Motorola Facebook phone resurfaces as Motokey Social, destined for Telus? (Update: official product page found)

If you thought we’d forgotten all about Motorola’s little Facebook Phone that could, you’d be incorrect. Only known previously as the EX225, it appears the portrait QWERTY may have a final destination and name. According to YS Tech, the device seems set for a collision course with Telus as the Motokey Social, a prepaid feature phone that offers basic access to Gmail, Facebook and Twitter. The leaked specs are right on the money with what we’ve heard already: 2.4-inch touchscreen, 3MP camera and a proprietary platform (read: not Android), which means this could be an inexpensive option to appease the kiddies during the holidays. No official announcement has been made yet, so we don’t have any idea of pricing or availability. Time will tell, as always.

Update: It turns out that Motorola does, in fact, have an official product page up for the Motokey Social.

Article: RSS via Engadget Mobile

Tags: Facebook, Facebook Phone, Motokey Social, Motorola, QWERTY Keyboard, Social Networks

Posted in Facebook, Mobile Phones, Motorola | No Comments »

Google+ Notifications now available for Google Chrome

If you’re a heavy Google+ user, and Google Chrome is your browser of choice, you’re in luck. Google has just released an official Chrome extension that brings the social network right to your very browser. You know that little red notifications box that’s on the top right corner of every Google service you’re signed into? With the extension, you can have that box on your browser itself, next to your address bar, so you no longer have to open up or switch to a Google tab just to see your notification count.

The notification box functions in the same way as the regular one, which means you can write comments, add people to your circles, and so on. The only difference being – you don’t ever having to leave the website you’re currently on. Though if you wish to launch Google+, it even contains a link to the page, making it a 2-click process. Talk about convenient!

Head over to the Chrome webstore to download Google+ Notifications for Google Chome now.

Article: RSS via UberGizmo

Tags: Google, Google Chrome, Social Networks, Web Browser

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Panasonic Internet Social Network app: watch shows and Tweet simultaneously

If you spend 24/7 of your life on social networks like Facebook or Twitter and you own a Panasonic smart TV with VIERA Connect, you’re in luck. Panasonic has released a bunch of new apps for its VIERA Connect-equipped 2011 VIERA HDTVs, with one of them being the Internet Social Network app. The app allows users to watch their content they would normally watch on the TV i.e. their favorite TV shows, while they leave their favorite social networks running side by side.

The social network (Facebook or Twitter) will be in a sidebar displaying the newsfeed/main timeline, while the show will be taking up most of the screen. Users can update their statuses or post new tweets without having to leave their show, which makes it great for folks who love letting the world know exactly what they’re watching or what they think about what they see.

Other apps being released by Panasonic include: PlayJam (a game channel with multiple game apps) and BigFlix (an app that lets users access Bollywood Video on Demand). All these three apps will be made free to VIERA HDTVs for free.

Article: RSS via UberGizmo

Tags: Apps, Facebook, Panasonic, Smart TV, Social Networks, Social TV, TV, Twitter

Posted in Apps, Facebook, HI-FI, Social Networks News, Twitter | No Comments »

Google Reader Backlash: 10,000 Users Sign Petition to Save Old Version

Now that Google has officially switched to its new version of Google Reader, complete with Google+ integration, the company is facing the righteous fury of a social network it barely seemed to recognize: the Sharebros.

This small but maniacally dedicated community of Google Reader users was able to share stories and comments with each other until Monday, when the new version of Reader forced them to start using Google+. But the Sharebros are not taking the snub lying down.

Since the changes were announced earlier this month, more than 10,000 Sharebros have signed a petition to Google created by Washington, D.C.-based grad student Brett Keller.

“Many of us have been faithful users of your Reader for years,” the petition reads. “It’s central to our daily information consumption … Reader builds tremendous goodwill from a core group of heavy Internet users, leading us to recommend this and your other services to our friends.

“Eliminating Google Reader or its features (like following friends’ shared items) is short-sighted because you will alienate some of your most loyal users, sparking a vocal backlash.”

Among those loyal users: Iranian activists. Google Reader is the most visited site in Iran, having gained much of its popularity during the “green revolution” of 2009. The country’s government has banned most social networks and blogging services; Sharebros inside the country say Reader has been an extremely useful way to share news and comments under the radar.

Some Iranian users had as many as 7,500 followers on Reader, according to Iranian blogger Amir.

Many Sharebros have taken to Twitter to vent their anger, posting under hashtags such as #OccupyGoogleReader. While there are workarounds for Sharebros to transfer their following to Google+ circles, many indicated they would not be interested in switching.

“Dear Google: taking away my Google Reader functionality will not make me use Google+,” wrote blogger Megan McArdle. “It will only make me mad.”

Even some Googlers joined in sympathy with the Sharebros, such as engineers Kevin Fox (who helped design an early version of Reader) and Mihai Parparita.

Will that be enough to convince Google to give Sharebros an option to roll back the changes? Or does CEO Larry Page’s much-heralded focus on social media mean that the Sharebros must be sacrificed for the greater good of Google+? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Article: RSS via Mashable

Tags: Google, Google Reader, Petition, RSS, Social Networks

Posted in Google, Internet, Other News, Social Networks News | No Comments »

Google Reader Gets a Redesign, Adds Google+ Integration

Google has begun rolling out a new version of Google Reader, one that sports a brand-new design and deep integration with Google+.

The new Google Reader sports a more spartan interface. It’s similar to the Google Calendar redesign and Gmail makeover the search giant launched earlier this year.

