I’ve been watching as the uproar over Facebook’s changes infiltrates all the digital aspects of my life. #NewFacebook trended on Twitter, and my Facebook feed was filled with complaint-filled status updates. But even before Mark Zuckerberg held his most recent press conference, I was trying to figure out what was happening with small changes happening in the days before. (I’m still unsure about all these new groups–I liked it better when I just blocked people.) Still, I reserved comment–even when our former editorial assistant sent me a link about the new “Timeline” which is terrifying.

Facebook is, after all, a free tool that we have no obligation to use, but makes life more convenient in myriad ways. What right do we even have to complain?  But then the #NewFacebook jumped from my digital life to my real life. On Saturday I was moving into a new house after many, many delays. My family mysteriously disappeared with a variety of excuses, while my friend, Melissa, and I continued to hunt through boxes in search of my utensils. Suddenly I heard banging on my door and horns honking outside. When I went to see what the hub-bub was about I found my friends and family bearing ice cream cake, food, gifts, and lots of booze.

This was all made possible by Facebook. (more…)

You may have heard that Facebook bought ebook publisher Push Pop press, and you’re probably wondering if Mark Zuckerberg is going to try and sell you his memoir next time you sign into your account. Facebook says no. According to the Push Pop site:

Although Facebook isn’t planning to start publishing digital books, the ideas and technology behind Push Pop Press will be integrated with Facebook, giving people even richer ways to share their stories.

This could be big news for publishers using Facebook to push their content to the 750+ million users. Imagine the slick capabilities of Push Pop at your disposal, turning a boring old text post into an engaging multimedia experience. But when you consider Facebook’s quest to go beyond its social network borders and into entertainment distribution, this new acquisition gets even more interesting.

Sure, Facebook is home to one of the largest gaming platforms in the world and even started streaming movies through a deal with Warner Brothers, but the social network doesn’t own the Zynga games or WB movies that drive so much traffic to the site. Facebook could be getting out ahead of the ebook competition.

It may also be worth considering this purchase in light of the June sale of MySpace to Specific Media and Justin Timberlake. It was widely  reported at the time that the new owners intended to make MySpace an entertainment destination–which it always sort of was, at least for musicians. It may be more than a little interesting to see how these two sites pursue the same goal.

Were you a huge fan of the viral Old Spice commercials?Did they compel you to run out and buy a years’ supply of deodorant or aftershave? If so, you’re probably just the person Brut is trying to target with its news internet campaign, Brut News Network (BNN).

According to the press release:

The BNN features the latest Internet videos along with commentary on hot topics and discussions that often include the insight of America’s #1 sports talk radio host and sports expert, Jim Rome, via frequent cameo appearances. The two BNN hosts, Bob and Ned, who love sports, explosions and people falling down as much as the next guy, grab audience’s attention by providing two minute videos of comic relief with episodes featuring topics such as Parkour, extreme sports fails, office pranks, and much more. (more…)

Google is at it again. Despite failed past attempts at breaking into the social network space, Google announced Google+ yesterday. Google has long had its sights set on becoming a player in the social world, as experts predicted that social media was the search giant’s biggest threat.

After a few days in semi-public beta, reviews are starting to roll in. It seems that where Google+ may have an edge is in its privacy policies. For instance, Dan Gillmor wrote for The Guardian:

What Google has understood, and put (with some glitches) into practice, is what Facebook has resisted. First, privacy has been baked into the service, not added as an afterthought. The privacy settings still need work, but it’s clear that Google has learned from the mistakes it has made and the ongoing privacy insults that Facebook showers on its users.

Gillmor — who gives Google+ an overall B+ — also says the site is good at allowing users to create groups, and share information appropriately. I’m not convinced that I believe Google, the gatekeeper of…well…just about everything, is really concerned with my privacy. In fact, one of the most important privacy settings for me in Facebook was the ability to make my profile not searchable via Google.

Still my skepticism about Google’s forays into the social space has always been about the willingness of millions of users to either add yet another social network into their daily routines, or make the switch. So, I’ll be interested to see if people really embrace this new network, or if it’s just the early adopters and gadget collectors who get on board.

