Google+ reaches 62M users, still not giving Facebook a run for its money

Google+ has reached 62 million registered users and is signing up 625,000 new users per day, according to unofficial Google+ statistician and Ancestry.com founder Paul Allen.

For a social network that was invite-only until July 2011, those numbers are not bad. However, Google+ has a long way to go if it wants to catch up to Facebook’s 800 million users.

Google+ has been adding new users by the tens of millions just about every month since it became available to the general public back in July, according to Allen’s report. So far in December, Google+ has registered 12 million new members.

Allen says that based on the current rate of growth, Google+ can expect to see 100 million new users by the end of February, and 293 million members by the end of next year. But Allen is expecting accelerated growth for the social network which could put Google+ at 400 million users by the end of 2012. What’s the reasoning behind Allen’s predictions? He points to the approximately 700,000 Android devices that are activated each day, which he contends will draw more users to Google+.

A Google spokesperson told VentureBeat that the company does not “have any additional metrics to provide based on Paul Allen’s estimates,” but that more than 40 million people have signed up for the social network. That number comes from Google’s latest earnings call which took place on October 13.

Even if Allen’s predictions are correct and Google+ hits 400 million users by this time next year, it still won’t compete with Facebook’s 800 million (and counting) very active members. While this growth is good news for those who want their friends and families fill up their Google+ streams, its unlikely that Google’s social network will overshadow Facebook anytime soon.

In an attempt to garner more attention, Google+ rolled out a new ad campaign over the holiday season. The ads featured NBA annoucers and the Muppets to highlight Hangouts and other cool features of the social network. Perhaps the ads were enough to remind people that yes, Google+ does still exist and help it nab those 12 million extra users for December.

Facebook Users Can Get McAfee Virus Protection

Facebook and McAfee have partnered to offer Facebook users six months of free malware protection. McAfee will also scan Facebook messages for hidden malware. The Facebook announcement comes just days after CEO Mark Zuckerberg caused a ruckus on privacy. McAfee will also help develop content for Facebook's lightly used security page.

Responding to the growing threat of malware, Facebook on Wednesday announced a partnership withsecurity giant McAfee that will encourage users to sign up for virus protection. The social network , which says it has 350 million users, has also developed a system with McAfee to scan Facebook messages for hidden malware.

If a threat is detected from a user, Facebook will be able to lock out that user's account until a free scan and clean program is run.

Good Timing?

The announcement comes just days after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg caused a ruckus in the tech and online world by saying that the "social norm" had evolved to the point where people were less concerned about privacy and more inclined to share details of their lives on the Internet.

One expert said the timing, likely coincidental, might help change the conversation.

"Certainly, this would have been in the works for quite some time," said Michael Zimmer, an assistant professor in the school of information studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an associate at the Center for Information Policy Research. "But I wouldn't be surprised if someone at Facebook decided to accelerate the announcement to show that they're taking user security seriously."

Facebook said the deal is an expansion of measures it began taking in July to detect compromised user accounts. The agreement will allow Facebook users a free subscription to McAfee Internet Security Suite software for six months, followed by a discount one-year subscription. The software protects against "viruses, spyware, hackers, online scammers, identity thieves, and other cybercriminals," McAfee says.

Another security software company, BitDefender, announced on Dec. 30 that spyware and malware activity rose drastically at the end of 2009. The company pointed to Trojan.Clicker.CM, which can force advertisements inside users' browsers when visiting nonsecure web sites, as the leading threat. Others include Win32.Worm.Downadup.Gen, Exploit.PDF-JS.Gen and Worm.Autorun.VHG.

The most common malware on Facebook has been Koobface, first detected in 2008.

BitDefender said the most common countries of origin for malware were China, France and the United States, followed by Australia, Romania and Spain.

The Best Defense Is an Offense

The McAfee subscription is available by selecting Protect Your PC on McAfee's Facebook page. Facebook said it will not receive any revenue from the deal

By Adam Dickter

http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=71082

Facebook Takes on Twitter with Facebook Lite, Tagging

Facebook is challenging Twitter with Facebook Lite and Tagging to keep friends linked. Facebook Lite was meant for developing countries but is available first in the U.S. and India. An analyst noted that the stripped-down Facebook Lite is easier for mobile users to access. Tagging lets users tell friends what they're up to.

