Bebo is a genius. They have a plan... to have plan

Bebo is like a bad case of herpes – it just keeps coming back. They sold to AOL for $850 million in 2008. Then AOL, under new management, sort of just shut it down for tax purposes, selling it for next to nothing to Criterion Capital Partners. AOL CEO Tim Armstrong called the whole thing a huge distraction.

But if you think you’ve seen the last of Bebo, you’re wrong. A whole new team is in place, and with just 20 or so employees the site is profitable and growing with 6 millionish active users. So what next?

That’s exactly what I asked CTO Akash Garg today at Google Zeitgeist in Phoenix, Arizona. The interview is below.

How will Bebo carve out a place for itself in a Facebook world? Tagged seems to have done it by focusing on dating. Garg says the team is currently deciding what’s next. “Self expression, mobile and video will be strong components,” he says. But beyond that he won’t elaborate.

And when I asked if Bebo cofounder Michael Birch is involved with Bebo today, the answer was clear: “Michael Birch is not involved in any official way right now.” Is he involved unofficially? Watch below to find out.

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Bebo

Tagged

Facebook

AOL

Criterion Capital Partners

Tim Armstrong

Google

Akash Garg

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3% of Twitter at anytime is Justin Bieber

Would you believe that Justin Bieber and his legion of fans use up 3% of Twitter’s server at any given time — such a large amount of activity that “racks of servers” are dedicated to Bieber mania?

So said a Twitter employee, according to web designer and blogger Dustin Curtis. Yesterday he sent out the following tweet:

“At any moment, Justin Bieber uses 3% of our infrastructure. Racks of servers are dedicated to him. – A guy who works at Twitter”

When we asked Curtis who the Twitter employee is, he said his source is someone “who would know such things. I obviously can’t give you his name. But I trust that the information is absolutely correct.” So maybe you’d better believe it. Bieber consistently appears on the top Twitter trends chart we publish each weekend, and he topped a “Twitter’s most listed” chart too.

We shot an e-mail Twitter’s way to confirm, and while the Twitter rep we contacted didn’t confirm the figure, she didn’t discourage us from believing it, either. “While we don’t break out metrics like this, everything around and about Justin Bieber is consistently popular on Twitter,” she said.

Curtis also tweeted that “most of the popular users on Twitter have dedicated servers for their accounts.” He believed the Twitter employee and tweeted what he said in part because he thinks the numbers make perfect sense:

“Every time Bieber tweets, his messages have to be delivered to more than five million people who then endlessly retweet it. Apparently, his account receives more than 60 @-replies per second for a while after he tweets, which is something Twitter wasn’t originally designed to handle.”

He’s certainly no Justin Bieber, but Curtis isn’t totally unknown on Twitter himself. He appeared in our “10 Web Design Bloggers You Should Follow” list a couple of months ago.

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Twitter

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Shoutitout Android coming Monday... probably

According to a Shout today by @shoutitoutmobile Shoutitout Android is coming out on Monday of next week. The site has been working and delays this launch since February so we are thinking its going to be pretty nice app. We are also thinking about how this could really hurt things like Twitter for Android and Twidroyd. Twitter for Android currently being the official app for Twitter which Twitter has had for sometime and hasn't really had it explode in popularity. We believe this will hurt Twitter for Android even more. Also currently the biggest Shoutitout and Twitter android app Twidroyd may be effected by this as well. We aren't sure what will happen since Shoutitout doesn't have all of its features in API like Check-ins the Android app will have a clear edge. We will keep you updated and see how this rolls out!

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Shoutitout

Twitter

Twidroyd

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Googles logo is excited about something probably coming out tomorrow

By now, you’ve likely noticed the interesting, kinetic logo Google has had up today. While there is still no official word from the search giant as to exactly what it means, they are letting out some hints. And based on those hints, a good guess seems to be that the logo has to do with what they’ll announce at their big search event being held in San Francisco’s MOMA tomorrow morning.

Earlier today, Google tweeted out: “Boisterous doodle today. Maybe it’s excited about the week ahead…” Meanwhile, a Google representative told Search Engine Roundtable that “today’s doodle is not related to a birthday but is fast, fun and interactive, just the way we think search should be.” This led the blog to speculate that three things may be announced tomorrow: AJAX-powered search results, 30 results per page, and streaming results as you type. In the case of AJAX and streaming, Google has been testing both of these (in the AJAX case, since early 2009).

