Things just keep getting worse for MySpace. The former social networking hub recently announced it would cut nearly half of its global workforce as part of a restructuring effort. As many as five hundred MySpace employees worldwide will soon be looking for work as the site continues to redefine itself from a social network to an entertainment content site with social networking features.
Wikipedia and its users are planning more than 300 celebration events across six continents for the 10th anniversary of the free, online encyclopedia that has become an Internet juggernaut by spreading access to information with a model that lets anyone edit its articles.
Is Facebook building a phone? The company won't say for sure, but for some the idea of a Facebook phone is social networking overkill. To social butterflies, a Facebook phone is a dream come true. Here is a look at the pros and cons.
Using Twitter is like being trapped in an elevator with someone who has a severe case of attention deficit disorder and just consumed three pots of truck-stop coffee.
Some people just don't like change. Less than a week after Digg released version 4 of its social news-sharing site, fans have rebelled, flooding Digg with links from a rival sharing site, staging a "Quit Digg Day," and prophesying a major drop-off in traffic if the site doesn't return to its roots. Has Digg dug its grave, or is this yet another kneejerk neophobic reaction?
It's a Catch-22 for many companies and IT departments: Allow access to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and the company is opened up to malicious content, phishing schemes and account hijackings. Block all social media sites, and the business risks losing young talent to competitors or will challenge employees to find workarounds. Which can be equally dangerous.
Mention a phrase with the word "social" in it, and many CIOs will cringe. It elicits visions of data breaches, privacy nightmares and unproductive Gen Y staffers. But whether you like it or not, there's no denying social media's presence in the enterprise.
NASA has been exploring social media--a territory still foreign to many businesses--for years now. But back in 2007, as more and more employees began using external <a href="http://www.cio.com/article/551513">social media sites</a>, NASA determined that it was time develop a policy--not just to protect the agency, but to protect their employees as well.
I expend a lot of words in this and other venues beating on companies that fail to deliver the high-quality goods and services that customers expect and deserve. The bad news, of course, is that there's still plenty of reason to be angry and dissatisfied with some tech vendors.
How familiar are you with LinkedIn Groups? This section of the social networking site (found on the top navigation bar) is dedicated to communities of professionals based on common interests, experiences, affiliation and goals. Groups can be a great source of industry information and discussions, as well as an effective way to connect with likeminded professionals.
Jack MacKay, CIO of the American Medical Association (AMA), acknowledges he's "slow to adopt" social media tools, but he has opened Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts to "at least become knowledgeable in the areas." Maintaining a presence on these sites has proved more difficult.
Although it got its start by enabling people to throw virtual pies at each other and turn themselves into vampires and werewolves, the Facebook ecosystem is growing up before our very eyes.
The reputations of organisations are taking a beating in social media, with consumers going so far as to boycott companies based on comments made on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, a new survey has found.
At first glance, social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter may seem like a great way for CIOs to waste a very precious commodity: your time. Maybe you've resisted because you're worried about exposing too much of your personal life--or just don't get what the big deal is.
CIOs are famous for their generic, canned and oftentimes boring remarks on anything from ERP and clould computing, to vendor relations and social media technologies.