Top Items:
The Official Google Blog:
Making URLs shorter for Google Toolbar and FeedBurner — This morning, we launched updated versions of the Google Toolbar and FeedBurner that offer a new URL shortening service from Google called the Google URL Shortener. We mentioned our URL shortener as a feature in both announcements …
Discussion:
Search Engine Watch, Mashable!, Between the Lines, Google Blogoscoped, PC World, The Next Web Network, Screenwerk, Digital Inspiration, Saad Kamal, Bits, The Register, WebProNews, paidContent, CNET News, ChannelWeb, TechSpot, Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim, Download Squad, Search Engine Land, Maximum PC and Domain Name News
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bit.ly blog:
Announcing bit.ly Pro — Today we're pleased to announce a new service: bit.ly Pro. The Pro service provides custom short URLs powered by bit.ly. Publishers and bloggers will be able to use their own short domain names to point to pages on their sites. — As part of our initial beta program …
Eric Eldon / Inside Facebook:
Facebook Testing New URL Shortener, fb.me — URL shorteners, like bit.ly, have become a popular way for people to share links on Twitter while taking up as few of the allotted 140 characters as possible. But saving space is just one of the benefits that shorteners provide.
Discussion:
Saad Kamal, Mashable!, RyanSpoon.com, VentureBeat, WebProNews, Silicon Alley Insider, silicontap.com, The Next Web Network and VatorNews
New York Times:
Author Grants Exclusive E-Book Rights to Amazon — Ever since electronic books emerged as a major growth market, New York's largest publishing houses have worried that big-name authors might sign deals directly with e-book retailers or other new ventures, bypassing traditional publishers entirely.
Jesse Engle / CoTweet:
A Word About Twitter Commercial Accounts — Many people have asked us about Twitter's planned commercial account offering and what it means for CoTweet. Twitter has been planning for commercial accounts for a long time. Today Anamitra Banerji from Twitter's Product Team posted to their blog …
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Jason Calacanis / The Jason Calacanis Weblog:
Is Facebook unethical, clueless or unlucky? — Sent this to my email newsletter earlier today... you can join the list at www.bit.ly/jasonslist — Title: Is Facebook unethical, clueless or unlucky? — Location: CalaCompound, Brentwood, CA — Subscribers: 18,463
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Ryan Tate / Gawker:
Facebook's Great Betrayal — Facebook's privacy pullback isn't just outrageous; it's a landmark turning point for the social network. Facebook has blundered before, but the latest changes are far more calculated. The company has, in short, turned evil. — Its new privacy policy …
AdSense for Feeds:
Socializing your feed with Twitter — Sometimes you reach across the hedgerow to share with your nearby neighbors. Other times, members of the household move away and yet you can't keep from calling to remind them to wear a hat and such because it's chilly out.
Discussion:
Search Engine Watch, ProBlogger Blog Tips, Search Engine Journal, Google Operating System and Gadgetell
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Marshall Kirkpatrick / ReadWriteWeb:Google, Twitter, WordPress & Facebook: Publish/Subscribe Matrix …
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
The Wall Opens A Bit More: Facebook To Publish User Updates To Twitter This Week — A lot has been said recently about Facebook's decision to re-write its privacy rulebook to encourage users to be more open about what they share. Privacy implications aside, at least it appears that Facebook is eating its own dogfood.
Discussion:
Inside Facebook
Ina Fried / Beyond Binary:
Microsoft pulls China blog site amid code-theft charges — Microsoft said late Monday that is suspending access to an MSN China microblogging site amid allegations the service is based on code swiped from a rival. — Canadian start-up Plurk lashed out at Microsoft earlier on Monday …
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Sally Singer / Vogue.com:
The Bride Wore Snowflakes — Marissa Mayer, the gorgeous Google-ite who makes the world searchable for the likes of us, was married on Saturday on San Francisco's Treasure Island to the entrepreneur Zack Bogue. Mayer, who in her office life favors sheaths and cardigans from Oscar de la Renta …
Discussion:
Gawker
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Facebook For Android Just Got A Big Upgrade, Is Catching Up To Its iPhone Cousin — For quite a while now now, one of the biggest problems with Android has been its app support. In particular, the Facebook application has been quite limited: you could read your News Feed …
Discussion:
Neowin.net
Matt Buchanan / Gizmodo:
Fuse: What Your Next Touch Phone Is Going to Feel Like — Fuse is what Synaptics—who probably made the trackpad you're swirling your finger on, and maybe your phone's touchscreen—says the next generation of touch phones will be like: You'll be squeezing, touching and stroking the phone, all over.