In terms of the search event itself, Google sent out invites to members of the press last week with the title “Search on.” The fact that it’s at an art museum is interesting, though perhaps not entirely relevant. But the speaker line-up definitely is:

Marissa Mayer, VP, Search Products & User Experience
Johanna Wright, Director of Product Management
Ben Gomes, Distinguished Engineer
Othar Hansson, Senior Staff Software Engineer
As Search Engine Land’s Danny Sullivan pointed out last week, the first three are all heavily involved with Google’s search user interface — so again, expect a revamp. A revamp that is “fast, fun, and interactive.”
One other side note is that Google has quietly launched a new tool in Labs called Google Scribe. As Google Operating System notes, it’s a tool that auto-suggests phrases in documents as you type. Yes, this is similar to what Google currently offers with their search box. And yes, it’s also fast, fun, and interactive, like Google’s odd logo.

We’ll be at the event tomorrow to find out!

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Marissa Mayer

Danny Sullivan

Google

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Shoutitout gets there first dogs... literaly

Shoutitout has gotten its first dog members, the account has 3 Shouts and subscribers. The account is for a pair of beagles owned by @ashton named Max and Bandit (as far as we can tell) the account @max_bandit seems to have had some popularity at the moment but nothing major yet. None of there Shouts have made popular Shouts yet but we do think that will change soon we also expect this account to get huge popularity as it gets older. It has already been recommended by @willy and @ashton.

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Shoutitout

William Parish

Ashton Rainey

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The endless pit of Google money just got smaller

Google has agreed to pay a hefty sum to make a class action lawsuit concerning Google Buzz disappear — $8.5 million, to be exact.

The lawsuit dates back to February, when lawyers filed a class action complaint against Google on behalf of Eva Hibnick, a 24-year-old Florida resident and Harvard Law School student. The complaint alleged that Buzz violated several communication privacy laws related to protecting user privacy.

Google Buzz caught a lot of flak for its auto-follow and opt-in features, so much so that Google quickly made privacy fixes after launch. They weren’t enough to quell the criticism though, so Google launched a privacy reset for Buzz, giving users a new opportunity to adjust their privacy settings.

According to the settlement, these changes addressed the key privacy issues surrounding Buzz. “Google has made changes to the Google Buzz user interface that clarify Google Buzz’s operation and users’ options regarding Google Buzz,” it stated.

That’s not all, though. While the settlement acknowledges that Google Buzz’s privacy issues have been resolved, it says the company must do more to educate users about Google Buzz’s potential impact on privacy. The $8.5 million from the settelement will go towards lawyer fees (30%) and the seven named plaintiffs (up to $2,500 each), with the remainder going towards organizations and non-profits focused on Internet privacy.

Now that the privacy issues have been settled, Google can focus on a more important problem: actually producing a winner in the social media space.

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Google

Google Buzz

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Twitter 145,000,000 members strong 300,000 apps

When I read Twitter CEO Evan Williams post tonight about the state of Twitter from a mobile perspective, the first thing that jumped out at me what that Twitter for Android, an app Twitter worked hard on, isn’t even in the top 10 most-used apps for the service. But Williams also used the post to whip out some impressive numbers. Chief among them: Twitter now has over 145 million registered users (though presumably less than 150 million, or he would have said that). And there are now nearly 300,000 registered apps in the Twitter ecosystem.

The latter number above is technically the number of registered OAuth apps in the ecosystem (and includes multiple instances of some apps). Twitter made the switch over from basic authentication to OAuth a few days ago, leaving behind some apps, such as the old Tweetie (which was reborn as Twitter for iPhone). Williams says this number of registered apps has tripled since their Chirp conference — which was only this past April.
Other big numbers thrown out there by Williams:

Mobile users have jumped 62% since mid-April
16% of all new users to Twitter now start on mobile (it was 5% before Twitter started doing branded mobile clients)
46% of active users use some sort of mobile Twitter experience
78% of people who interact with Twitter still do so through twitter.com — though that number includes people who use more than one appm.twitter.com is the second most-used Twitter interface at 14%
SMS and Twitter for iPhone are tied at 8%
Lastly, he throws in that Twitter’s Promoted Products (read: their first big monetization pitch) has “exceeded our expectations.” No word on if that means Twitter has turned a profit, but that seems pretty unlikely. Still, revenues are undoubtedly growing.

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Twitter

Evan Williams

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Techcrunch loves the old Twitter logo

Techcrunch has changed its logo from the usual Techcrunch logo to what the old Twitter (twttr then) logo. There was a post earlier about Twitter and how much they liked the logo. Twitter may or may not still own copyright on that logo so just giving our friends at Techcrunch a heads up you might want to check to make sure just encase. We have no idea how long they will keep the logo up but we doubt it will be that long.

