Link to full story is here
Google has quietly disabled a feature that notified users of its search service in China when a keyword had been censored by the Chinese government’s internet controls, according to censorship monitoring blog GreatFire.org. The blog reports that the change was made sometime between December 5 and December 8, 2012, with no official statement from Google to announce or explain its removal.
According to GreatFire.org Google has also deleted a help article which explained how to use the feature — which it says indicates that Google is self-censoring in this instance, rather than being blocked by the government (which has happened in the past). “Since the removal of the help article could only be done willingly by Google, the only explanation we see is that Google struck a deal with the Chinese government, giving in to considerable pressure to self-censor,” it writes.
The blog argues that the move “indicates a new development in the relationship between the Chinese government and Google” — since Google previously and successfully fought government attempts to censor its censorship notification feature, not to mention implementing the feature in the first place. Speculating on what might have caused Mountain View’s change of heart, GreatFire.org writes:
Friday, January 4, 2013
Facebook Starts Sending Out Notices for Sponsored Stories Settlement
Link to full story is here
If you receive a message purporting to be from Facebook with the subject "LEGAL NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION" -- don't worry, it's legitimate.
Facebook is sending proposed settlement notices to members of a class-action lawsuit against the company's use of Sponsored Stories. Facebook's offer of $20 million to settle the case was granted preliminary approval by the courts in December.
An email detailing the reason behind the lawsuit as well as the terms of the settlement was sent to users it believes are class members of the lawsuit, "according to available records."
If you receive a message purporting to be from Facebook with the subject "LEGAL NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION" -- don't worry, it's legitimate.
Facebook is sending proposed settlement notices to members of a class-action lawsuit against the company's use of Sponsored Stories. Facebook's offer of $20 million to settle the case was granted preliminary approval by the courts in December.
An email detailing the reason behind the lawsuit as well as the terms of the settlement was sent to users it believes are class members of the lawsuit, "according to available records."
Facebook Adds Voice Messaging to Its Messenger App
The link to the full story is here
Facebook added the ability to send voice messages to its Messenger app for iOS and Android Thursday.
To send a voice message, tap the + button beside where you traditionally type a message in the Messenger app. Then select Record, holding the button down to speak. When you release the Record button, your voice message will be sent to your recipient.
Along with today's update, Facebook has also started testing VoIP functionality in Canada. iPhone users in the country can try the feature by tapping the "I" button in the top right corner of a conversation with a person they would like to call, and then tapping Free Call.
Important to note: While free to use, these VoIP calls will use your existing data plan, which could get pricey if you use the feature often.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Twitter Now Valued at $11 Billion, Analyst Says
The link to the full story is here
Fueling more speculation about a possible IPO next year, an analyst looking at trading in secondary markets says Twitter's value is now north of $11 billion.
Max Wolff, an analyst with Greencrest, told Forbes that Twitter's value is up since Facebook's IPO last year. "Using the secondary market for shares to mark enterprise value is a very difficult and opaque process. It is a rumor rich and special share class soup," he told the publication.
The $11 billion figure reflects the growth in users and "new monetization efforts are both yielding fruit and pointing toward a good 2013 for Twitter," Wolff added. Rumors of a purchase by Apple are also boosting the numbers. The secondary market refers to the buying and selling of pre-existing investments in the company. The SEC caps the number of investors at 499. Beyond that, a company is required to go public.
Though Twitter's valuation is far less than the $100 billion figure floated for the pre-IPO Facebook, Wolff concluded that Twitter 's valuation looks better than Facebook's did when it went public.
The last figure circulated for Twitter's valuation was $8 billion in July 2011. That amount was extrapolated by an $800 million round of funding that Twitter secured at the time. In December 2010, Twitter's valuation was estimated at $3.7 billion.
Fueling more speculation about a possible IPO next year, an analyst looking at trading in secondary markets says Twitter's value is now north of $11 billion.
Max Wolff, an analyst with Greencrest, told Forbes that Twitter's value is up since Facebook's IPO last year. "Using the secondary market for shares to mark enterprise value is a very difficult and opaque process. It is a rumor rich and special share class soup," he told the publication.
The $11 billion figure reflects the growth in users and "new monetization efforts are both yielding fruit and pointing toward a good 2013 for Twitter," Wolff added. Rumors of a purchase by Apple are also boosting the numbers. The secondary market refers to the buying and selling of pre-existing investments in the company. The SEC caps the number of investors at 499. Beyond that, a company is required to go public.
Though Twitter's valuation is far less than the $100 billion figure floated for the pre-IPO Facebook, Wolff concluded that Twitter 's valuation looks better than Facebook's did when it went public.
The last figure circulated for Twitter's valuation was $8 billion in July 2011. That amount was extrapolated by an $800 million round of funding that Twitter secured at the time. In December 2010, Twitter's valuation was estimated at $3.7 billion.
Google+ Builds Stronger Ties To Blogger, Now Lets You Mention Other Users In Your Posts
The link to the full story is here
If you’re using Blogger for your daily personal or business writings, you might be happy to know that it has gotten a bit more of the Google+ social treatment. You can now mention anyone on Google+ within your post, and they’ll see it as a notification. It’s a good way to get people’s attention, also a good way to provide context to your content.
We haven’t heard much about Google’s blogging platform since its redesign in March of last year, sadly. This is the platform that Ev Williams, co-founder of Twitter, sold to Google in 2003. Here’s what Blogger’s Malte Ubl had to say about the update:
Now you can add a link to a Google+ profile or page when you want to mention someone in a post. If you then share your post from Blogger to Google+, we make it easier to notify your mentions by including them in the sharebox.
To mention someone, just type “+” before their name while you’re using the Blogger post editor.
