social

Israeli military to restrict soldiers' Facebook accounts

Fearing that enemy forces are gathering information on Israeli soldiers from social media, the Israel Defense Forces has decided to ban social network from some high-ranking soldiers and severely limit it for others.

The IDF is in the middle of drafting a "social networking code of ethics" that will ban the use of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media for all highly classified units, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Other sensitive units, like pilots and intelligence officers, will be allowed to have social media accounts but won't be able to say they're soldiers or upload … Read more

How to get social with Pandora

Maybe I'm a creature of habit, but in spite of all the great new streaming-music services out there, I still find myself settling back into my love of Pandora. It's just a solid service that demands none of my attention and best of all, none of my money.

And while Pandora may be an old dog compared with the whelps of Spotify, Rdio, and Twitter Music, it actually has includes a number of ways to share your favorite music on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

To see how it's done, watch the video tutorial above. … Read more

Pinterest adds ability to search your own pins

Pinterest is rolling out a new search feature that will let users search through their own pins, the company said Tuesday.

The image-centric social-media site says the feature will come in handy when looking up recipes for dinner or crafts for weekend projects. According to a blog post from Pinterest Software Engineer Hui Xu:

When you type a word into the search bar -- like San Francisco, beaches, or BBQ -- you can filter results by clicking "Just my pins." We'll show you everything you've pinned with that keyword in the pin description. Be sure to … Read more

Zynga cuts 520 workers and shutters several offices

Hoping that further cost cuts will right its heeling ship, social-gaming company Zynga said Monday it is cutting 18 percent of its workforce and closing various offices.

Zynga posted the news on its blog. Zynga must shrink before it can grow again, CEO Mark Pincus told workers in his memo, a situation that somehow nobody at the 5-year-old company "ever expected to face."

He also said the Zynga "brothers and sisters" will be getting generous severance packages along with their "painful goodbyes."

AllThingsD reported that Zynga would shutter its offices in New York, Los … Read more

Twitter platform director Ryan Sarver departing

After four incredible, indelible years at Twitter the time has come for me to fly the coop. My last day will be June 28. No plans but rest.

— Ryan Sarver (@rsarver) May 31, 2013

Twitter platform director Ryan Sarver said today that he is leaving the company. Twitter is already looking to fill his position.

In a tweet sent today, Sarver announced his departure, saying that after four years at the social-networking giant, he is leaving on June 28. He has "no plans but rest."

Sarver's soon-to-be-vacant position is a big one. In the job listing Twitter … Read more

Get Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram on Android Home with SO.HO

SO.HO by Inq Mobile wants to be the first thing you see when picking up your Android smartphone by replacing your launcher -- TouchWiz, HTC Sense, stock, and so on. Instead of only offering access to Facebook updates from your connections, SO.HO lets you see updates from Twitter and Instagram as well.

To get started, you'll need to install the most recent version of SO.HO on your Android. Then, connect the social-media accounts you want to see updates from. Once finished, you can easily switch social-media accounts from the top left-hand corner menu.

The … Read more

Twitter said to be prepping ad re-targeting exchange

Twitter is said to be readying an ad exchange that would let marketers target ads directly at users who have visited their Web sites.

According to AdAge, Twitter is hoping to challenge Facebook's own so-called re-targeting exchange, otherwise known as FBX. AdAge cited sources familiar with the project.

Since at least late last year, the company has met with several FBX partners who are well-versed in locating on Facebook people who had previously visited a brand's site and retargeting them with non-standard display ads on the social network, in hopes of luring them back to the brand site. … Read more

Twitter amps up lists feature, lets users create 1,000 lists

Update to Twitter lists: You can now make up to 1,000 lists (up from 20), and each list can include up to 5,000 accounts (up from 500).

— Twitter for News (@TwitterForNews) May 30, 2013

Aiming to please those power tweeters, Twitter announced Thursday that it's expanding its list feature. Now users can make up to 1,000 lists that can each include 5,000 accounts.

This is a significant increase. Before today people could only have 20 lists, each with up to 500 accounts.

Twitter launched its lists feature in 2009 amid much fanfare. The long-awaited feature … Read more

Facebookers, beware: That silly update can cost you a job

Little did Ashley Payne know that the festive photo of her holding both a pint of beer and a glass of red wine would lead to her losing her high school teaching job.

The 24-year-old educator posted the image to her Facebook profile, and after a parent complained, school officials told Payne she'd have to choose between resigning and suspension, according to IOL News. She resigned.

If those same school officials were hiring and found a candidate with a similar photo shared on the social Web, it's most likely that person wouldn't even get an interview.

According … Read more