A few nights ago as I was scanning through Twitter, my eyes picked up on a few keywords and settled, to my dismay, on a major …
Social Unrest
Klout: A Good Idea Done Wrong?
Apparently not deterred by the outcry the last time Klout changed its algorithm, the company’s CEO Joe Fernandez announced at LeWeb London ’12 that Klout is planning to “expand how it monitors its users’ reach by measuring how …
Google+ Has a Games Problem
Long before the launch of Google+, there was a recurring rumor that Google would get into social games in a big way. The company invested more than $100 million in Zynga, and was reportedly planning to use games as an anchor …
Weibo Credit: Chinese Microblogging Site Tests Points-Based Censorship
Vibe: Private Twitter Alternative Helps ‘Occupy’ Protesters Organize Anonymously
If you notice an uptick in #OWS hashtags on Tuesday, you’ll know that the Occupy movement has risen from its relatively dormant winter and early spring for May Day protests. Once again, social media will play a huge part in how …
Occupy the Internet: Protests Give Rise to DIY Data Networks
“There is a material reality to the internet,” explains Isaac Wilder, 21, on Motherboard TV’s new 30-minute documentary Free the Network. “Most people look at the internet as magic; you click a button and something happens and you …
Twitter’s New Censorship Policy: Up with Free Speech?
If — as some have suggested — Twitter is trying to cut down on free speech with its new censorship policies that were announced last week, then it’s not doing a particularly good job.
While the company described the new …
#fail: Hashtag Revolts Show Marketing Doesn’t Work on Social Media
I admit that it’s rare for me to say, “You have to feel sorry for McDonald’s” and actually mean it, but after watching the failure of their recent attempt to turn Twitter to their marketing advantage, you actually do have to feel …
So the Internet Loves Wikipedia – But Should It?
I admit it; the idea of suggesting that any kind of political protest can end up having “winners” and “losers” feels more than a little as if I’ve missed the point of protesting, or at least have a particularly biased interest in …
SOPA: Reddit Confirms Jan. 18 Blackout; Wikipedia, Others May Follow
It’s on — at least partially: Reddit has announced that it will go dark for 12 hours to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has said that he hopes to coordinate with the site so that …
SOPA: What if Google, Facebook and Twitter Went Offline in Protest?
Can you imagine a world without Google or Facebook? If plans to protest the potential passing of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) come to fruition, you won’t need to; those sites, along with many other well-known online …
What Will 2012 Mean for Social Media?
On the one hand, it’s easy to predict where social media’s going over the next 12 months: more of the same, with the sublime, ridiculous and mundane occurring in equal amounts, both reaffirming and quashing our faith in humanity …