Social-Media Tools Used to Target Corporate Secrets

"Such so-called spear-phishing attacks, which often enlist social-media tools to meticulously wedge into corporate networks, are increasingly used in computer thefts that pinpoint valuable corporate data, according to a report released today by IBM’s X-Force cybersecurity team."

Google, Eyeing Facebook, Adds Social Search Button

"Google Inc will allow people to personally endorse search results and Web pages, an important step in its efforts to add social networking capabilities to its products amid increasing competition from Facebook."

Other Digital Book Projects Impacting Academic Libraries

"...a pair of library services scheduled to be announced today show that even as the world’s most high-profile digital search-and-retrieval effort has been set back, smaller, academically oriented projects are hoping to continue making electronic texts more discoverable."

Nearly 50% of Tweets Consumed are From Tiny Fraction of Twitter Users

"A mere 20,000 Twitter users steal almost half of the spotlight on Twitter, which now ropes in a billion tweets every week."

Mobile Banking is Booming, Survey Shows

"Despite online security concerns, the number of Americans who use mobile devices to access financial services is growing fast, according to new data from comScore."

Europe and U.S. Converging on Internet Privacy

"For years the United States and Europe, with around 700 million Internet users between them, have diverged in their approach to policing the Web. But the two sides are converging in their Web privacy positions, partly through intensive meetings in recent months between regulators from Washington and Brussels."

U.S. Internet Piracy Is on the Decline

"Internet piracy is on the decline in the U.S., according to new research from NPD Group."

Barnes & Noble: eBooks Will Pass Print -- Fast

"The book industry thinks its digital transformation is happening even faster than it did with music and movies."

The E-Book Era Is Here: Best Sellers Go Digital

"E-books are by far the fastest-growing segment of the otherwise sluggish, recession-plagued publishing business. In 2010 e-book sales jumped 164%, to $441 million."

Spammers Sought After Botnet Takedown

"The Rustock botnet, which sent up to 30 billion spam messages per day, might have been run by two or three people."

MySpace Loses Millions of Users in a Few Weeks

"Tech industry analysts comScore say figures show MySpace lost more than 10 million unique users worldwide between January and February."

Oxford English Dictionary Adds New Words

"Oxford English Dictionary Adds New Words"

Firefox 4 Downloads: 10 Million and Counting

"Mozilla's new Firefox 4 Web browser has been downloaded 10 million times since debuting Tuesday."

Say Hello to Google's Online Magazine

"Google has quietly launched its own full-length online magazine, a quarterly publication whose aim is to create a 'breathing space in a busy world.'"

Only One in Four Mobile Apps Engages User, Study Says

"The best mobile apps are not merely interesting, fun or useful, but they're engaging. And new research from the mobile metrics firm Localytics indicates that only about one in four mobile apps succeed at being engaging."

Firefox 4 downloaded 5 million times in first day

"Firefox 4, the latest version of Mozilla's free, open-source Web browser, was downloaded around 5 million times in its first 24 hours."

Judge Rejects Settlement in Google Books Case, Saying It Goes Too Far

"The proposed settlement in the long-standing class-action lawsuit over Google's vast book-scanning project is dead, at least in its current form."

LinkedIn Hits 100 Million Members Worldwide

"LinkedIn, the online social network for professionals and job seekers, now has 100 million members worldwide and more than half are from outside the United States."

For Libraries, Merged University Press Group Becomes Big Player in E-Book Sales

"The new partnership will require participating presses to sell collections of their e-books exclusively through it."

Study: Facebook “Likes” More Profitable Than Tweets

Eventbrite "announced Wednesday that an average tweet about an event drove 80 cents in ticket sales during the past six months, whereas an average Facebook Like drove $1.34."

Internet Users Turned to Social Networks in Elections, Survey Finds

"One in five adults who use the Internet, including a growing number of older, conservative Republicans, turned to social networks during last year’s elections, according to study published Thursday."