The profile or page will show up as a link in your published post. Hovering over will show a card with more info and an ‘Add to circles’ button. Clicking the link takes you straight to the Google+ profile or page.
If you’re using Blogger for your daily personal or business writings, you might be happy to know that it has gotten a bit more of the Google+ social treatment. You can now mention anyone on Google+ within your post, and they’ll see it as a notification. It’s a good way to get people’s attention, also a good way to provide context to your content.
We haven’t heard much about Google’s blogging platform since its redesign in March of last year, sadly. This is the platform that Ev Williams, co-founder of Twitter, sold to Google in 2003. Here’s what Blogger’s Malte Ubl had to say about the update:
Now you can add a link to a Google+ profile or page when you want to mention someone in a post. If you then share your post from Blogger to Google+, we make it easier to notify your mentions by including them in the sharebox.
To mention someone, just type “+” before their name while you’re using the Blogger post editor.
The profile or page will show up as a link in your published post. Hovering over will show a card with more info and an ‘Add to circles’ button. Clicking the link takes you straight to the Google+ profile or page.
Google Launches New Experimental Search Features For Tracking Your Online Purchases, Reservations & Events From Gmail
The link to the full story is here
Google has long been running a number of experimental Search and Gmail field trials anybody can sign up for and today it’s launching a few nifty new search features for searching your Gmail inbox from Google.com on the desktop and your iOS or Android phone. Previously, Google already let you find you flights by using the [my flights] search operator, but now you can also use queries like [my purchases] to find your latest Amazon acquisitions and track they packages they are coming in.
In addition, you can now search for various reservations through new search parameters like [my hotel reservation] or [my restaurant reservations] to bring up your travel plans and OpenTable bookings. In addition, you can also use [my events] to, as Google says, “see information from Ticketmaster or Eventbrite about your upcoming concert, sports game or other event.”
It’s worth noting that Google already uses some of this information, including your hotel and flight reservations, in its Google Now product on Android 4.0 and higher so it can alert you of flight delays and when you need to check out of your hotel. Today’s update brings a bit more Google Now to the web.
Google has long been running a number of experimental Search and Gmail field trials anybody can sign up for and today it’s launching a few nifty new search features for searching your Gmail inbox from Google.com on the desktop and your iOS or Android phone. Previously, Google already let you find you flights by using the [my flights] search operator, but now you can also use queries like [my purchases] to find your latest Amazon acquisitions and track they packages they are coming in.
In addition, you can now search for various reservations through new search parameters like [my hotel reservation] or [my restaurant reservations] to bring up your travel plans and OpenTable bookings. In addition, you can also use [my events] to, as Google says, “see information from Ticketmaster or Eventbrite about your upcoming concert, sports game or other event.”
It’s worth noting that Google already uses some of this information, including your hotel and flight reservations, in its Google Now product on Android 4.0 and higher so it can alert you of flight delays and when you need to check out of your hotel. Today’s update brings a bit more Google Now to the web.
Will Google+ Ever Get A Full Read/Write API?
The link to the full story is here
Depending on who you ask, Google+ is either a thriving social network and the most important backbone of Google’s social efforts, or a deserted wasteland where a small clique of fans keeps the lights on. I tend to think it’s doing quite alright for Google, but I also know that I would use it far more if I could use a desktop client (and maybe one that combines Twitter, Facebook and Google+) to read and post updates. Google, however, has steadfastly refused to launch a full read/write API for Google+.
At I/O earlier this year, the company’s representatives said that they don’t want to “disrupt something very special” and “magical” by just letting third-party apps post to it. What Google wants to avoid, it seems, is auto-posting news updates, cross-posted tweets, and other updates it considers to be of low value to its users. Google also wants to keep full control over the Google+ user experience. While it has whitelisted a few tools like Hootsuite and Engage121 and now allows them to post to Google+, there are currently no consumer-oriented tools for directly interacting with Google+ without going to the site.
Sure, there are the Google+ buttons, a basic read API and the Hangouts API for those who want to run video chats and a few other tools, too, but unlike Twitter, which despite its recent kerfuffles with developers still enables lots of interesting third-party services, Google+ still feels very insular. If I want to post a picture to it from my phone, I have to use the Google+ app. If I want to post an update, I have to use the Google+ app. But while that app is actually quite good, I’m pretty sure we would see a lot more innovation and interesting use cases for Google+ if the company made it easier for developers to really start using it as a platform.
Depending on who you ask, Google+ is either a thriving social network and the most important backbone of Google’s social efforts, or a deserted wasteland where a small clique of fans keeps the lights on. I tend to think it’s doing quite alright for Google, but I also know that I would use it far more if I could use a desktop client (and maybe one that combines Twitter, Facebook and Google+) to read and post updates. Google, however, has steadfastly refused to launch a full read/write API for Google+.
At I/O earlier this year, the company’s representatives said that they don’t want to “disrupt something very special” and “magical” by just letting third-party apps post to it. What Google wants to avoid, it seems, is auto-posting news updates, cross-posted tweets, and other updates it considers to be of low value to its users. Google also wants to keep full control over the Google+ user experience. While it has whitelisted a few tools like Hootsuite and Engage121 and now allows them to post to Google+, there are currently no consumer-oriented tools for directly interacting with Google+ without going to the site.
Sure, there are the Google+ buttons, a basic read API and the Hangouts API for those who want to run video chats and a few other tools, too, but unlike Twitter, which despite its recent kerfuffles with developers still enables lots of interesting third-party services, Google+ still feels very insular. If I want to post a picture to it from my phone, I have to use the Google+ app. If I want to post an update, I have to use the Google+ app. But while that app is actually quite good, I’m pretty sure we would see a lot more innovation and interesting use cases for Google+ if the company made it easier for developers to really start using it as a platform.
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