Social Networks

Facebook reportedly is testing a VIP-only mobile app that would encourage celebrities to choose it over other social networks for posting photos and updates, as well as interacting with fans. The mobile app would make it easier for celebrities or their staffs to post content and status updates, as w...

A recent tweet from Al-Qaeda asking for ideas on the "development of jihadist media" set off a deluge of responses mocking the extremist group. Terrorism expert J.M. Berger, who has more than 13,000 followers, tweeted about Al-Qaeda's call for ideas along with the Islamic hashtag the group wanted to...

Facebook on Monday announced that it will acquire Mobile Technologies, a company that specializes in speech recognition and voice technology. "It has always been our mission to make the world more open and connected," said Tom Stocky, Facebook's director of product management. "Voice technology has ...

Nielsen this week released a study that indicates there is a causal relationship between Twitter conversations and TV ratings. The findings suggest the volume of tweets could actually increase the number of TV viewers for certain shows. Nielsen's conclusion -- along with research projects including ...

Targeting families and other multiviewer households, Netflix on Thursday introduced a new capability that makes it possible for each account to maintain individual profiles on the service complete with separate queues and personalized suggestions. Starting in the next few days, Netflix subscribers w...

If you read my columns regularly, you'll know that I'm a second-screen proponent. For those unfamiliar with the dual-screen concept, it suggests that tablet or phone often accompanies big-screen television watching, resting on the viewer's knee and acting as a two-way, interactive, Internet-connecte...

Hard on the heels of its recent venture into mobile gaming, Facebook on Wednesday debuted its latest social networking innovation: embedded posts, a feature that allows users to add public posts from Facebook to their blog or website. Embedded posts can be most any type of content seen on Facebook, ...

Windows Phone 8 users with a penchant for posting photos on Instagram have been out of luck in more ways than one recently. Not only is there no native Instagram Windows Phone app, forcing users to resort to third-party apps instead, but this week, users of those outside apps began seeing their Inst...

Australia has recommended changes to copyright law that would allow Aussie citizens cheaper access to IT hardware, software and digital downloads after a parliamentary inquiry found no good reason for prices to be so high Down Under. The inquiry sought to unearth why IT prices were so much higher in...

When a tweet goes out on Twitter that a user didn't send, the concern is usually that the account has been hijacked by a malicious user. This week, however, three users on Twitter were surprised to find out that their user names and images had been used as examples in a marketing campaign created by...