Report: Microsoft close to deal to sell Atlas ad platform to Facebook

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Microsoft could reach a deal to sell its Atlas ad-serving platform to Facebook as early as next week, helping the social network build out its online advertising presence, according to Advertising Age, citing a potential purchase price between $30 million and $50 million. Facebook is expected to use the technology as part of its effort… Read More…

POLL: Should employers have access to your social media passwords?

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Imagine this for a second: You walk into your next job interview, sit down and the employer asks you for all your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare and Tumblr passwords. This is a requirement for the job, the interviewer says. What would you do? The Seattle Times today wrote about Washington Senate Bill 5211 that would prohibit employers… Read More…

Facebook taps Seattle cloud startup Opscode to help automate core infrastructure

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Facebook has a growing array of computer servers that it uses to power all of its services, from messaging to video to photos. Now, the social networking giant is turning to a Seattle startup to help manage all of that back-end infrastructure. Facebook announced today that it has deployed Opscode’s Private Chef automation and management… Read More…

Turn your travel photos into a movie with Expedia’s ‘Find Yours’ app

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Toss out iMovie and Windows Movie Maker — Expedia’s new app is turning your travel photos into a mini-movie with a few clicks. “Facebook is already the world’s largest repository of travel pictures,” claims an Expedia press release. “Soon, it may become the world’s largest de facto travel movie studio.” As part of its “Find… Read More…

Facebook debuts universal gift card you can send to anyone

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Giving gifts on Facebook has always been a virtual tool, but now the social media giant is unveiling physical, reusable Facebook gift cards that you can give to anyone and use at several retail stores. Users can choose a gift from Facebook’s Gift Cards & Digital category, assign a value and have the card sent to… Read More…

The 10 social media tools that every startup must have

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Social media has revolutionized the way we communicate. With the revolution has come insane amounts of data, analytics and information about customers, followers and users. How can companies leverage this social media data in ways to help analyze parts of their business? That’s part of what Andy Boyer included in his talk about social media… Read More…

Facebook iOS update allows users to send voice and video messages

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New updates arrived today for Facebook’s iOS app and users can now record video and voice directly within the app. The “Nearby” tab has also been improved and incorporates more of Facebook’s Knowledge Graph. Earlier this month, Facebook launched an update for its Messenger app that allowed users to send voice messages. But now that feature… Read More…

Q&A: Vanessa Fox on Facebook, Google and the changing world of search

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During last week’s GeekWire podcast, Todd Bishop and John Cook had the opportunity to chat with search industry veteran and startup entrepreneur Vanessa Fox, a former Google employee who was responsible for building Google Webmaster Central. Fox now runs her own company called Nine By Blue, a startup that aims to help online publishers and businesses understand… Read More…

Bing beefs up social sidebar with more Facebook content

Facebook is partnering with Bing for Graph Search.

Just two days after landing a big partnership with Facebook’s new Graph Search, Bing today announced more robust Facebook integration with Microsoft’s search engine. Currently when you search on Bing, the right-hand sidebar provides “Social Results” with your Facebook friends’ “Likes,” photos and profile information, given that your Facebook account is connected. But beginning today,… Read More…

3 ways digital media is turning us into 2nd graders

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We are all regressing. And I have proof from an authoritative source: the state of children’s books. The underlying reasons lie in the digital means by which we communicate, forcing increased — and often unreasonable — expectations of speed and brevity, no matter how complicated the concept. My evidence for declaring this probable cause and… Read More…