Tag: Social Media

Facebook and Pandora Get Integrated

Watching Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote at F8 today, Pandora was used as one of the prime examples of the social network’s freshly announced "Open Graph", or as I like to call it – Facebook’s overtaking of the web. When Facebook users use Pandora, they can "like" bands or songs, and that will be fully integrated to their Facebook experience as well.

Pandora is becoming one of the hottest ways of listening to music these days, so this is significant news not only for Pandora, but for music in general. It stands to reason that the more people and the web itself get consumed by Facebook, Pandora will be along for a good portion of that ride, at least for people who…listen to music.

Pandora of course made an announcement of its own. "The idea behind today’s update is to make it really easy to share your Pandora stations and music discoveries with your friends – and vice versa," explains Founder Tim Westergren. "Now your friends can be a daily source of inspiration for new stations and music discovery. I’ve been testing out the service while we were developing it and I have to say it really brings a wonderful new human dimension to the listening experience."

Starting today, users can link their Pandora experience to their Facebook friends. "This quickly brings your Facebook friend list into Pandora along with your Facebook profile picture," says Westergren. "It quite literally puts a whole new face on Pandora."

Connecting Pandora and Facebook is optional. The company says it wants to be respectful to privacy and allows you to simply opt out. That’s probably a good thing for people afraid of being made fun of by their friends for having a Trivium station or something.

Those who do not opt out can get suggestions on new stations based on the music they’ve "liked" on Facebook. They can see which artists and songs you hear have been "liked" by your Facebook friends. Your Pandora profile page will feature Facebook info, and you can see music info about your Facebook friends who have Pandora accounts below your Pandora controls.

April 21, 2010
Facebook And YouTube Get The Most Business Internet Traffic

More business Internet traffic goes to Facebook than to any other website, according to a new report by managed security firm Network Box.

Network Box looked at 13 billion URLs used by businesses in the first quarter of 2010 and found that 6.8 percent of all business Internet traffic goes to Facebook, a one percent increase over the last quarter of 2009.

The report also found that more business bandwidth is taken up with YouTube videos than anything else: 10 percent of all corporate bandwidth is taken up watching YouTube videos, an increase of two percent since the fourth quarter of 2009.

"The figures show that IT managers are right to be concerned about the amount of social network use at work," said Simon Heron, Internet security analyst for Network box.

"There are two real concerns here: firstly that employees will be downloading applications from social networks and putting security at risk; and secondly the amount of corporate bandwidth that appears to be being used for non-corporate activity."

The main concern IT managers have about security in coming year is employees using applications on social networks while at work (43%). Thirty-six percent said they are concerned about malware passed via networks such as LinkedIn or Twitter, and employees clicking on links sent by their contacts on social networks.

The top five websites visited by businesses in Q1 2010 were:
1.    Facebook – 6.8 per cent of all traffic
2.    Google – 3.4 per cent of all traffic
3.    Yimg (Yahoo!’s image server) – 2.8 per cent of all traffic
4.    Yahoo! – 2.4 per cent of all traffic
5.    Doubleclick – 1.7 per cent of all traffic

The top five bandwidth busting websites are:
1.    YouTube – 10 per cent of all bandwidth used
2.    Facebook – 4.5 per cent of all bandwidth used
3.    Windows Update – 3.3 per cent of all bandwidth used
4.    Yimg (Yahoo!’s image server) – 2.7 per cent of all bandwidth used
5.    Google – 2.5 per cent of all bandwidth used

April 18, 2010
NASA Invites Twitter Users To Next Shuttle Launch

During the next space shuttle mission, NASA will host two Tweetups to give people an up close look at the space program.

For the second time, NASA Twitter followers are invited to a view a shuttle launch in person at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA is hosting the Tweetup May 13-14. Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to launch at 2:19 p.m. EDT, May 14 on its mission to the International Space Station.

Once the mission has launched, NASA will host an additional Tweetup at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston that will offer a different view of mission operations.

"We’re inviting the public to share in the excitement of human spaceflight during one of the last three scheduled space shuttle missions," said Stephanie Schierholz, social media manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

"NASA is providing this behind-the-scenes access to give our Twitter followers an understanding and appreciation of all the work that goes into a successful shuttle launch and mission."

For the launch Tweetup May 13-14, NASA will randomly select 150 people from those who sign up on the Web. Registration opens at 10 a.m. on Monday, April 19, and closes at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 20.

