LinkedIn already syncs status updates with Twitter , but now the business social network is taking its Twitter integration to the next level to help users better track and follow their connections. LinkedIn’s Tweets application, which the company announced has over one million users, has gotten a major upgrade. It is now divided into four parts: Overview, Connections, My Tweets and Settings. The overview tab shows you a basic outline of what your friends are tweeting, which people you are following and even suggests LinkedIn connections that you can follow. Of course, you can also update your Twitter status right from LinkedIn. Connections is one of the more interesting parts of the updated Tweets application. It shows all of your connections that also use Twitter and whether you follow them. If you don’t, you have the option to add them to your Twitter stream right from LinkedIn. LinkedIn has also launched Twitter List integration. You can now save your LinkedIn connections as a dynamic Twitter List. It will even update the list when you add new connections to your LinkedIn profile. The business social network has made a big bet on Twitter as a source of growth. While LinkedIn has more than 50 million users, growth has stagnated, according to Compete . Deeper integration with Twitter should be good for its growth, but we do wonder if Facebook integration could be in the works, or if the social networks compete too much for the same users for that to happen. For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Tags: linkedin , tweets , twitter , twitter list , Twitter Lists
For someone who has been famously wary of the web — to the point where he called Twitter a “tool of terror” — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is becoming quite the social media maven. That’s right, in addition to (surprisingly) getting hip to Twitter , Chavez now has his very own blog . Before you go adding the pres’ blog to your RSS in anticipation of juicy gossip or amusing commentary, let us assure you that Perez has nothing to worry about — the site basically contains news about meetings with Chinese officials, columns by Fidel Castro (who Chavez has already urged to join Twitter ), as well as speeches, photos and videos. In short, this is a pretty standard political website — there’s even a comments section (although all comments are suspiciously positive). According to the AP , the president launched his website and accompanying blog today mainly to combat untruths that he says people are spreading online. This sentiment falls in line with statements he made two months ago when he called for greater regulation of the Internet after a website posted a story falsely suggesting that Diosdado Cabello, a senior minister and close aide of Chavez, had been assassinated. Back then, he was quoted by Reuters as saying: “The Internet cannot be something open where anything is said and done. Every country has to apply its own rules and norms.” Now it seems that Chavez is taking the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” approach — jumping into the Internet trenches and taking control of his own image. What do you think of the president’s foray into social media? Let us know in the comments. For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Reviews: Facebook , Internet , Twitter
On Sunday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised simplified privacy settings “in coming weeks.” It now looks like that timetable has been bumped up, with an executive at the social network revealing at an event in New York that new features will launch tomorrow. As to what those features might look like is still anyone’s guess, but we’d expect to see an alternative (or outright replacement) to the granular controls that Facebook currently offers. While that may appease some of those who think the site confuses users into sharing more information , the biggest question is whether or not recent feature additions – specifically instant personalization and a series of social plugins – will move from automatic opt-in to manual (aka – default opt-out). We see that as unlikely given the rapid adoption of the tools by web publishers, but we should have answers within the next day or so. Stay tuned. [img credit: Darwin Bell ] For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Reviews: Facebook , Twitter Tags: facebook , facebook privacy , privacy
Ever blithely submitted your digits to one of those “OMGGGG My Dog Chewed up My cell & i lost all my phone numbers!!!!” groups on Facebook ? Well, sorry to say it, but your number is probably floating out there in the all-consuming ether that is the Internet. Evil, a new app designed by Tom Scott, of Tweleted , Stupid Fight and Tweet Trumps fame, aims to prove just that — that users are unwittingly sharing their personal info on the web. The program is pretty simple: Just visit the website , and you’ll be privy to a list of six constantly changing Facebookers whose numbers are out there for all to see. Scott has censored the last four digits of said users’ digits, because, as he says in the site’s Q&A: “It’s called Evil, not diabolic.” How does the site work? According to the Q&A, “Evil uses the graph API to search for groups about lost phones. It picks them at random, extracts some of the phone numbers, and then [displays] them.” So, basically, it’s not hacking into Facebook or anything like that, merely revealing info that’s already out there. Amidst all the upheaval around Facebook’s privacy issues , this little tool — along with many others that are seeking to help users see what private info they’re making public — is certainly an eye-opener. It really highlights how frequently we willingly give our personal info to unreliable sources without even being conscious of who has access to it. Scott suggests that if you have ever submitted your info to one of these lost phone number groups — which are often “public” or “visible to everyone” — you should delete your digits now. Scott says the inspiration for the app came after “a friend of mine found that her number appeared in a Google search, in one of those groups… and then the whole idea appeared, fully-formed, in my head. When something like that happens… I have to build it!” In an e-mail to Mashable, Scott wondered whether he had gone too far this time in creating Evil. What do you think? Is this app harmful or helpful in protecting your privacy? For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Tags: evil , facebook , privacy , twitter
