Twitter rolls out redesigned profile for all users

WASHINGTON: Twitter's new Facebook-like profile design, which was earlier available only to a certain group of users, has finally been made public.

According to CNET, the design, though radically altered from Twitter's previous profile design, may look familiar as it smacks of Facebook's Timeline, especially with the massive photo up top and key biographical information displayed on the left.

Twitter users also have the option to pin a selected tweet to the top of their profile page.

Meanwhile, tweets with more activity appear larger as compared to the rest, the report added.

"Google Drive detailed: 5 GB for free, launching next week for Mac, Windows, Android and iOS"

Sometimes we get lucky, and today is one of those days. I got a draft release from a partner of Google’s upcoming Google Drive service and it gives away a wealth of information about how Google plans to take on the incumbent Dropbox. The short story? 5 GB of storage, and it launches next week, likely on Tuesday athttp://drive.google.com

"Facebook Rolls Out Bigger Profile Images, Days After Google+"

Over the course of the last week, Facebook has started to roll out a small improvement to Facebook profiles, increasing the size of a user’s profile picture on their Timeline, a move that comes just days after Google updated Google+ profilesto sport a larger photo.

Previously, a photo measured 130 x 125 pixels, overlaying a user’s Timeline Cover image. The image is a smaller version of a user’s profile image, which can be displayed in full when a visitor clicks it.

However, as Emanuele Bartolomucci and a number of Twitter users have noticed, Facebook’s profile images now measure 166 x 160 pixels.

You can see the difference below:

Before

Pinterest third most popular network, beats Google+, Tumblr

If you tweet, friend and blog, chances are you also pin.

Pinterest – the newest kid on the social media block – is now the third most popular social network after Facebook and Twitter.

A report released by digital marketing firm Experian Marketing Services, based on visits by American users for the month of March, shows that Pinterest had 104 million unique visits in March alone, putting it ahead of sites such as Tumblr, LinkedIn and Google plus.

Facebook to buy Instagram for $1 billion

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook will pay $1 billion in cash and stock for Instagram, a 2-year-old photo-sharing application developer, in its largest-ever acquisition just months before the No. 1 social media website is expected to go public.

The price was stunning for an apps-maker without any significant revenue, even when measured by the lofty standards of Silicon Valley, where startup valuations have soared in recent years. It highlights the rising stakes in the social networking market in which services such as Facebook need to constantly excite consumers with new features and mobile applications.

Facebook could be the next e-commerce giant

San Francisco: Conventional wisdom says there is no F (as in Facebook) in e-commerce.

But some enterprising firms — small-time merchants who would have just signed up with eBay Inc a few years ago — are now enjoying early success on the world’s largest social network.

These e-commerce startups, some backed by major financiers, are betting Facebook can become an e-commerce power to rival Amazon.com Inc and eBay. BeachMint, Yardsellr, Oodle and Fab.com are coming up with novel ways to persuade Facebook users to not just connect with friends on the social network, but to shop as well. an e-commerce power to rival Amazon.com 

Say goodbye to the Qwerty key pad with Gmail Tap(video)

As some of us make the painful switch from dumb phones, phones with a full Qwerty pad to a smartphone such an Android, we’ve been forced to adjust to typing on touchscreens. Yes, Samsung has the Swpye option, where you don’t have to painfully tap on each letter to spell out each word, but that doesn’t mean life has become easier.

Twitter Hit By Unfollow Bug

Causes users to randomly unfollow without their consent.

Twitter is currently facing an "unfollow" bug that is causing users to randomly unfollow other users without their consent. The microblogging company has admitted that the bug exists and that it is working on a fix. Meanwhile, affected users have been advised to visit its support page where the bug alert has been posted that says, "A person you've recently followed shows in your following tab, but appears with a follow icon so it looks like you're not following them, as shown in the image below. Visit their profile if you'd like to confirm you're following them". Thankfully, this is only a bug and not a virus, so the user's personal data is considerably safe.

Facebook vs. Google, Who Can Win Search?

Man vs. Machine: Could Facebook’s people-sourced search beat Google’s algorithm?

It’s a well-known fact that most people don’t get past page one of Google’s search results. This is why the company is doubling down on integrating a social layer into everything that it does. While algorithms can crawl the entire web to find relevant information, could the things that we share on Facebook become a better and more reliable data-set?

Watch out Skype! Google plus Hangout has new app features

The Hangouts option on Google + is one popular feature since it allows social media users to voice chat without actually logging into another account. With Hangout, Google also hopes to give Skype some competition, more importantly since it is now owned by rival firm Microsoft.

And in a bid to draw more users into Hangout, Google has announced that it will release theAPI for Hangout thus ensuring that developers can have more fun with Hangouts, making it them capable of running social apps.

In a blogpost, describing the new functionality Google said:

FB to stall valuation churn by disallowing secondary market trade

San Francisco: Social-networking site Facebook is halting the sale of its shares on secondary markets effective next week, aiming to reduce churn in its valuation which could complicate matters as it sets an IPO price, a person familiar with the situtation said on Wednesday.

The company, which is preparing for what could be Silicon Valley’s largest initial public offering, has asked firms that arrange trading of its privately held shares to stop, the person said.

Happy birthday Twitter – 6 years ago, @jack was ‘just setting up his twttr’

On the 21st of March 2006, Jack Dorsey sent the first public tweet into 
the world (“just setting up my twttr”). Can you believe that was 6 years ago today?Dorsey was evidently one of the key people in the early days of Twitter, 

Want a job? Give your Facebook password

Seattle: When Justin Bassett interviewed for a new job, he expected the usual questions about experience and references. So he was astonished when the interviewer asked for something else: his Facebook username and password.Bassett, a New York City statistician, had just finished answering a few character questions when the interviewer turned to her computer to search for his Facebook page.