Social networking

Foursquare poised to get new VC funding

According to numerous sources close to the situation, Foursquare is in the final stages of striking a funding deal with the very venture firm--Andreessen Horowitz--that had publicly dissed the hot social-location site and walked away from earlier talks.

The deal is likely to be completed and announced by early next week, at a valuation of about $80 million, barring unusual hiccups.

"Light at the end of a very long and very twisty tunnel," joked one source familiar with the situation.

Indeed, the wrapping-up of what has been a very convoluted funding process comes after a series of missteps … Read more

Now on Facebook: Lady Gaga vs. Obama

On today's ever more open Web, to whom do you want to be closer? Is there someone for whom you wish to express your affection, your desire, or your admiration, perhaps in the hope of getting some in return?

May I give you just two choices? President Obama or Lady Gaga.

Perhaps you feel I am limiting you too much. But this is an issue of such importance, one that will show just what the world sees when it looks in the mirror.

On the one hand, we have someone who is trying to rectify so many wrongs. Someone … Read more

Mom posts pic of baby with bong on Facebook

This might well be a case of someone who wasn't entirely au fait with her Facebook privacy settings. Yes, not everyone knows about how easy they are. Or even that they exist. It could also be a case of someone doing something very stupid. Or perhaps both.

According to Channel 4 News in Jacksonville, Fla., a 19-year-old mother in Florida took a picture of her 11-month-old son with his mouth over a bong.

Just as these things sometimes happen on Facebook, someone saw it and passed it on. The Web being the Web, it kept being passed on until … Read more

Alternative replies to the iPhone 4 complaints

It was hard to focus on the longest match in Wimbledon history. It was impossible to fully enjoy the sheer beauty of Italy's demise at the World Cup. And as for some scandal about a general and his crystal decanter, well, that one just carried on down the Khyber.

You see, the iPhone 4 was out. So were the knives.

Let's look at all these complaints and see which ones might have sincere merit.

The most significant seems to be that signal may be lost primarily by those who talk on the iPhone 4 while holding it in … Read more

Ryan Seacrest: Tech is changing the audience

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--Though best known as host of "American Idol" and "American Top 40," Ryan Seacrest is also a big techie.

In between spinning songs on the radio, Seacrest is nearly always checking his BlackBerry, reading the latest tweets and e-mail from his staff. He's also a former CNET Central host and one of the handful of people that Bill Gates follows on Twitter. But the most important thing about technology, Seacrest said, is the way it allows him to have a closer relationship with his audience.

"'The amount of information [you get … Read more

Why Twitter still has to get its game on--fast

In March, Twitter CEO Evan Williams first unveiled @Anywhere, a new platform aimed at media outlets to knit Twitter more deeply into their own sites. After all, Twitter has become more or less synonymous with real-time, breaking news--so it seems like any publisher would want to work @Anywhere into its code to put the latest, freshest information front and center. Right?

Unfortunately, Twitter has recently indicated that it still can't handle breaking news.

On Wednesday, when the U.S. soccer team defeated Algeria 1-0, advancing the team to the next round of the FIFA World Cup in South … Read more

How students have become online beggars

There's only one thing I know about students. There are too many of them.

The dominance of online practices over the traditional analog methods has meant that, truly, we need fewer people to make the commercial world spin around.

Machines can now do the work of thousands of interns. We therefore need fewer students to emerge from the college system, students who believe that they have talents given by God, when in fact they're not even all that good at beer pong.

These thoughts enter my head because of the existence of a site called SponsorMyDegree.com. This … Read more

Justin Bieber out-tweeted by French World Cup drama

Like you, I heard rumors that the World Cup had sent the Internet into a record paroxysm of activity.

However, Tuesday, I tried to perform an experiment to see if Twitter motion reflected that of the Web at large.

So I asked the vast and swift brains at Kosmix, who have created tweetbeat.com/worldcup to have at least 11 fingers on the soccering pulse of the Twittering world, to perform an exclusive analysis and tell me just how Tuesday morning's games were being reflected on Twitter.

Tuesday morning's games were important, because their results would lead to … Read more

Microsoft updates Bing's iPhone app

Microsoft has tweaked its Bing iPhone app with a couple of new features, just in time for this week's debut of the iPhone 4.

Taking a page from its browser-based cousin, the updated Bing app can now tap into your social networks to deliver relevant search results. Bing's new version 1.2 lets you connect to your own accounts on Facebook and Twitter to access the last six months' worth of updates from your friends and family.

You can search your social networks directly for specific subjects or names, or include them in your overall search results alongside … Read more