A developing story out of Austin – Zynga is rumored to have laid off over 100 employees, essentially shuttering the office. News first spread around Twitter: So far, I’m hearing closures of Zynga in Boston, Chicago, and Austin. INTERESTING TIMING, EH? — Alex Navarro (@alex_navarro) October 23, 2012 Zynga just fired over a hundred people, […]
Facebook users got a little treat (or terror, depending on their outlook) last week as the company’s engineers quietly introduced emoticons to Facebook comments. Smileys have been available in chat messages for some time now, so this is more of an extension of usability than an introduction. I have to admit, I’m not exactly happy […]
For those unfamiliar with how Facebook works (i.e. my parents), the site looks at your existing connections and suggests new ones under the heading “People You May Know” on the right hand sidebar. This can be based on many factors, including location, mutual friends, work history, and other variables. Like many, I sort of tune […]
Facebook has updated its iOS app today to brand new version 5.0, which will hopefully address a top concern of users that the app has been clunky and slow. Facebook Inc. launched the app via the iTunes App Store, with few listed improvements, but one major change: the app has been rebuilt from the ground […]
August 30, 2012 marks a momentous day in the history of online cat videos. The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis is coaxing fans of feline YouTube capers out from behind their computer screens and out into the open. More specifically, these cat video lovers can stalk out into Open Field, the Walker’s big, green lawn […]
Outernauts is a science fiction role-playing game that’s essentially Pokemon meets The Jetsons, and it’s available to play for free on Facebook. Players, or Outernauts, travel from world to world collecting new space beasts and fighting other people. In its essence, the game provides a fun little distraction from a boring day, by completing quests […]
Lovotics is at it again. This time, the Singapore-based company is working on a system that transmits kisses from one person to another. Lovotics calls the device a Kissenger: The Kiss Transmitter, and it’s, well, it’s a little creepy. Actually, creepy is probably an understatement. Okay, let’s run down the list of problems. How lazy […]
Back in January, I walked through the brand new upgraded capabilities on Delicious. I said it was a well-designed interface for the new system of link “stacks,” which were better than old school link lists. You could control link order, I said, include an introduction to each link, comment on stacks, and even invite people […]
Here’s a pretty cool experiment in social media data gathering. Every day through the end of the Olympics, Great Britain’s EDF Energy will light up the London Eye based on sentiment toward the Games on Twitter. The Eye, known to the rest of the world as that giant Ferris wheel on the opening credits of […]
When I moved to New York, one thing I was really looking forward to was the public transportation. As weird as that may sound, when you’ve paid as much money in speeding tickets as I have, you kind of look forward to not driving. I’ve been busted for going 10 or 15 over the speed […]
