Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve all seen those “OMG! Don’t make us pay for Facebook” fake petitions, but App.net and The Social Network raise questions about how our social services raise their moolah. Tencent’s Sophia Ong has revealed that it’s in the unique position of having users happy to pay for services that we take for granted. While signups for QZone (Facebook equivalent) is free, users have to use QBs, the site’s virtual currency, to buy and clothe their avatars. While 1 QB = 1 yuan ($0.16), there are 30 million paying customers on the site — meaning that the company can count on around $50 million in monthly payments. It’s not stopping there either, sensing a slowdown in the local economy, the company has an eye on opening up its eCommerce platform to ensure it can continue to rake in the cash.

Filed under: Internet

Tencent reveals how it gets users to pay for its service originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 09:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Paid Twitter-style service App.net has achieved its self-imposed $500,000 funding goal with almost two days still left on the clock. The social platform is the brainchild of Dalton Caldwell, who said he wanted to spawn a service dedicated to users instead of advertisers. It was originally pitched to Facebook, but the two companies came to loggerheads when it clashed with the social network’s own App Center — inspiring Caldwell’s Kickstarter-style campaign. Though the software is still in alpha, over 10,000 backers have paid $50 for an annual membership or put down $1,000 for support, developer tools and a meeting with the founder. The company will now start working on its terms of service, letting users offer feedback and discover new features — and if you wanna be @John instead of @JohnFDoe99427 on the new service, you may want to pony up, quick.

Filed under: Internet, Software

Paid Twitter wannabe App.net hits $500K target with time to spare originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Aug 2012 09:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It goes without saying that the world of social media has definitely changed the way we communicate with one another, and social networks such as Facebook as well as micro blogging sites like Twitter have introduced a new way we visit places – especially when we check in to various restaurants, hotels and shopping malls. Our modern day smartphones would be the primary device where we use social media most of the time whenever we are away from a desktop or notebook, while at the office or home itself, we will most probably be uploading photos of our latest soiree with the rest of our mates.

Having said that, have you ever wondered whether the humble shoe could actually jump aboard the social media bandwagon? This is exactly what I am talking about with sportswear giant adidas coming up with the aptly named Adidas Social Media Shoe. Thanks to the help of customizer NASH Money, adidas has managed to inject a healthy dose of technology into a 2012 adidas Barricade tennis sneaker, which transforms a phone into a shoe. Alternatively, those who are on the other end of the spectrum might want to argue, is this a shoe that has been turned into a phone? More details to follow in the extended post.

Fans tweeting athletes, athletes tweeting fans, these look set to be commonplace thanks to this highly modified adidas sneaker. Bear in mind that this will not enter into mass production, as it is a one-off concept sneaker that does lead to the intriguing question – what will the future hold when it comes to social media and sports? Imagine Usain Bolt at the tracks, tweeting his feeling about performing a triple double in Rio when 2016 rolls around, you can be sure that the classic Twitter fail whale might just make an appearance then.

The Adidas Social Media Shoe will merge an Arduino unit, a LCD display, and LED lighting in order to deliver a shoe which, by virtue of its existence, should deserve its very own Twitter account. The external LCD display shows off relevant information to user, while a personalized software will poll the Twitter API’s to share specific data on the shoe screen.

YouTube video

[ Adidas Social Media Shoe copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

This week the FTC has settled its privacy complaint with Facebook with an agreement that the social network will obtain “express consent” before they share any information of said users outside its pre-written privacy settings. The agreement makes it so that Facebook must provide users with “clear and prominent notice” any time user information is shared. It also makes Facebook keep a “comprehensive privacy program” maintained and subject to biennial privacy audits.

This settlement is the end of a process which started in November of 2011, today’s date being the final announcement and cut-off time for Facebook to comply with said orders. Each violation of these orders will result in a penalty from the FTC for up to $16,000 apiece. The investigation itself began back in 2009 when initial complains from privacy watchdogs suggested private information was being shared by Facebook from users who had opted out of such activities.

This settlement comes just one day after the FTC’s settlement with Google which resulted in a $22.5 million dollar fine. That fine was the largest ever levied by the company for a violation of their orders. The agency’s commissioners issued a joint statement today which read in part as follows.

“We intend to monitor closely Facebook’s compliance with the order, and will not hesitate to seek civil penalties for any violations.

… A statement from Facebook about an app’s conduct may well amount to a promise that Facebook is taking steps to assure the level of privacy or security that the app provides for consumers’ information.” – FTC

Have a peek at the timeline below to see other FTC activities as of late to see how they’re taking care of business across the web in the USA here in the summer of 2012.

FTC Facebook verdict: “express consent” required is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
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