April 15, 2010
Consumers Turn To Social Media For Health Support

Among Internet users looking for health information, product/health websites are as important as health care provider interaction, according to a new study from Epsilon.

Forty percent of online consumers use social media for health information (reading or posting content).

Individuals who use healthcare social media fall into two broad groups; the highly engaged patient who takes an active role in health management (80%) versus individuals who lack confidence to play an active role in their own health (20%). Social efforts must address these two audience types with very different needs.

Consumers engage with healthcare social media for both rational and emotional reasons. Emotional healthcare social media users want support from people who are going through a similar experience. Rational social media users are searching for information about their specific conditions and symptoms.

"Our research shows that social media is a valuable forum for patients to discuss their health issues and concerns while connecting with others facing similar circumstances," said Mark Miller, senior vice president, Epsilon Strategic & Analytic Consulting Group.

"This participation provides reassurance and intimacy, and many of the individuals who are highly engaged in social media feel better equipped to manage their health."

Many people have mixed feelings about how pharmaceutical companies should participate in websites and social media, but most are open to some level of participation as long as it is clearly disclosed.

Endorsements by government and non-profit organizations, such as the American Diabetes Association, the FDA and third-party watchdog groups adds credibility to social content.

April 11, 2010
Younger Women Value Online Communities More Than Men

In a significant reversal over the past three years, many more young women than men indicate they feel as strongly about their online communities as their real world ones, according to researchers at the University of Southern California.

The researchers found 67 percent of women under 40 said they feel as strongly about their Internet communities as their offline ones, while only 38 percent of men said the same.

In 2007 the numbers were reversed, with 69 percent of men and 35 percent of women feeling the same way.

Michael Gilbert, senior fellow at USC’s Annenberg Center for the Digital Future, says growing interest in online communities and social networking by younger women reflects historic adoption patterns.

"Women have been a bit more cautious with new technologies but they generally catch up and often exceed men in their enthusiasm once they’ve had a chance to look around. Men tend to charge in to new technologies and the opportunities they enable."

But, says Gilbert, "there are some early signs men may be over the infatuation and are starting to check out."

Nearly half of young women say they’ve met offline with an online community contact, compared to just over a third of men under forty (48% vs.36%); in 2006 the percentage was the same for women, but 59 percent of younger males had met offline with an online community contact.

Both sexes, of all ages, report they receive considerable benefits from their online community, but younger male enthusiasm is waning. In 2005, 77 percent of men under forty said their online community was very or extremely important; just 39 percent say that now. This drop off of interest is reported even though men generally are more likely than women to say they’re contributing to their Internet community (84% vs. 69%).

Even with the early signs of networking fatigue among younger men, their online connections count for something since 40 percent acknowledge their Internet community involvements have decreased the time available for their offline communities. Women are closing the gap with 27 percent saying their memberships in online communities has resulted in a reduction in time spent in their offline ones.

The survey also found women of all ages have a wider range of online community interests, putting more emphasis on social, spiritual and relationship aspects. Gilbert believes these deeper personal and social interests likely account for the increasing importance women place on their online communities.

April 9, 2010
Nearly Half Of Americans Use Social Media

The percentage of Americans age 12 and older who have a profile on one or more social networking sites has reached almost half (48%) of the population in 2010, double the amount from two years ago (24% in 2008), according to a new survey from Arbitron and Edison Research.

The study found the use of social networking sites is not just for the young. While 78 percent of teens and 77 percent of those 18 to 24 have profile pages, 65 percent of those 25 to 34 and half of those 35 to 44 (51%) also have profile pages. The study found 30 percent of Americans who have a profile on at least one social networking site, visit them "several times a day" compared to only 18 percent on year ago.

"The use of social networking sites has expanded beyond younger consumers, with substantial numbers of Americans over the age of 35 now using social media," said Bill Rose, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Arbitron Inc.

For the first time, more Americans say the Internet is "most essential" to their lives when given a choice along with television, radio, and newspapers. Forty-two percent said the Internet was the "most essential," while 37 percent chose television, 14 percent radio, and 5 percent newspapers. While television still leads among those over the age of 45, Internet dominates among those 12 to 24.

Sixty-two percent of homes with Internet access have wireless networks in their homes, allowing for more convenient consumption of digital media in any room.

