Twitter Passes MySpace in Popularity but Lags Behind Facebook

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Twitter has passed MySpace to become the third-largest social networking site on the Internet. According to the latest comScore numbers, Twitter had almost 96 million unique visitors in August, a gain of 76 percent from the same time last year. Meanwhile, MySpace fell 17 percent during the same time period with 95 million unique users last month.

Twitter could see further growth as its recent site redesign takes hold. Twitter recently reconfigured its site to make it more user-friendly and resemble a layout that is familiar to users of Facebook. Copying Facebook would be a good idea since Twitter is still far behind Facebook for social media dominance. comScore data showed that Facebook’s user base grew to 598 million unique users, an increase of 54 percent over the past year.

The second most popular social media site on the Internet is Windows Live, which had 140 million visitors in August. That’s a 10 percent spike in users from the same time last year.

Mark Zuckerberg Donates $100 Million to Newark Education

Founder and CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg announced on Friday the launch of a new education foundation created to support schools in Newark, New Jersey. Kicking off the startup, Zuckerberg has donated $100 million from his own Facebook stock and is encouraging others to join the cause and match his contributions.

According to Zuckerberg, he selected the schools in Newark, New Jersey because the city has “become a symbol of public education’s failure.” In addition to enrolling students with low literacy levels, low graduation rates, and a low number of students enrolling in college after high school, Newark schools are also famous for poor facilities, crime and violence.

“Going to a school with boarded up windows and broken glass should not be a part of our education experience,” Zuckerberg wrote in a post on the company blog. “A child’s biggest fear at school should be their next exam, not weapons or the kid sitting next to them.”

As part of the project, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has authorized Newark Mayor Cory Booker to partner with the local community to create and implement a new education plan for the Newark Public School District. He also added that the Mayor plans to make education his major goal for his current term in office.

“I’m excited to start this new project,” Zuckerberg wrote. “I’ve been very lucky to have the education and opportunities I’ve had in my life and I look forwarding to participating in giving the 40,000+ students in Newark the same opportunities. Together, we can support a bold and thoughtful program for improving education, starting by making Newark a symbol of excellence.”

Learn Social Media Marketing Techniques at ad:tech New York

Social media is at the forefront of online advertising and marketing. If you are interested in expanding your social media presence but are unsure about how to proceed, ad:tech New York is where you want to be. One of the premier online marketing and advertising shows in the industry, ad:tech New York is taking place on November 3-4 at the Javits Convention Center and promises to provide attendees with expert insight into the sometimes confusing world of social media marketing.

The show will be highlighted by two days of conference events touching on the broad spectrum of online advertising and marketing topics. A special conference track has been created just for social media marketing, giving you a chance to learn the latest tips and best practices from industry leaders. Find out about how geo-location services such as Foursquare and Beyond are changing how social media users can be targeted, or discover the link between social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and customer feedback.

Along with the conference, the show also has a huge exhibit hall featuring the leading names in online marketing and advertising. iClimber’s parent company Submit Express will be at the exhibit hall, showcasing its social media, link building and search engine optimization services. Feel free to stop by booth number 1852 to talk to us.

Even though the show is fast approaching, you can still book your spot. Space is limited, so you’ll want to book now in order to make sure you have a spot at one of the top online advertising and marketing shows of the year. For more information and to register, please visit http://www.ad-tech.com/ny.

Twitter’s On-Mouse-Over Issue Resolved

Twitter reported today that the company’s micro-blogging site experienced a security flaw early this morning, causing some tweets to change colors and others to automatically retweet without the user’s knowledge. The same flaw caused a pop-up window with text to appear when certain users hovered over a link in the Tweet.

According to Twitter, the security exploit was caused by cross-site scripting, the practice of writing code from an unsecure website into another one. Although Twitter fixed the same issue last month, a recent site update caused it to resurface. Twitter fixed Tuesday’s issues by 9:15 a.m. the same day.

Twitter confirms that the security flaw did not affect its mobile site or mobile applications. According to the company blog post, users will not need to change their passwords because user account information was not affected.

Miami Football Coach Bans Players from Twitter

The Sun Sentinel reported on Monday that University of Miami football coach Randy Shannon has forced all of his players to close their Twitter accounts. Shannon was concerned that players were losing their focus on practice and games and spending too much time updating their social media sites. The final straw apparently came when quarterback Jacory Harris posted a Twitter update two hours before the team’s 36-24 loss to Ohio State last weekend – game that saw Harris throw four interceptions.

Harris’ Twitter account became the subject of more controversy after the game when he talked about receiving a litany of hateful messages on his Twitter account after the game from fans blaming him for the loss. The messages included one racial charged note claiming that fans “don’t want a black quarterback here.”

“You see some things and you get kind of hurt, because sometimes it’s your fans that say the things,” Harris said Sunday. “They’re the ones that before the game wrote you some encouraging message. And then after the game tell you that they don’t want a black quarterback here.”

A team spokesperson said that the messages received by Harris had no impact on Shannon’s decision to ban his team from using the social media site.