Facebook is going on the offensive against the rising Twitter star with new initiatives aimed at streamlining social networking. Facebook launched Facebook Lite and Tagging on Thursday to make updating simpler and more social.

As its name suggests, Facebook Lite is a lighter version of Facebook. It was designed for people with slower connections. The stripped-down version loads faster.

Facebook Lite is available in the U.S. and India, and the company plans to roll it out in China, Russia and other countries. That makes Facebook's intentions suspect, since most users in the U.S. have good connections.

However, Facebook issued a statement about the U.S. launch: "We decided to roll out Facebook Lite in the U.S. to give users a simple, expedient alternative to facebook.com, and hope that it will fill this need."

Lite Enough for Mobile

Facebook Lite focuses on events, inbox messages, wall messages, video and photos, and, of course, status updates. The difference between Facebook and Facebook Lite is most obvious in applications. You won't find support for applications on the Lite version, which reminds some observers of Facebook's original version.

"Facebook Lite was intended to be something for developing countries and places where high-speed connections were sparse or entirely nonexistent," said Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence. "However, the company is making it available in the U.S., and thus it now represents a total alternative for people who use or want to use Facebook but don't like all the 'noise' and clutter of the regular site."

Sterling's guess is that most U.S. and Western users won't access Facebook via the Lite version. But he noted that Facebook Lite is easier for mobile users to access with a browser.

Tagging, Tagging Everywhere

Facebook is also offering a new way to tag people and other things Facebook users are connected to in status updates and other posts. Facebook is positioning the amped-up tagging capabilities as a way for its members to let people know who they are and what they are talking about.

"People often update their status to reflect their thoughts and feelings, or to mention things they feel like sharing. Sometimes that includes referencing friends, groups or even events they are attending -- for instance, posting 'Grabbing lunch with Meredith Chin' or 'I'm heading to Starbucks Coffee Company -- anyone want some coffee?'," said Facebook engineer Tom Occhino.

Facebook tagging will soon let users that want to add a friend's name to a status update do so by including the "@" symbol beforehand. As a user types the name of something to reference, a drop-down menu appears to choose from friends and other connections, including groups, events, applications and pages. Occhino said that soon, members will be able to tag friends from applications as well. The "@" symbol will not be displayed in the published status update or post.

"Friends you tag in your status updates will receive a notification and a Wall post linking them to your post. They also will have the option to remove tags of themselves from your posts," Occhino said. "We hope that tagging your status updates and other posts from the publisher will enable you to share in a more meaningful and engaging way, and connect with even more people."

Facebook is rolling out this feature over the course of the next few weeks.

By Jennifer LeClaire

http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=68886&full_skip=1

One billion video views on Facebook

Facebook has hit another milestone--over one billion video views last month. Since launching Facebook Video in June 2007, video views have steadily grown, and now, there are four times as many video views as actual Facebook members.

In a promotional video that Facebook posted on its Career site Wednesday, two engineers, Soleio Cuervo and Chris Putnam, talk about how they conceived of Facebook Video and then built it out at a "Hackathon" in January 2007.

At Hackathon events, Facebook engineers spend one night, all night, working on ideas that have been simmering for the few months prior. The goal is, "to change the 'That would be hot!' sentiment to something real and live on the site," explains a Facebook engineer, Aditya Agarwal, on the Facebook blog.

YouTube Upgrade Includes Sharing Videos with Twitter

YouTube users can now share videos on Twitter feeds, along with choices for Facebook, MySpace, Digg and Hi5. Earlier, YouTube owner Google integrated Twitter with Google Friend Connect, and it has introduced new features for Google Reader. YouTube also enhanced support for mobile browsers, and YouTube EDU provides education content.

The ability to share Twitter feeds is among the latest batch of changes unveiled this week at YouTube, which Alexa, a Web traffic analyzer, ranks as the world's third most popular Web property after Yahoo and Google.

Given that so many people are on Twitter these days, YouTube said it has added Twitter to the share options so users can easily send a video into their Twitter streams. Other YouTube video-sharing options include Facebook, MySpace, Digg and Hi5.