Nearly half of mobile phone owners (45%) text multiple times a day. Three quarters of teens (75%) and those 18 to 24 (76%) text multiple times a day compare with nearly two thirds (63%) of those 25 to 34.

Growth of residential broadband has leveled off with 84 percent of home with Internet access having broadband connections. The slower growth of residential broadband is associated with little year over year change in weekly usage of online radio (17 percent) and online video (29 percent). The study indicated the expanded use of mobile devices and in-car Internet may bring about the next wave of growth.

April 8, 2010
Digg Launches Android App, Announces Hiring

Last week Digg launched its iPhone app, along with an iPad contest. Now, Digg has launched its Android App.

"The Digg Android app has been designed for an ideal mobile Digg browsing experience on an Android phone," says Digg’s Brian Wong. "You can browse and digg stories and comments, and the app supports landscape mode for browsing story titles and pages that load in the in-app browser."

The app can be downloaded by searching Digg in the Android Market, scanning the QR code Digg provides here, or going to this link from an Android device.

Digg also mentioned in the announcement that it is looking to hire more people as it expands its mobile efforts.

April 2, 2010
Dailymotion Introduces New Video Player

Dailymotion said today it has launched a new Web video player as part of a series of website improvements aimed at offering a better video experience for users, content partners and advertisers.

The chromeless player was rewritten to be less resource intensive for faster loading and playback. The cleaner interface features improved headers, larger buttons and more streamlined controls for video sharing. Improved search pages and related video recommendations make it easier for users to find videos they are looking for.

"Our users already love Dailymotion’s content and high video quality, now they will find it in a best-of-breed player," said Joy Marcus, General Manager of Dailymotion US.

"Advertisers and partners are looking for innovation and leadership in quality video. With this player, we are delivering the product that meets this demand."

A new "hotspot" feature provides improved sharing capabilities. With hotspot, users specify an exact point within the video for play to begin when sending a link to others via email or using social networks such as Facebook or Twitter.

March 30, 2010
Yahoo Brings Facebook to the Inbox

Yahoo has begun rolling out what the company calls its "next milestone" in Facebook integration. Yahoo Mail users can now update their Facebook status right from their inbox, and they can see their friends’ Facebook profile photos in emails received in Yahoo Mail.

"These features come on the heels of other recent Yahoo! social updates, including the Yahoo! Contacts – Facebook friends import feature that launched in early March and Yahoo!’s recent support of @anywhere, and there will be more to come in the weeks and months ahead," a representative for Yahoo tells WebProNews.

"Now, whether you want to send an email, SMS, IM, or update your Yahoo! or Facebook status, you can do it all from your Yahoo! Mail inbox," the rep says.

To activate the new features, users can simply link their Yahoo and Facebook accounts by clicking on the "add to Facebook" link in the status section of the What’s New page in Yahoo Mail.

Yahoo says the Facebook integration is "just the start" of how the company plans to make it easier to do more from within Yahoo mail.

March 30, 2010
YouTube Pulls Plug on YouTube RealTime

Update: YouTube has decided to pull the plug on the RealTime feature. The company wrote in the Help Forum:

We’ve seen some of you wondering what occurred to the Realtime Toolbar. The Realtime Toolbar was recently retired and is no longer an available feature on YouTube.

We were excited to release and experiment with Realtime and it has inspired us for new features on YouTube in the future. We look forward to introducing many new features in the coming months and are sharing them with you all. Many thanks to those of you who used Realtime and for your feedback to us on this feature- your suggestions and input help the Team shape the site and determine what should be developed to further improve the YouTube community.

(Via)

Original Article: Today YouTube has launched the beta version of YouTube RealTime, which comes in the form of a toolbar that resides in the lower right corner of the page on YouTube.

From this toolbar, users will be able to see which YouTube friends are currently online (much like Facebook) and what they’re watching. A history of their recent activities on the site are also able to be viewed as well as real-time notifications when they perform activities like commenting, favoriting, and uploading.

At this point, YouTube is only offering the feature to the first 100 people that say "Yes! Sign me up" in the comments section of this post on the official YouTube Blog. Each of these 100 people will get an invite.

"Please keep in mind that you will need to have friends on YouTube for this to work — the more you have, the richer the experience, so be sure you accept friend invites and actively manage the list," says Ryan Junee, a Product Manager on the YouTube Team."

