New Instagram Feature Allows You Control Over Your Reels Algorithm

Instagram has quietly begun rolling out a new “Your Algorithm,” control panel for Reels that allows users to utilizes an AI based interface to control which topics and subjects show up most often in their reels — and lets you tweak them in real time.

When you’re watching Reels, look for the icon in the upper right corner (two lines with hearts). Tap it to open Your Algorithm. You can see what topics we think you’re interested in, tell us which topics you want to see more or less of, and your recommendations will adapt.

1. See your top interests: View a summary of the topics Instagram thinks you care about most, right at the top.
2. Tune your preferences: Type in the topics you want to see more or less of, and your Reels will reflect your choices.
3. Share your algorithm: If you’d like, you can share your interests to your Story, so friends and followers can see what you’re into.

After a few weeks of testing on our @TechSweepstakes page I'll say I haven't noticed much difference. However, our content consumption on that page is rather limited and  restricted to mostly tech related content anyways. Still the feature is nice to have as it learns I'm assuming it will become more intuitive and will allow me to restrict some content that I simply don't care to see!  

Facebook Shows That Selling Your Data Continues to Be Big Business!

When Facebook reported their quarterly earnings  earlier this week one thing was glaringly true; the company is making more money of you than ever before! According to their own estimates Facebook earns roughly $3.82 per user, multiple that by the more than 1.7 billion active users, and you can see why the social media giant was able to usher in another $6.44 billion in revenue.

Facebook ARPU for Q2 2016

Facebook's main money stream has continued to be ad revenue, hitting more than $6.24 billion with  Mobile ad revenue taking the highest share (84 percent) at $5.42 billion. Facebook is now in fact pushing so many ads and making so much money on you the user, that they have in effect ran out of ad space.

When it comes to on site and in app advertising the company has it a wall of sorts, or the tip of what they are calling  “ad load”—the volume of ads its users typically see. Right now they believe they are in a "green zone” which means they don’t think they can push many more ads to users than they are already seeing during the time they are spending on the site without users becoming overwhelmed or overly annoyed (I personally think most already are!).

In short, Facebook is say they are about to max out on the number of ads it can show users without coming up with even more ways to push ads to you. This means it will need to find other ways to grow the company’s ad business moving forward, they simply don't believe increasing the number of ads it shows people will not be an option.

“The optimal ad load is really a mix of art and science,” Wehner said. “We also want to be thoughtful about making sure each person’s overall feed experience has the right balance of organic and ad content.”

This is why we see the company making bigger pushes to become a "video first" social network. During this week's conference call Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said the company sees “a world that is video-first, with video at the heart of all our apps and services.” Facebook executives also noted that video is playing a large part in driving up time spent on the social network. More time, means more advertising dollars!

Facebook uses a targeted advertising system, in layman's terms they collect as much of your data as possible and either sell or use that data to offer advertisers more lucrative ads and it appears to be working and working well.

Facebook promises that with their targeted advertising you can "reach the right people, every day, everywhere, to get more traffic and sales for your website". Their system not only utilizes traditional  things like demographics: age, gender, race, occupation ect but they also use site specific items. Things like your listed hobbies, favorite bands or brands, Facebook likes, location and check-ins. Beyond just what you do on their own site Facebook also tracks browsing and spending habits on other sites, giving company's a much more accurate picture of who you are and what you do!

What does this all mean? Well at the end of the day it means that, user willing, Facebook will continue to collect all the data it can on you, and they will continue to make as much money as possible off of that data! It also means that we can expect to see more adverting on Facebook's other services, as well as more in app and in video advertising. Pretty much we'll just see more ads period!

Twitter Opens Account Verification to Everyone But There's A Catch

For several years now Twitter has made attempts at filtering out imposter accounts from the real deal by verifying high profile business and celebrity accounts. For the most part the process and qualifications to becoming Twitter Verified has been a little bit vague to say the least. There wasn’t really a formal procedure to request a verified account, but as of today that has all changed.

