How social media can help, and not hinder, during a crisis
It’s important for school leaders to understand basic crisis management principles—and how social media might play a role in the event of a crisis, for better or worse.…
social networking
NC historian uses Twitter to show Civil War life
A historian with the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources is telling the story of the Civil War, 140 characters at a time, the Associated Press reports.
Facebook can help in disasters: academic
An Australian academic Friday praised the increasing use of social media during disasters, saying there had been a "beautiful display of humanity" on Facebook during recent catastrophes, reports…
Meteoric Twitter serving a billion tweets every week
Twitter is extremely popular. You know it. We know it. Another news story reiterating that fact perhaps isn’t necessary, The Tech Herald reports. That being said, certain major…
Foreigners in Japan rely on Twitter for breaking news
Twitter has been a lifeline for Westerners both inside and outside of Japan as they try to keep up with fast-moving events following the March 11 massive earthquake…
Sites like Twitter absent from free speech pact
Three years later, the effort known as the Global Network Initiative has failed to attract any corporate members beyond the original three, limiting its impact and raising questions…
Facebook now powers comments all around the web
Facebook released its much-feared commenting solution, reports ReadWriteWeb.
Facebook malware threatens campus web security
Students will click on just about anything posted to their Facebook walls—a social media habit that has brought a flood of malware to college campus networks.
Blogs wane as the young drift to sites like Twitter
Like any aspiring filmmaker, Michael McDonald, a high school senior, used a blog to show off his videos. But discouraged by how few people bothered to visit, he…
Is Google’s Facebook competitor almost ready?
The press has been speculating since the middle of last year about a new social networking product from Google — its big attempt to compete with Facebook, SocialBeat…
HTC’s ‘Facebook phones’ revealed
Rumors had been swirling for weeks that HTC had a pair of new Android phones with deep Facebook integration in the offing, and now the two handsets—the Salsa…
US starts Farsi Twitter account aimed at Iranians
The U.S. State Department began sending Twitter messages in Farsi on Sunday in the hopes of reaching social media users in Iran, the Associated Press reports.
No Facebook friends for Obama girls
Michelle Obama says her daughters aren't on Facebook, and that's the way she likes it, reports the Associated Press.
Feds settle case of woman fired over Facebook site
School and other employers should think twice before trying to restrict workers from talking about their jobs on Facebook or other social media.
Social media monitoring services stir debate
As cyber bullying and inappropriate online behaviors become more commonplace in today’s technology-rich world, some companies are offering services that alert parents when their children are at risk…
Facebook treads carefully after its vital role in Egypt’s anti-Mubarak protests
In Egypt, the tried-and-true tool for opponents of President Hosni Mubarak in recent years has been Facebook, the Washington Post reports. Most recently, it was on Facebook -…
New service lets voices from Egypt be heard
Unedited, raw, anonymous and emotional, Egyptian voices are trickling out through a new service that evades attempts by the authorities to suppress them by cutting internet services, reports…
Facebook boosts security, allows ‘sponsored stories’
Facebook unveiled new security enhancements on Jan. 26 designed to protect the content of users' profiles, RedOrbit reports. The new security tools include the availability of one-time passwords…
Facebook raises $1.5 billion
If you thought Groupon's $950 million was big, hold on to your hats. Facebook has announced that it has raised $1.5 billion in funding at a $50 billion…
Hate mobs thrive in Asia’s booming social media
While the exact circumstances of the crash are unclear, the outrage unleashed on Facebook, Twitter and other websites has highlighted the murky phenomenon of cyber "hate mobs" on…
Students use social media to promote safe driving
High school students from Fairfax County, Va., are using social media and other methods to help discourage their peers from driving while distracted by cell phones.
Infographic: Facebook vs. Twitter 2010 user stats
Facebook and Twitter are the big boys in the social networking space. This breakdown was put together by Digital Surgeons and shows demographic statistics (and a few fun…
Facebook’s Zuckerberg starts China visit
Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg started a visit to China on Monday with a tour of the offices of the country's top search engine, while his own…
How Twitter use has changed, from 2009 to 2010
It's been a good year for Twitter, and not merely because the company announced yesterday it has secured another huge round of funding, reports ReadWriteWeb.
Edmodo: A free, secure social networking site for schools
Teachers seeking online communication and collaboration opportunities with students and other educators have another free resource at their disposal: Edmodo, an education-based social networking site.
Facebook wrestles with free speech and civility
Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and chief executive of Facebook, likes to say that his web site brings people together, helping to make the world a better place. But…
Few U.S. adults use Twitter–but those who tweet, tweet often
Seems like just about everyone's tweeting these days, but a new survey finds that for now, only 8 percent of adults in the U.S. are using Twitter, reports…
Can Twitter use help improve grades? Some researchers think so
Twitter use might be more than an extracurricular activity for college students, according to researchers from three universities whose work suggests that using the popular microblogging service to…
Facebook co-founder launches social network Jumo for social good
Today, users can start connecting with all their favorite social causes in one online sphere, as Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes has launched his much-buzzed-about social network, Jumo, reports…
New social eReading platform allows real-time discussions, right on the eBook’s pages
Describing itself as "part online bookstore, part social network," and "the world's first truly social eReading platform," Copia has launched a platform designed to bring together book-buying, reading…
For high school seniors, a tweet could be worth $20,000
High school seniors trawling the internet for college scholarship programs might want to bone up on their tweeting skills: Louisville, Ky.-based KFC is offering a $20,000 scholarship for…
Facebook messaging poses risks for users: watchdog
Facebook's new online messaging service makes users of the social networking site more vulnerable to identity theft by cybercriminals, computer security firm Sophos warned Thursday.
Do students need a social media safeguard?
For college students prone to posting 2 a.m. Facebook status updates detailing the party they just stumbled from, there’s a new web application that might save them from…
Facebook’s revamped messaging: The future of communication?
Facebook is betting that one day soon, we'll all be acting like high school students, reports the Associated Press: more texting and instant-messaging, at the expense of eMail.
Feds: Woman illegally fired over Facebook remarks
A Connecticut woman who was fired after she posted disparaging remarks about her boss on Facebook has prompted a first-of-its-kind legal case by federal authorities who say her…
U.S. National Archives asks whether politicians’ tweets and blogs are ‘official government records’
Much of the Internet buzz surrounding today's midterm elections in the U.S. revolves around voter participation and how social media may or may not impact turnout, reports ReadWriteWeb.
Facebook declares ‘Zero Tolerance’ for data brokers
On Facebook's Developers blog, the world's largest social networking company declared "zero tolerance" for data brokers, after a recent Wall St. Journal investigation revealed that some Facebook application…
MySpace, apps share user IDs with advertisers
MySpace has been sharing with its advertisers data that can be used to identify user profile pages, but the company doesn't consider that to be a problem, reports…
How to use higher education’s ‘new toy’: Social media
Campus technology officials in charge of social media efforts have come to a consensus: There are no social media experts, so keep experimenting with your school’s tweeting, linking,…
Facebook works to remove anti-gay hate speech
Facebook is working with a gay-advocacy group to reduce the amount of hate speech and bullying on the online social hub, reports the Associated Press.