Social networking

LinkedIn suffers site outage due to 'DNS issue'

LinkedIn is battling a DNS issue that took the business social networking site offline for an hour Wednesday night.

The outage, which appears to be over for most of LinkedIn's members, began when the site's homepage was replaced by a domain sales page (See The Next Web for screenshot). An hours-long service disruption began affecting the site around 6 p.m. PT, according to DownRightNow.

The site's operators explained via Twitter that the outage was caused by a "DNS issue" but did not elaborate.

Our site is now recovering for some members. We determined it … Read more

Rockmelt launches Android app with enhanced navigation

After tinkering and perfecting, Rockmelt has finally released its app for Android.

The company announced Wednesday that to get this app ready for the public, it had to make sure it was "the right experience for Android users and not merely a port of an iOS app."

So, what are the differences between the social browser's Android and iOS app? A lot.

First of all, the Android app is tooled for bigger screens, which means navigation is at the bottom of the screen in portrait mode and on the right in landscape mode. Also, as users scroll … Read more

NBA star turns to Twitter to sells his bulldog

There's a certain imaginative depth in the relationship between the wealthy and the Web.

Zach Braff, David Fincher, and Kristen Bell are merely three of the star-kissed who have learned how to take back and tried to get money from their fans on Kickstarter.

Kendrick Perkins, meanwhile, also decided that the personal touch might help him out of a tiny bind.

The center for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder wanted to sell his bulldog. But not for him stooping to eBay or Craigslist. Those would be a long, long distance for Perkins to stoop.

Instead, as the terriers of Deadspin report, … Read more

Twitter and Viacom announce social video marketing pact

Twitter has signed a deal to begin delivering social video ads built around Viacom's most popular TV shows.

In the announcement, put out by Viacom, the two companies said that the campaigns would center around shows aired on networks like MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, VH1, CMT, TV Land, Spike and more. The first ads will appear during the MTV Video Music Awards on August 25. During that show, MTV will tweet a series of the most notable moments, as well as backstage access, interviews, and more, all with integrated advertising.

Bloomberg first reported in April that a deal between … Read more

Video mocks Samsung's (lack of) design principles

Apple spent the previous days trying to restate its values and show that it is a company of principle, not one of fad or glut.

Some think the WWDC presentation was no revolution. Others believe it offered some sturdy indications of the right sort of obstinacy and of a consistency of design perspective.

In an attempt to reinforce that thought, Apple released a video (embedded below) that expressed its simple intentions -- not to confuse abundance with choice, for example.

I am grateful to The Loop for spotting that a wag who might have been positively moved by these thoughts … Read more

Candy Crush Saga creator appears sweet on an IPO

The creator of hit puzzle game Candy Crush Saga is preparing to go public, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

Anonymous sources told the Journal that King, through its holding company Midasplayer International Holding Co., has talked to several banks including J.P. Morgan Chase, Credit Suisse Group AG, and Bank of America to carry out its initial public offering, or IPO, in the U.S. This means King wants to sell shares of its company to public investors.

While CEO Riccardo Zacconi has mentioned an IPO as a possibility before, this report signals that … Read more

Facebook looking to partner with Samsung?

During Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's whirlwind Asia tour, he stopped by the offices of Samsung this week for a quick meeting with the company's president, Shin Jong Kyun.

After the meeting, Shin stopped to talk to reporters and said that the two discussed potential partnerships, according to Bloomberg. The partnerships would reportedly center on advancing mobile-advertising sales.

Facebook has been long pushing to boost advertising on mobile. In April, the social network debuted Facebook Home, which is a family of mobile apps and a social-networking-focused skin that runs over Android in smartphones like HTC's One and Samsung'… Read more

Tumblr's media evangelist splits

Tumblr Director and Media Evangelist Mark Coatney announced Tuesday in a post on his personal Tumblr that he was departing the Yahoo-owned blogging platform without another gig lined up.

"I'm leaving Tumblr this month," Coatney wrote. "It's a a good time, with Tumblr moving into a new and even better stage with Yahoo, and though I'm happy about the decision and excited about new opportunities, it's still bittersweet."

Former Tumblr President John Maloney recruited Coatney from Newsweek three years ago to help media companies get the most out of the platform. Coatney, … Read more

Amazon adds group gift cards to Facebook

Amazon just made it a little easier to send birthday gift cards to Facebook friends.

The Seattle-based online retail giant on Tuesday launched Amazon Birthday Gift, which allows customers to send friends electronic gift cards on their birthdays. Customers can invite mutual friends to contribute, so the gift can grow.

You start the process ahead of the friend's birthday by going to Amazon's site. After logging into your Amazon and Facebook accounts and connecting the two -- which allows Amazon to collect information about you and your friends -- you'll be shown a list of your friends … Read more