Investors have been salivating over the possibilities for years, and according to the Wall Street Journal, the wait is nearly over. Facebook is going to file for its IPO next week with a company valuation of between $75 an $100 billion. Not only will the IPO let people own a piece of Facebook, but this will finally let employees cash out those stock options.
The public outcry over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) is not about to die down. Popular discussion board and social news site Reddit has just announced that it will be blacking out on January 18th from 8AM-8PM EST in protest of the likely passage of the legislation. In place of the user-generated madness that is Reddit, the site will host a simple message about how SOPA and PIPA would negatively affect sites like Reddit.
It was only a matter of time, and now Google has rolled Google+ social results into its search engine in a big way. The new system is called “Search Plus Your World,” and it's the biggest change to Google search in years. The new social search will surface content on the web, as well as on Google+. Everything from posts, to photos, to shared links will be taken into account from here on out.
In a bit of a reversal, Google+ will reportedly be moving away from its strict real name policy and allow users to use pseudonyms. The news was apparently relayed by Google social chief Vic Gundotra himself. There is no timeline for the change, but it is likely tied to the user verification program.
Google Plus' big killer feature from the start has been that it lets users organize their friends and acquaintances into Circles to control what is shared, and with whom. But creating all these curated groups seemed a little like a half baked feature seeing as you couldn’t let anyone else in on that perfectly organized group. Well, now you can. Google is rolling out the ability to share circles on Google+.
Part social news site, part discussion forum, Reddit has managed to retain its popularity after being acquired by publishing giant Conde Nast five years ago. The fate of the site has been up in the air for some time, but Conde has now come out with a plan. Reddit will be spun off as an independent, but wholly owned Conde Nast operation.
The rumors have been swirling for months, but according to CNBC, a Facebook music platform is set to launch in September. The source claims that Facebook will be partnering with some music streaming heavyweights in Spotify, Pandora, and MOG. Facebook is staying silent, but the frequency and specificity of the rumors lead most to believe something is coming fast.
Zynga was founded in 2007, and then proceeded to sap as much productivity from Facebook users as was possible. The maker of games like Farmville and Cityville filed for an IPO back in June, but reports are claiming that the company is now backing off, and could delay the offering until November or later.
With the economy’s on-again-off-again struggle to crawl out of the toilet, holding on to your dough is the sensible thing to do. That means that extras like eating dinners out and updating your PC are out, and buying No-Name brand mac and cheese is very much in. Sooner or later, all of that spendthrift behavior’s bound to leave you with an itch to burn through some coin. When that itch hits, we recommend you blow a bit of dough on something that you, your family, or a friend can enjoy together like a day trip planned with DayZipping, our Chrome Web App of the Week.
Google+ is officially on the market, and it’s being released in small doses in the form of invites. Much like how Gmail was initially spread in beta, the invite only model creates a sense of exclusivity and belonging. Facebook also used this method to market their network to college students, and eventually became part of the global definition of social media. Whether Google+ mirrors this success is anyone’s guess, but until that time it is time to get to know the features.Connect with MaximumPC
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