Recently in Social Media / Networking Category

Twitter was atwitter yesterday with news of a big change to the site’s security protocols: users can now choose to enable two-factor authentication. That’s big news for everyone, even if you don’t use the social media site. After all, remember that fake tweet by a hacker that caused the stock market to briefly nosedive?

The new feature, which must be enabled by individual users, requires two steps to log in. You first enter your password (as always). Second, the system sends you a text message with a six-digit code that must be entered to get access to the account. It begs two very important questions: what about organizations and what about third-party tweeting apps?

Laura Culver is getting another shot at sentencing for her child pornography conviction because the sentencing judge in her case doesn’t like Facebook, TechDirt reports.

And yes, you read that correctly.

Does Twitter really help a lawyer snag new clients?

Some people claim that Twitter is a great way to connect with prospective clients. Others suggest that using Twitter as a lawyer marketing tool is a bunch of hooey.

The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle. Whether you’re using social media or traditional marketing (think billboards and bus stop ads), you have to be smart about how you market yourself. If you’re using Twitter as a marketing tool, that means a little due diligence before you follow another Twitter feed.

In 2000, the FTC noticed that this whole "Dot Com" thing was getting pretty big. Online grocery stores were starting and stopping, Amazon had already launched, and consumers were increasingly turning to the Internet for product research, reviews, and shopping. Of course, the Internet frontier presented a number of novel questions regarding advertising. Did prior regulations, like those on television and print ads, apply?

This month, 11 years after the initial rules were released, the FTC updated the rules. Why? Social media. Disclaimers are difficult in 140 characters or less. (Yes, sponsored Tweets need disclaimers.) Mobile devices are creating space constraints that require a fresh approach as well.

Last month, I mentioned that Google was hosting a competition to select mere mortals to become Google Glass pioneers. The #IfIHadGlass contest, which ended February 27, promised to reward winners with the opportunity to pay $1500 for their own Google Glass units.

Other than the fact that Glass looks cool in the promotional video, the only reason I could imagine a lawyer pining after one of these futuristic wearable computers was because -- hello! -- gadgets are fun.

But then I saw the future. Through Google Glass. And it was incredible.

Remember when Facebook launched the original “poke” feature? Being poked by a “friend” on the social networking site felt weird and slightly dirty. Then, third-party apps took the poke to the next level and let you assault your friends with an assortment of options. You could even “throw a sheep”. Because good friends throw sheep.

Good attorneys — by contrast — use Facebook to effect service of process. Or, at least they try to.

This week, a federal district court in New York ruled in Federal Trade Commission v. PCCare247 Inc that lawyers for the Federal Trade Commission can serve legal documents on a group of defendants in India through Facebook, Reuters reports.

The nation mourned in unison this week as Twitter announced the end of TweetDeck’s long-neglected Android, iOS, and Adobe AIR Desktop versions of the platform. Going forward, users will have to make due with the browser or Google Chrome app versions. For many, there won’t be a difference. The mobile apps were generally useless to begin with and the Adobe AIR app, while having some features lacking in the newer versions, was a buggy, unstable, resource hog.

If you are looking for an alternative to TweetDeck that is as close to it as possible, PC Magazine has a few suggestions. Personally though, I’ve never been the biggest fan.

Let's talk hypotheticals.

A client walks into your office, and says, "I want to hire you. And I will pay you 1 million Monopoly dollars for your services." You would politely decline the offer, right?

Now, let's tweak that scenario. A prospective client saunters in and offers to pay you 1 million in Bitcoin to represent him. This might actually work.

In the government's eyes, Bitcoin is no more "real" than Monopoly money, but the financial markets think that it has value. Wednesday, CNN Money reported that one Bitcoin was worth approximately $49.

If you tweet to promote your practice -- or just because you like to tweet -- you've probably heard the sad news that the TweetDeck app is dead. This week, Twitter-owned app announced:

To continue to offer a great product that addresses your unique needs, we're going to focus our development efforts on our modern, web-based versions of TweetDeck. To that end, we are discontinuing support for our older apps: TweetDeck AIR, TweetDeck for Android and TweetDeck for iPhone. They will be removed from their respective app stores in early May and will stop functioning shortly thereafter. We'll also discontinue support for our Facebook integration.

The outpouring of emotion across the Internet suggests that active tweeters aren't handling the news well. (The Atlantic Wire even published a eulogy for the TweetDeck app.) Luckily, all is not lost. TweetDeck will live on in actual computers.

Eighteen months ago, a bundle of joy arrived on my doorstep.

At the time, I couldn't have anticipated how much such a tiny thing would change my life. I didn't know that it would make me healthier and happier. And more competitive. So much more competitive.

Of course, I'm talking about my FitBit.