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Google offers updates for Google+ this holiday season, fruitcake en route
If Google's idea of a stocking stuffer is tweaking Google+, its engineers are getting the gift-giving over with a few days early. Today, the company announced that it'll be introducing a few new features to its social network, including new controls that adjust how posts from a given circle are blended into the overall stream of posts, along with which posts are highlighted for your attention. The outfit also says it's working on refining its toolbar to highlight newer posts and see how widely your posts have been shared. For advertisers, up to 50 named managers can now administrate a Google+ Page, and a fix to the photo side of the site allow for improved navigation and better tagging. Head past the break to see full clips of the changes in action, and since Google bought out Santa's operation, expect to hear Eric Schmidt's footsteps on your roof come the 24th. Update: The Google+ Android app has also seen an update tonight, gaining the ability to start a hangout from a Messenger conversation, new photo album design and more. Hit the Android Market for more details.
Coming soon: pick airline seatmates via social networks
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines plans to launch a service in 2012 that will enable you to pick who you sit next to on an airplane by visiting their Facebook or LinkedIn pages. "Meet & Seat" will be an opt-in service (similar to that already toyed with by Malaysia Airlines), so you can still fly anonymously -- as anonymous as air travel gets these days, anyway. It could be great for making friends or developing business contacts on your next international flight, or it could make for some really awkward conversation too. "So, your Facebook profile says you like Justin Bieber?"
Microsoft takes the wraps off of So.cl, a search-based social network for students
A few months back we got a quick sneak peek at Microsoft's social experiment which was, at the time, called Tulalip. Now it's finally gone official and scored an even harder to pronounce name So.cl. The basic premise is this: you sign up and search for stuff (using Bing, naturally) and your queries are automatically shared with your friends. From there things get even stranger. The Video Party feature lets users group chat while watching the same clip online, but there's no video chat. You also can't upload photos, but you can make a "montage" of images collected from around the web. To kick start what Microsoft sees as less of a social and more of a learning network, the company has partnered with NYU, Syracuse and the University of Washington. Hit up the source link for more details and to add your name to the waiting list -- for now Redmond's social search toy is in a limited beta.
MagnetU connects you with similar people in your area, because diversity is overrated
You could make friends the old fashioned way, with casual introductions, eye contact and other intrinsically human social skills; or you could just sit back and let MagnetU do all the heavy lifting for you. The Israeli startup, founded in 2010, has just unveiled what it calls a "proximity networking" device -- a tiny accessory that connects users to other like-minded people within their immediate vicinity. Within this lightweight gadget lies information on a user's "social desires," which can be customized and modified depending on a given situation. If you're at a networking event, for example, you can activate your "business" profile, before switching into the grossly mistitled "social" mode once you walk into a bar. Once activated, the device will automatically scan for other users within your area, comparing your data against theirs. If it finds a match, both misfits will be notified with a text message that provides details on their level of compatibility. At that point, it's up to you to exchange furtive glances and do the whole "Come here often?" Kabuki routine. The tool could also open up new marketing avenues for retailers, though MagnetU plans to begin rolling out its $24 device at college campus events, where more traditional social lubricants are few and far between.
Apple applies for 'digital handshake' patent powered by invisible ink
Time for the usual disclaimer, since we're taking a journey into the murky world of Cupertino's patent applications -- it's just as likely we'll never see or hear of this tech again as it is to wind up in the next iPhone. While everyone else is betting on NFC, Apple wants to use next-generation cameras and invisible ink to negotiate digital handshakes. Snap a picture of a cash register with a barcode and your iDevice will generate a unique ID to pair up -- but in order to keep the technology secure, the codes would have to be painted on with "invisible" fluorescent coatings. When you're pairing two iPhones (for example) to share contacts, the key could be generated on one of the screens while the other took a picture of it. If this all seems too complex, boring and pointless now, just think: this could be how we log into Foursquare in a decade's time.
CEO bans email, encourages social networking
Who needs email when you have text messaging, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and a menagerie of alternative communication tools? Not Atos, a French IT firm that's planning to give email the boot. Over the course of the next eighteen months, CEO Thierry Breton hopes to ween 80,000 employees off of the old standby, pushing text messages, phone calls and face-to-face chats as alternatives. Breton strives to promote a collaborative social network similar to Facebook or Twitter to fill email's void and suffice as an easily accessible global network. Having himself been email sober at work for three years, Breton claims email is inefficient, and a burden to the workflow. Will this new social environment promote efficiency, or will pet photos and status updates become the new spam? If employees can't keep their social inclinations under wraps, Atos may have to resort to the Medieval carrier pigeon. Delivery estimates for long distance range from five days to never.
