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01 Jun 2011 11:27

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Tech: Google’s Eric Schmidt: We missed the boat on Facebook; it’s my fault

  • Three years ago I wrote memos talking about this general problem. I knew that I had to do something and I failed to do it. … A CEO should take responsibility. I screwed up.
  • Google Chairman (and former CEO) Eric Schmidt • Speaking at the D9 conference, put on by All Things Digital, on the topic of Facebook. Specifically, Google’s failure to do anything to stop Facebook while he was CEO, or at least work together with them. It’s just one sign of many that Google is struggling to keep up with the fast-moving rise of social networking. Another example of this: Google Buzz — which just isn’t very good. Anyway, Schmidt also noted that there is a “Gang of Four” that’s currently defining the tech industry. Which companies are on the list? Google (of course), Apple, Facebook and Amazon. See what he did there? He just slighted Microsoft. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 May 2011 17:08

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Tech: Facebook for kids? Mark Zuckerberg wants to start ’em young

  • Because of the restrictions we haven’t even begun this learning process. If they’re lifted then we’d start to learn what works. We’d take a lot of precautions to make sure that they [younger kids] are safe.
  • Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg • Explaining his frustrations with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which only allows children age 13 and older to use his service. He wants to make social media happen for children, too — for educational reasons. At this week’s NewSchools Summit in California, Zuckerberg claimed that Facebook had huge educational potential for young children. “Education is clearly the biggest thing that will drive how the economy improves over the long term,” he said. “We spend a lot of time talking about this.” Given the wariness that many already have towards Facebook as a social tool for kids, we don’t know how far Zuck’s pipe dream will go. But he is serious about education — last year, he gave $100 million to the troubled Newark school district. Let’s just say that he’ll have a lot of work ahead of him. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 May 2011 10:29

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Biz: LinkedIn’s massive IPO: One of the largest tech IPOs since Google’s

  • $45 LinkedIn’s price per share when it launched its IPO this morning
  • $83 the company’s price per share now — that’s right, it nearly doubled in price
  • $352M the amount the company has earned from its IPO today source
  • » A really impressive start for social media: LinkedIn, the first social media company on the stock market, sets the stage for what could be an impressive transition from startup to stock for many social sites. Facebook’s far larger than LinkedIn, meaning that this may be the floor level for what the ubiquitous social site could expect when Mark Zuckerberg finally decides to go IPO.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 May 2011 19:05

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Tech: NYT’s Nick Bilton, Bill Keller get into it over Twitter

  • Could Twitter make me stupid? Absolutely. If I only followed funny cats that speak with poor grammar, I’d be on my way to a vapid state of mind in no time. But I don’t. I follow dozens of news outlets and writers; I follow chefs, neuroscientists and the president of the United States; and of course, I follow Mr. Keller.
  • NYT blogger Nick Bilton • Publicly taking his boss, Bill Keller, to task about his Twitter-bashing column earlier today, where he suggested allowing his daughter to use Facebook was like giving her crystal meth. Keller got a chance to respond in an update at the end of Bilton’s piece, where he tried to clarify what he was going for (as well as jokingly threatening to fire his talented blogger). “If Facebook is displacing real friendship, if Twitter is diminishing actual conversation,” he says, “then maybe that’s a good reason to limit how much of your life they consume.” You know, here’s the funny thing about Facebook and Twitter: For the people in your social circle, you can turn the service off and contact many of the people you’re talking to on Facebook and Twitter in the flesh. And the people you can’t, you can reach via the service. These services don’t take away from our knowledge. They expand our reach, as long as they’re not used to excess (a point both Bilton and Keller agree on). Bill just doesn’t explain this point very well at all. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 May 2011 13:53

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World: The Third Intifada: Social media rocks the Middle East again

  • The violent protests happening in Israel today got at least a small spark from Facebook. Large numbers of Palestinians are protesting today (with harsh reaction from Israeli soldiers) after a movement called the Third Intifada sprung up on the social media site. The previous two Intifada movements, which Palestinians used to protest against Israel, were also quite violent. The Facebook page for the current movement had about 300,000 supporters before it the social networking site took it offline due to messages inciting violence against Israel. The movement has since moved to its own website. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 May 2011 10:27

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Biz, Tech: LinkedIn IPO could prove social media’s heft on the stock market

  • 7.84M number of shares of stock LinkedIn plans to sell during its IPO
  • $35 the high-end price the company’s shares could go for on the market
  • $3Bthe potential value of the company’s IPO — which is kind of a lot source
  • » Getting in early: LinkedIn is one of the first examples of a social media company taking its chances on the stock market, which suggests that Facebook — which is far more widely-used than LinkedIn is — could totally do well in the case of an IPO. The company, which announced its IPO intentions in January,  has filed to go on the New York Stock Exchange under “LKND.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Apr 2011 14:44

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Politics: John McCain more into the internet than in 2008

  • awakening Senator John McCain, amidst the 2008 Presidential contest, was a self-avowed technological illiterate — now he champions Twitter, crediting it for Middle Eastern uprisings and swapping anti-tax tweets with Snooki.
  • thanking Inspired by a woman in Egypt, McCain phoned Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg to thank him for his role in Egypt’s uprising. This is cool, but in Egypt’s case it seems rather overplayed; after all, they had no internet for much of that time. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

12 Mar 2011 08:50

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World: Japan quake: Why Twitter rumors are particularly unhelpful right now

  • And this is what we hate about social media. In the fact of grave international tragedy, real media sources have to spend time writing stories to debunk (or in this case, point out) completely unhelpful claims propagated by misguided Miley Cyrus fans. It’s to Twitter’s discredit that it’s the top item that pops up when you hop into Twitter’s search for “#tsunami.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Mar 2011 01:13

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Tech: Facebook: Yeah, we’re planning to give out your personal info

  • YES Facebook will share your address with 3rd parties source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Feb 2011 01:23

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Tech: Teens don’t blog much anymore, but their parents still do

  • 14% of teens 12-17 blog; that number is down by half
  • +6% the gain in blogging among people 34-45, to around 16%
  • -2% the decline in Blogger’s U.S. usage; it’s still growing globally, though
  • no a lot of kids say they don’t consider Tumblr “blogging” source
  • » Old people blog, young people tweet: It’s becoming clear that, while blogging is definitely here to stay, it’s not exactly the hip new thing for kids to do anymore. Why’s that? Well … basically, all their friends are already on other social networks, meaning that their friends don’t have to come to them. Facebook is the new blog site du jour. But even considering that, sites like WordPress say they aren’t facing much decline because, well, serious bloggers blog on WordPress and they use social networking to promote their content.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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