When users click to share with Twitter, a pop-up window opens that routes users to their twitter accounts and formulates a Tweet telling recipients to "check out this video," with the title and URL added to the message.

"This was a big internal request, but we know many of you asked for it, too," YouTube's development team said. "We don't currently shorten the video URL automatically, but hope to get to it down the road."

By Mark Long
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65602

Malware Targets Facebook and Other Social Sites

Malware is targeting social-networking sites, with Facebook hit the hardest, according to Trend Micro. The Koobface.AZ variant of the WORM_KOOBFACE.AZ steals user information and has appeared on 300 servers and up to 20,000 PCs. Jamz Yaneza of Trend Micro warned that open social-networking apps make it easy for cybercriminals.

Trend Micro, a computer security firm, is warning that social-networking sites are under attack from a new wave of malware, worms and rogue applications. Although a number of the leading social-network sites have been targeted, the problem has hit Facebook hardest.

"We didn't see a lot of these until recently," said Jamz Yaneza, the threat research manager for Trend Micro. "So far, they don't seem to be affecting users that much, although at least one Facebook group has been started by malware victims."

Yaneza said there is particular concern about a new variant of a dangerous worm, WORM_KOOBFACE.AZ. Within a very short period of time, the setup file for Koobface.AZ appeared on more than 300 servers, mostly in Asia, and Trend Micro expects that number to rise quickly. Researchers also estimate that as many as 20,000 PCs are being infected each day.

By Frederick Lane
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0030003IXIFL

Apple Ready To Release iLife '09 with New Features

Apple, Inc. will release the iLife '09 suite this month as Vice President Philip Schiller promised at Macworld. iPhoto can now organize and search for photos using a face-detection feature called Face, and photos can be uploaded to Facebook. Garage Band now offers guitar and piano music lessons, including from professional performers.

Vatican Launches YouTube Channel

the Vatican plunged into a new age today, launching its own dedicated YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/vatican - endorsement from the Pope.

Vatican priests have profiles on facebook also. However, they argue that the psychological effect of “collecting” friends does not ensure their quality..That’s why I argue, they should not necessarily be called Friends, but simply contacts.

Earlier, President Barack Obama, who launched an official White House channel on his inauguration day, as well as Queen Elizabeth, who went online with her royal YouTube channel in December 2007.

The 6 Technologies That Shaped 2008

From high-definition streaming to tiny gadgets, 2008 saw technology continue its steady transformation toward the small, cheap and on-demand. Our resident gadget guru takes a look at the six developments that shaped 2008.

1. Netflix Rocks Internet Movie Streaming
A year ago, we would have guessed that Apple would become the dominant player in the nascent business of streaming Internet-delivered TV shows and movies to TV with its Apple TV. We would have been wrong. Over the past year, Netflix's "Watch It Now" feature evolved from a little-used part of its Web site to a killer app that is causing some people to cancel their cable. The secret to the success of Netflix's streaming movie service: widespread integration into TV-connected devices that are either inexpensive (such as the $100 Roku Netflix Player) or already in people's homes (such as the Xbox 360). Even better: The company is rapidly ramping up its high-definition and first-run offerings, including first-run TV shows just a day after they first air. Unlike Apple, which charges a few bucks for every TV show or movie, Netflix's streaming is completely free to Netflix subscribers. And unlike Hulu (another sleeper success this year), Netflix streaming is advertisement-free.

2. Pocket Gadgets, on the Cheap
Netbooks and pocket camcorders were, undoubtedly, the two biggest consumer electronics breakthroughs of the past year. But these distinct new categories were really results of the same winning formula for 2008: No-frills, portable, cheap electronics. Netbook manufacturers found they could bring prices down well below $400 by exorcising features such as optical drives, large screens and even the latest operating systems. Pocket camcorder makers, such as Pure Digital Technologies, the makers of the best-selling Flip, came to the same conclusion, taking out frills for a bare-bones HD camcorder with its tiny, $230 Flip HD Mino. Consumers were willing to sacrifice top-notch performance to have cheap, portable gadgets. With the recent economic downturn, we would bet the demand for these budget-priced gadgets will only skyrocket.

