Social Networks

A new study conducted among book lovers and wide readers showed that social networking addiction has very little or has no effect on their habits.

The survey, participated by some 716 people online, has dispelled the notion that social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace has an addicting effect even to people who are known as wide readers.

Results showed that out of 716 people, some 536 or some 75 percent said that social networking sites rarely affects their reading habits while 180 people or 25 percent voted it has somewhat or significantly altered their love for books.

Of the 25 percent that said their habits have been changed, majority showed interest in interactive games that can be found on social networking sites. Among the leading online games were Texas Hold ‘Em Poker, FarmVille, and other popular flashgames commonly found on Facebook.

The readers said that the online games help them relax from hectic work schedules while still maintaining constant interaction with their online friends.

Some of the respondents said that they are maximizing the potential of social networking as a way to express themselves.

Meanwhile, majority of those who said that they were not addicted to Facebook and other social networking sites, cited privacy concerns as the major reason why they opt to keep out of such websites.

Also, majority of the non-addicts said that they still prefer to read hard copies rather than digital files.

Meanwhile, analysts said that the trend could change in the coming months as Facebook announced that it is adopting a “location finder” feature to its homepage, which would allow people search a particular “hotspot” in town.

The new mobile feature is particularly designed for people who own Smartphone and other e-reader readers.

And with the increase in the number of people who have iPhones and Android phone, there is no doubt users will be more addicted to the social network’s mobile feature.

Despite having virtually no known Internet user, the North Korean government has continued to engage its propaganda campaign using Twitter and other social networking websites to express its sentiments against South Korea and the United States.

The propaganda campaign includes tweets, shoutouts, and updates on popular social networking websites and even video clips posted on YouTube, authorities said.

Authorities also said that the “top secret” Twitter account has already been blocked by the South Korean government, adding that the propaganda will have no bearing to the worldwide community.

The north, under the leadership of Kim Jong-Ill, has been isolated from the rest of the world for several decades.

The regime, under the username @uriminzok, has been using Twitter microblogging to urge dozens of its followers to rise against the South and the US. The said tweet can also be seen on the country’s official webpage (http://www.uriminzokkiri.com).

Most of the followers of the Twitter account even posted harsh comments against the allied nations, even denying that the North Korean government has ordered the torpedo attack against a South Korean warship in March.

Another posting condemned the US-led war against Iran, and economic sanction against North Korea.

Seoul-based authorities believe that the postings are part of the desperate propaganda campaign being implemented by the North to gain sympathy from the global community.

Tension on the Korean peninsula heightened following investigation results, showing that North Korean intentionally torpedoed the Cheonan, the South Korean warship, which has sank near the border.

However, the North vehemently denied the accusations, even threatening to conduct nuclear attacks if provoked by the US.

Meanwhile, despite desperate hacking and other cyberattacks conducted by the North Korea, the South and the US even held a joint military exercise as a show of force against the socialist regime.

Seoul views the Twitter and social networking postings as a “pitiful” and “desperate” action by the Pyongyang because it now fears to be overtaken by the much stronger military force of the United States.

Popular peer-to-peer file-sharing website BitTorrent.com on Friday released a free add-on allowing its users to directly link torrents with their conversations on Twitter.

Dubbed as “Torrent Tweet,” the new in-house developed application works by allowing uTorrent users to easily manage, track, and organize their Twitter discussions on certain torrents of their interest.

With the new in-app tweeting capability, uTorrent users can send or receive automatically-created unique hashtags for the desired torrent file.

In its blog post, BitTorrent said that the new add-on is best for online users who are frequently browsing and sharing torrents via Twitter since the application automatically separates the best files from those considered as “unsolicited.”

Torrents, using Twitter or other search engine browsers, are not indexed by file names or SEO generated links but by infoshash, which is the digital fingerprint of a particular file.

While there are similar torrents in dozens of various BitTorrent websites and pieces of the associated files were from thousands of different peers, using Torrent Tweet can assure P2P users that they will download the files that they need and not something with similar file name.

BitTorrent also advised other torrent websites to refer their respective torrent files using a shortened hashtag prefixed with “#bt” that would allow them to integrate their individual commenting systems with Twitter for the benefit of torrent fans.

For their part, other peer-to-peer file-sharing websites are following the lead of BitTorrent, saying that online presence through Twitter would help more fans to be aware of the situation of the system and how they want to expand its uses.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned a pharmaceutical firm over “misleading” advertising advertisement on Facebook, saying that it has violated the FDA’s requirement when it disclosed the information about the cancer-fighting medication.

In a letter dated July 29, the FDA warned drug manufacturer Novartis Pharmaceuticals after it has used the Facebook Share button in promoting its medication for cancer called Tasigna.

