Smartphone users are using their mobile browsers to network on Facebook and Twitter. ComScore, a web metric reporting firm reported that there was an 8 percent jump in the usage of social networks using Smartphones in January 2010.

Facebook access through a mobile browser jumped to 112% and Twitter saw a 347% increase in mobile browser based access when compared to previous year's usage.

Now although Mark Donovan, senior VP of mobile at ComScore, thinks that this jump is attributed to the fact that since mobile users are constantly in touch with their network via phone, text, and email, networking on social networks is a natural next step.
 
See, now that's where I think differently. It's not just that people communicate with their circle of friends using mobile phones more and more. I think it's happening because smartphones are a great time-filler. I mean have you of late found yourself getting annoyed when someone's late? Instead, don't you just breathe a sigh of relief and think "oh, thank god, now I can go tweet"?

I know what I do when someone's late; I whip out my smartphone and first I check email, then I log on to my yahoo chat, then I go visit Twitter to read and tweet. The next thing I know, my late appointment shows up and all the fun ends. LOL
 

But kids who do engage in such activities online are perhaps rejoicing after hearing that a federal magistrate ruled that a student who created a Facebook page to complain about her teacher was protected under the 1st amendment. Apparently in 2007, a senior named Katie Evans said this about her teacher "the worst teacher I've ever met". She took down the page a few days, got suspended by the school's principal, and got moved from her advanced placement classes to regular classes. The principal got sued and the magistrate ruled that the suspension was unconstitutional AND asked the principal to compensate the student who was "wrongly" suspended.

Huh!!!
 
I think there's something wrong with this whole thought process. Let's see how it plays out in future cases.

Now Microsoft Windows is one of the most popular operating system being used throughout the world and so it may make sense as to why it is also loved by hackers. But could it also be that hackers find it easy to penetrate Microsoft Windows than they can a MAC?
 
Last year a German anti-virus software company documented over 1.5 million new malware.

Ok, enough said. I think I'm going to go research some MAC's right now!

He said that Google's Buzz is focusing on creating "conversation" which is missing in most other social networks.

Double hmmm!
 
Horowitz emphasized that for Google's  Buzz conversation and engagement was the focus and it wasn't just about checking or updating status like people do on Facebook or Twitter. Google also plans to create services around that engagement and interaction.
 
OKAY! So the Buzz is different according to Google. But I just don't see the difference yet; at least not from the standpoint of engagement. I engage with people on Twitter. I do a lot more engagement with people on Facebook than I do on Twitter. I've checked out Google's Buzz and I see the same kind of opportunity to engage. Except now I can stay on the Buzz and also email people.

Anyone want to enlighten me as to what I'm missing that's so special about the Buzz that it fills a "market need"?

Hello!!! People! What's wrong with this picture?

Social networks are there to help us have fun and connect and interact so that we have fun in our lives. But our life should not become so dependent on social networks that their unavailability makes us frustrated and angry. I personally find it quite funny that people were complaining about their time being wasted because they couldn't get on Facebook and someone actually threatened to cancel their account if Facebook didn't get their act together.

If Facebook's down, pick up the phone and call your friends and family. spend some time with a family member. Aren't we missing the point here if our life is going to get stressed out over online networking?

"The danger is publicly telling people where you are. This is because it leaves one place you're definitely not… home. So here we are; on one end we're leaving lights on when we're going on a holiday, and on the other we're telling everybody on the internet we're not home."
 
Here are some recent feeds from the site; although I've protected them by leaving out the tweeter's information:

• @xxx I'm at http://4sq.com/9i…..

A NetWitness engineer discovered the intrusion last month and learned that the hackers lured employees to download infected emails or software which when downloaded allowed the hackers to take over the computers, scrape the passwords, and use that data to login other systems.

What this report highlights is the need for more robust security software for companies and individuals. The hackers are getting more and more sophisticated and its time for all of us to really get focused on online security.

So what's a #spon hastag again? It's a tweet which is or has an advertisement.

This new hashtag was in response to nwe guidelines released by WOMMA, the word of Mouth  Marketing Associaton in response to the Federal Trade Commission's call for bloggers to be more explicit in disclosing their endorsement of a product in exchange for compensation.

I searched on ""#spon" and found a lot of tweets now contain this new hashtag which goes to prove that new taxonomies and trends are easily adopted on social networks; well, especially on Twitter.

So how can you protect yourself?
 
Check your privacy settings. Determine who is allowed to view what information. Hide details from everyone who doesn't need to know personalized information. Be careful about adding people whom you don't know as friends. Think before you share any private information online including vacation plans, dinner out plans, and anything that compromise your security.

When was the last time you checked your Facebook privacy settings? I checked mine settings again today. Make this a recurring task on your calendar to make sure that any new additions to your friends or followers are thoroughly checked and your information remains as private as possible.

Identity threat is real. Cyber criminals are combing online websites to find their next victim. Don't become one.

Well, all this "sharing" is making Facebook a huge traffic source for information. Compete Inc, which is a web measurement firm reports that Facebook has bypassed Google to become the top source for traffic. I don't know about Facebook bypassing Google but it certainly appears to be a site from which I personally click on a lot of links to go find information. When a friend posts something on Facebook that is interesting, and it contains a link, how often do you click on that link? I know that I do and I also share it with my friends when it is especially interesting.

So is Facebook now the new "search engine"? Well if others do what I do and if people are indeed going from Facebook to other sites, the I can see how Facebook can become the new version of an informational search engine. So instead of just being a portal to connect friends and businesses, Facebook is perhaps a great information source too.

On a closing note, did you know that recently Facebook reported that it has 400 million active members!  If you are a business NOT yet on Facebook, can you calculate the lost opportunity cost?