More than 100 Internet companies and two FCC commissioners are voicing their concerns over FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal to regulate broadband providers. Wheeler’s plan would allow broadband companies to charge fees to content providers that want to access the fastest lanes, a proposal that does not treat all Internet traffic equally. Amazon, Facebook, Google and Yahoo are among the companies that described the proposal as “a grave threat to the Internet” in a letter to Wheeler. Continue reading Internet Giants Dispute Proposed FCC Rules on Net Neutrality

Social network LinkedIn brought in $473.2 million in revenue for the first quarter of 2014. The company’s plan for the coming years is to increase the number of users and the frequency that those users visit the site by focusing on content posted by well-known professionals and everyday users alike. Currently, LinkedIn has 300 million people signed up for an account on their site, but during Q1, it had only 186 million unique visitors monthly via computers. Continue reading LinkedIn Hopes to Grow Audience with User Generated Content

While most social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook give users the ability to choose how they share their posts, with options such as followers, friends, or public, most users do not realize that terms of service allows the sites to reproduce the content for marketing purposes. The terms of service that users are required to agree to in order to sign up for a social network are often lengthy and comprised of complex legal terms, resulting in many users agreeing to terms they do not fully understand. Continue reading Social Media: What the Lengthy Terms of Service Really Mean

Similar to how business networking site LinkedIn services the needs of recruiters, professionals and job seekers, Technicolor has launched a social network called Creative District that is geared toward media producers and creatives. The platform is designed to help film and media creators collaborate and share resources, and find work and funding. Creative District operates as a startup, while Technicolor serves as the network’s sole investor. Continue reading Creative District: Technicolor Launches Pro Networking Site

LinkedIn recently announced that it now has more than 300 million registered users, about two-thirds of which are based outside the United States. While the company has not specified how many of the 300 million are active monthly users, it reported 139 million monthly unique visitors and 48 million Slideshare visitors for the fourth quarter of 2013. During that same period, LinkedIn noted that 41 percent of its traffic came from mobile devices, a percentage it expects to continue increasing. Continue reading LinkedIn Has 300 Million Registered Users, Mobile Use on Rise

Biz Stone has an impressive track record with helping launch various social products, including Xanga, Blogger, Twitter and Medium. Stone’s most recent undertaking is Jelly, a question-and-answer app though which users can ask their social media friends — and friends of friends — questions about anything, using text and images. While the app has the potential to change the makeup of Internet searches, some critics have been skeptical of the need for what essentially serves as a mash-up between Quora and Instagram. Continue reading Biz Stone Aims to Revolutionize Social Search with Jelly App

How would you like to exchange LinkedIn, Facebook and/or Twitter connections with a simple handshake? You can do that now with Razer’s Nabu, the company’s first wearable device. CES attendees responded enthusiastically, giving it the People’s Choice Award. The win was among finalists in 13 categories, including Best Startup, Best Automotive Electronic Device, Best Video and Best Software, and accounted for nearly 50 percent of the total 54,511 Engadget reader votes. Continue reading Nabu: Razer’s First Wearable Wins CES People’s Choice Award

Some 73 percent of online adults now use a social networking site, while 42 percent now use multiple social networking sites, according to new figures released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. In terms of number of users, Facebook remains the dominant platform, but an increasing number of consumers are diversifying onto other services such as Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter. In addition, Instagram users are nearly as likely as Facebook users to check in daily. Continue reading Social Media Update: 73 Percent of Adults Access Social Networks

It seems that Wall Street loves Twitter. The company set an initial public offering price of $26 late Wednesday, only to see the stock close its first trading day up 73 percent at $44.90 a share, with a session high of over $50. The rocketing IPO set co-founder Evan Williams’ stock value at $2.9 billion and co-founder Jack Dorsey’s at $1.2 billion. CEO Dick Costolo’s stock is now worth $384 million. At about $45 per share, the company is valued at $24.4 billion. Continue reading Twitter Numbers Skyrocket on New York Stock Exchange Debut

According to a new report from online content distribution service ShareThis, photo site Pinterest is currently the fastest-growing platform for online content sharing. Data analyzed across more than 120 social media channels and two million websites indicates that sharing via Pinterest grew 19.2 percent in the last quarter, while sharing grew via LinkedIn by 15.1 percent and on Facebook by 14.7 percent. The report also suggests that sharing on Twitter fell 7.6 percent. Continue reading Pinterest: Fastest Growing Platform for Online Content Sharing

In an effort to change the way its users engage online — and for how long — LinkedIn is beefing up its site to include a handful of new apps that will help facilitate easier, more advanced communication among users. During a press event last week, LinkedIn announced five new apps, including one that processes users’ email and attaches mini LinkedIn profiles to the message. These new features are a sign that the social media site is upping the ante on interactive capabilities. Continue reading LinkedIn Targets Mobile Users with Collection of New Apps

What the introduction of the iPhone was to the world of personal computers, wearable technology may become to the current, rapidly evolving tech landscape. And unlike some industry experts, Cisco Chief Futurist David Evans doesn’t believe the personal computer is on its way out, but rather, it’s becoming more personal — and even smaller. Wearable technology like Google Glass will become prevalent, and other seemingly futuristic advances are right around the corner. Continue reading Wearable Tech Poised to Become the Smartphone’s Successor

Facebook and Pinterest are the clear standouts when it comes to referral traffic from social networks. While Facebook leads the pack, accounting for more than 10 percent of traffic to publishers in September, Pinterest holds second place, driving more traffic than Twitter, LinkedIn and Reddit combined. According to data from social plugin service Shareaholic, collected from 200,000 publishers, Pinterest drove 3.68 percent of traffic to publishers in September, about three times as much as third-ranked Twitter. Continue reading Social: Facebook, Pinterest Drive Most Traffic to Publishers

Facebook has been quietly working on a service called Reader that could essentially become a newspaper for mobile devices, according to inside sources. The service, which has reportedly been in development for more than a year, displays content from the social network’s users and publishers in a new visual format designed specifically for smartphones and tablets. Recent versions have been similar to mobile news aggregator Flipboard. Continue reading Facebook Targets News Aggregation in Latest Mobile Effort

News Corp. is planning a social networking expansion of its Wall Street Journal website, which will transform the site into a platform intended for more than simply delivering news. Lex Fenwick, CEO of Dow Jones, described the company’s plans during an investor day earlier this week. The focal point of the platform is a feature called WSJ Profile, which allows users to post what is essentially a digital resume and features social functions that could compete with LinkedIn. Continue reading News Corp. to Launch Social Network for Wall Street Journal