Twitter crashes day before Olympics kick off
The day before the opening of the 2012 London Olympics that are expected to light up major social networks, Twitter crashed.
The micro-blogging site went down at approximately 11:45 a.m. EST Thursday, according to Twitter's Status page. The site was restored around 1:15 p.m.
Users from several different parts of the country reported that they were without Twitter service.
The crash came the day before the opening ceremonies for the Summer Olympics. Read more...
CV, interview… Facebook? Why social snooping does job hunters – and you – no favours
Bosses have been warned against using social networks to check up on potential employees in a report published by employment relations body Acas.
The report said managers who use social networks to vet candidates could find themselves facing charges of discrimination if they are considered to have rejected a candidate because of information they found about their age, sexuality or religion.
But it also conceded that it is unlikely rejected applicants will be able to find evidence of discrimination - so it will be up to employers to regulate themselves.
Your Facebook account may help you connect with more people than you think, including your employerPhoto: Pixelbully Read more...
Social networks aren’t beyond the law. The police need to remember that
Last week, in the aftermath of the English riots, there was much debate about banning social networks in times of strife: a ridiculous knee-jerk reaction which is sadly the standard response from some politicians when faced with new technology.
There are plenty of good arguments against this stance. Twitter and other social media services were tools used for good as well as evil during the riots, and giving anyone the right to switch them off would not only undermine freedom of expression, but also cut off the law-abiding population from information in the middle of a crisis, just when they need it most.
In any case, police have already been keeping an eye on Twitter, Facebook and other networks to great effect, as they told MPs earlier this week. There should be no surprise at this - after all, the modus operandi of social media is collating information and making it easily accessible to all. Read more...
Two UK men jailed for inciting violence on Facebook
In a strong message to those who incite violence on social networks, a British court sentenced two men to four years in prison for using Facebook to try to organize a riot. It's the sternest punishment yet for abuse of social networks during the U.K. riots.
In Chester Crown Court south of Liverpool, 20-year-old Jordan Blackshaw of Marston near Northwich, and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, 22, of Warrington, were sentenced for creating Facebook events calling for violence. Blackshaw was charged on Aug. 9 and Sutcliffe-Keenan was charged on Aug. 10. Read more...
Twitter vs Google+: Why one of these is way more interesting than a social network
Twitter is not the same as Facebook or Google+. There, I've said it. And, for the benefit of certain internet power users, such as Robert Scoble, I'll say it again: Twitter is not the same as Facebook or Google+. Nor should it be.
Facebook and to a lesser extent Google+ are, first and foremost, social networks. Twitter is an information network. That's a big distinction.
A social network is a network of people connected by acquaintance, whereas an information network draws people together based on interests. The first set of connections are typically forged - in the first instance at least - by geographical proximity. You need to have been in the same room as a person in this network, at some point in time. Read more...