Social networking

Yahoo wants to make Flickr 'awesome again'

NEW YORK -- Yahoo on Monday unveiled updates to its Flickr photo-sharing site that the company hopes will make Flickr "awesome again."

Among the changes are a new redesign with larger images, the ability for users to upload full-resolution photos, and 1TB of free storage for all users. Yahoo also launched a redesigned Android app for smartphones and tablets, which goes along with the recently revamped iOS app. The changes are available immediately, an executive said.

"The look and feel here is about photos and being unbounded," CEO Marissa Mayer said Monday. "That's what … Read more

Young and old: A side-by-side look at Tumblr, Yahoo audiences

Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words.

Yahoo has agreed to acquire 6-year-old blogging powerhouse Tumblr for $1.1 billion. The mammoth deal has sent the Internet into a tizzy, especially since most would have pegged the two companies as unlikely bedfellows just a week ago.

The simplest and most obvious reason for Yahoo's interest in Tumblr can be seen in the chart above, which highlights the dramatically differing demographic profiles for the media portal and the blogging network.

It's a tale of two audiences. Tumblr is a fountain of youth. Yahoo is practically a retirement … Read more

Pinterest now offers more than pretty pictures

Pinterest now offers users more information behind all those pretty pictures.

The scrapbooking social network today tweaked the power of certain pins to provide more details on the showcased items, thanks to new active links to third-party Web sites. As described in the company's official blog, Pinterest is working with popular Web sites to enrich the pinning experience. For instance, some of the tasty dishes in the Delicious Eats area now have active links that point to Web sites featuring the recipes.

Product pins reveal pricing and retail outlets where the items are sold. And movie pins offer more … Read more

Purple Haze: Tumblr faithful blast Yahoo deal

I am drawn to pain like Einstein to thought.

So when I heard that Yahoo had allegedly bought Tumblr for $1.1 billion, there was only one thing to do. (Editors' note: Shortly after this story was published, Yahoo and Tumblr officially announced the acquisition.)

Wrap myself in foil, log on to Tumblr and survey the posts tagged "Yahoo."

I tried to let my eyes waft at random in the hope of finding fair balance or at least something more than purple haze.

The first thing I saw was a post from someone called "world-peace-not-war." I … Read more

Twitter will damn your soul, Saudi cleric says

Life becomes more meaningful when someone from a long way away reflects your own thoughts.

It makes you feel less alone, less forlorn on your island of one.

I was, therefore, lifted to heights previously unimagined on hearing that the head of Saudi Arabia's religious police has declared that Twitter is an appalling waste of time, mind, and soul.

Actually, it's worse than that.

As the BBC reports, Sheikh Abdul Latif Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh mused that anyone who uses Twitter "has lost this world and his afterlife."

It may well be that the Sheikh's biggest … Read more

Fugitive to police on Facebook: Catch me if you can. They do

Thin is the line between the brave and the foolhardy.

Thinner is the brain that thinks it's brave to taunt the police on Facebook.

Perhaps it comes from watching too many movies or too few, but those who are wanted by the police sometimes turn to Facebook to offer a "na, na, na-na, na."

A couple of years ago, a man in Utica, N.Y., allegedly tried to dare the police to catch him, with troubling results (for him).

The world learns as slowly as it turns. For today I have news that an English teen, wanted … Read more

How to really, really make your naked Snapchat photos disappear

The attractions of Snapchat are essentially intellectual.

In creating the conditions for a spontaneous "now you see me, now you don't" aspect to your life, it allows for a greater and more nuanced level of excitement to permeate human relationships.

Recently, however, there have been concerns that the topless, bottomless, or merely hapless shots sent by Snapchat users might not truly disappear. … Read more

Could Tumblr turn into Yahoo's MySpace?

Marissa Mayer wants to attract a younger, hipper audience for Yahoo. Its audience of 700 million is aging, and the 18-year-old brand that defined the first era of the Web doesn't have a compelling entry point to attract the coveted 18- to 34-year-old demographic.

Speaking at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology conference this week, Yahoo CFO Ken Goldman said, "We're working hard to get some of the younger folks," and that Yahoo needs content that's more relevant the 18- to 34-year-old bracket.

Yahoo's board of directors is meeting this weekend to consider resolving … Read more

Apple removes Bang With Friends from App Store

No more knocking boots with your Facebook friends, iPhone users. Apple has removed the salaciously titled Bang With Friends iPhone application from its App Store.

Bang With Friends, which was going by "BWF Official" on Apple's App Store, arrived on mobile devices last week. The hookup service, first launched on Web in January, has around 1 million users and helps people discreetly indicate their lust for a Facebook buddy.

Co-founder Colin Hodge, now going by his real name, told Valleywag that Apple removed the application from the App Store. Indeed, the original link to the iPhone app … Read more