Facebook Likes Rotten Tomatoes

Facebook announced Friday a partnership with leading movie review website Rotten Tomatoes, making it easier for users to access the site without having to register or fill out a profile. Users who are already logged into Facebook can visit RottenTomatoes.com and experience an instant, personalized version of the movie review site including a welcome tab with your Facebook profile photo and links to reviews and recommendations by your Facebook friends.

Another example of the customized Facebook features on Rotten Tomatoes is the Friends Activity section, featuring the most recent movies “liked” by your Facebook friends.

In a post on the Facebook Blog, Austin Haugen writes, “Next time you’re trying to decide on a movie to watch, you’ll be able to see what the professional critics and your friends say all in one place.”

He also adds, reminding privacy-concerned users, “Like other instant personalization partner websites, you only bring the public parts of your profile to Rotten Tomatoes so they can create your social experience.”

Facebook originally announced its instant personalization programs back in April, causing a big stir among privacy concerned users and other critics. To date, Pandora, Yelp and Microsoft’s Docs.com have all partnered with Facebook to offer instant personalization.

Greenpeace Video Takes Facebook to Task for Environmental Practices

When you think of environmentally-destructive companies, Facebook isn’t the first name that comes to mind. However, Greenpeace is unhappy with the social media giant over the fact that it uses coal-powered data centers as the backbone of their service. According to Reuters, the environmental group has posted a video on its Facebook page and on YouTube meant to urge Facebook to switch from coal power to alternative energy sources.

The video is timed to the upcoming release of David Fincher’s movie “The Social Network” which takes a controversial look at the founding of Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg. Greenpeace’s video is called “The So Coal Network” and is a cartoon narrated by a school-aged girl which takes Facebook to task for operating a “green” data center in Oregon which actually uses coal as its primary energy source.

According to Reuters, Greenpeace is calling on Facebook to take four steps to become more environmentally conscious:

• Commit to stop using polluting coal power,
• Use its purchasing power to choose only clean, renewable sources of electricity,
• Advocate for strong climate and energy policy changes at the local, national and international level to ensure that as the IT industry’s energy demand increases, so does the supply of renewable energy,
• Share this information publicly on its website so its millions of users know the company is a climate leader.

Facebook has paid little attention to Greenpeace in the past and has in fact recently announced plans to double the size of its controversial Oregon data center.

Twitter Launches New Design, Stretches Classic 140 Character Limit

Since its inception, Twitter has been about the simplicity of cramming everything you want to share in 140 characters or less. But things change, even Twitter. The micro-blogging site on Tuesday announced a new, reengineered Twitter.com, bridging the gap between its simple service and the rest of the Web.

The new Twitter.com, which will roll out as a preview over the next several weeks, features a revamped design with a cleaner timeline on the left of the screen. Content such as @mentions, retweets, searches and lists will be featured above the timeline. The new design also features an infinite scroll, eliminating the need for users to click “more” to see additional Tweets.

Perhaps the most anticipated feature of the new Twitter.com is the ability for users to embed photos and videos. Twitter has partnered with a large list of companies including Flickr and YouTube to provide this media feature, making it possible for users to embed photos and videos directly on Twitter.

In addition, the new Twitter.com offers richer, related content including the ability to click a Tweet to view details such as @replies, other Tweets by the same user and a map of where a geotagged Tweet was sent from. Users can also learn more about people by clicking a @username to view a mini profile, without leaving the page.

During the sneak peek over the next few weeks, users will have the opportunity to switch back and forth between the old and new version. According to Twitter, eventually everyone will have the updated version, but the company did not announce when the complete transition will occur.

Does Facebook Status Make You a Criminal Target?

Are criminals using Facebook to plan their robberies? That was the implication of a report by New Hampshire TV station WMUR, which claimed that police had nabbed home robbery suspects who had targeted up to 50 potential victims they knew were not home because of updates on Facebook and other social media sites. According to the report, the criminals would scan the travel plans of local residents through their social media posts and use this information to plan robberies.

Of course, this assumes that the criminals actually would be able to identify exactly who a person is and where their exact location was based on public information available on social media profiles. That’s implausible for a group that large, a fact pointed out by PC Magazine. According to their story, Facebook is denying involvement in the string of robberies.

“We’ve been in contact with the Nashua police, and they confirmed that they while they have an ongoing investigation and have already made a number of arrests, the only Facebook link was that one of those arrested had a Facebook friend who posted about leaving town in the near future (which is why they believe that home was targeted) and it had nothing to do with Facebook Places,” said a Facebook spokesman in an email interview with CNET.

GM Testing Facebook Updates Through OnStar

The practice of “hands-free” cell phone calls is now a common occurrence with many states passing laws outlawing using handsets while driving. But how about hands-free Facebook updates? That could be happening soon, as the Associated Press reports that General Motors is testing a system that would allow people to stay connected through Facebook even when they are stuck in traffic or motoring down the highway.

GM is currently testing a software package through its OnStar safety network which would let people update their Facebook pages through voice commands. The system would use voice recognition software to translate spoken words into text which could be instantly updated on a user’s Facebook page. Drivers could also listen to Facebook messages while behind the wheel.

The software package can also translate text messages sent to driver’s cell phones and allow them to reply with one of four automated responses. GM has not said when these innovations could make it in American cars, only that each innovation must be tested to ensure that it doesn’t become a distraction for drivers.

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