DISQUS

I'm not sure if this is going to work out well with Yahoo. Although it's a commendable effort to launch Apex, since it will inevitably face direct competition from Google's DoubleClick and Microsoft's aQuantive, I think that the probability of this really taking off is very low.

The fact that you are able to link your Gigpark account to your existing Gmail and Facebook accounts may be the key to this new site's success. I think that the concept is fantastic, but Gigpark's compatibility with people's email accounts and other social networking sites will help it catch on much faster than it would otherwise.

This is the first time I have ever heard of these Wifi balloons and they are certainly a bit out-there. Although innovative, it definitely seems quite risky to place $500 technology on balloons. But if it actually works, what is there to lose? It may end up being a great cost-saver.

I am actually quite surprised that 33% of men considered a "break-up email"good email etiquette. Although there is certainly no harm in sending a love letter over email, though it does depersonalize it a bit, breaking up with someone via email is definitely not an appropriate way to do it, nor could I imagine it being very effective.

I agree that even though Google already owns the social networking company, Orkut, acquiring another one can only help them. If it allows them to more than double their share of the social networking market, considering how fast the popularity of social networking sites are growing, I believe it is a good move by Google.

This may be a great new venue for blogs and for people looking for new and interesting blogs to join. It is also a great move be Ask.com who is now taking a more active role in effectively bringing together news aggregation with the ever-growing domain of social media site.

I think that this will rapidly become a very popular new application on Facebook, and therefore an extremely wise move by CBS. Considering that Facebook's largest user base is composed of college aged students who are most likely also the the ones who will be most interested in March Madness, this application should have wide spread success on Facebook over the next few months.

I definitely agree. This should be an extremely advantageous move on both ends, especially considering that Microsoft's shares have dropped by 40% and Yahoo had dropped by 18% this year. We may see a potential turn around for both parties involved.

I have to agree with Steven. Although I'm sure the goal is that Microsoft's takeover of Yahoo will allow them to actually compete at a higher footing with Google than either of them had been able to do separately, I still believe Google's dominance will remain just as strong as it ever was. That's not to say, however, that this buyout was a bad decision. I feel that it was highly advantageous for both parties involved.

I have to agree with the rest of you. Considering that Google has grown faster than Microsoft in every quarter since 2004 and Yahoo has failed completely to challenge Google's dominance in search, this deal is not only groundbreaking, but is undoubtedly a very smart decision for both Yahoo and Microsoft.

I was surprised to think of google becoming a very as a detriment to the company. If anything, I would think that the "verbization" of Google is not harmful to Google, but in fact goes to show how much people depend on the search engine. Everyone understands its meaning as having performed an online search. Clearly it shows Google's dominance online because if I ever heard someone say I'm going to go yahoo that I would think they're crazy.

This is definitely a great addition to Mahalo while at the same time being highly beneficial for the social networking sites that are included on these tabs (specifically Facebook, LinkedIn, and Flickr). Being able to so easily access these sites once you are on your Mahalo profile page will increase user traffic to both Mahalo and the included social networking sites.

I have to agree with Holly. As much as it is a pain for those people who have concerns about their information being retained by FB after they have deactivated their account, it is equally frustrating to have to recreate your entire account if you choose to return to FB after a period of time. I understand where the concern comes from, but I don't see how FB having a record of your old account infringes that much upon your privacy.

I have to agree with the earlier comments. I was actually quite surprised by these statistics, as I had assumed that with its ever-growing user base, Facebook would have surpassed MySpace by this point. My thinking was based on the fact that with Facebook's uninterrupted growth in popularity and MySpace's steady decline as the leader of social networking sites, Facebook would consequently have the highest amount of traffic. Although this may not be the case presently, there is no doubt in my mind that come 2008, Facebook will be topping the carts as the social networking sites with the most hits and the highest market share within the US.

I have to agree with Jordan on this one. I believe that users' time spent on Facebook is not taken up with perusing one's own profile but that of other people's. We already know enough about ourselves...the fun comes from exploring other people's profiles. It seems to me that very few people will be motivated to make use of this new option, which means that Facebook's clutter clean-up is not going to clean up much.

I'd say that these are pretty impressive initiatives by Google, and while one must acknowledge that the associated PR may be a significant motivating force, the grants being funded by Google can only lead to good things and perhaps spur on other large corporations to follow suit.

I am very curious by how much Facebook's net worth will increase through its European expansion. If the Samwer brothers are willing to make such an investment as large as this one than there must be reason to believe that Europe is a fertile ground for rapid growth and profit. If it is even close to being as successful as it was in the US, this partnership between Facebook and the Samwer brothers will exceed all expectations.

This is a fascinating finding. It highlights the fact that extending beyond journalists getting story ideas, the general public is increasingly relying on blogs as their go-to source for news. It has become one of the primary means by which they are able to stay up to date on what interests them most, whether it be social networking sites, sports, technology, or even politics.

I think that iMantri has definitely found a unique niche within the highly competitive world of social networking sites. However, with LinkedIn already well-established, specifically within the realm of professional social networking sites, I am curious whether a site that offers mentoring that may be at a charge will be able to take off. Even if it is made clear that fees will go to charity, I can imagine that people may still be hesitant to pay for mentoring through this type of site when they may be able to find similar help and advice without a fee.

I'm actually surprised it took Hi5 this long to implement status updates. Most other social networking sites followed Facebook's lead quite some time ago. At least these improvements will help Hi5 retain its current users but I think they will have to pursue further initiatives if they wish to attract more users as well as maintain their current base.

I think that Andrew brings up some excellent points and the truth is, even if these initial efforts by MySpace bring little improvement, I believe that even just striving for increased regulation, protection, and enforcement on the site is a step in the right direction. If these measures prove inadequate to bring about greater protection for teens online at least it will bring greater awareness to the issue and prompt further efforts by MySpace and other social networking sites that tend to draw in young teens, which is the most vulnerable group online.

These are very interesting statistics. On a related note, I would be very curious to know if the current writer's strike is affecting the amount of online video watching. As more and more of the most popular shows are going off-air due to the strike, I would postulate that people will increasingly turn to alternative means of entertainment, which would be watching videos online. It will be interesting to track this over the next few months while the strike is still going on.

Although only time will tell, I believe that opening up Facebook to the general public could backfire on the seemingly immortal the social network. By removing the exclusivity factor, Facebook becomes more like MySpace which appears to be on the decline. By keeping Facebook exclusively for high school students, college students, and recent grads, they were effectively targeting the 15 to 25 year-old group, a demographic that spends more time on social networks than any other. Yet, with the decision to make Facebook available to all, I believe it may lose grounding among the younger users.

I think PayPal may have found a new user base that has great potential. Nonprofit organizations are constantly searching for a more efficient and effective means by which to facilitate donations and this is exactly what PayPal will be able to provide with their new Developer Donation Kit. However, with PayCycle offering its service for free to non-profits it will be interesting to see what type of competition PayPal will face.

I am always skeptical of training videos but I will admit that with the amount of expertise offered on this particular video, this may be one training video that actually lives up to its claims. I think I might just have to check it out for myself!