social

Foursquare reveals the 'best of' based on 3 billion check-ins

Want to know where to get the best Tex-Mex in Austin? Or how about the locals' favorite bookstore in San Francisco? Well, Foursquare will let you know what it thinks.

The check-in social network rolled out its "best of" guide today based on more than 3 billion member check-ins and tens of millions of user tips, likes, and dislikes. The guide shows the top places users checked into in 2012 in 30 cities across the U.S., such as New York, Atlanta, and Honolulu.

"There are plenty of lists of great places out there -- some are … Read more

10 Pinterest tips from a user with 1.2 million followers

Last time I discussed Pinterest in-depth was in March 2012, when I wrote "Six things I learned from six days on Pinterest."

I've since joked that I should have added, "...as the only man on Pinterest," considering how much of the platform is dominated by women.

It turns out there are men having success with the platform, and one of them shared his tips with me.

Robert Anthony is a veteran tech journalist and former PC Magazine writer who now contributes to the New York Daily News, PC World, Black Enterprise, and other publications and … Read more

Twitter acquires Crashlytics crash reporting service

Twitter has bought Crashlytics, a startup whose crash reporting tool has been incorporated into a wide variety of iOS apps including Vine, Yelp, Kayak, TaskRabbit, and Waze.

In a blog post today, Crashlytics co-founders Jeff Seibert and Wayne Chang announced that the company is "joining the flock," the term often used when people or companies are hired or acquired by Twitter:

We started Crashlytics a little over a year ago to address a huge hole in mobile app development. With hundreds of millions of devices in use around the world, it was impossible for developers to fully test … Read more

Twitter making it harder (sort of) to find porn on Vine

As has been well reported, there's already an endless amount of porn on Vine, Twitter's new video service. But now, the social-networking company appears to be making it a bit harder to find the adults-only content.

According to The Verge, Twitter has blocked a number of porn-related Vine search terms such as "#porn." At the same time, though, it's clear that there are still plenty of ways to find people's 6-second sex tapes. For example, a search for "#nsfw," meaning not safe for work, resulted in no shortage of videos.

And while … Read more

Do Twitter, Google share too much info with gov'ts? (poll)

To "celebrate" Data Privacy Day today, both Google and Twitter issued transparency reports, detailing how often they comply with government requests for information about users. In the United States, Google said it provided some or all requested information 88 percent of the time, while Twitter -- which says it prizes users' privacy -- did so 69 percent of the time.

Those numbers seem shockingly high, but in Twitter's case at least, privacy advocates at the Electronic Frontier Foundation said they didn't blame the social network for complying with the law. And, the EFF added, Twitter's … Read more

Twitter gives user data to U.S. 7 times out of 10

Twitter gives government agencies in the United States at least some of the information they ask for on users 69 percent of the time.

That data and much more about how the social network responds to government requests for user information, as well as demands to remove tweets and reports of copyright violations was part of Twitter's second so-called transparency report, which it issued today "in celebration of" Data Privacy Day. Google issued such a report today as well.

"We've been thinking about ways in which we can more effectively share this information, with an … Read more

How I quit worrying and learned to love Vine

mixing gnarly basslines today vine.co/v/b55LOA1dgJU

— The Glitch Mob (@theglitchmob) January 23, 2013

I'll admit it, I misjudged Vine. Here's why.

One of the first things I read about Vine, Twitter's new stand-alone video app for iPhone and iPod Touch, was Jack Dorsey's gushing tweet about the service.

"Vine is the most exciting thing I've seen in a while," Dorsey, Twitter's co-founder (and also founder of Square), tweeted yesterday morning. "Not just because of the team, because it brings an entirely new art form to the world."

I … Read more

Wajam shows you what your friends think about the stuff you search for

There's no opinion shortage online, but who are you going to trust? Your friends, of course -- with help from Wajam for Windows. Wajam extends social searching to the wider Web. It uses data from your Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ accounts to show you what your friends think about the things you want to know about, like restaurants, coffee shops, movies, records, and other stuff they've shared. Say you want to try a new restaurant, but you've heard mixed reviews. If any of your friends have tried it and shared an opinion, Wajam shows you what they … Read more

Pope blesses Twitter, Facebook to spread Church teachings

The pope has friended the online social networks in a big way.

Pope Benedict XIV, who only recently joined Twitter himself, is calling on his followers to use social-networking sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, and Pinterest to spread their faith to nonbelievers.

"The challenge facing social networks is how to be truly inclusive: thus they will benefit from the full participation of believers who desire to share the message of Jesus and the values of human dignity which his teaching promotes," the pontiff said in a message delivered on the 47th World Communications Day. "Believers are increasingly … Read more