Junee encourages those who get the invites to give feedback via the forums or in the same comments section.

YouTube also announced some changes to its home page for signed out users today. More on that here.

March 23, 2010
Gowalla 2.0 Launches for iPhone

Gowalla is a service that has been getting a lot of buzz lately. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a location-based social networksing service that comes in the form of mobile apps. Gowalla announced today, the availability of Gowalla 2.0 for the iPhone 3G and 3GS platforms.

Gowalla highlights the following new features with this version:

– Design – Gowalla developers have created a fresh new experience that is more flexible, readable and usable.

– Photos – Gowalla 2.0 gives users the ability to not only check in and create new spots; they can also upload a photo after checking in, browse photos from friends and see photos taken at that spot.

– Checkin Commenting – Now when a friend checks in someplace, other users in the community are able to tell that friend what they think.

– Multiple checkin messages – Users now have more opportunities to add messages even after they’ve left a checkin spot. Skipped typing a message? Come back and add one.

– Hot spots – The most popular spots nearby will be highlighted for users in a particular area to discover.

– Browse friends – and friends of friends. Browsing friends’ bookmarked spots and creating trips are two new features put in place by Gowalla’s developers by popular demand.

– Facebook, Twitter and web links – Building your Gowalla network is easier than ever with more ways to stay connected with friends through Facebook, Twitter and web links.

– Spot details – Address, phone numbers, Twitter names, Facebook pages and website will now be available in several checkin spots.

Gowalla will be heavily involved in SXSW (of which WebProNews will be covering the Interactive portion). Gowalla has updated its SXSW mini-site that details all of the SXSW initiatives the company will be rolling out, including: real world rewards, competitions, challenges and events.

March 11, 2010
MySpace Launches New Games Site

MySpace launched a new gaming experience at myspace.com/games today. The company says it empowers developers with new tools, analytics, and opportunities for driving usage and revenue.

"Gaming is core to the overall entertainment value of MySpace; we are replicating our success from MySpace Music for this next round of platform improvements," a representative for MySpace tells WebProNews. "Nearly a third of MySpace users engage daily in games and there are more than 28 million active app users on the site." She says the site "offers users discovery and sharing of games in a simpler and cleaner experience."

"Nearly one-third of MySpace users engage daily with games. We believe the new experience will empower even more of the MySpace audience to discover, share, and showcase games, which along with music and movies, are core to our content strategy," said MySpace Co-President Mike Jones. "We’ve been working with our developer partners to understand where they’d like to see MySpace go; based on that feedback we started rebuilding MySpace Games. These are the first steps in offering robust tools for developers to help their businesses thrive."

MySpace says developers can now:

– Review application-specific analytics via a new API, including invitation conversions, active users, notification responses and demographics.

– Build games in rich, 3D-like quality with Unity’s powerful 3D engine and allow MySpace users to access the games with a new plug-in. For example, Paradise Paintball utilizes this technology.

– Encourage cross-platform competition with Scoreloop, which allows games on different platforms to share the same high scores, achievements, challenges and buddy lists.

– Utilize GroovyCortex, which is a cloud-based solution for onsite application developers, to provide low latency push data for multiplayer games.

– Track the source of application invitations and utilization to learn how users are finding and choosing specific games.

Along with the new MySpace Games site, MySpace announced a MySpace Games iPhone app, nine new social games, and a Gallery. Earlier this week, MySpace announced that it has the most popular social app on Android.

It appears that the new MySpace Games experience hasn’t fully rolled out yet.

March 10, 2010
Actor Corey Haim Reported Dead

Actor Corey Haim, best known for roles in movies like the Lost Boys, License to Drive, and many others (a number of which also featured Corey Feldman), has reportedly been found dead of an apparent drug overdose.

>>> You can leave your condolences on FamousDead.com.

The LA Times reports:

The Los Angeles Police Department said Haim, 38, was pronounced dead after 3 a.m. at a Burbank hospital. He had been living in the San Fernando Valley.

Details of his death were not immediately available. The L.A. coroner’s office was investigating. A police spokesman said more details would be available later.

Haim connected with his fans through social media, specifically a MySpace page, which currently has 4,253 friends.

