Hasta La Gadget!

Apple has been on a social networking kick lately, what with Twitter’s footings in iOS 5 and OS X Mountain Lion as well as Facebook’s upcoming presence in iOS 6. From what the New York Times hears, that fascination could become more of a fixation. The company has reportedly chatted with Twitter in past months about the possibility of investing money on the scale you’d normally expect from a later-stage venture capitalist: the newspaper is talking “hundreds of millions” of dollars based on Twitter being valued at more than $10 billion. Any such deal would be less about funding (Twitter purportedly has $600 million-plus in the bank) and more about getting cozy in a social world where Apple still has some learning to do. Apple might equally want to dissuade competitors from getting any ideas, we’d add. Neither side will comment, and the negotiations aren’t even supposed to be active at present. Regardless, that Apple might have even toyed with a social networking investment could represent a major change in tack for a company that’s not always known for playing well with others.

Filed under: Internet

NYT claims Apple has dallied with investing ‘hundreds of millions’ in Twitter originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 23:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Infographics. The stuff of high turnover websites and news channels, right? Well, yes, but now you can bring the same white space and pastel shades to your own internet footprint, courtesy of free infographic web app Vizify. It’s still in its trial period for now, which means you’ll have to wait for an entry code to tap into the breezy visualization generator, but we managed to plug in as many social networks as we could to see how it all works. The service is definitely centered around those that are very connected to the internet. Vizify will draw information from Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, LinkedIn and also connect through work-based websites you add yourself. It will then populate a clickable front page with circles including images, quotes and links to your profile elsewhere. The service, which is geared at recruitment, crafts a convenient short link to offer up on resumes or job emails. Edit options include a choice of color palettes, and the ability to tweak the layout of the information circles [seen above] and the larger pages that follow it, bringing either more career-centric (or interesting) content to the forefront. Sign up for an access code at the source to give it a try for yourself, or take a stalker-esque trip down an Engadget editor’s social network tracks at the second link below.

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Vizify offers free infographics all about you, makes you feel like a big shot originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 13:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook is trying to force itself into every aspect of your life, and it’s succeeding at doing so. Today the massive social networking site rolled out a new feature called the Recommendations Bar, which will pop up when you’re visiting to website to show you what your friends liked and shared from that website as well. The Recommendations Bar will pop up in the bottom right corner of your browser window – provided the website you’re visiting has put the plug-in to use – much like Facebook chat does, encouraging you to check out the stories that are popular with your Facebook friends.

When you decide to like something you see in the Recommendations Bar, Facebook will publish the like to both your profile and your friends’ news feed. Annoying maybe, but it seems to be working, as Facebook is reporting that early tests show a click-through rate that’s three times higher with the Recommendations Bar than with the more familiar Recommendations Box. Hearing that, it seems like this Recommedations Bar will only become more popular as time goes on.

The Recommendations Bar is just the latest social plug-in Facebook offers to websites. CNET counts 11 Facebook plug-ins total, so it sounds like it won’t be long before Facebook is a part of everything we do on the web. Expect to hear more about the success of the new Recommendations Bar soon, but in the meantime, be sure to check out our story timeline below for more information on Facebook!

Facebook rolls out Recommendations Bar for websites is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Social game and Facebook stalwart Zynga has reported a dire financial quarter, casting a pall over casual gaming and leaving investors concerned that Facebook itself will underperform. On the surface, Zynga was doing everything right: daily active users were up year-on-year in Q2 2012 from 59m to 72m, with monthly unique and active users also both up (to 192m and 306m respectively). However, that still wasn’t enough to avoid a net loss of $22.8m, despite online game revenues rising 10-percent year-on-year

Revenues overall were up 19-percent over the same period, to $332.5m, and up 4-percent quarter-on-quarter. However, online game revenues dropped $1.2m between Q1 and Q2 2012, with stock based expense costing $95.5m in Q2, versus a third of that in Q1.

Zynga is now warning of a less fruitful end to 2012, with delays in launching new games and a faster than expected decline in existing titles. Part of the problem, according to Zynga CEO Mark Pincus, was down to changes Facebook made to its site, which caused Zynga’s engagement and bookings fall.

What remains to be seen is how Facebook performs, with the site expected to reveal its own financial results later today. The figures will be the first since Facebook floated its IPO back in May, which saw a record opening but subsequently proved lackluster for investors.

Zynga reports $23m social gaming loss as Facebook worries mount is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The private social network app, Path, has seen an update to version 2.5 for iOS and Android that adds some new functionality. Photos have seen a big improvement in the app, now spanning the full width of the phone’s screen as users scroll through their timeline. Instagram-esque filters can now be applied to photos as they’re taken, and a quick single tap will begin recording video so that you don’t miss out on any action. Users can also take a photo using the volume button on the iPhone, just like in the regular Camera app.

Path has also added the ability to search for movies and books within the app. Previously the service pulled down information about what music you were listening to, and now users can manually search for whatever movie they’re watching or the next book they’ve been eyeing, further adding to the Path mantra of seeing what your friends are experiencing. The biggest feature, however, is the ability to “nudge” your friends. When a friend on Path hasn’t posted to the service for some time, their name will turn grey, and a question mark will appear that will allow you to nudge them into activity.

Inviting users to the service has also been improved. Now, invitations can be customized with a note, photo, and even a voice recording that will prompt friends and family to sign up. Finally, the initial sign up process has been streamlined, with an added tour that guides the user around the various features of the app. Path 2.5 is available for iOS and Android right now, so head on over to the respective app stores to update or give it a whirl for the first time.

Path 2.5 adds larger photos, movie sharing, and nudging is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.