Twitter has announced that they have created an online application process that makes it possible for just about anyone to request account verification. There is however, a bit of a catch. Twitter must deem you worthy of being verified - shocking I know but we'll get into that below.

“We want to make it even easier for people to find creators and influencers on Twitter so it makes sense for us to let people apply for verification,” Twitter User Services VP Tina Bhatnagar said in a press release Tuesday. “We hope opening up this application process results in more people finding great, high-quality accounts to follow, and for these creators and influencers to connect with a broader audience.”

Getting Started
The process to becoming verified is pretty simple and for the most part Twitter has streamlined things as much as possible. For starters users who want to verify their account will obviously need to verify themselves, it wouldn't make much sense otherwise right? You''l need to first verify a few things like your phone number and email associated with your account. You'll also need to have an actual photo and bio on your profile, if you are an individual it will need to be a photo and info on you. Twitter may also request that you scan and upload a legible copy of your government-issued ID (such as a passport or driver’s license) to confirm your identity.

If you are looking to verify a business the photos will need to have the corporation’s branding, or the company’s branding. The email address and website associated with the account will also need to point to a corporate or company email address or website.

In addition to those basics Twitter says they may ask you for a few more things, and here is where things start to get a bit tricky. Someone, or a team of someones at Twitter are going to judge whether or not you are worthy of being verified. To do so Twitter is going to ask you to explain to them why they should bother with verifying your account. If the account represents a person, they want to understand your impact in your field. If the account represents a corporation or company, they want to know what your company's mission statement is.

What Does It Take To Be Twitter Verified?
Essentially  what it boils down to is Twitter wants to know if you are truly a person of public interest. What exactly does that mean? Well Twitter says the accounts they are most looking to verify are those maintained by public figures and organizations in music, TV, film, fashion, government, politics, religion, journalism, media, sports, business, and other key interest areas. So we are guessing here that they are looking for people that are high profile and attract a lot of attention.

This really doesn't give us much to go on as there doesn't seem to be much in the form of official criteria for what makes one person “of public interest” and another not. We've seen several of our fellow bloggers as well as several media personalities that have verified account while co-workers or cohorts in the same field don't. Either way at least now we have a bit more detail and a bit easier route to take to get verified.

Want To Get Verified? Submit Your Request To Twitter
You can submit your request to verify an account by filling out this form, and Twitter will respond to your request via email. If your request is denied, you can submit another request for the same account 30 days after receiving the email.

Even if you aren't sure if you should become verified or not, I say go for it. You really have nothing to lose here. Just think, if you are verified you'll become one of the 187,000 or so people out of 310 million or so that are verified on the site.

'Like' It or Not Facebook Reactions Debuts Today!

While the 'Like' button will always remain an iconic symbol for Facebook users have for years been asking for a little more. Today that wish has been granted with the official launch of Facebook Reactions.

Originally showcased and featured back in October, Facebook's Reaction emojis have no gone live for all users and will allow you to add a little more emotion and feeling to your responses to your friend's posts. The new emojis will feature a few focused reactions such as 'love', 'wow' and sad however what we won't see is that all-becoming dislike button.

To add a reaction, hold down the Like button on mobile or hover over the Like button on desktop to see the reaction image options, then tap either Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad or Angry.

Why these choices you may ask? Facebook has said their development team has spent more than a year conducting global research including focus groups and surveys to determine what types of reactions people would want to use most. They also used viewed a vast number of profiles and comments to determine how people are already commenting on posts and the top stickers and emoticons as signals for the types of reactions people are already using to determine which reactions to offer.

Notably, reactions will be available for both individual and business pages — meaning that even though we won't see that dislike button we all want, we will see some possibility of negative reactions to misleading posts and advertisements. This was likely something Facebook was trying to avoid, though they have said they plan to keep an eye on any misuse of reactions. So you may want to avoid over-reacting..to some of those ads, at least for now! 

