When you're completely disconnected from the online world, when you refuse to engage in every collective breath over social media, are you really even alive anymore? One blogger tried, and this one can sympathize.
A little less than a week after a hacked Associated Press account reported a non-existent bombing at the White House, Twitter decided it was time to comfort journalists by warning them that they should expect to get hacked.
The FBI's "top legislative priority" this year is a push to make tech companies comply with agency wiretapping standards in order to keep up with the changing way persons of interest — including, perhaps, the Boston bombing suspects and their family — communicate on Facebook, Google, and beyond.
Some Twitter employee had a pretty rough day on Tuesday, after a hack led to the AP sending a fake tweet to its 2 million followers. If only the hacker had waited, Twitter could've stopped them!
The entertainment industry's looking pretty experimental these days, with the announcement of a new five-day-long comedy festival on Twitter. Yes, there is a hashtag involved.
Monday's horrific events at the Boston Marathon produced equally horrific images, which in the age of social media news meant a constant, unsolicited bombardment of the gruesome aftermath of a gruesome event.
The sentiment from newfound Twitter haters like Wired writer Mat Honan and Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein is not as simple as the dismissal of haters past. The new argument is more complex than it-is-what-you-make-of-it: Now, Twitter doesn't let you make it good enough.
At this point, everybody's seen the pink equals sign on the red background show up in her Facebook or Twitter feed. Not everyone's convinced that it's useful, though.
Even after pleas from their school officials and a week of national shame, the students of Torrington High in Connecticut are still taking to social media to defend one of the rape suspects who was the star of their football team.
With an oversaturation of obvious jokes coming from get-followers-quick users who jump on major news events, one comedian's bold move to squat on a newsy handle is, indeed, an heroic gesture. But it's also futile.
This week, Cisco got educational, Swatch got you hooked on love, and Intel parlayed its Ultrabooks to get a jump in the social media ranks.
A note to @MarsCuriosity's 1,270,220 followers on Twitter: NASA's intrepid rover is a she. The women behind her massively popular social media presence confirmed today that "she" is the proper pronoun for referring to the Mars explorer.
In one of the most talked-about columns on social media today, The Week columnist Matt Lewis tries to explain how he got trapped in the "prison" of Twitter's apparent decline — even though he's really just trapped himself, by way of a really bad Twitter feed.
The first solider to survive after losing all four limbs in the Iraq war has been live-tweeting his recovery from a Baltimore hospital room. Here's what we know about him so far — aside from the fact that he is, you know, amazing.
Twitter launched a new product called Vine on Thursday, one that's as confusing as it is intriguing -- just like Twitter itself was when it started. Unsurprisingly, Facebook wants nothing to do with it.
The 7th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Chicago has deemed unconstitutional an Indiana law designed to protect children from sexual predators by limiting registered offenders' access to social media. Here's why the fight's not over.
The First Lady's new Twitter handle (which, so far, has issued a single tweet) highlights one of the curiosities of political campaigning on social media.
Do you tweet? Do you post things on Facebook? Do you #hashtag #complete #sentences #like #this? Well: you've got company!
Gun control and gun rights have instantly come to dominate the American conversation, but the biggest gun lobby in America has decided to sit this one out — at least on the Internet.
This chart from Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project looks at social media's global reach, but as an interesting aside it also reveals how many people say they don't use the Internet.
The so-called Top Conservaties on Twitter, led by their #tcot hashtag, dominated the trends on Twitter this election year, but official new data from Twitter suggests that they may not have controlled the conversations they started.
Hey, kids, how'd you like some Internet with that diploma? South Carolina's Newberry College has added a social media major, because of the apparent skyrocketing number of jobs in that field.
Not that we're sure what that means, really.
Frank James MacArthur, a local Baltimore blogger, streamed parts of his five hour standoff with police, including his conversation with the police negotiator, who came with a court-ordered warrant for his arrest.
Therese Poletti on Groupon, Anthony Lane on the Leveson report, Paul Krugman on class war, Ana Marie Cox on #Obama, and Ruth Marcus on Susan Rice.
It won't be long before her parents are arranging playdates with Facebook and Like. No, really, those are real names, too.
Discovered: why social media's popular kids are stressed out; cigarettes harm brain activity; ocean acid is corroding snail shells; the end of the permanent case of the tryptophan naps.
Burberry got exclusive, American Express went small, and Pernod got all boozy in the Social Media Power Rankings this week.
Pinterest has launched pages just for businesses, in an obvious move to set itself up to make money.
The NHL benefitted from a big move, Adobe got artsy and Vevo listened to fans all in this week's power rankings.
During a major crisis like Hurricane Sandy, it's best for PR reps to keep quiet if they represent a company selling something frivolous like V-neck T-shirts. Unfortunately, not everyone has that kind of good sense.
A good deal of the false Sandy information circulating on social media originated with one user: Twitter's @comfortablysmug. Now that his identity has been made public, he's being pilloried on the Internet.
Cisco rode its Twitter celebrity while THQ harnessed the power of fanboys (and girls) to rise in the social media rankings.
Facebook has confirmed that it is working with certain retailers to try out a "want" button, which unlike the "like" button would accurately indicate consumer desires.
GameStop cemented its place atop the video game-buying world, Greenpeace banked on cute, and Levi's tricked you into thinking you like adventurous things in this week's rankings.
Data from the Buzzfeed network has found many fewer page views are coming from email than they used to, as other modes of sharing, like Facebook and Twitter have taken off. We have a theory for why: emailing links around takes too much effort.
This week Burberry showed us the perks of exclusivity while Capcom rode yet another Resident Evil launch to a rise in the rankings.
Even more than Twitter now, Instagram has its users hooked, but it still doesn't mean much financially for Facebook. Still, there are some glimmers that sharing photos might be a big business.
Rebecca Greenfield noted the widespread scorn for apps that automatically share articles users read on social media sites. One of our commenters explained this frustration pithily.
This week Subway got fresh with giveaways, Land Rover showed us the benefits of Google +, and we tried to crack Victoria's Secret's social media strategy.
Heineken showed us how to toast, Bertelsmann helped us get back to school, and UNICEF showed everyone how do to social media right during this week's rankings.
If all the coolest people have left and the lamest people have joined, does that make Twitter officially over? Kaput? Done?
Etsy benefitted from DIY tweets, while Gannett got a bump from the RNC. And nothing compares to the power of David Beckham.
Pinterest's promise lies in its apparently unique connection to online shopping, but so far the numbers don't conclusively prove that the social network drives incredible sales.
It was the "like" that made Facebook more valuable than the average website or social network, but today we get some disconcerting data about that little tag's real power, or lack thereof.
This week Hasbro and Kellogg's turned to old favorites while PPR got a bump from everyone's favorite sparkly vampire.
Back before Digg fell into oblivion it used to drive a lot of traffic, and following its sale and relaunch it has started doing that again, which has led Fast Company's Sarah Kessler to declare the social news sharing site "definitely maybe" back.
Firefox knows its memes, Monster energized its 18 million fans, and Harley Davidson turned one bike rally into a massive social success.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
It was a big week for video games and nerding out on Twitter, while Foot Locker cashed in the Olympics hoopla.
Voula Papachristou is currently Greece's Triple Jump champion, and will go into the record books as the first Greek Triple Jump champion to be dismissed for the Olympic team for tweeting out racist remarks against Africans.
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