E-Book Sales Jump at the Start of 2011

"Sales of electronic books in January increased by more than 115 percent compared to the same time the year before, a report released by the Association of American Publishers said on Thursday."

Local News, Information are Going Mobile Big Time, Pew Survey Says

"According to new research from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, nearly half (47%) of all U.S. adults get at least some local news and information on their phone or tablet."

Google's People Finder for Japan Crisis

"Google famously gives its engineers '20% time,' allowing them one day a week to work on side projects that interest them. That arrangement launched one of the most critical online tools in the Japanese relief effort: Google's Person Finder, which allows people to search for and post information about missing loved ones."

New York Times Paywall Coming March 28

"The New York Times announced 'digital subscriptions' on Thursday, revealing the long-awaited details of its paywall plan. Starting March 28, non-subscribers will be able to read only 20 online articles for free each month."

Kindle Adding Page Numbers for e-Books

"Amazon has added a virtual page number feature on new Kindles that let users pull up numbers that match up with print editions of the book they're reading."

Horizon Report 2011

"Each year, the Horizon Report describes six areas of emerging technology that will have significant impact on higher education and creative expression over the next one to five years."

Study: 80 Percent of Children Under 5 Use Internet Weekly

"Nearly 80% of children between the ages of 0 and 5 use the Internet on at least a weekly basis in the United States, according to a report released Monday from education non-profit organizations Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Sesame Workshop."

Facebook Lands Six on Forbes Billionaires List

"As Facebook’s value has surged, so have the fortunes of its founders. On the 2011 Forbes 'World’s Billionaires' list, six of Facebook’s early architects have made the cut."

Number of Malware-Infected Sites Has Doubled Since Last Year, Study Says

"According to new statistics from security firm Dasient, the number of websites infected with malware has doubled since last year, with more than one million sites compromised during the fourth quarter of 2010."

Librarians Boycott HarperCollins Over E-Books

"In what is shaping up to be a major battle over e-book lending, librarians across the country have banded together to boycott HarperCollins after the publisher decided it would limit the number of times an e-book can be checked out."

More U.S. Consumers Buying Android Phones Than iPhones, BlackBerrys

"New data from Nielsen shows that slightly more U.S. consumers are buying Android phones than any other type of smartphone. Currently Android holds 29% of the US smartphone market; while the iPhone and BlackBerry hold 27% each."

Apple Unveils Thinner, Faster, Camera-Packing iPad 2

"A year after revitalizing the once-sleepy, now red-hot tablet market with the original iPad, Apple surprised absolutely no one Wednesday by taking the wrapper off a slimmer, trimmer version of the wildly popular slate, complete with a front-facing camera for video chat (finally!) and a souped-up processor."

Collaboration Seeks to Provide Easier Access to E-Books

"Some 150 public and academic libraries are trying to respond to that challenge through a new collaboration with the Internet Archive and Open Library. The arrangement will allow library patrons at participating institutions to access e-books owned and stored at libraries other than their home libraries."

iPad Makes a Splash with Businesses

"The iPad tablet computer has been tested or deployed at 80% of Fortune 100 companies, according to Apple. And now the company is boosting its sales support for businesses to address that growing demand, Bloomberg News reported last week."

Fury Over 'Stupid' Restrictions to Library eBook Loans

"Furious librarians are calling for a boycott of publisher HarperCollins over its decision to put a limit on the number of times its ebooks can be loaned."

Google Enters the E-Book Fray. What Does It Mean?

"When one of the country's biggest technology companies--a company that has already digitized more than 15 million volumes as part of a mission to make humanity's literary treasures available to all--decides to sell e-books, it's easy to see the move as a defining moment. . ."

Study: Facebook Helps Your Self-Esteem

"A new study suggests that spending time with the online you -- the one with the hundreds of friends, the witty status updates and all the unflattering photos untagged -- might help your self-esteem."