The FDA said that information about Tasigna on Facebook was “incomplete” and “misleading.”

“The shared content is misleading because it makes representations about the efficacy of Tasigna but fails to communicate any risk information associated with the use of this drug,” the letter stated.

The food and drug regulator also said that the content of the webpage has “inadequately communicated” the FDA-approved indication for Tasigna and has implied superiority over other anti-cancer drugs in the market today.

The FDA also ordered Novartis to immediately seize using the Facebook Share application in promoting the anti-leukemia medication.

“The promotional materials are misleading if they suggest a drug is safer or more effective than another drug when this superiority has not been demonstrated by substantial evidence or substantial clinical experience,” the FDA letter said.

Meanwhile, Novartis spokespersons said that they are taking the FDA’s warning seriously, saying that they have already taken down the widget referred by the agency.

Novartis also said that they plan to have an active talk with the FDA to address all the agency’s concerns over drug promotion on the Internet.

Center for Digital Democracy executive director Jeffrey Chester said that it was the first time that the FDA issued a warning against a drug company for using Facebook as its advertising tool in promoting its products.

He said that the first-ever warning letter has highlighted the major problems of multi-billion dollar advertising on Facebook and other websites that have been used by such pharmaceutical companies in the past years.

A day after his solo rap performance in front of Facebook employees, controversial RnB singer Kanye West announced that he has joined microblogging site Twitter to keep his fans updated regarding his new album.

West, in a posting on his website, said that joining social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter will help him connect with his fans and interact with them personally.

On Tuesday, the RnB superstar visited the office of Facebook in Palo Alto, California to preview some of the materials, which will be included in the special page in the social networking site.

West then performed a rap song an in front of Facebook employees and officials, which was uploaded on Youtube. On the video, the singer was seen rapping while standing on top of the conference table.

West, who figured in several rants against other singers like Taylor Swift, also took the chance to thank the Facebook management for the support that they have given to him in his new album.

“Your energy was a gift so electric, so genuine, that it really helped me give my best,” West said in his posting on his official website.

The new album, which remained untitled as of posting, is expected to be released on September 14 this year.

Meanwhile, sought for comment, Facebook spokesperson remained mum over the development of the webpage for the RnB singer.

It will be recalled that West suffered a major fallback in his career after ranting against Taylor Swift during the MTV Music Awards. Several fans and fellow artists expressed disappointment over his “childish” rants, which some called “racist” and “insensitive.”

With the release of the new album, West, according to some of his hardcore fans, will shut his critics and will retain his status as one of the top artists in the music industry.

With the introduction of social networking sites, most business organizations today have used these online properties to reach a broader market, find new employees, and strengthen their brands.  Generally, the effects of social media are good, but for some companies, this may not be the case.

According to a recent study, the use of Facebook, the world’s largest social networking site, reduces the productivity rate of employees by 1.5 percent.  This finding is not surprising given the fact that more than 60 percent of US workers admitted that they are using Facebook during work time.

While most experts believe that companies should not completely ban access to social networking sites, most of them agree that employers should have a strict policy regarding the use of these online properties.

However, a survey conducted by the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics revealed that only one out of three companies in the US have employee online policies including the use of social network sites.

The survey, titled “Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Compliance: What are Companies Doing?” also found that a significant percent of online policies do not include Internet activities outside work.

In addition, only 10 percent of the US businesses have a specific policy on the use of social network sites.

“Companies should have a clear policy regarding the use of these online properties.  However, supervisors and should still encourage their employees from using social media as a way to communicate with their industry peers”, Society’s CEO Roy Snell said.

With a clear and strong policy, experts believe that employers can protect their worker’s productivity rate, sensitive business information, and rapport between workers and supervisors and management.

A recent survey shows that about 45 percent of US companies were “concerned about their employees leaking sensitive information through the use of social sites.”

Social networking giant Facebook is expecting its users to reach 500 million this week despite several controversies such as users’ complaints about the alleged used of personal data, security loopholes, and issues concerning online fraudsters.

Meanwhile, rumors have been circulating about Facebook’s plan to celebrate its 500^th million user.  But when asked for details, Facebook spokesperson Andrew Noyes declined to give comments.

Despite Facebook increasing number of members, Inside Facebook, a website which tracks the social site’s user growth, revealed that the online community has experienced a growth decline in June with only 320,800 new US users compared to 7.8 million newly registered members during the previous month.

While there was a slower rate of new users, some Internet experts said that Facebook will still remain the most popular social networking in the US and other countries for the next few years.  But despite its growing popularity, they said the site will be under more scrutiny in terms of contents, user’s security and privacy, and stability.