The "about me" section reads:

The real Corey Haimster here! I asked Jenny J to set this up for me, so here it is. I’ll be checking in to read all your shout outs & when I get the time, I’ll leave a message for you all. Thanks for hitting my MySpace page!
Love & peace out,
Corey

"Actor Corey Haim" and "Lost Boys" are currently both trending topics on Twitter.

Haim’s latest movie American Sunset premiered in Las Vegas in January. He had also been seen in the realty TV show The Two Coreys with Feldman. More on Haim here.

March 10, 2010
MySpace Has Most Popular Social App for Android

MySpace announced today that it has the most popular social app in the Android Market, and the third most popular app on Android altogether.

"Our deep integration with the Android platform is one of the reasons why we’ve seen a surge in usage," says MySpace’s Scott Goldberg. "Unique to this app, we have three home screen widgets. One of them allows voice-enabled status updates. We also allow users to set MySpace photos as background wallpaper on their phone’s home screen. Close integration with the native Android camera contributes to the customized experience and makes it easy for MySpace users to take, upload and share pictures of their friends out having fun."

"Even beyond Android, MySpace Mobile has also proven to be a very engaging experience across all platforms with 70% of MySpace Mobile users checking in three or more times per day," adds Goldberg. "As a nod to our popularity on the mobile web, MySpace was the fourth most popular mobile web destination according to Morgan Stanley’s report on The Mobile Internet in Dec. 2009. We have also found that the average MySpace Mobile user translates into a more engaged online user, dedicating more than an hour of additional time on the site per month."

Currently, looking at the Android Market’s social category, MySpace Mobile is followed by Facebook for Android, Tweetcaster, AIM, and Truth or Dare. The top two most popular apps overall are Pandora and the Weather Channel.

One of the best parts about having the most popular slot in any category in the market is the visibility that comes along with that. Any user who gets a new Android device, and goes to look for apps, will see MySpace Mobile right at the top of the list, and that could could drive continued growth.

Mobile should play a key role in the continued success of MySpace. Meanwhile, Facebook and Twitter are seeing big mobile gains themselves.

Are you surprised that MySpace has the most popular social app on Android? Share your thoughts.

March 9, 2010
WebMD Becomes More Social

WebMD has launched WebMD Health Exchange, a new health social networking platform.

WebMD Health exchange allows people to connect with health experts and other WebMD members to share experiences, discuss personal challenges, and receive answers and support.

"WebMD Health Exchange is a powerful new way to connect our 60 million monthly users to share their own experiences and personal wisdom across any area of health and wellness," said Wayne Gattinella, President and Chief Executive Officer, WebMD.

"We expect Health Exchange will quickly become a trusted source of information for our users and an important new communications platform for our sponsors."

WebMD Health Exchange is being integrated throughout WebMD.com, giving people the ability to connect with others on relevant topics. Along with expert led communities, members can create their own communities and exchange information with other users. Communities can be created for public access which are searchable on WebMD and online, or members can create their own private communities to share information with others.

Doctors from Duke Medicine will provide expertise for communities ranging from asthma to rheumatoid arthritis. Experts from the National Health Council, National Osteoporosis Foundation, American Gastroenterological Association, North American Menopause Society, and the American Veterinary Medical Association will lead related community discussions.

The WebMD Health Exchange will also allow third party sponsors to create branded exchanges and to host consumer discussions on specific health and wellness topics.

March 9, 2010
Online Daters Mostly Truthful

People who lie on online dating services are likely people-pleasers who want to present themselves favorably, just as they would in person, according to new research from the University of Kansas.

Jeffery Hall, assistant professor of communications studies, surveyed more than 5,000 participants who used Internet dating services to find out what kinds of people are most likely to lie.

He asked them how likely they were to lie about topics such as assets, relationship goals, personal interests, personal attributes, past relationships, age and weight.

"What people lie about depends on what kind of people they are," Hall said.

"For example, if you’re an extrovert, you might downplay the number of past relationships you’ve had because chances are you’ve had more relationships than an introvert."

Those most likely to lie during the online dating process are people who have a strong awareness of what people like and control their behavior to achieve social ends. Their actions are not necessarily manipulative, but instead reflect a desire to be liked and to fit in.

In the study, men admitted to lying more overall, but women were most likely to lie about their weight. Because online daters hope to meet face-to-face eventually, the amount of lying is quite small.