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TechCrunch

Twitter

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Shoutitout secures profile header patent similar to Foursquare header

Shoutitout has grabbed another patent this time looking at Foursquare, we think. We don't think they plan on using it agents Foursquare because they have been long time allies with them we think somehow its directed towards Facebook who is currently testing the subscription feature. The patent reserves the header with Check-ins, Shouts and Friends an its layout. Shoutitout has already gotten a patent for there Shout box and we know they are planning to apply for two more, what they are for we aren't sure yet. Here is the patent sketch:

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Shoutitout

Facebook

Foursquare

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Twitter launches official iPad app

Twitter has just announced the service’s official iPad app.

It’s free and comes with a slew of touch interface bells and whistles built right in. The app is intended to allow for seamless navigation between tweets, photos, web pages, videos and other media and updates. It’s also usable even for those who don’t have Twitteraccounts.
Twitter for iPad [iTunes link] has a few new UI touches that you haven’t seen elsewhere. These features are custom-designed for the larger screen and touch capabilities of the iPad. It also caters to what the iPad was made for: media consumption rather than creation. Twitter’s Leland Rechis, a mobile UX designer, writes on the Twitter blogthat the iPad is “a device that really lets content shine.”
The main interface is a series of panes that can expand and retract based on the kind of content the user wants to access. “Tapping on a Tweet opens a pane to the right. Depending on the content in that Tweet, you’ll see a video or photo, or maybe a news story, or perhaps another Tweet. You can continue tapping on Tweets, opening new panes, and getting new content as long as you’d like,” writes Rechis.
Media viewing is optimized for the iPad, as well. Videos play in-line with other content and can be loaded while you’re browsing through your timeline. You can pinch a video to view it fullscreen, too.
Finally, Twitter has really done some interesting things with touchscreen capabilities in this app. When you pinch a tweet, you’ll see details about the author and have a list of actions you can take, including reply and retweet. A two-finger pull-down gesture will show the entire conversation around a tweet.\

FCC questions Google Verizon deal

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is diving deeper into Google and Verizon’s proposed net neutrality framework with a public notice and inquiry into two of net neutrality’s key issues.

The FCC’s seven-page public notice tackles two of the key proposals from the Google-Verizon framework: “Specialized Services” and net neutrality/open internet principles for the mobile wireless Internet. The Google-Verizon proposal has received heavy criticism for excluding wireless Internet from many net neutrality regulations.

“There are two complex issues, however, that merit further inquiry,” reads the report. “The first is the relationship between open Internet protections and services that are provided over the same last-mile facilities as broadband Internet access service. The second is the application of open Internet rules to mobile wireless Internet access services, which have unique characteristics related to technology, associated application and device markets, and consumer usage.”

The FCC has already said that it doesn’t agree with all of the points of the Google-Verizon proposal, and this public notice carries that tone. The FCC’s concern with specialized services seems to be that open Internet protections could be weakened if broadband providers use specialized services to circumvent the rules that apply to broadband Internet access.

On the wireless front, the FCC “seeks comment on ‘how, to what extent, and when’ openness principles should apply to mobile wireless platforms, with a particular emphasis on furthering innovation, private investment, competition and freedom of expression.” In other words, the FCC wants it to make the rules of wireless net neutrality very clear so companies like Google and Verizon don’t use ambiguity to their advantage.

The FCC is giving interested parties a 30-day window for filing comments and a 55-day window for reply comments. This is probably only the beginning; the important issue of net neutrality isn’t going to be resolved anytime soon.

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Google

Verizon

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Ellen DeGeneres joins Foursquare

One of the most followed Twitter users Ellen DeGeneres has joined Foursquare. We can confirm its a real account because not only is it connect to her Twitter but she has also tweeted about Foursquare. Even though Foursquare isn't actually the biggest geolocation site it will be, soon. Loopt currently somewhere between 4,000,000 and 5,000,000 users is leading the way but Foursquare recently passed 3,000,000 after just a few months before dancing past 2,000,000. Foursquare is also allot more successful when it comes to celebrities and companies joining location sites Foursquare defiantly leads the way followed probably by Loopt or Gowalla. Foursquare is on its way to taking over the location department, even though Facebook has 250 times more users than Foursquare barley any users have used Facebook places.

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Foursquare

Facebook

Twitter

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