Twitter status updates are getting weirder by the minute, with the micro-blogging site accumulating gibberish or spam-like messages (some of which are real spam).
Some people found more than just nonsensical talk.
As people dug deeper into tweets, they discovered (1) spies dwelling in the community, talking to each other in code, (2) environment watchdogs spreading data, (3) appliances gaining thousands of followers, and (4) an AI chat-bot arguing with people who deny climate change.
Twitter …

More than 30,000 websites are not happy over a reintroduced Internet security bill in the U.S. Congress.
Thousands of websites, including Craigslist and Reddit, have joined forces to oppose the moot cybersecurity bill Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA).
Tuesday last week the anti-CISPA movement started to display an interactive banner from the Internet Defense League.
The ad banner shows how voters can send a message to their local members of Congress: “CISPA is back. This …

Statistics show Twitter has a significant positive impact on TV ratings.
A new study by analytics firm Nielsen and SocialGuide found a strong relationship between micro-blogging site Twitter and American TV ratings.
Apart from tweets on live television, the research also studied the impact of the social network on several key aspects. And it recorded the strengths of the Twitter-TV rating relationship.

Featured image by Rosaura Ochoa / Flickr (CC)

The study evaluated premiere and mid-season …

LinkedIn catered nearly 6 billion professional-related searches last year. Since then the world’s largest social network for professionals (third-largest overall, after Facebook and Twitter) has seen millions of searches to grab information from its search engine.
Whether users looked for contacts, people, companies, jobs, or groups, LinkedIn offered results based on a user’s profile, network, and how people within his or her network engage on the platform.
LinkedIn recently …

Google+ mobile apps now have the ability to edit and add filters to photos.
Search giant Google recently rolled out a new update to the mobile version of its social networking service on Android and iOS devices.
The move is part of the company’s push towards a more streamlined user experience across platforms it currently supports.
The redesigned Google+ app comes with a look reminiscent of the desktop version’s layout.
Apart from its improved visuals, the mobile app has a few minor …

Facebook wants more companies to use its platform, the world’s largest social networking site, as a key part of their online marketing campaigns. And rightfully so, with a new ad tool for brand consumers.
The social network announced on Tuesday last week a new tool for advertisers to target audiences on the social platform with Lookalike Audiences.
A relatively new feature to reach out to Facebook users, Lookalike Audiences has a user base similar to Custom Audiences.

Featured image by …

Small business owners can still get the most out of their budgets for online marketing campaigns through Facebook.
A new infographic from Marketing Weekly outlines how small businesses can optimize advertising on the world’s largest social networking site.
Marketing Weekly takes pride as a hub for the latest news on marketing and online marketing solutions.
The infographic cites data from Small Business Trends to show how much small businesses spend on their online marketing campaigns, …

Consumers eager to purchase the hottest video games and gadgets on the market often go online in search for the best deals. And increasingly, Twitter has turned into a key part of the whole online shopping process.
Last year, Twitter teamed up with Compete to conduct a study entitled “Tweets in Action: Mobile/Tech” and discovered how tweets from consumer electronics companies affect brand consideration and consumer shopping behavior.
Compete’s study gathered data about website …

Redesigning the world’s largest social network is a grueling task, or any task for that matter when the working team has to find the right balance between its investors and users.
A great way to improve user experience is through informational interviews, user feedback, and comments from analysts and experts.
But a presumed fact is not always what users expect to see.
Sometimes an organization has to come up with new, creative ideas to unveil surprising features that users will find …

The world’s largest micro-blogging site wants to be a full-fledged media company. And it wants to start with music.
Tech site CNET reports that Twitter is working on a standalone music app from its acquisition of music discovery service We Are Hunted last year.
According to an unnamed source familiar with the matter, the Twitter Music app will likely arrive on iOS devices (iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad) by the end of March.
The source told CNET that Twitter Music recommends songs and …