"Online daters shouldn’t be concerned that most people are presenting a false impression of themselves," Hall said. "What influences face-to-face dating influences the online world, too."

Hall’s research was published in the February issue of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

March 7, 2010
Plenty of Reasons Email is as Relevant as Ever

Every now and then, there is a discussion about where email stands as social network use becomes the "it" thing. We’ve all heard mutterings like, "email is dead" and "social media is killing email," but it’s just not the case, and there are plenty of reasons why (even if Google thinks it’s time to start over).

Do you think email is on the way out? Share your thoughts.

Last year, we ran a piece titled 10 Reasons Social Media isnt’ Replacing Email that got a pretty good response from readers. In a nutshell (read the article for elaboration), these ten reasons were:

1. People still send hand-written letters
2. Nearly all sites on the web that require registration require an email address
3. Email notifies you of updates from all social networks
4. We haven’t seen any evidence yet that Google Wave really is the next big thing
5. Email is universal, and social networks are not
6. There are plenty of people who have no interest in joining social networks, but already use email
7. Email is still improving
8. Even social networks themselves recognize the importance of email
9. More social media use means more email use
10. As far as marketing is concerned, email is doing pretty well

At the Online Marketing Summit last week, there was an interesting session about email marketing, led by Joel Book, Director of eMarketing Education for email marketing firm ExactTarget. In that session among other points of discussion, he provided the following concept equations:

Email + CRM = lead nurturing
Email + CRM = Reseller education
Email + CRM = trade show follow up
Email + CRM = sales support for dealers
Email + analytics = Personalized recommendations
Email + analytics = live offers
Email + retail = product education
Email + retail = scannable coupons
Email + retail = subscriber acquisition
Email + social = driving demand
Email + social = using social forward to expand customer database
Email + sms = mobile immediacy
Email + SMS = lead generation
Email + sms = subscriber acquisition

Some things to think about.

Also at the Online Marketing Summit, WebProNews discussed the integration of social media with email, with Kara Trivunovic, Sr. Director of Strategic Services at StrongMail, who makes some great points.

Businesses are plugging in social aspects into email programs to not only expand the reach of their existing offers, but to turn customers into evangelists, and ultimately grow their databases, as she says. Keep in mind that about half of all content is shared through email, and social media can make for a great way to gain subscribers. According to Trivunovic, there are 3 major ways that people integrate social into their email programs:

1. Share with your network

2. Leverage as a medium to incentivize current customer base to evangelize on their behalf, and drive additional subscribers or awareness

3. Business model: acquiring customers through referrals

This article could go on for a long time, but let me just conclude with a few more points. Mobile apps will continue to keep email relevant in the mobile world (Google just acquired a popular one). Google recently released its own social media product, Buzz, which the company decided would fit best right in Gmail. Microsoft Outlook only recently started integrating social networks into the inbox (Mozilla has Raindrop to serve a similar purpose). The social networks themselves are creating email services (it didn’t take MySpace long to get a lot of users for theirs, and Facebook is said to be working on its own…and we know how popular Facebook is [it recently surpassed Yahoo as the number 2 site on the web]).

Tell us why you think email is here to stay or why you think it’s not.

March 5, 2010
Americans Favor Online News Over Newspapers

The Internet is now the third most-popular news platform, behind local and national television news and ahead of national print newspapers, local print newspapers and radio, according to a new survey out today.

The survey of 2,259 U.S. adults, conducted jointly by the Pew Internet & American Life Project and the Project for Excellence in Journalism, found 59 percent of respondents gets news from a combination of online and offline sources on a typical day.

The Internet and mobile technologies are at the center of how people’s relationship to news is changing. One-third (33%) of cell phone owners now access news on their mobile phones and more than a quarter (28%) of Internet users have customized their homepage to include news from sources and topics that are of interest to them.

Nearly forty percent (37%) of Internet users have contributed to the creation of news, commented about it, or shared it via postings on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

In addition, people use their social networks to filter, assess, and react to news. They use traditional email and other tools to exchange stories and comment on them. Among those who get news online, 75 percent get news forwarded through email or posts on social networking sites and 52 percent share links to news the same way.

The survey also found the typical online news consumer routinely uses just a handful of news sites and does not have a particular favorite. Overall, Americans have mixed feelings about this "new" news environment. Over half (55%) say it is easier to keep up with news and information today than it was five years ago, but 70 percent feel the amount of news and information available from different sources is overwhelming.