All You Need to Know About Twitter's New Algorithmic Timeline

Sometime change is necessary for companies and their websites to remain relevant to the world and/or to keep the cash flowing. Sometimes those changes are good, most the time they aren't, but almost always they are met with some level of negativity. Hey no one likes to change, especially when they are major shifts to your favorite sites!

Today one of our favorite social media sites Twitter has enacted a major shift in focus. One that has been met with a ton of negativity from users whom have made their opinions well known on the site with hashtags like #RIPTwitter trending for the past few days when rumors of the change first starting going mainstream.

Twitter's new 'algorithmic timeline' feature will display “important” tweets at the top of your news feed, instead of simply displaying the most recent tweets. On the company's blog, Senior Engineering Manager Mike Jahr explained how the new service works, and why Twitter thinks it is something that users will eventually like and want to use. Essentially their reasoning behind this massive change is they feel that by displaying tweets that Twitter thinks you will like best immediately at the top of your news-feed when you log in, you will be more likely to respond to or retweet them, increasing the amount of conversation around those tweets.

To put that into plain English, and to highlight why most Twitter users aren't all that thrilled with the new changes, what Twitter is saying is they are changing your feed so they can select what news they think is most relevant to you and which tweets they want you to see and ultimately engage with first. Basically it comes down to the dollar and their power ability to market sale position and tweets. This gives them more 'pulling power' which in turn means more revenue down the road.

Since they are choosing what is prioritized for you, instead of you just seeing what you want and being able to scroll through your normal feed as you always would, they now have an option to 'prioritize' paid accounts (should they go that route) contributing partners, or more advertisers without them appearing as ads. This shift isn't anything new, in fact is very similar to the way Facebook runs things now days, and well we see how many users hate that!

How Do I Opt-In or Opt-Out?

For now at least, Twitter has said the new timeline feature will be an Opt-In only option and that even after you have tested out and decided for yourself if you want to use it or not you can opt-out. However, we seriously doubt that will last and figure that eventually Twitter will make it go live for everyone. Their choice of phrasing on their blog post explaining the service was odd and seemingly admits it will be 'turned on' for everyone in the coming weeks.

To check it out now, just go into the timeline section of your settings and choose 'Show me the best Tweets first'. We'll be listening to your feedback and making it even better over time. Then we'll be turning on the feature for you in coming weeks — look out for a notification in your timeline.

You can turn the new algorithmic timeline or "Show me the best Tweets first" feature on or off from your account settings page:

On twitter.com:

1. Log in to your account on twitter.com and go to your Account settings page.
2. Under Content, look for Timeline and toggle the box next to Show me the best Tweets first to change the setting.

Twitter for iOS:

1. On your profile, tap the gear icon and select Settings.
2. Tap the account whose settings you’d like to adjust.
3. Under Timeline, tap Timeline personalization.
4. Next to Show me the best Tweets first, tap to turn it off.

Twitter for Android:

1. Tap the overflow icon (3 small dots)
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Timeline.
4. Next to Show me the best Tweets first, uncheck the box to turn it off.

For more details you can view the help center support page and of course if you would like to share your feedback with Twitter you can send them your thoughts, we hope everyone takes the time to! And please feel free to comment below letting us know how you feel about the new changes!

Facebook’s New Dislike Button Is More About Emojis and Reactions Than Dislikes

We've all heard the rumors that year after year swirl around that Facebook was rumored to be working on a dislike button — a blue thumbs down button to counter the ubiquitous blue thumbs up that has become a significant part of our pop-culture. Now, it’s finally here, and guess what it’s not anything like you'd expect and certainly not as simple as choosing between like and dislike.

Starting today, Facebook will begin running a very limited test of a new feature the social media giant is calling "Reactions" or a new button that will allow users of its mobile app to respond with a corresponding emoji to express additional emotions beyond Facebook's iconic "Like" button (the thumbs-up).

These new 'reactions' include: "Love," "Haha," "Yay," "Wow," "Sad," and "Angry," and they can only be accessed on the mobile version of Facebook by "long-pressing" or hovering over the good old "Like" button. Facebook didn't just choose these new emotions randomly, of course. As Facebook's chief product officer Chris Cox explains in a post introducing the new feature (with video embedded below).

