Following yesterday’s guilty verdict for three Google executives accused of breaching privacy laws in the Italian courts, will sites now have to be more accountable for the content that they host?
This could well prove to be a landmark ruling in the history of the Internet. The air of invincibility surrounding content hosts has been well and truly shattered. With high ranking executives being handed suspended jail sentences, any lethargy towards removing illegal or damaging content on sites has been forcibly quashed with one drop of a judge’s gavel.
But who exactly is accountable for content? Should the executives bear the brunt for something they’ve (most likely) never had any prior knowledge of? Should there be more blocks in place to ensure that any content that is deemed offensive or goes against the terms of use never sees the light of day, or at the very least, is removed quickly?
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The world’s biggest social media site, Facebook, are to dump Microsoft adCenter as they prepare to launch their own advertising platform. But with the original deal not running out until 2011, full worldwide Bing integration appears to have been the real deal sweetener.
Evidently the Facebook site is a lucrative place for any advertiser to show their products and is equally effective in delivering money to the host – Microsoft. However, in something of a surprise move, Facebook have ended their agreement with the technology giant to manage their advertising system in-house.
With a year left in the contract, clearly Microsoft will seek something in return and it appears as though it may come in the form of Bing being integrated into Facebook as the default search engine, worldwide. Obviously the exact nature of the agreement is still largely under wraps, but it appears that Bing could be set for a huge promotional push, starting off with 350 million+ Facebook users.
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It appears that real-time search could finally become a reality. Following our post earlier in the month, Twitter negotiating real-time search deal with Microsoft and Google, it looks like the ink is now drying on an agreement that will see the aforementioned search engines gain complete access to the social media site’s network.
This is a brave new world for search engines and could well change the way we view and use SERPs in the future. Bing and Google are now free to start developing ways to incorporate Twitter feeds into their searches, opening up unique opportunities for the respective engines and their users.
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One major issue facing social media platforms is how exactly to monetise their services. Subsisting on investor funding isn’t sustainable, so turning the corner and making a site profitable is a significant priority, but one which many struggle to achieve.
For many years YouTube was a cash cow for Google. Whilst it was widely used and hugely popular, the video sharing site just couldn’t find a way to turn that into hard currency. In fact two months ago to the day, in a strange piece of social media circularity, it was announced that Facebook had 250 million users whilst YouTube were on the verge of making profit. Today, Facebook has reached 300 million users and is itself the one who is ready to start funding itself.
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It appears that America’s politicians are having a few communication issues this week. Following hot on the heels of warning teenagers about the dangers of sharing too much information on website’s such as Facebook; it is now Barack Obama who has fallen foul of a random outburst.
Mr Obama had talked to students on a number of issues, one of which centred on what it takes to be a President. In response he said:
“Well, let me give you some very practical tips. First of all, I want everybody here to be careful about what you post on Facebook, because in the YouTube age, whatever you do, it will be pulled up again later somewhere in your life.”
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Google and Facebook both represent the dominant leaders in their respective fields. So complete is their dominance in fact, that people have begun audibly questioning whether they are in fact a force for good, or evil.
The prime fear where both are concerned is with regards to data. Google has indexed billions of website pages, making it privy to a lot of information; all of which could, in theory at least, be used for dangerous profiling purposes. Google Earth has also caused uproar with claims that it is helping criminals pick targets and is another major invasion of privacy.
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Just when the world of social networking seemed to be channelling towards Facebook and Twitter, the old guard have taken new steps toward regaining prominence. Swiped from under the noses of Facebook, MySpace are on the verge of purchasing iLike.
To most that probably doesn’t mean a great deal; however iLike is one of the most popular apps currently featured on Facebook. It allows users to share their favourite songs with friends and give an insight into their musical taste. MySpace is already very much the social networking site of choice for many music and video aficionados; by being able to provide exclusive access to iLike, they could well corner this market and subdue Facebook momentarily.
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To celebrate the launch of the new Impact Media Fan Page on Facebook, Impact Media will be giving away a big hamper of sweets to one lucky Facebook fan once the target of 100 fans is reached.
It won’t cost anything to become a fan, and will only take a few seconds to do, but it could lead to winning a fantastic prize just for showing up.
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Twitter’s rise up through the social media rankings has been nothing short of phenomenal. Backed by a plethora of tech savvy celebrities, the take-up of the micro-blogging service has touched every corner of the globe. But is it an empire built on sand?
From the outside everything seems to be ticking over quite nicely. The site continues to earn new users and is now ranked the 19th largest on the Internet (according to Alexa), so on the face of it everything is going swimmingly. But there are undoubtedly issues, some that could ultimately undermine the service into obscurity.
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It didn’t take long did it? No sooner had Facebook snapped up FriendFeed than they incorporated their live feed style in a ‘Lite’ version.
This stripped down Facebook is only currently available to a selection of Beta testers, of which I am not one, and is offering a service not too dissimilar to Twitter or FriendFeed. The rolling feed of news from contacts isn’t interrupted with irritating applications and endless tabs; just a stripped down communication portal.
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It happens with every fashion trend and it seems that social media is no exception, the young have deemed it no longer ‘cool’.
According to research from Ofcom, the media regulator, the percentage of 15-to 25-year-olds who have a profile on a social networking site has dropped from 55% to 50% and the blame has been placed firmly on the laurels of those between the ages of 25- to 34, in which 46% of them are now regularly checking their profile up from 40% last year. It has commonly be known for a while that the majority of users on Twitter are over 25.
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