In his first comment since the privacy controversy of recent weeks, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has admitted that the company “made a bunch of mistakes” and wants to “get this stuff right this time”. Zuckerberg has been criticized from some corners for a lack of communication on Facebook users’ privacy concerns, and a public comment from the CEO hasn’t been forthcoming. Today’s concession isn’t a public apology as such: Rather, Zuckerberg replied to a private email from tech enthusiast Robert Scoble, who then requested permission to reprint his response on his blog. Zuckerberg’s reply has some merit to it: Facebook wants to respond to the dustup with a product fix. Rather than simply telling users what he intends to change, he’d rather go ahead and make that change. Here’s Zuckerberg’s reply in full: Hey, We’ve been listening to all the feedback and have been trying to distill it down to the key things we need to improve. I’d like to show an improved product rather than just talk about things we might do. We’re going to be ready to start talking about some of the new things we’ve built this week. I want to make sure we get this stuff right this time. I know we’ve made a bunch of mistakes, but my hope at the end of this is that the service ends up in a better place and that people understand that our intentions are in the right place and we respond to the feedback from the people we serve. I hope we’ll get a chance to catch up in person sometime this week. Let me know if you have any thoughts for me before then. Mark Except that this isn’t a model that typically fairs well in the PR and media worlds: To Facebook’s audience, it has seemed that Facebook either doesn’t know or doesn’t care about user concerns around privacy. If Facebook does indeed share user concerns and will soon make changes (as Mark explains), a very early mea culpa and increased communication with the press may have saved Facebook from a great deal of criticism. In short: It’s great that Facebook is looking to improve its privacy settings, but explaining these moves earlier and more publicly may have been preferable. We’ll have to wait and see whether Facebook’s updates calm tensions around the company’s privacy stance. My take: As important as the issue may seem right now, the privacy dustup will eventually blow over and Facebook will continue its relentless march to win the web . For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Tags: facebook , mark zuckerberg , privacy , Zuckerberg
By a vote of five to zero, the Federal Trade Commission has unanimously approved Google’s $750 million acquisition of mobile advertising platform AdMob. In a statement issued moments ago, the FTC declared that it find the transaction “not likely to harm competition.” While it has serious antitrust concerns over combining the two powerful mobile ad networks together, Apple’s launch of iAds was the tipping point that got the deal approved: “As a result of Apple’s entry (into the market), AdMob’s success to date on the iPhone platform is unlikely to be an accurate predictor of AdMob’s competitive significance going forward, whether AdMob is owned by Google or not,” the Commission’s statement explains. The story is still developing. However, here is the full announcement from the FTC: FTC Announcement The Federal Trade Commission has closed its investigation of Google’s proposed acquisition of mobile advertising network company AdMob after thoroughly reviewing the deal and concluding that it is unlikely to harm competition in the emerging market for mobile advertising networks. In a statement issued today, the Commission said that although the combination of the two leading mobile advertising networks raised serious antitrust issues, the agency’s concerns ultimately were overshadowed by recent developments in the market, most notably a move by Apple Computer Inc. – the maker of the iPhone – to launch its own, competing mobile ad network. In addition, a number of firms appear to be developing or acquiring smartphone platforms to better compete against Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android, and these firms would have a strong incentive to facilitate competition among mobile advertising networks. “As a result of Apple’s entry (into the market), AdMob’s success to date on the iPhone platform is unlikely to be an accurate predictor of AdMob’s competitive significance going forward, whether AdMob is owned by Google or not,” the Commission’s statement explains. The Commission stressed that mergers in fast-growing new markets like mobile advertising should get the same level of antitrust scrutiny as those in other markets. The statement goes on to note that, “Though we have determined not to take action today, the Commission will continue to monitor the mobile marketplace to ensure a competitive environment and to protect the interests of consumers.” Mobile ad networks, such as those provided by Google and AdMob, sell advertising space for mobile publishers, who create applications and content for websites configured for mobile devices, primarily Apple’s iPhone and devices that run Google’s Android operating system. By “monetizing” mobile publishers’ content through the sale of advertising space, mobile ad networks play a vital role in fueling the rapid expansion of mobile applications and Internet content. According to the FTC’s statement, evidence gathered by the agency raised important questions about the transaction. Google and AdMob have competed head-to-head for the past few years, with a notable increase in intensity during the past year. This competition has spurred innovation and allowed mobile publishers to keep a large share of the revenue generated from the sale of their ad space. The companies also have economies of scale that give them a major advantage over smaller rivals in the business, the statement says. These concerns, however, were outweighed by recent evidence that Apple is poised to become a strong competitor in the mobile advertising market, the FTC’s statement says. Apple recently acquired Quattro Wireless and used it to launch its own iAd service. In addition, Apple can leverage its close relationships with application developers and users, its access to a large amount of proprietary user data, and its ownership of iPhone software development tools and control over the iPhone developers’ license agreement. The Commission vote to close the investigation was 5-0. For more mobile coverage, follow Mashable Mobile on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Reviews: Android , Facebook , Google , Internet , Twitter Tags: admob , apple , FTC , Google