Today we’re launching a pilot test of Reactions — a more expressive Like button. As you can see, it’s not a “dislike” button, though we hope it addresses the spirit of this request more broadly. We studied which comments and reactions are most commonly and universally expressed across Facebook, then worked to design an experience around them that was elegant and fun. Starting today Ireland and Spain can start loving, wow-ing, or expressing sympathy to posts on Facebook by hovering or long-pressing the Like button wherever they see it. We’ll use the feedback from this to improve the feature and hope to roll it out to everyone soon.
Posted by Chris Cox on Thursday, 8 October 2015

Testing for the new 'dislike' or reactions emojis is currently limited to mobile users in Spain and Ireland, why there it is unclear, however Facebook says the feature will eventually be expanded to all users, though no timeline has been given for when.

On the face of it this might seem like a slap in the face for those that wanted an actual 'Dislike' button, but we all know that Facebook wasn't too likely to add tools that make it easier for users to berate one another, harass others or in anyway disapprove of advertisers. They definitly wouldn't want to open that can of worms! 

The move should be encouraging though as it does show at least some form of an acknowledgment by Facebook that the omnipresent "Like" button is not without flaws and that the fact that users have made it clear that it is profoundly limiting when it comes to the actual emotions people want to share hasn't fallen on deaf ears. So we can see this as some sort of minimalist victory that Facebook understand that posts about personal disappointments, annoyances, illnesses, tragedies, frustrations, or other challenges in life have never been a good fit for the "Like" button and that some changes need to be made!

Facebook Message Scanning Lawsuit - What You Need to Know!

Earlier this week U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton passed down a ruling that Facebook Inc must face a class action lawsuit in which the social media site is accused of violating its users' privacy by scanning the content of messages they sent to other users for advertising purposes.

At the heart of the lawsuit, which was initially filed in 2013, are allegations that Facebook actively scanned the content of private messages sent between users for links to websites and would then count any links in a tally of "likes" of the pages. These "likes" would then be used to compile user profiles, which in turn were used for building a database that was used for delivering targeted advertising to its users.

In basic terms, Facebook would use tools to read private messages for the most popular links being shared across its own site, even if they were sites or pages not within Facebook. That information would then be used to target advertising to each user. This data most likely would also be shown to prospective advertisers to help bolster sales of advertising via Facebook allowing them to profit from your personal information.

The complaint, filed by Facebook user Matthew Campbell, alleged that the scanning of these private messages violated both federal and California state law. Facebook had originally argued that the alleged scanning of its users' messages was covered by an exception under the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act for interceptions by service providers occurring in the ordinary course of business. However, judge Hamilton dismissed those claims stating that Facebook had "not offered a sufficient explanation of how the challenged practice falls within the ordinary course of its business."

The case is Campbell v. Facebook Inc, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 13-5996 and seeks class action status on behalf of all U.S. users who sent or received private messages that included website addresses in their content. As reported by Bloomberg the suit is seeking as much as $10,000 in damages for each user and could benefit all users of the site.

Facebook is not alone in facing these allegations. Lawsuits against Internet companies and social networks are multiplying as more users become more aware of how much personal information these sites are collecting, how they are using it and how they are revealing it to third parties, often without end user knowledge. Google Inc., Yahoo! Inc. and LinkedIn Corp. also are facing accusations of intercepting communications for their profit at the expense of users or non-users.

Twitter's New “Buy” Button Offers In Tweet Purchasing

Some Twitter users will begin seeing a new option tacked on to some of their Tweets in the form of a 'Buy Button' that will allow you to make purchases directly from several select sources. For the test market the social media site has partnered with several major musicians (Brad Paisley, Eminem and Soundgarden just to name a few), retailers such as The Home Depot and Burberry, and nonprofits (The Nature Conservancy) to let you buy merchandise share from their Tweet.

