Sunday night on an NBC television celebration of the Fourth of July and who's reportedly one of the most popular attractions on YouTube. … Read more

I have met one or two spies over the years. I think of it as the law of averages. And beverages.

Live in enough places and get involved in enough businesses and bars and, well, someone must have a hidden agenda, right?

So the story of Anna Chapman, the alleged Russian Mata Hari with a wickedly inviting mien, has naturally been one of the more captivating elements of the week.

Chapman is accused, among other things, of taking her laptop to coffee shops and transmitting all sorts of secrets to fellow Russians who might not have had American fellowship as … Read more