The greater change is the addition of Google+ sharing. Google has replaced the “Like” button with the +1 button, which lets users share content to their Google+ accounts. Reader users with a Google+ login can choose which circles they’d like to share articles to using Google+ snippets.

The Google+ integration replaces the Google Reader social features the company unveiled in 2009. “Integrating with Google+ also helps us streamline Reader overall,” Google Engineer Alan Green said in a ” target=”_blank”>blog post. “So starting today we’ll be turning off friending, following, shared items and comments in favor of similar Google+ functionality.”

While Google Reader’s notes got some usage, dropping them in favor of Google+ is the logical move for a company that is now trying to unify all of its social efforts under one banner. The company recently killed off Buzz while adding Google+ to Maps.

What do you think of the new Google Reader? Let us know in the comments.

Article: RSS via Mashable

Tags: Google, Google Reader, RSS, Social Networks

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Google Apps users get Google+ access

Now open to everyone

As we reported last week, Google Apps customers can now use Google+. Google made the change on Thursday.

“You’ve been asking for it. I’ve been talking about it. And today we’re excited to make Google+ available to all Google Apps customers worldwide,” said Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President of Engineering at Google.

The new access for millions of Google users around the world is expected to be welcomed by many who’ve been asking for Google Apps support since day one.

Gundotra said at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco, that the reason Google Apps users hadn’t been allowed on the social network to date was down to the amount of time it’s taken to develop the code in order to make it happen.

“We weren’t expecting it to be so popular,” added Gundotra at the time.

Article: RSS via Pocket-lint

Tags: Google, Google Apps, Social Networks

Posted in Google, Internet, Social Networks News | No Comments »

Google Reader to Get Google+ Integration

Google Reader, the company’s RSS reader, will get a new look and integration with Google+ next week that will let you create reader-specific Circles.

The changes, which are “highly requested,” according to Google software engineer Alan Green, include a new design and the retiring of features like friending, following and shared link blogs inside of Reader, which will be supplanted by Google+.

You may “feel like the product is no longer for you,” Green writes, in which case you can export your subscriptions, friends, likes and shared items to another RSS reader. Google gave Reader a social makeover with follows and friending in 2009, when Digg, among other social news services, was much more influential.

Like Google Buzz, which was retired last week, those social features are being excised as the company focuses on growing Google+.

Article: RSS via Mashable

Tags: Google, Google Reader, RSS, Social Networks

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Twitter Has 100 Million Monthly Active Users; 50% Log In Every Day

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo revealed some interesting stats about Twitter’s growth, including that it has more than 100 million active users and that signups via iOS device have tripled since the launch of iOS 5.

Twitter has been on a roll in recent months. The company surpassed 200 million tweets per day in June, but has since jumped to nearly 250 million daily tweets. The growth has been tremendous: Twitter had around 100 million tweets per day in January 2011.

Costolo revealed these stats during an interview at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco.

Of those 100 million global active users, half of them log in daily. “We had 30% of our monthly active users loggin in every day at the beginning of the year. Now it’s over 50%,” Costolo revealed.

The company’s growth amounts to about 40% quarter on quarter. But perhaps the most interesting stat is the impact of iOS 5 on Twitter. Apple’s mobile OS directly integrates Twitter, and that has resulted in a boost for the company. Costolo revealed that Twitter signups via iOS 5 devices have tripled since the launch of that iOS update.

Article: RSS via Mashable

Tags: iOS, Social Networks, Tweets, Twitter

Posted in iOS, Social Networks News, Twitter | No Comments »

Twitter fully integrated into iOS 5

As most of you should know by now (if you’ve upgraded your iOS devices) that Twitter is fully integrated into iOS 5. Now what does this all mean? Well, if you’re a huge user of Twitter, it basically means good news, and for those of you who don’t use Twitter – it doesn’t change your life. Twitter integration with iOS makes it extremely easy and convenient to share your activities via a Tweet.

Previously when you wanted to share something, it involved copying the text or a link and then launching the Twitter program to post the Tweet. Now when you hit the Share button in an app, you can just select the Tweet option. Users can also upload pictures directly to Twitter using Twitter’s own picture hosting service. Twitter integration is available in default apps like Camera, Maps, Photos, Safari, YouTube and third party apps like Chomp, Flipboard, Instagram and more.

Get the official Twitter app for your iOS device from the Apple App Store.

Article: RSS via UberGizmo

Tags: App Store, Apple, Apps, iOS, iOS 5, Social Networks, Twitter

Posted in Apple, Apps, iOS, Twitter | No Comments »

Google+ adds real-time search and hashtags

Google is rolling out an update for its Google+ social network that includes the addition of real-time search and improved hashtag support. The announcement came today in the form of a video with Google’s engineering SVP Vic Gundotra introducing the new features himself. Both features aim to make Google+ more easily searchable and to make the results more timely and relevant.

Search capabilities were introduced to Google+ when it launched publicly last month and now with the addition of real-time search, results update automatically. In the video, the demo shows that just after your first search of a particular term, the results will ask whether you wish to update as new relevant results occur. Once you update, the results list will begin to automatically update. It also appears that you can pause this feature.

The improved hashtag support makes it easy for you to make a term in your status update searchable. By placing a hashtag in front of a word, it automatically turns that word into a link after you share the status update. When other users click on that link, it takes them to the search results page for that word.

Not everyone will get access to the features immediately, but be on the lookout as they are being rolled out starting today.

Article: RSS via SlashGear

Tags: Google, Social Networks, Video

Posted in Google, Social Networks News, Videos | No Comments »