“Users will get access to offers and merchandise they can’t get anywhere else and can act on them right in the Twitter apps for Android and iOS; sellers will gain a new way to turn the direct relationship they build with their followers into sales,” Twitter group product manager Tarun Jain said in a Monday blog post.

Twitter says an entire purchase can be completed in just a few taps. After tapping the “Buy” button, you will get additional product details and be prompted to enter your shipping and payment information. Once that’s entered and confirmed, your order information is sent to the merchant for delivery and all your payment will be secured and processed via Stripe's payment system.

Here are just a few of the current groups and artists listed: 

• Dan+Shay (@DanAndShay)
• Death From Above 1979 (@dfa1979)
• Demi Lovato (@ddlovato)
• DonorsChoose (@DonorsChoose)
• GLAAD (@glaad)
• GLIDE (@GlideSF)
• Global Citizen (@GlblCtzn)
• Hunter Hayes (@HunterHayes)
• Kiesza (@kiesza)
• Keith Urban (@keithurban)
• The Nature Conservancy (@nature_org)
• Megadeth (@Megadeth)
• Mike Stud (@mike_stud)
• Panic! At The Disco (@panicatthedisco)
• Pharrell (@pharrell)
• Paramore (@paramore)
• (RED) (@RED)
• Ryan Adams (@TheRyanAdams)
• Soundgarden (@soundgarden)
• 9/11 Day (@911Day)

According to Twitter the 'Buy Button' will initially be rolling out to a small percentage of U.S. based users with more availability coming soon

Mute Those Annoying Tweets With The New Twitter Mute Feature

We've all got them, you know those annoying friends on our social media feeds that over share everything! Thanks to a new Twitter feature you can now block those friends while not offending them by totally un-friending them.

The new Twitter Mute feature, which Twitter announced early today in blog post, allows you to avoid seeing tweets from people you'd rather not engage. Leaving them the ability to see your tweets and retweets just as if you were still a happy follower.

"In the same way you can turn on device notifications so you never miss a tweet from your favorite users, you can now mute users you'd like to hear from less," Twitter wrote in its blog post. "Muting a user on Twitter means their tweets and retweets will no longer be visible in your home timeline, and you will no longer receive push or SMS notifications from that user."

People will still be able to see, "re-tweet," or comment on Twitter posts of those who have muted them, but the person doing the muting will not be looped into the activity.

To mute a user from a Tweet on your iOS or Android device or on Twitter for web tap more and then mute @username. To mute someone from their profile page, tap the gear icon on the page and choose mute @username.

New Twitter Update Allows Others to Tag You In Photos

Twitter has added a few new 'social' features to the site, and they are all about sharing pictures. With today's update you can tag up to 10 people in your images as well as attach up to four images to a single post all without wasting any of you 140 characters.

Tag up to 10 people in a photo

Tagging people in a picture is a quick easy conversations starter or any easy way to get someone's attention. With the new feature you can tag up to 10 people in a photo and still have all 140 characters at your disposal, making it easier to connect with your friends or others on Twitter. If you’re the one being tagged, you’ll get a notification allowing you to checkout the photo or join the conversation.

The new feature allows not only tagging of friends but almost anyone on Twitter, so for some this might be an annoyance or a violation of their privacy. For those that are concerned be sure to checkout the bottom of the post for options to select who can tag you.

Share up to 4 photos in a single Tweet

Hitting iOS devices first and coming soon to both Android and the Twitter website, will also be the option to upload multiple photos to a single tweet. Users will be able to share a series of up to four photos that automatically create a collage. Just tap on a preview to get the full image and slide through the group. The ability to upload multiple photos is starting to roll out today on iPhone, and is coming soon to Android so hit your respective app store now to get the appropriate update.

How Do I Turn Off Twitter Photo Tagging?

For those that aren't at all interested in being tagged in photos of others the settings are fairly easy to change. You can adjust notifications, as well as who can tag you, in your Security and Privacy Settings. Under Privacy you'll have three options - allow anyone to tag me, only allow people I follow and don't allow anyone. Simply select which option you prefer and save your changes and you are done, easy peasy! To learn more, read this Help Center article.

