Web 2.0 and Web Apps - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Google buys Zagat, targets Groupon, Facebook

  With Zagat's restaurant reviewing operation now in its arsenal, Google is in a position to radically change the daily deals market.

• Google+ causes stir with Suggested User list

  Google+ is trying to help users expand their Circles by offering them a new Suggested User list. The only problem is that some users are taking exception to what they're calling an elitist system.

• Google+ lets users 'ignore' those annoying people

  Want to ignore that one cousin or co-worker who's bugging you on Google+? Now the new social networking site is giving you an option to do just that.

• Steve Jobs' resignation heats up social nets

  As soon as the news hit late Wednesday that Steve Jobs was resigning as Apple's CEO, social networks heated up with traffic.

• Google+, Facebook duel is big boon for users

  Industry analysts have suspected that adding Google+ to the social networking mix would force Facebook to up its game. And it looks like that prediction is coming true.

• Facebook, Twitter boom despite Google+ challenge

  Despite Google+'s making a huge splash in the social networking world, rivals Facebook and Twitter continue to grow at dramatic rates.

• Twitter, Facebook light up after East Coast quake

  Just moments after a 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit the East Coast on Tuesday afternoon, Twitter and Facebook lit up with the news.

• Britain's PM considers social media ban to curb riots

  British Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday he is considering a ban on social networking to help curb the riots that have rocked the country.

• Mobile video chat code seen in new Facebook Messenger app

  Shortly after Facebook launched a Messenger app for smartphones on Tuesday, early users found partial code for a video chat component tucked away inside it.

• Google+ set to become second only to Facebook

  Google's fledgling Google+ is set to become the second-largest social network in the U.S. within the next year, according to a study released this week.

• Facebook use linked to teen psych disorders

  Using Facebook and other social networks can have some significant negative effects on teenagers and young adults, says a California State University researcher.

• Google+ starts out far faster than Facebook, Twitter

  Google+ is going great guns right out of the gate, with the site starting out far better than rivals Facebook, Twitter and Myspace did.

• #RIPforTwitter? Not so fast.

  There's been a lot of discussion lately about Google+ and why it will render Twitter obsolete. Technology and tech-culture writer Mike Elgan makes a good argument and suggests that "It's only a matter of time before Twitter becomes a ghost town."

• Facebook needs customer service to woo businesses

  I had to laugh when I read about Facebook's latest effort to woo businesses. While Facebook wants to look like its well ahead of Google + in the commercial uses of social networking, its track record of dealing with users suggests that businesses should not rely on it.

• Researchers praise Facebook for paying bug bounties

  Facebook's move today to follow Google, Mozilla and Hewlett-Packard in offering bounties for bugs got a unanimous thumbs up from security researchers.