Internet, Social Networking | featured news

Over the weekend, Facebook added a stalkerish feature called "Find Friends Nearby" to its mobile website; on Monday, it was gone. "Find Friends Nearby" let users of iOS and Android devices locate BFFs — and perhaps nBFFs (never BFFS) — who were within range.

Facebook said it has begun placing ads on Zynga's website, another move by the social network to add revenue sources on the heels of its flawed IPO.

Some of the results are predictable: yeah, we know, ladies loooove Pinterest (15.4 million more monthly female visitors!) and Reddit is inundated with sexist dudes. (74% of users are men.) But did you know that 62% of Twitter users are women? Or that a shit ton of men are still refusing to give up on Google+?

Coca-Cola's marketing chief, Joe Tripodi, said that advertising with Facebook probably helps drive sales. The comment marks a powerful endorsement at a time when some advertisers, such as GM, have expressed doubt about putting ad dollars into Facebook.

Social media's quippy queen Kelly Oxford goes from tweeting to screenwriting on the strength of her posts, snagging a book deal and reeling in Hollywood fans like Jimmy Kimmel. From a snow-crested corner of Alberta, Canada, Kelly Oxford made her Hollywood screenwriting dream come true. She did it without leaving her close-knit family or giving up her free nationalized healthcare. She did it 140 characters at a time.

After about a month of speculation, Facebook has finally announced its acquisition of Israeli facial recognition technology Face.com. We’ve heard from multiple sources that the acquisition price was around $100m, with others reporting that the price was between $80m-$100m. (Update: We’re now hearing from a source familiar with the matter that the price was between $55 and $60 million, and that it was a mix of cash and stock. The exact value of the deal will be changing depending on the price of Facebook’s stock.) This is absolutely not an acqui-hire, as Facebook will be taking full advantage of the company’s technology and the advancements it’s made on mobile — perhaps to finally include mobile tagging options for photos.

Facebook Inc., owner the world’s largest social network, says it’s working on a location-based mobile-advertising product that will allow companies to target users with real-time data showing their whereabouts.

President Obama's order Friday suspending deportations for some young illegal immigrants sent a charge through social media over the weekend, with both the president and his Republican challenger seeing steep spikes in online chatter about them. According to the social media analysis firm VoterTide, about 52,000 messages about Obama were posted to Twitter Friday, a 74% jump over his daily average of about 30,000 and the highest number of mentions since he announced his support for gay marriage May 9. The firm did not offer an estimate of how many of these tweets were positive or negative.

Looking to boost the number of followers you have on your microblog? In China, a country where face often trumphs all in social matters, there’s a quick though dubious solution.