More Companies Monitoring Employees' Social Media Use Your Company May Be Next

Small and large businesses alike are starting to embrace technologies used to monitor employee Internet usage, and that number is only growing. According to a new report from technology research firmGartner 60 percent off all companies are expected to watch workers' social media use for potential data breach by 2015. That is up from an estimated 10 percent today.

“The growth in monitoring employee behavior in digital environments is increasingly enabled by new technology and services,” said Andrew Walls, research vice president of Gartner. “Surveillance of individuals, however, can both mitigate and create risk, which must be managed carefully to comply with ethical and legal standards.”

To prevent, detect and remediate security incidents, IT security organizations have traditionally focused attention on the monitoring of internal infrastructure. The impact of IT consumerization, cloud services and social media renders this traditional approach inadequate for guiding decisions regarding the security of enterprise information and work processes.

“Security monitoring and surveillance must follow enterprise information assets and work processes into whichever technical environments are used by employees to execute work,” said Mr. Walls. “Given that employees with legitimate access to enterprise information assets are involved in most security violations, security monitoring must focus on employee actions and behavior wherever the employees pursue business-related interactions on digital systems. In other words, the development of effective security intelligence and control depends on the ability to capture and analyze user actions that take place inside and outside of the enterprise IT environment.”

Security is a major concern but not the only concern

Companies are learning that they have to balance the security monitoring and the overall good of the company with the rights and privacy of their employees. The battle to keep employees focused on their tasks at hand and working while at their desks and not "playing" games has been a challenging one for most businesses. The popularity of online and cloud based services, such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, iTunes and others not only provides new distraction but also new targets for security breaches. Surveillance of user activity in these services generates additional ethical and legal risks. These risks and rights to privacy are posing a daunting question for many companies: How do we protect ourselves from possible threats and protects the rights of the employee?

Social media sites in-particular create new challenges for monitoring. There are times when the information available can assist in risk mitigation for an organization, such as employees posting videos of inappropriate activities within corporate facilities. However, there are other times when accessing the information can generate serious liabilities, such as a manager reviewing an employee's Facebook profile to determine the employee's religion or sexual orientation in violation of equal employment opportunity and privacy regulations.

Earlier this year, headlines where made when it was reported that prospective employers were asking people they interview for their Facebook passwords. The practice was so widely questioned it prompted several states to act, passing legislation to block employers from the practice. While many feel this approach will "gradually fade," companies will mostly likely continue to monitor the social media conversations of employees and customers.

Educations is the best approach to staying safe

Education of employees about potential risks it needed. When asked, most employees would likely tell you that they don't see what the problem is or don't see how there could be a threat. Most employees aren't aware of the fact that using their own device on a work network could lead to a security breach. Nor do they know that by bypassing the network security in place they could also allow attackers in.

For employees the U.S. National Labor Relations Board, in several recent decisions, ruled against employers who fired workers for complaining on social media sites about work conditions. The agency's position is that discussing work conditions with other employees is protected by the National Labor Relations Act. This however does not mean that you should see these ruling as being in favor of your right to use social media sites in the work place. You should be careful about "inappropriate" work-related posts on Facebook and other social media sites. Speaking out against an employer is one thing, posting "inappropriate" material is another.

More details about the report can be read in Gartner's press release

Maryland Bans Employers From Asking For Passwords Will More States Follow?

The Maryland legislature has passed legislation officially banning employers from asking for their employees' for their online passwords and/or usernames.

Earlier this month the Maryland state legislature passed bills - SB 433 and HB 964:

"Prohibiting an employer from requesting or requiring that an employee or applicant disclose any user name, password, or other means for accessing a personal account or service through specified electronic communications devices; prohibiting an employer from taking, or threatening to take, specified disciplinary actions for an employee's refusal to disclose specified password and related information; prohibiting an employee from downloading specified information or data; etc."

