Social network and groups

Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin has angered two senators with his decision to renounce his U.S. citizenship -- the timing of which will allow him to avoid paying taxes on the IPO windfall.

Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) announced today they will host a news conference at 8 a.m. PT to unveil a plan to stop people from renouncing their U.S. citizenship to avoid paying taxes. In addition, the plan will describe a new law that would bar "individuals like Saverin from reentering the country."

Saverin came under fire earlier this week … Read more

Although General Motors has decided that social-media advertising is not right for its business, a new study seems to indicate that few other companies agree.

Local-media consulting firm BIA/Kelsey yesterday revealed that U.S. social-media ad spending is expected to hit $9.8 billion by 2016, up from $3.8 billion last year. This year, companies are expected to spend $4.8 billion on social-network advertising.

BIA/Kelsey's findings come at a time when one of the largest companies in the world, General Motors, is calling Facebook advertising into question. In a report yesterday, The Wall Street Journal … Read more

Facebook today revealed that it will be offering more Class A common stock than initially anticipated, in a move that bulks up its breathlessly awaited IPO by almost 25 percent.

In a revised S-1 Registration Statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission this morning, Facebook said that it will now offer 421.2 million shares of class A stock when it goes public on Friday. The company has also upped the amount of shares it will allow for overallotment from 50.6 million to 63.2 million. All told, the company could offer 484.4 million shares when it … Read more

Twitter today decided to reveal some information about users in the U.K.

According to the company, 10 million people across the U.K. are actively using Twitter, placing it in fourth place behind the U.S., Brazil, and Japan. In addition, the company revealed that 80 percent of those users are active on mobile devices, easily outpacing the global average of 55 percent.

Twitter is notoriously tight-lipped about its userbase and growth, making today's announcement somewhat notable. Twitter defines an active user as someone who has logged into its service at least once in the past 30 days.… Read more

Facebook has more 900 million users as it prepares to launch a new IPO this week. But a fair number of people aren't too excited about the popular social network.

Half of the 1,000 people polled by the Associated Press and CNBC called Facebook a passing fad. A majority of those surveyed (51 percent) have a favorable impression of the company, while 23 percent have an unfavorable opinion.

But in light of the upcoming IPO, the survey focused more on Facebook's value as an investment.

Half of those polled believe the initial asking price is too high, … Read more

Obviously responding to strong investor reaction, Facebook has decided to up the price of its shares.

The world's largest social network today revised its S-1 Registration Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), saying that it would offer its shares at between $34 and $38 apiece when it goes public. If the company sells all of its available common stock -- 337.4 million shares -- as well as the 50.6 million it's making available for overallotment at the top end of that range, it could now raise as much as $14.7 billion in the … Read more

Is Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg a combination of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak?

That's how Woz himself paints the 28-year-old CEO.

Offering his insights on Facebook as the company Zuck founded and runs preps its IPO, Wozniak told Bloomberg that he sees Zuckerberg as a "real acute" businessman who has both technical abilities, like Woz himself, and the vision and corporate smarts of Steve Jobs.

"I was thankful to have a partnership with Steve Jobs and I see Mark Zuckerberg closer to the combination of us," Woz said in the Bloomberg interview. "When he … Read more

Facebook's initial public offering is set to take place later this week. But a key component in that process -- accepting orders from investors -- is ahead of schedule, according to a new report.

The world's largest social network is planning to stop taking orders for its IPO as early as tomorrow, according to Bloomberg, citing a source. Facebook had initially anticipated calling off its orders on Thursday, but due to stronger-than-expected demand, it's pushing its schedule ahead somewhat.

Facebook last week set out on its roadshow across the U.S. Prior to an IPO, a roadshow … Read more

Do you feel your Facebook posts sometimes get lost in the crowd? The social network is testing a new feature that could help them stand out more.

A Facebook user in New Zealand apparently stumbled upon the feature, according to news site Stuff.co.nz. After logging into his Facebook account, the user reportedly received a message asking if he wanted to pay 1.80 in New Zealand dollars ($1.42) to highlight an important post to make sure his friends would see it.

The message gave him a choice of paying via credit card or PayPal. The user initially … Read more