Google’s known for changing its homepage logo to celebrate special occasions, but today marks a new first: a playable game in the logo’s place – specifically, a game of Pacman to mark the its 30th anniversary. The game is just as addictive as the original, and as Google’s Marcin Wichary says, “[we] made sure to include PAC-MAN’s original game logic, graphics and sounds, bring back ghosts’ individual personalities, and even recreate original bugs from this 1980’s masterpiece.” The company even changed its “I’m Feeling Lucky” button to “Insert Coin” in honor of the occasion. And with that, the world’s collective productivity takes a sharp plunge on this Friday. Coolest Google doodle ever? Let us know what you think in the comments. For more technology coverage, follow Mashable Tech on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Reviews: Facebook , Google , Twitter Tags: Google , pacman , video games
The Wall Street Journal is reporting on what could be a major scandal brewing for Facebook, MySpace and other social networks: despite assurances to the contrary, the sites have apparently been sending personal and identifiable information about users to their advertisers without consent. Large advertising companies including Google’s DoubleClick and Yahoo’s Right Media were identified as having received information including usernames or ID numbers that could be traced back to individual profiles as users clicked on ads. The data could potentially be used to look up personal information about the user, including real name, age, occupation, location, and anything else made public on the profile. Both of the aforementioned companies denied being aware of the “extra” data they were receiving and claim they have not made use of it. The WSJ goes on to report that since raising questions about the practice with Facebook and MySpace , both companies have since rewritten at least some of the code that allowed transmission of identifiable data. Beyond those two companies, LiveJournal, Hi5, Xanga and Digg made the list of sites identified as sending identifiable information back to advertisers when a user clicked on individual ads. The Journal found that Facebook went farther than most in sharing identifiable data, by sending the username of the person clicking the ad as well as the username of the profile they were viewing at the time. This news could hardly come at a worse time for Facebook, a company that currently faces a privacy backlash potent enough to make the cover of Time Magazine this month. Outside of Facebook, the other companies named in the article maintain the data they send to advertisers contains the user ID of the profile a user is visiting when they click on an ad, and not the user ID of the visitor themselves. Both Google and Yahoo made strong statements refuting the idea that they would ever make use of any such personally identifiable data. Yahoo VP of global policy Anne Toth said of the allegations, “We prohibit clients from sending personally identifiable information to us. We have told them. ‘We don’t want it. You shouldn’t be sending it to us. If it happens to be there, we are not looking for it.’” What do you think: is this another privacy-related stain on Facebook as well as other social networks, or much ado about nothing? For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Reviews: Digg , Facebook , Hi5 , MySpace , Twitter , Xanga Tags: advertising , digg , facebook , facebook privacy , Google , hi5 , LiveJournal , MARKETING , myspace , privacy , xanga , Yahoo
Google TV has arrived and will begin bringing the Internet into living rooms this fall, but we are all wondering: Can it play Hulu? For the last few days, I’ve been testing out Adobe Flash 10.1 for Android. While almost every Flash website worked for us, Hulu did not. When we questioned Adobe on the issue, the company told us that it wasn’t a technical issue, but a licensing one. Hulu is unique in that its content is restricted by a multitude of licensing deals with major networks. That’s why only certain episodes are available on Hulu and why it isn’t available internationally. That’s also why Hulu doesn’t work on Android; Hulu only has licensing rights for the desktop. We pressed Google and Adobe about whether Hulu would work on Google TV, given that it doesn’t work on Android. Google VP of Engineering Vic Gundotra responded by saying that Google TV and Flash 10.1 are technically capable and ready to run Flash on your TV screen. However, the final decision of whether to allow content to run on a platform like Google TV resides with the content provider. Given Gundotra’s response, we doubt that Hulu will work on Google TV when it launches this fall. Hulu makes less money streaming a TV show to you than it does showing it to you through cable or satellite — the rates are simply higher and the volume of ads are simply larger on TV itself. For more web video coverage, follow Mashable Web Video on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Tags: android , Android 2.2. , eric schmidt , Froyo , Google , google tv , youtube
Google officially unveiled Google TV at its Google I/O conference today. We’ve heard lots of rumblings about Google TV over the last few months, but today the product was demonstrated before a live audience. Google is teaming up with Intel, Sony and Logitech for Google TV. The device is not designed to replace your cable or satellite box, but work alongside it: The goal is to be able to view web content and television content side-by-side from the same interface. This concept is not new; companies like TiVo and Boxee have been attacking this space for quite some time. Google’s approach isn’t dissimilar to what TiVo is doing with TiVo Premiere , but Google has the brand-recognition and capital to potentially make mainstream adoption a reality. What do you think of Google TV? Let us know! For more technology coverage, follow Mashable Tech on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Reviews: Boxee , Facebook , Google , Twitter Tags: Google , google tv