If signed by the governor, the bill would be become the first social media privacy protection law in the U.S..

The bills come as reports have cropped up of employers asking current and prospective employees to hand over passwords or access to their social media accounts. Several lawmakers have since joined the fret condemning the practice as objectionable and raising concerns over privacy. For its part Facebook has expressed concern  and pledged to work with policymakers to address it, as well as engage in legal action where necessary.

The question now is will other states follow suit or will we eventually see similar federal legislation?

Two U.S. senators, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, have said they will ask the Justice Department and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to look into the matter and have proposed the creation of federal legislation.

Recently Congress made a failed attempt at adding in an amendment o a larger FCC reform package that would have similarly banned current or prospective employers from requiring workers to hand over personal passwords as a condition of keeping or getting a new job.

Clearly we are seeing some progression as lawmakers in New Jersey, Illinois and California are all said to be working on state level bills. With California Democratic state Sen. Leeland Yee filling the most progressive of all bills. Yee filed a bill to block employers from not only requesting social media user names and passwords from employees or job applicants, but also bar bosses from asking for a sit-down with employees or applicants to review their social media pages or asking that the pages be printed out for review by managers.

FriendFeed Adds Additional Language Support

Popular social media tool FriendFeed announced today that they have added additional language support for their site. As of today, you can now select from English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, and simplified Chinese from a dropdown at the bottom of every page or from your Account settings page.

FriendFeed is a feed aggregator that consolidates the updates from social media and social networking sites such as Titter, YouTube and Linkedin. It also supports, social bookmarking websites like Delicious and Stumbleupon, as well as any other type of RSS/ Atom feed. Users can use this stream of information to create customized feeds to share (and comment) with friends.

Twitter Squatting?

Yes you heard me Twitter Squatting! We are all familiar with the, not so popular, act of CyberSquatting or Domain Squatting, where a user registers a celebrity or company name or trademark in the hopes to sell that name at an inflated price. That trend has now hit popular social media cites like Twittter (and presumably others)

PC World reports the latest trend is "Twitter Squatting". As evidence PC World notes that every single-letter TwitID is taken, some (very few it seems) are legitimate, but X, Y, and Z are place holders. They also checked out common words and companies. For instance Coke, Pepsi, Nike, and Chevrolet are all taken by place holders. It woulds seem they are more than likely looking to cash in by selling them to their respective companies.

Twitter user darrenkopp pointed out over at Slashdot that he already discovered evidence of Twitter squatting. Check out this Twitter account. The only update is:

Hiya. Please contact me if you'd like this Twitter account. glennbecktwitter@gmail.com

It would seem users wanting to protect their own brand, or name had better hurry and register them with as many social media sites as possible. Most companies grab all their domains associated with their names. Ex: I own several of the top-level domains for this site including .org, and .biz. Why not add to that and register all the social media names you can. It might save you some time and money down the road.

Join Geek-News.Net On SocialVibe

SocialVibe.com is the new "sponsored" social website that allows users to earn rewards and donate to the cause of their choice. Geek-News.Net has decided to give it a test run and see what its all about.We figure there is no harm in trying something at least once, right?

Here’s a quick break down on how it works.

• Signup, obviously! Its probably best to use your current social networking name or the name of your site so your friends can find you
  
• Choose a cause, they have a list of several causes including the StarLight Foundation, PETA and of course the one we thought suited us best One Laptop Per Child
• Choose a sponsor, again they had several to choose from including Apple, Samsung, Abercrombie and Fitch and Rockstar. As Geeks we couldn’t pass on having Xbox and EA Sports, originally they had a few perks for earning points but hey its all about the charity not us.
  

From there its all about the networking. The more people you invite and the more views you get the more points you raise. You can also upload photos, do surveys ect and the more active you are the more money more you raise for your charity. I figure we’ll at least try it out for a few weeks and see where it heads. If it goes nowhere then so be it.

Click here to join up and help us earn some points for One Laptop Per Child.