Social networking

Will 'American Idol' be wrecked by Auto-Tune affair?

I know that so many readers are huge fans of reality television, especially reality television in which previously unknown people attempt to sing.

So it pains me to bring news that might dull the world's enthusiasm for such pageants, perhaps permanently.

You see, there is a show called "X-Factor." Currently it runs in the U.K., but it is soon to debut in the U.S. It is one of the several shows which has, at its core, the celebrated critic and music mogul Simon Cowell, formerly of "American Idol."

Last Saturday, "X-Factor" … Read more

Students spy on teachers, boast on Facebook

Sweden is such a lovely, law-abiding place. No one ever makes false allegations. Everyone respects their fellow person, just as they want to be respected.

So I was suddenly in need of a kneading from a Swedish masseur when I read about two Stockholm schoolgirls who transgressed against their educators in a disturbingly technological manner.

According to The Local (Swedish news in English, rather than an English pub), these two schoolgirls wanted to know what was going on in the teachers' staff room during a grading conference.

Fortune temporarily smiled upon them, as they happened to find a key to … Read more

Interweb, defriend make it into the dictionary

A slew of geeky slang terms have made it into the the new third edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English.

Among the new entries are Interweb, defriend, hater, and tweetup, the definitions of which you can check out for yourself by clicking on those links.

We personally think this shows great progress, (except for "tweetup;" gawd that word sets our teeth on edge) but if you're a curmudgeonly, crusty old member of the grammar police you might want to hold on a minute before grabbing your truncheons.

iPad a big hit with giant sumo wrestlers

The world wasn't designed for sumo wrestlers. It is the equivalent of one of us normal humans living inside a doll's house.

So please imagine the joy in the wrestlers' eyes and the twitch in their fingers when they discovered the existence of the iPad. Here is this beautiful, magical, simple machine that is actually big enough for their digits.

The excitement of all those associated with this sport of giants was so uncontrollable that, according to Reuters, the Japanese Sumo Association has handed out iPads to the 51 sumo "stables" or clubs, so that they … Read more

North Korea denies being on Twitter, Facebook

Social networking now has so much power that even North Korea was alleged to have begun to bow to its supreme leadership.

Just recently, the mysterious home of Kim Jong Il, and, so word would have it, a few other ills too, had reportedly launched Twitter.com/uriminzok. The appearance of the similarly named Facebook.com/uriminzokkiri was also said, by normally reliable sources, to be North Korea's foray onto the world's most important social-networking site.

However, the North Korean government has now communicated through more traditional channels that it is not behind these modern vehicles.

According to a Forbes report, … Read more

Study: 56 million have played social-network game

Are social networks the new playing field for gamers? A new study from NPD Group is pointing that way.

Released Monday, NPD's July "Social Network Gaming" report found that 20 percent of those ages 6 and older said they've played a game on a social networking site during the past three months. That number adds up to around 56.8 million people, which NPD says is a significant figure for a relatively new playing field.

Among those surveyed for the report, 35 percent were new to the world of gaming, never having played a game before … Read more

Chatroulette offline for revamp; what will it reveal?

What does the next spin of the wheel hold for Chatroulette? The Webcam/chat site apparently went offline Sunday but is promising an update and relaunch sometime Monday.

The site now greets you with the following bare-bones message:

"The experiment #1 is over now. Thanks for participating. Renewed and updated version of the website will be launched today."

Unveiled late last year, Chatroulette lets you bounce from one anonymous video chat to another, with some people seeking a meaningful conversation and others seeking something more risque. If one person doesn't meet your chatting fancy, you simply click … Read more

How Foursquare wants to out-Apple Facebook

It has never been my ambition to be mayor of an artisan bakery or a partisan gas station.

However, I know there are quite a few people, some of whom remain my friends, who delight in attaining such a respected position on Foursquare. Their joy is doubled when they manage to oust someone else from the mayoral seat. Even if they don't know that person and will never meet them.

Such enthusiasm has clearly attracted the attention of Facebook, which, by launching Facebook Places, foresees a future in which your friends--as well as your very good friends at retail … Read more

Hot Potato officially lands in Facebook's lap

Hot Potato, an online "check-in" service that lets users report their whereabouts and activities to friends, announced on Friday that it had been acquired by social-networking behemoth Facebook.

The deal, which has been talked about for several weeks, is the most recent development in Facebook's efforts to juice up the location-based aspect of its hugely popular service, which lets people connect with friends and family via the Web and share thoughts, links, photos, and more.

On Wednesday, Facebook unveiled Places, a feature that enables Facebook account holders to advertise their current location to friends, and lets users … Read more

Virtual song fest marks 'E-Stonian' independence

Independence day celebrations are typically marked with national anthems, but Estonia--sometimes called "E-Stonia" for its tech prowess--kicked the tradition up a few octaves Friday evening with a digital music festival that linked singers the world over.

The event honored the 19th anniversary of the country's post-Soviet independence, brought on by several years of non-violent events known as the "Singing Revolution." Choirs and individual singers from 100 locations across the Baltic nation connected online with crooners (and conductors) at the main venue--Friendship Park in the central Estonian town of Poltsamaa. The event streamed live on Estonian … Read more