Social Networks

Facebook has flatly denied the suggestion by a New York Times columnist that it might be gaming its own system -- that is, that the way it pumps up views of fee-based promoted posts could be by limiting the sharing of ordinary posts. "There have been recent claims suggesting that our News Feed algo...

Twitter launched an API for advertisers Wednesday, a move designed to help the social network boost revenues to better compete with its Internet ad competitors. The company has had an ad structure in place since 2010, when it launched its Promoted Tweets program, which allows advertisers to push 140...

Facebook's policy of requiring that users post profiles under their real names was upheld by a German court on Thursday. The decision reversed last year's Independent Center for Privacy Protection ruling that Facebook had to permit the use of pseudonyms in Germany. The ULD -- the privacy regulator f...

Pinterest, the social scrapbooking site that has quickly captured the Web's attention, this week rolled out a beta test of a redesigned look that features larger pictures and a new way of navigating pages. The biggest change to Pinterest is that images are larger, and there's more information on pin...

Facebook plans to launch video advertising that will autoplay in users' news feeds some time next year, but it's not yet clear whether they'll be more like silent movies or talkies. Advertisers reportedly will have the chance to buy targeted video ads in the first part of next year. The ads will be ...

'Tis the season of giving and on Tuesday Facebook made it easier to give, as it added collections of wines to its Facebook Gifts catalog and made the program available for everyone in the United States. For some Facebook members, the season of giving started early, with the social network giant's Se...

When the first banner ads came out in the 1990s, they attracted lots of attention -- and lots of click-throughs. Since then, though, their effectiveness has plummeted, forcing businesses to think creatively about the future of online advertising. This future is likely to include a mix of social medi...

The relationship between Facebook and Zynga got even more complicated this week as the pair agreed to new partnership terms that free both from constraints under the prior deal. Zynga's stock took a hit because the new deal allows Facebook to develop its own games. The success of each company has lo...

Social media advertising revenues will double by 2016, and native ads -- such as sponsored stories on Facebook and promoted tweets on Twitter -- will be its fastest-growing segment, according to a forecast from BIA/Kelsey. The channel will grow from $4.6 billion in 2012 to $9.2 billion in 2016, pred...

Facebook reoprtedly is finalizing a new tool for marketers that can help them determine how effective their promotions are and ultimately give them an incentive to stick around as advertisers. The tool lets online retailers follow purchases made by Facebook users who have viewed their ads, although ...

In a year when precious little seems to have gone right for Facebook, Wednesday was the day an employee lockup on selling some 800 million shares expired. The stock was expected to drop, perhaps dramatically, as a result -- but it didn't. For the most part, Facebook shares hung tough -- increasing b...

Facebook is testing a new version of its comments feature that elevates the most-engaged remarks on brand pages to the top of the list. The new format appears on the pages of celebrities and public individuals such as journalist Fareed Zakaria and quarterback Tim Tebow. "We are testing a new format ...

Federal authorities arrested Paul Ceglia on charges of mail and wire fraud last week. Ceglia is accused of tampering with, destroying and fabricating evidence in a scheme to defraud Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg of billions of dollars. Ceglia originally filed suit in 2010, claiming that while Zuckerb...

Facebook delivered a double whammy with its third-quarter earnings report: It came in slightly above Wall Street analysts' expectations, and it illustrated that, yes, it can deliver on its mobile promise. Although it recorded a net loss of $59 million, revenue reached $1.26 billion, a 32 percent yea...

LinkedIn, the social network geared toward professionals, has unveiled a major revamp of its site design. The changes began rolling out this week and will continue throughout the next few months. The new LinkedIn places a greater emphasis on photos -- they are larger, serving as focal points on the ...