Facebook, FTC reach settlement, Zuckerberg confesses 'a bunch of mistakes'
Facebook and the Federal Trade Commission have reached a settlement over consumer deception charges dating back to 2009. The commission claimed that the social networking giant made public information it promised to keep private, thanks to changes in site terms. According to the terms of the deal, user feedback will be required before the site makes changes to policies for sharing data. Mark Zuckerberg addressed his company's on-going privacy issues, admitting to "a bunch of mistakes," adding, In particular, I think that a small number of high profile mistakes, like Beacon four years ago and poor execution as we transitioned our privacy model two years ago, have often overshadowed much of the good work we've done. Zuckerberg assured users that Facebook is making a "clear and formal long-term commitment" to privacy tools.
Kevin Bacon's closer than you think, Facebook finds folks separated by less than 4 degrees (update)
Facebook's fertile ground for social experiments, and it wasn't all that long ago that Yahoo tested the six degrees of separation theory using the site. Not to be outdone, Mark Zuckerberg's crew, with an assist from the Laboratory for Web Algorithmics of the Università degli Studi di Milano, has done a little digging of its own to find out just how intertwined its 721 million users really are. Turns out, instead of being six degrees away from your favorite dancing actor, you're likely only 4.74 -- which was the average distance between any two Facebook users globally. Considering that number shrinks to three when limited to relationships within your own country, and the worldwide number was at 5.28 in 2008 (and is shrinking all the time), you should be best friends with Kevin Bacon by 2020 or so. Don't believe us? There's plenty of statistical analysis to prove it at the source below. Update: An astute commenter (with an assist from the BBC) has pointed out that the figures above correlate to the number of intermediate persons between you and Mr. Bacon, therefore the number of degrees separating you is actually one fewer.
Facebook Messenger for Windows is seemingly en route, Like it or not
He's got your personal data, relationship status and those pictures from last night -- now Mr. Zuckerberg is aiming for a share of your desktop, too. Facebook has released a desktop messenger client for Windows 7 that brings you access to the site's chat, ticker feed and notifications without everyone in the office spotting the blue-bar-of-lost-productivity across the top of your browser. It's currently in limited beta, so there's still time to build a rival client -- maybe with some support from the Winklevii?
Google+ quietly gets trending topics, dares you to search for it
Did the addition of "What's Hot" not satiate your burning desire for real-time happenings on Google's social network? You're in luck, as Mountain View's quietly added another way to aggregate popular content on Google+. Upon initiating a search, a list of trending topics appears to the right, exposing what's currently en vogue on Mountain View's social network. Functionally, it's a dead ringer for Twitter's trending topics and unlike "What's Hot," won't bombard you with random unrelated, but popular, posts. Will it pass muster as an official feature, or will it be left to linger in the ether? We'll find out, but Google if you're listening, we're watchin'.
Google+ laser hack, Hangout shoots first (video)
We've all been in those boring meetings where you just want to let rip on marketing with a laser blaster. And now you can... kinda. Best of all, you don't even need to leave your La-Z-Boy. House4Hack, a Johannesburg based hackerspace knocked up a dual-servo, Arduino-controlled webcam for its entry into the 2011 Google+ hackathon. Deciding that this wasn't nearly awesome enough, they made the logical improvement of adding a splendiferous laser attachment for the perfect Google+ Hangout accessory. Now, colleagues can 'show-up' remotely when they can't be present in person, and register their disapproval in the way nature intended -- radiation amplified light. To see it in action, tap the video after the jump.
Sina Weibo comes to entice business, not to bury Twitter
Sina Weibo, China's most popular micro-blogging service is on the cusp of launching an English language version. Twitter addicts won't be forced to choose between the two: it's not for them. No, this westward drive is to encourage businesses to connect to Chinese users -- Neil Bush, head of TX Oil already uses the service to drum up clients in the far east. The company has also enlisted the help of Instagram and Flipboard, who will integrate with the service (as long as the latter can charm the Government to unblock it).
Apple's termination of retail employee over Facebook post upheld
Apple employees wanting to blow off some steam on Facebook or Twitter may want to think twice before they post their comments. In a recent decision, the UK Labor tribunal upheld Apple's right to fire employees over negative comments left on a social network. This decision cited Apple's social media policy which prohibits employees from posting negative comments on social networks. This legal dispute started when "Crisp," an Apple employee in the UK, posted some derogatory comments against Apple and its products on a private Facebook page. These comments were made outside working hours, but were noticed by a fellow colleague who printed them up and showed them to a manager. Crisp was then fired for "gross misconduct" because he had violated Apple's social policy. According to analysis by lawyer Jamie Hamnett, the UK tribunal agreed with Apple's assertion that these comments could have a material effect on Apple's commercial reputation. When Crisp claimed that he had a right to free expression, the Tribunal again sided with Apple which argued the company had a right to limit this speech, especially since these comments can be easily shared by Crisps's Facebook friends. This decision should be a warning to employees who work at companies that have strict social network policies. You need to be careful what you say online. It should also be a wake-up call for companies concerned about their employee's behavior online. Companies don't have to cross their fingers and hope employees are nice. They can enforce a strict, well-written social media policy with the expectation that it will likely be upheld in court. [Via CNET]
BBM Music now rocking BlackBerry App World (video)
RIM's BBM Music is now ready for public consumption. The simply titled mobile app is hitting the company's App World today for users in the US, Canada and Australia -- with more areas coming soon, naturally. BBM Music lets BlackBerry owners add 50 songs from a choice of millions and harnesses the social networking capabilities of BBM, giving Premium users access to music from their friends' music profiles. Check out video of the app in action, after the break.