"Americans have become news grazers both on and offline – but within limits," said Amy Mitchell, deputy director for the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.

"They generally don’t have one favorite website but also don’t search aimlessly. Most online news consumers regularly draw on just a handful of different sites."

March 1, 2010
Missing Growing Pains Actor Andrew Koenig’s Body Found

Update: Tragically, Koenig’s body was found in Stanley Park in Vancouver. His father Walter Koenig reportedly said in a press conference, "Our son took his own life. He was obviously in a lot of pain."

More here.

Original Article: Andrew Koenig, an actor best known for portraying Kirk Cameron’s best friend "Boner" on the 80s sitcom Growing Pains has gone missing, and his family is using the web to try and find him. The family’s efforts begin at Andrew’s father’s website at WalterKoneigSite.com, which details Andrew’s last known whereabouts and the efforts the family is taking to try and locate him.

Here is what he looked like on "Growing Pains":

Here is a more current photo provided on the site:

"Andrew has been an activist his entire life and most recently has been working on behalf of the people of Burma, and was arrested during the 2008 Rose Bowl parade for protesting American involvement in China’s Olympics," it says on the site. "Andrew was suffering from depression at the time of his disappearance. The last time the Koenigs heard from Andrew by phone was on February 9. His cell phone is turned off and the last time his phone received a text was on February 16 in Vancouver."

It goes on to explain that on February 16, Walter got a letter from his son, which left him "concerned," due to its "despondent tone." The site says it’s not believed that any specific incident prompted the disappearance, adding that drugs were not an issue.

Contact information for the Vancouver detective on the case is provided at the site.

Andrew appears to have a Facebook profile with over 500 friends, though it’s hard to say with certainty that it’s legitimate (update: a reader has commented that she is a friend of his on Facebook and that it is his profile). A Twitter profile registered to an Andrew Koenig, sporting the same current photograph provided by Andrew’s father’s site can be found at twitter.com/JeSuisLeSinge. Again, we can’t be certain of the legitimacy, but it looks convincing as it displays tweets regarding activism-related topics. It has not been updated since January 24.

February 25, 2010
Zillow Adds Facebook And Twitter To iPhone App

Real estate website Zillow.com told WebProNews today it has updated its free iPhone App with new features to allow users to share property details via Facebook and Twitter.

Zillow also said it has added listings for homes for rent to its iPhone App. House hunters can set search filters by home price or monthly payment, and at the same time find both for sale and for rent homes within their price range.

Users can now share Zillow’s property details, including values and photos on more than 93 million homes via Facebook and Twitter, whether or not the homes are for sale, in addition to being able to email properties of interest to a friend or real estate agent.

"The response to the Zillow iPhone App has been incredible, with more than two million homes viewed on the app every month. People are clearly using the app to satisfy their desire for real estate information exactly when and where they need it most – on location while searching for homes and neighborhoods," said Spencer Rascoff, Zillow chief operating officer.

"Now we’re improving their mobile experience by providing even more shopping tools and home listings, and giving users ways to share what they find instantly with family, friends, real estate agents and social networks."

The Zillow iPhone App has been downloaded more than 945,000 times since its launch in April 2008, making it the most popular real estate app in the Apple iTunes Store.

February 23, 2010
Facebook Investor To Put $1B Into Social Media

The Russian investment firm that’s contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to Facebook’s bank accounts is not even close to ending its involvement with social media. According to Yuri Milner, who’s the CEO and founding partner of Digital Sky Technologies, his organization is interested in doling out another $1 billion.

Obviously, that’s a stunning amount, and perhaps all the more so since Facebook, which is one of the most successful social media sites in existence, doesn’t yet seem to be making money hand over fist.

There’s an aspect of DST’s investment strategy that’s arguably even more interesting, however, as it looks like all – or even most – of the $1 billion isn’t headed for Facebook. Milner told Olga Kharif, "We monitor close to 50 companies globally that can be potential investment opportunities."

So a significant Facebook backer must think it’s possible for all sorts of other businesses built around social media to turn a profit. Despite the facts that Twitter’s had so much trouble landing on a revenue model and MySpace may be unable to extend its profitable search deal with Google.

It should be interesting to see how DST proceeds. Kharif reported that at least one investment should be announced by the middle of this year.

February 22, 2010