Young women already outnumber young men in university settings, but now they seem to be taking over the most most sacred domain of teen boys: the internet. As The High Low reports:

We’ve already pointed out that women drive most sales on the Web, and now a recent Pew study takes it a step further — women also make up a majority of social networking site users, and in some cases they outnumber men by nearly half.

These new findings may not be as surprising as you think. It’s long been understood that women hold the buying power in households. What better way to exert that buying power than on the web, where you can research products, compare prices, read reviews, find coupons, and finally make purchases all from the comfort of your couch. As we’ve all heard, countless times, all of these activities are being moved into the social sphere. You can ask your followers for  recommendations of Twitter, and then get a discount code from a retailer just for expressing interest in their products.

The female domination of the web may not be entirely about buying things…but it sure is a big part of it. Just ask this girl.

NewsGator announced the Video Stream solution package for Social Sites 2010 today, which it hails as the first video solution for the enterprise that is truly social. Organizations can now introduce employee-generated video content. Available this month, Video Stream integrates directly into the Microsoft SharePoint platform along with the NewsGator Social Sites 2010 social computing suite.

“Organizations want to leverage the power of video for collaborating and sharing knowledge.  They want to add the power of video to their collaboration platform that already supports micro-blogging, documents, blogs, profiles and wikis, and not create another silo. For many of the Fortune 500, this collaboration platform is Microsoft SharePoint,” according to Chris Keyes director of products at NewsGator. “Social Sites Video Stream makes it very simple to add YouTube-like video capability to an existing community or to create a stand-alone video community. Videos can easily be uploaded in a wide variety of formats. Users can then browse through the newest, most viewed and most liked.” (more…)

All eyes are on LinkedIn today, as the career oriented social network’s share-price soared on its first day of trading. LinkedIn planned to sell shares from $32-$35 at the opening bell this morning, but it quickly shot up to $42-$45 — and just continued to grow. So far, experts seem to be skeptical of the company’s stock prices, even if investors aren’t.

Click for a closer look.

LinkedIn is the first of the big social networking sites to go public, and investors are, understandably, anxious to get their hands on stock for the seemingly unstoppable juggernauts of the social world — like Facebook or Groupon. At a time when growth is sluggish in other industries, these companies seem to be the shiniest of the bright spots. But in a country where we’re still suffering the effects of one bubble, there needs to be someone out there speaking with a voice of reason. In some cases, that voice is coming from Wall Street itself. Reuters reported:

To some investors, LinkedIn’s valuation is too high.

“I wouldn’t touch the stock, I wouldn’t own it, not at $45, not at $43,” said Eric Jackson, managing member at hedge fund Ironfire Capital.

Still, if the quiet workhorse of the social realm can make such a mad dash out of the gate, then what’s in store for the bigger, flashier sites — many of which are expected to go public within the next few years.

“I do not know if LinkedIn will raise 30 % more than forecasted, but I do think their statement and optimism is more reflective on the wider space of new technology and new media valuation,” Steve Goldner (aka Social Steve) told EContent in an email. “LinkedIn should drive high valuation and investment because of two reasons: 1) they have a proven revenue model that is working, and 2) they own the target segment they operate in. I can not think of any business social network that poses a threat to LinkedIn at this time. I think this is a strong position for any company – not just for ‘social sites.’”

I had a press release in my inbox this morning about a website redesign — not the sort of thing we usually write about here. But I decided to check out the site, EveryBlock.com and I have to say…I found it very interesting. “The Web doesn’t yet offer an easy and effective way for people to post messages to their neighbors,” said EveryBlock founder Adrian Holovaty in the press release. “We’re hoping to fill that need.” Basically, this is part local news site and part social network.

I quickly realized I’d written about this site before when EveryBlock’s source code was used for a different project. EveryBlock describes itself this way: “We aim to collect all of the news and civic goings-on that have happened recently in your city, and make it simple for you to keep track of news in particular areas. We’re a geographic filter — a ‘news feed’ for your neighborhood, or, yes, even your block.” What’s really new to the site, though, is the ability for neighbors to interact. Immediately upon visiting the New York version of the site I came across a great example of neighbor interaction. (more…)