social networking

Facebook may be enjoying its IPO roadshow at the moment, but out there lurks the company that will destroy the social networking giant.

Dismissed by many as too shallow to qualify as communication, texting makes many feel as connected as phone calls, and can be better at getting even the sick to clean up their acts.

There is nojustification for a boss, prospective employer or college admissions officer to demand access to private Facebook accounts, but they are doing it more and more often. Until it's ruled illegal, camouflage can preserve what confrontation can not.

Google's desire to compete with Facebook in personalized advertising and social media is ruining the search giant's innovative culture, a former executive argues.

An apparently increasing number of employers and university administrators believe they have the right to demand usernames and passwords to Facebook and other social networks to check up on you. Facebook Peeping is so obviously invasive and abusive it's shocking that even non-geeks don't immediately raise alarms about it.

Social games maker Zynga is trying to reduce its dependence on Facebook by allowing users to play directly on Zynga.com.

Netflix has agreed to pay $9 million to settle a suit over its illegally long retention of customer rental records. It is now redoubling efforts to get law changed that keeps it from posting to Facebook lists of the things its customers are renting right now.

A new study on what people desire, how often and how well they resist those desires shows the need to use social networks and other online services is harder to resist than anything but sleep and sex. Another shows, for some, negatives almost wipe out benefit of social networking.

Sources tell the Wall Street Journal that Facebook might file as early as next Wednesday to go public.

Shares of social media companies Groupon and Zynga continue to stumble in the few weeks since being offered to the public.

E-mail wastes a huge amount of time, according to CEO of IT services company. Want to get him a message? Come talk in person. Or on the phone. Or IM. Or on a private Wiki. Or Facebook. Or...just forget it.