According to several studies, more women in the US said they are addicted to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter that a significant percent of them admitted to be a “social media addict”.  However, some analysts said that the social media’s popularity may be short-lived just like other previous online properties.

Meanwhile, Google has been rumored to have plans to create a Facebook-killer site dubbed as Google Me.  However, the technology giant declined to give comments about the issue.

Some web experts said that Facebook may still be a vulnerable website since a lot of companies see the potential and the business viability of social network sites.

More than half of Australian parents said their children are distracted from their studies due to social networking sites such as MySpace, Twitter, and Facebook, according to a recent survey conducted by the Cyber-safety Research Report.

The finding shows that about 65 percent of parents believe that their children are frequently distracted by social sites from doing their homework which may lead to poor grades.

With this growing concern, cyber-safety expert Martyn Wild is encouraging parents to place computers in common areas such as the lounge or living room so they will know the online activities of their children and prevent them from being distracted with social media sites.

“Usually, parents do not allow their children to socialize with their friends during late hours on a school night.  However, that is what they (children) are doing online and right under their parents’ nose”, Wild added.

The survey, which included parents who have children aged between 10 and 17 years old, shows the problem of social networking distraction is more common between teenagers aged 14 to 17 years old.

Despite some problems brought by the digital media, especially with the growing popularity of social networking sites, Wild said that turning off the Internet access is not the right solution.

“The answer is all about implementing online behavior and limiting the use of the Internet based on realistic expectations”, Wild said during an interview.

However, Wild said that parents “should not act like an Internet big brother” but should only “be setting realistic guidelines that would help their children from using the computer responsibly.”

Wild has also encouraged children to use their own judgment on using the online media so they can balance their “non-Internet” lives.

Network traffic in micro-blogging website Twitter reportedly spiked up every time a soccer player scores a goal in the World Cup, resulting to major outages in the websites network.

Based on records, Twitter traffic increased to as high as 2, 940 tweets per second every time a World Cup goal is scored. The average daily traffic in Twitter is 750 tweets per second.

The highest number of tweets (2, 940) was recorded after Japan scored against Cameroon during Monday’s match.

The micro-blogging site also said that nearly as much traffic was recorded during a soccer match between Brazil and North Korea on the same day, when Brazil scored its first World Cup goal.

Tweets also increased significantly when Mexico made a tying goal against South Africa on June 11.

The micro-blogging site predicted that the record number of tweets will be broken by the United States vs. Slovenia (2-2) match on Friday. However, the company has yet to release the official figure.

But despite the huge number of traffic in Twitter’s network, World Cup fans failed to amass enough messages to set the highest recorded number of tweets.

According to Twitter, the NBA Championship match between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics on Thursday trampled the World Cup numbers after it has recorded at least 3, 085 tweets per second.

Meanwhile, Twitter technicians disclosed that the continued heavy traffic due to the World Cup series has caused major problems to the website’s network, which often resulted to outages.

The online giant said that it will implement a network overhaul right after the World Cup to avoid any interference in the fans’ celebrations.

Twitter, which has been popular among people who wanted to spread the news about different events, has been one of the most heavily used social networking sites in reporting the happenings in the World Cup.

The world’s largest and busiest travel advisory website TripAdvisor launched on Monday a new service on Facebook called “TravelAdvisor Trip Friends,” which offers users travel tips about different tourist destination directly from their social networking friends.

In an interview, TripAdvisor founder and chief Steve Kaufer said that the Facebook-based travel advisory will be the next big thing for the website.

“Ten years ago, we have revolutionized travel planning when we launched the website. Now, the next major leap forward is to get travel advisories from your friends on Faceboook,” Kaufer added.

In 2000, TravelAdvisor become a huge hit among travelers looking for travel guides and agents online. Most of the contents of the website rely on user-generated tips about airline companies, hotels and restaurants, and other travelers’ needs.

“It will be like asking your friend for a plumber. Instead of offering wisdoms of crowds, the service will offer wisdom of your Facebook friends,” he added.

He added that the new service will allow Facebook users to plan and to identify “good” finds for their vacation by clicking the application called “Cities I’ve Visited.”

Users can view photos and read articles about the places that their Facebook friends have visited and ask them for further details.

TripAdvisor is the busiest travel website in the world with more than 34 million unique hits every month. It also has over 35 million reviews and opinions from various travelers about the different places that they have visited.

The company hopes to further enhance its services with the launch of the new Facebook application.

To date, the TravelAdvisor has 730 employees.

The company website operates with 14 languages and offers advertising opportunities to hotel and restaurants around the world.