Internet

LinkedIn Masses 1 Billion Endorsements in 6 Months

linkedin

Though the feature may only be six months old, LinkedIn’s endorsements have already helped the professional social network increase user incentive for engagement. This week, the company announced a milestone of surpassing 1 billion Endorsements, with 58 million members receiving recognition from other members for a variety of areas of expertise. … [Read more...]

Google Vaguely Discloses FBI Spy Requests on Your Web Activity

google

Yes, FBI spies are watching us, or at least some of us, Google admitted in its Transparency Report. The web giant released some vague details about government requests on the private information of its users, providing ranges of figures “to address concerns raised by the FBI, Justice Department and other agencies that releasing exact numbers … [Read more...]

Groupon’s CEO Fired After Stock Price Drops 25% Following Dismal Earnings

groupon

Groupon’s CEO Andrew Mason may be out of a job after his firing following a dismal earnings report that saw the stock drop 25 percent, but at least he has a sense of humor about it. “After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding – I was … [Read more...]

PayPal Here to Launch Mobile Payments in UK

The European mobile space already has its contenders, but a large global player has now entered the continent to see what it can do. PayPal Here has launched a mobile payments reader in the UK, the next largest country in the mobile payments space after the US. PayPal already has an established presence in the UK, so it already has brand … [Read more...]

US Security Firm Tracks Cyber Criminals to Chinese Army Hotpoint

cyberattack

Mandiant, a US securities company specialized in identifying sophisticated cyber attacks on both corporate and government entities, has tracked members of some of the most notorious Chinese hacking groups to the doorsteps of the Chinese military, making it increasingly difficult for the Chinese government to deny it does not engage in hacking … [Read more...]

Low on Cash, LivingSocial Raises Another $110M, Strives for Profitability

livingsocial

Amazon has thrown LivingSocial a lifeline. The daily deals company has raised another $110 million, bringing the company’s investment funding to a staggering $910 million since its founding in 2007. Investors in this latest round include Steve Case, Grotech Ventures, Revolution, US Venture Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, JP Morgan, T. Rowe … [Read more...]

Pinterest Raises $200M at $2.5B Valuation, Buys Time to Monetize

Money Sign

Pinterest has raised a $200 million round that values the company at $2.5 billion. The cash essentially buys the social sharing site more time to figure out how to actually make money to justify that valuation. The round included participation from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners and FirstMark Capital, along … [Read more...]

German Court Rules in Facebook’s Favor on Real Names Policy

facebook

A German court ruled in favor of Facebook’s real names policy, stating that because the social network is headquartered in Ireland, it does not need to comply with an earlier German agency demand for the company to allow pseudonyms, the AP reported. Last December, the Unabhaengiges Landeszentrum fuer Datenschutz maintained that as German law … [Read more...]

ComScore Report: 5.3 Trillion Ads in 2012, Social Media Taking Lead

trillions

ComScore released its Digital Future in Focus report for 2013, revealing that nearly 6 trillion ad impressions were served up the US. What’s more, social media is steadily taking the lead, accounting for 16.6 and will soon surpass portals as the most engaging online activity. Facebook naturally leads this surge, contributing to the largest share … [Read more...]

US District Judge Tosses out 4 Facebook IPO Lawsuits

Facebook IPO

A US District court dismissed four shareholder lawsuits related to Facebook’s botched IPO, on the grounds that the individual investors behind the cases purchased the company’s stock after the company had already amended IPO filings, including warnings about an unproven ability to monetize its mobile efforts, Reuters reported. The lawsuit, … [Read more...]