Facebook testing 'Trusted Friends' feature, the password unlock we hope you never have to use
Here's a situation: you create a Facebook account. You fall in love with said account. You're on it all day, every single day. And then, your computer explodes. You go to login on a new machine, and you realize that your minty fresh browser has no recollection of your Facebook password. At this point, you're probably pondering the point of taking another breath. Evidently, Facebook understands your dilemma, and in the coming weeks, it'll be testing out a new password recovery system for those who can't / won't take advantage of the existing methods. Christened "Trusted Friends," the feature will allow a user to select between three and five pals that they're confident will help out in dire times. Then, should you lose your password, Facebook can send recovery codes to that gang, and they can hand 'em over to you in order to unlock things. According to Facebook, it's akin to "giving a house key to your friends when you go on vacation." The only concern? Friends aren't friends forever, and even BFFs can morph into WEEs given the right circumstances. Choose wisely, Facebookers.
Escort's SmartCord Live brings radar detection, KRS-One to your smartphone (video)
Evading the long arm of the law, as we all know, is infinitely easier with a radar detector onboard -- and even easier if said detector is hooked up to a cloud. That's the idea behind the SmartCord Live, a new power cord from the eagle-eyed folks at Escort. Once connected to your car's radar detector and lighter socket, this Bluetooth-enabled bundle will communicate with your iPhone or Android handset through a specialized app. Once that's taken care of, you'll be hooked up to Escort Live -- a so-called "social network for the road." There, you'll find access to Escort's Defender database, full of real-time geographic information on verified speed traps, red light cameras and other roadway surveillance systems. Once your detector picks up a threat, you can press a "report" button on the cord or app to instantly send out a big "five-oh" to all other Escort users in the area, while boosting your Karma quotient, in the process. Find out more about the cord and its corollary system, after the break.
Google+ learns about trending topics, photo filters and how to appease Google Apps users
Still having a blast adding people into circles? Well hold on tight, because Mountain View just introduced some worthy upgrades to its social network. First up is a new feature dubbed "What's Hot" which, much like trending topics on Twitter, highlights popular content being shared on the social network. Photography aficionados in the audience can gussy up snaps with more photo editing features dubbed "Creative Kit", including a multitude of filters -- some of which (for a limited time) pertain to Halloween. And finally, those of you who use Google Apps within an organization can now partake in all the Google+ fun -- provided your IT admin isn't a social networking-hating luddite. Links explaining all that and more await you below, but before you go, why not hop past the break for some vampiric renditions of Larry and Sergey, and a few other celebs. [Thanks, Rich]
Google Buzz settlement approved by FTC, yearly privacy audits incoming
Mountain View's lawyers can collectively breathe a sigh of relief, as the FTC has accepted an earlier proposal relating to Buzz's numerous privacy violations. The service -- which already settled one suit and is scheduled for rendezvous with the grim reaper -- was singled out by the commission for misleading users by partially opting them in, even after they had explicitly declined to do so. As punishment, Google will be required to field yearly audits from an independent party for the next twenty years (!). Don't mess with the law government, kids.
Google wants you to add writers on Google+, so do writers
Find an interesting article, add its author. That's the very simple idea behind a very simple feature that Google has just begun testing. As TechCrunch recently noticed, Big G has started rolling out a new "add to Circles" button within some search results, allowing readers to more easily and instantaneously follow their favorite web authors on Google+. Writer profiles have already been integrated within search pages, but until now, users had to actually click on author pages before following them. This new circle button, on the other hand, cuts out that middle click and seems like a logical next step in Google's ongoing integration. It also seems like a great way to help writers feel better about themselves, which we always support. And if you're not seeing it, you're not going crazy -- Google's just rolling it out to only a few users.
Instapaper gets iPad refresh: more friends, more reading
Instapaper, the internet equivalent of a bookmark, has been given a top-to-toe makeover for its latest outing on the iPad. Fear not, your reading materials remain easy to read (and ad-free), but version 4 has now been smoothed over with a thick layer of tablet gloss. Navigation is all done through a bar on the left, and remains available for prodding as you read through your article selection. The upgrade also adds a subscription option for searching all your previous reads, as well as better social skills, with the ability to pick up and store articles and posts shared by your Twitter buddies -- ensuring that you'll probably never run out of reading material again.
