Sadness is the new Twitter trend, university study shows
Over time, users of Twitter have become less happy and more sad in their communicae, according to a study by University of Vermont researchers, who got published in science journal PLoS.
Data was collected via tracking a vast amount of keywords with differing types of sentiment (some happy, some neutral, others not so happy). These words ranged from your everyday sentence connectives to more emotive cases like "pancakes" or "suicide." With this, researchers could calculate the gross domestic happiness amongst Twitter users.
Study lists the reasons why you're friended or unfriended on Facebook
So why did that random person add you as a friend on Facebook? Or worse yet, what possible reason could that guy who's been your friend for months just remove you from his friend list without the blink of an eye? It's a time nobody cares about tough time for anyone to be de-friended, which William Shatner has helped the world through. But the question still stands: why? Thats what NM Incite has answered in newly conducted research.
Will Facebook sue Mark Zuckerberg?
After legally changing his name on December 7, Mark Zuckerberg a.k.a Israeli entrepreneur Rotem Guez has received threats of legal action from Facebook, successfully trolling on possibly the grandest scale.
This Zuckerception came into public attention as Zuckerberg the second launched his website MarkZuckerbergOfficial.com, which starts to tell the story into just how they got to this stage.
Badoo, like Facebook but for sex, has 130 million users
Sign up for an account and make sure you get tested regularly, as Badoo crosses 130 million worldwide users (1 million in the UK) to become the fourth largest social network on the planet.
This isn't a network of rekindling friendships with people from your past and interacting with those who share similar interests. Instead, we have a network based entirely on generating all new friendships with people. As the enticing line of promotional copy says: "Boost your social life. Chat, flirt, meet up and have fun!"
Facebook Britons drunk in 76% of their photo library
A study recently showed that adult British users of Facebook said they were drunk in 76% of their Facebook photo collections on their profile.
1,781 Facebook users were polled, and out of them came some rather interesting, yet really unsurprising facts in most cases.
Editorial: Google+ is not a social media game changer
So New York Times bestselling author Chris Brogan has made some pretty bold claims as to the state of Google+ via an interview with Mashable.
Google+ has an obvious advantage in search results, presents unique opportunities for brands and is backed by deep pockets, he argues. And all of these factors make it a social media platform that will stick around in a big way.
In respects, his argument for the social network succeeding make sense. Comparing it to Facebook at such an early stage in development is the equivalent of comparing the aforementioned to Myspace back in 2006: it's still rather early days, and has a lot of changes to undergo. But in it's current state, Brogan pointed out the crucial flaw with Google+ through via one of his points deemed as a positive.
Facebook fights suicide over live chat. Samaritans see this as the next stage
Facebook has partnered up with the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to introduce a way to give users the option to speak to a crisis counselor over the service's live chat implementation.
The program opened today, with counselors online 24 hours a day ready to talk to anyone who is expressing suicidal thoughts.
Comic Sans Project fights for typographical justice
So, haters of Comic Sans. Those who express anger at the 90s Microsoft typography. Those who are deeply aggrivated by the presence of an aesthetically failed version of comic book text. You have tried to extinguish the metaphorical flame os the sans serif font of the comical variety with your site of protest; but a movement is upon us that could change all of that.
Twitter gets a convicted man off Death Row
"Choices to be made. Hearts to be broken... We each define the great line." This is the Underoath-influenced tweet that a juror made during a case, which may result in a convicted murderer escaping death row, since the communication caused the Supreme Court to overturn the decision.
Facebook Memology presents the most popular topics and cultural trends of 2011
Let's be honest, this is only scratching the surface as to how many data trends the social network are collecting about its users; but the Facebook Data Team have returned to present this year's Memology, tapping into the social graph by tracking 2011's most talked about topics, memes and the widely used acronyms on the service.
All about the new Twitter.com
So if you've been on Twitter over the past 12 hours, you'll have noticed that things look a little different to say the least. The social microblogging service received a major upgrade, packing new functions and an all new design, forming the most significant update of Twitter yet. Here's what has changed both on the face of it and under the hood.
7 billion gifts from MANta Claus a.k.a The Old Spice Guy
Actor Isaiah Mustafa gained insurmountable fame for his series of Old Spice viral commercials as of previous. Now, the respectable male grooming company's social media geniuses are back with the MANta Claus campaign: "1 man, 7 billion gifts."
Blogger charged $2.5 million for not being a journalist
We get used to threats of court action from companies too bitter to take an opinion; but this case has certainly sent a scary message out to us and the rest of the blogosphere. A U.S. District Court Judge has ordered a blogger to pay the sum of $2.5 million to an investment firm she was writing about, because in the eyes of the law she isn't a real journalist.
Brief Facebook exploit saw Zuckerberg private photos posted online
If there's one photo out of a whole load you wouldn't want to appear in the public gaze, as the CEO of Facebook, it's probably you triumphantly brandishing a chicken. This was, unfortunately, the case for Mark as a short-lived Facebook bug meant users could see recently uploaded photos regardless of your settings surrounding privacy.
Facebook Timeline releases today
No more posing as a developer to get access to what's been two months in holding. The Facebook Timeline is beginning it's rollout today.
This new visual upgrade seems remeniscent of infographical design, as all your interactions with the service from wall posts to music listens, likes and everything else are combined into one page stream, making older content easier to get to (beyond the 'see more stories' grey bar).
EU clamping down on business privacy breaches with steep fines
The European Commission, in the face of their previous sanctions against Facebook are finalising new privacy protection rules, stating that companies could be fined up to 5% of their global sales for violation.
Condom ad disguised as Facebook friend request from your future child
So one random friend request later, I can warn you about an Olla Condom promo campaign that sends users friend requests from their yet-to-be-born sons. Not only is it just downright creepy; but it's also a violation of Facebook policy.
Take a look at the promo video below, which does a much better job explaining the "Unexpected Babies" campaign launched by Brazillian Agency Age Isobar.
Facebook introduces sentiment analysis for testing
Anybody with a Facebook brand page has probably seen the new Page Insights pop up in their left column. Well they seem to be getting a further upgrade into the sort of hit-or-miss world of sentiment analysis.
Facebook status character limit increases to over 60,000
Waving two fingers at the 140 character limit of Twitter, Facebook users can use such an amount to ramble before getting to the point, as the limit has been upped to "more than 60,000."
It was announced via a picture (above) that Facebook's Journalist manager Vadim Lavrusik uploaded to his wall, making the claim:
In September, we increased the character limit on status updates to 5,000 characters. Today, we're announcing that you can now write posts with more than 60,000 characters.
63,206 to be specific.
Intel Agency GCHQ Says Crack The Code, Become A Spy
British intelligence agency GCHQ (UK Government Communications Headquarters) today launched a viral campaign on Facebook and Twitter to uncover a new generation of spies. The campaign links to a website merely entitled ‘Can You Crack It?.'