3. Mobile Applications
Hardware- and feature-wise, cellphones have hit a plateau. The battle of millimeters in a rush to be the thinnest phone is largely a thing of the past, and just about any hardware-based feature we want is now standard. That's why, these days, a smart phone is only as good as its applications. This is the new battleground for mobile technological supremacy, with stores such as the iPhone's App Store and the Android Market leading the charge, and new entries from Palm and (coming in March) Blackberry close behind. Just because a feature wasn't thought of in a boardroom doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. All it takes is a good idea and a standard development kit.

4. 3D Cinema
This past year's Journey to the Center of the Earth may not have been a big hit, but it was significant for a few reasons. First: It was the first "live action" (we use that term loosely for any Brendan Fraser movie) digital 3D movie. And second, even though 3D screens accounted for a small percentage of its showings, they accounted for the majority of Journey's revenue. In other words—where it was showing in 3D, people went to see it. Over the next year, 3D will continue its transition from novelty to Hollywood standard. Some of Hollywood's biggest names, such as Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg, Robert Rodriguez and James Cameron are either working on or have already made digital 3D films. The granddaddy of them all, James Cameron's Avatar (his first feature since the monster blockbuster Titanic) is slated for a3D release in late 2009. Just about every industry expert we've spoken to cites this release as the true tipping point for 3D saturation. Cameron has signaled that, at least initially, he wants to release the film only in 3D. So if theater owners want to cash in on what will likely be a huge hit, they're going to need to install more 3D screens.

5. Location-Based Services
Take open mobile-application development, add widespread proliferation of phone-based GPS, and you get the emergence of location-based programs. Programs based on the global positioning of a user spread like crazy this year, particularly for the iPhone, which has dozens of applications that allow users to find businesses that are near their present location. Urbanspoon's iPhone app, for example, connects users with nearby restaurants by using a randomized, roulette-style interface. Of course, the most interesting use of location-based programs is its marriage with social applications. Programs such as Loopt allow you to find friends who are nearby. Down the line, look for the emphasis to shift from finding existing friends who are nearby, to making new friends. Stranded at the airport? Soon you won't think twice about finding a like-minded individual who is also at O'Hare.

6. Microblogging
Twitter may be the most famous tool for microblogging (the abbreviated, one-or-two sentence cousin to regular blogging), but it's no longer the most important. That distinction now belongs to something that is rarely even thought of as a microblog: Facebook. Specifically, Facebook "status" updates. Millions of users update their "status" dozens of times a day, letting the world know how they are feeling, what they are doing and what they are looking to do be doing. And, thanks to Facebook's recent redesign, these updates are broadcast, front on center, to each and every one of a user's friends. Of course, microblogging has been around longer than the past year. What really sent it over the tipping point in the past 12 months was the meteoric rise of mobile applications. Now, users can update their Twitter or Facebook status in seconds, from anywhere and with ease. Instead of being the domain of desktop-bound bloggers, microblogs are now effectively quick broadcasts from the lunch line ("out of sushi again"), the stadium floor ("at AMAZING show!"), or the streets ("anybody around Avenue A wanna grab a drink?").

By Seth Porges

http://www.popularmechanics.com

Facebook bans 'forced invites' in apps

Ever come across one of those Facebook Platform applications that required you to spam a dozen of your friends with invites before you could access the results of your "Vampire Jedi Zombie Personality Quiz"?

They're annoying. And now Facebook has done something about it. Developer applications must "offer some navigation option to leave the friend invite process," according to a change in the social-networking site's platform policy. If an application's friend-invite page doesn't contain one of Facebook's in-house "Skip This Step," "Cancel," or "Skip" buttons, it has to contain an alternative way to navigate away from the friend invite process.

Developers whose applications ignore the new regulations reportedly receive warning letters that threaten shutdown if they fail to comply.

This is a big step toward cleaning up the cluttered Facebook app directory. Ideally, it will cut down on some of the "app invite overkill" that's led many Facebook users to groan every time they're invited to the corny application du jour. And it'll likely mean that Facebook members will probably only be passing on invites to applications they actually like, rather than spamming their friends just so they can learn what character from Hannah Montana they most resemble.

It will also mean your friends won't have to know that you even installed such an abhorrent application.

source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-9871148-36.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5