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New Myspace Review

Myspace has suffered in its position as the 'punch line' to any Social Media humour.  Destroyed by News Corporation, then rendered further into obsolescence by a minor reboot and a subpar software integration into TVs.  That is until a certain popstar/star in a movie about Facebook took interest, both financially and mentally.  The result is what you see, a complete overhaul.

Has this proverbial phoenix risen from the ashes, or have we fallen for good looks with no form and function?

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editorial, social media Jason England editorial, social media Jason England

LiveJournal: Behind The Scenes Drama Isn't Restricted To Facebook

You may not have even heard of Livejournal: a blogging site that's been active and popular for over a decade now. But it ranks above The Daily Mail Online and even Reddit in the Alexa 500, and it's a social network that I've been a part of before Facebook was a twinkle in Mark Zuckerburg's eye. 

Everyone knows the drama behind the creation of Facebook (or at least David Fincher's version); but the drama that surrounds the ownership of of LiveJournal is a bit more hidden. Like any company, LiveJournal was founded, bought and sold several times but in 2009 current owners, SUP Media moved the company from San Francisco all the way to Russia.

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Anonymous Plan To Take Down Facebook On 5 November?

Remember, remember, the fifth of November. Given the hacker groups' affiliation to the Guy Fawkes mask, the decision by hacker collective Anonymous to take down Facebook on bonfire night seems far from coincidental. But posting a warning to Zuckerberg and co. and social gaming giant Zynga in a stern warning message earlier this week, that's exactly what it intends to achieve.

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Internet, tech Jason England Internet, tech Jason England

Is Pheed The New Twitter?

Hand-picking features from a wide-range of the most popular social networks across the web (from Facebook, Tumblr, SoundCloud, to of course Twitter), ‘Pheed’ is all set to become the new Internet darling; having already picked up over 250,000 unique users and celebrities alike in just days, with Paris Hilton, David Guetta, Miley Cyrus and Chris Brown a few noteworthy names.

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Internet, tech Jason England Internet, tech Jason England

Analyst Blames Parents For Facebook's Unconvincing IPO

Facebook was hardly the most adored of companies before going public in May, but few could have predicted the landslide in stock price that has greeted the company since it started trading on May 18. Wiping billions of dollars from founder Zuckerberg’s personal fortune; the social network company is now the second-worst performer of all IPOs in the US so far this year (according to IPOScoop.com).

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Internet, news, social media Jason England Internet, news, social media Jason England

Might The Days Of Facebook Stalking Be Numbered?

Having already introduced changes to Facebook Chat that sees users informed when a message has been seen by a recipient – to the chagrin of avoidant types – now Facebook has announced an overhaul to Groups which allows users to identify exactly who and who has not seen certain posts. Were the company to roll out the feature to the rest of the site, could Facebook ‘stalking’ soon be a thing of the past?

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news, social media Jason England news, social media Jason England

Gentlemint. A Social Discovery Network For Manly Men

Ever wanted to remove yourself from the unmistakably drab discussion from the sea of reprobates that populate the inter-connected likes of Facebook or Twitter?  Find yourself to be a conniseur of a male?  We may have the cure to an ailment you never knew you have.  The fruit of two programmers' labours has produced Gentlemint: a social discovery site for the true gentlemen to perouse 'manly' content.

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T-Mobile Twitter Campaign Shows That #BritainLoves Hating The British

So T-Mobile have launched a Twitter promotional campaign, surrounding the hashtag #BritainLoves, to promote it's new 'Full Monty Plan' contract option.  However, very much like RIM's attempt at cracking the metaphorical nut that is Twitter marketing with #BeBold, and McDonalds' #McDstories, the situation may have gone everso slightly ary.

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news, social media Jason England news, social media Jason England

Facebook Takes Clickjacking Suspect To Court

Ever clicked on a Facebook link and found it shared to your profile, projected to your reems of friends without your prior permission to share said link?  Clickjacking has been a rather nasty thorn in the sides of many-a-user of the social network, and Facebook aren't going to take it anymore, as they take Washington-based marketing company Adscend Media to court over accusations of unwanted spam-causing practice.

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news, social media Jason England news, social media Jason England

Social network posters with wartime propaganda designs

The title is pretty self explanatory for this.  Everybody's a fan of good design, even if you say it doesn't bother you a good typography and visual style will always win through.  

And, courtesy of justonescarf design's Aaron Wood, social networks from Facebook to Twitter now have their own propaganda posters, heralding the design era from wartime.  Take a look at the full collection on his etsy store. or check out our gallery of favourites, where he tackles more than just social media.

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news, social media Jason England news, social media Jason England

Badoo, like Facebook but for sex, has 130 million users

Sign up for an account and make sure you get tested regularly, as Badoo crosses 130 million worldwide users (1 million in the UK) to become the fourth largest social network on the planet.

This isn't a network of rekindling friendships with people from your past and interacting with those who share similar interests.  Instead, we have a network based entirely on generating all new friendships with people.  As the enticing line of promotional copy says: "Boost your social life.  Chat, flirt, meet up and have fun!"

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Editorial: Google+ is not a social media game changer

So New York Times bestselling author Chris Brogan has made some pretty bold claims as to the state of Google+ via an interview with Mashable. 

Google+ has an obvious advantage in search results, presents unique opportunities for brands and is backed by deep pockets, he argues. And all of these factors make it a social media platform that will stick around in a big way.

In respects, his argument for the social network succeeding make sense.  Comparing it to Facebook at such an early stage in development is the equivalent of comparing the aforementioned to Myspace back in 2006: it's still rather early days, and has a lot of changes to undergo.  But in it's current state, Brogan pointed out the crucial flaw with Google+ through via one of his points deemed as a positive.

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news, social media Jason England news, social media Jason England

Facebook Timeline releases today

No more posing as a developer to get access to what's been two months in holding.  The Facebook Timeline is beginning it's rollout today.

This new visual upgrade seems remeniscent of infographical design, as all your interactions with the service from wall posts to music listens, likes and everything else are combined into one page stream, making older content easier to get to (beyond the 'see more stories' grey bar).  

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news, social media Jason England news, social media Jason England

Condom ad disguised as Facebook friend request from your future child

So one random friend request later, I can warn you about an Olla Condom promo campaign that sends users friend requests from their yet-to-be-born sons.  Not only is it just downright creepy; but it's also a violation of Facebook policy.

Take a look at the promo video below, which does a much better job explaining the "Unexpected Babies" campaign launched by Brazillian Agency Age Isobar.

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