Discussion:
SlashGear, PC World, NEWSFACTOR, Synaptics, Mobile Whack, IntoMobile, Technologizer, Electronista, VentureBeat, Engadget and techeblog.com
ABC News:
Green light for internet filter plans — The Federal Government has detailed its plan to require internet service providers (ISPs) in Australia to block a list of banned material. — When Parliament resumes next year the Government plans to introduce amendments that will require ISPs to block banned material on overseas servers.
Reuters:
Google phone with T-Mobile contract in January: source — FRANKFURT/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc will sell a version of its own-branded cellphone for a reduced price to U.S. consumers who agree to a service contract from Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA, a source familiar with the matter said.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Android and Me, CBS News, Phone Arena, TmoNews, IntoMobile, Android Phone Fans, AndroidGuys, Technologizer and Gadgetell
Andrew Nusca / Between the Lines:
Best Buy, Samsung, Westinghouse, 11 more named in GPL lawsuit — Best Buy, Samsung, Westinghouse and JVC are among 14 consumer electronics companies named in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed today in New York by the Software Freedom Law Center. — According to the complaint (.pdf) …
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
ZumoDrive Lands $1.5 Million For Cloud Storage And Syncing Application — File syncing and storage startup Zumodrive has raised $1.5 million in funding led by Sherpalo Ventures with Tandem Entrepreneurs and VeriFone CEO Douglas Bergeron participating. We initially reviewed Zumodrive here.
Sean Fallon / Gizmodo:
Boxee Beta Leaks on BitTorrent — Interested in trying out the latest version of Boxee with its fancy new UI? Beta 0.9.20.9647 is now available for download from The Pirate Bay. [TPB]
Esteban Kozak / The LinkedIn Blog:
Find people faster with LinkedIn's new faceted search — Here at LinkedIn, we believe that people search is one of the most valuable new areas of search technology. Late last year, we announced the launch of the new people search platform, rebuilt from the ground up.
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
The Unofficial Google Text-To-Speech API — Last month Google unveiled enhancements to Google Translate. Among the new features was a simple text-to-speech function. You can try it out, or watch this video to see how it works (skip to 0:45). — There's no official API for the text-to-speech service.
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
One Of The 32 Million With A RockYou Account? You May Want To Change All Your Passwords. Like Now. — It's no secret that most people use the same password over and over again for most of the services they sign up for. While it's obviously convenient, this becomes a major problem if one of those services is compromised.
John Cook / TechFlash:
Swype swipes new venture round — Just a few weeks ago, Swype introduced its text input technology on the Samsung Omnia II, offering a new way for mobile phone users to compose messages with the “swype” of a finger rather than the traditional tap. Now, news comes that Samsung …
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Brainstorm Tech:
The Mac's holiday momentum — A pair of analysts see an end-of-the-year uptick in Apple's computer sales — “Our conversations with industry contacts suggest that the Mac shipment levels have improved over the last two weeks,” writes J.P. Morgan's Mark Moskowitz in a report to clients issued Monday morning.
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Gamer population surges — consoles in 60% of households — Video game console usage is hitting new heights, with 60 percent of U.S. households now owning a video game console, based on the fourth annual State of Media Democracy report based on a survey of the media habits of Americans.
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
MySpace and News Corp. Eye Flixster (But for What?) [UPDATED] — Now that the digital equivalent of a super-vac, MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta, has sucked up some decent music start-ups-Imeem and iLike-for a song, to bolster the social networking site's efforts to expand into an entertainment portal, what's next?
