1# Twitter Censorship: Twitter’s decision to block tweets and its ramifications have been put to the test as the Brazilian Federal Attorney’s Office has filed a lawsuit against the company. The office wants to suspend and block Twitter profiles that warn of traffic controllers or share the location of mobile road control points.

2# Original Netflix: The first of what’s planned to be many original programmes has been released by Netflix yesterday. ’Lilyhammer’ is a show about a New York Gangster brought to Norway for witness protection and is available for U.S. and Canadian viewers.

3# Facebook Mobile: Facebook is expected to introduce adverts for their mobile platform in March. The company is considering different ways to integrate them into the app without ruining the user experience, possibly in the form of sponsored stories.

4# Amazon Store: Amazon are close to rolling out their first retail store, Good E Reader are reporting. The store, which will be opened in Seattle over the next few weeks, is seen as a test to gauge the market and see if a chain of stores would be profitable.

5# Solve For X: Google have finally revealed their home page for their new crowd sourcing forum ‘Solve for X’. The initiative aims to tackle global-scale problems in the areas of technology and science.

6# Zynga Disillusionment: An alleged ex-Zynga engineer has posted a “ask-me-anything” thread on Reddit willing to answer any questions regarding the company. Among the information revealed include the company being obsessed about measuring metrics and that contract workers have almost no feedback or say on their work schedule.

7#Google+ Developers Page: Similar to Facebook, Google+  has launched its own developers page to try and get more users to develop the service. The page is expected to become a hub for news, events, and community among others.

8# Wolfram|Alpha Pro: Popular information database, Wolfram|Alpha will be expanding its service by releasing a pro version tomorrow, allowing users to become more involved in both input and output. Subscriptions will start at $4.99 per month while students only need to pay $2.99 per month.

9#  Apple App Fraud: Apple have come out and warned developers not to trust services which claim they can guarantee a Top 25 spot for their app. Apple had posted a reminder regarding this by telling developers not to manipulate App Store chart rankings.

10# Google Goggles: 9to5Google have confirmed that Google are developing HUD glasses and that they are “coming soon”. Features include a front facing camera used to gather information and a navigation system where users tilt their head to scroll and click.

Finally on Simply Viral, Chevrolet are known for the crazy publicity stunts which include bringing their car for a skydive and bungee jumping. This video, shot for the Super Bowl brings all of these stunts together to create one massive commercial.

Launching later today, ‘Solve For X’ is described by Google as a forum to encourage and create new technological solutions for existing problems through crowd sourcing. By allowing the brightest minds a place to collaborate and develop ideas in a wide range of technological areas, it’s hoped that the site will become a hub for scientific endeavour.

“Solve for X is a place where the curious can go to hear and discuss radical technology ideas for solving global problems. Radical in the sense that the solutions could help billions of people. Radical in the sense that the audaciousness of the proposals makes them sound like science fiction. And radical in the sense that there is some real technology breakthrough on the horizon to give us all hope that these ideas could really be brought to life.”

Earlier today, a invite-only conference for ‘Solve for X’ was held with the conference consisting of presentations discussing topics such as low-energy, low-cost water desalinization to stretchable silicon biosensors. On his Google+ page, the company’s Rapid evaluator (points for guessing what that job position actually means) Richard DeVaul stated that the conference videos and other materials for ‘Solve for X’ would be posted by the end of the day on the main site wesolveforx.com.

Google’s new project is hoping to become a TED-style site where users will give talks about their chosen field – a concept hinted by a leaked image which shows a ten-step guide for those interested in putting together their own presentation. While TED talks have a wide range of subjects and topics, Google’s new venture seems to be more specialised focusing on technology so developing a niche area could work in their favour.

But since these are areas that Google has links to, you could be cynical and say that this is an exercise in talent acquisition for them, finding the brightest minds who are as of yet undiscovered. It’s certainly cheaper than buying out a company which is a trend for the major companies but time will tell whether or not ‘Solve For X’ will make any ripples in the field of technology, knowing Google’s aggressive stance in promoting their own products, we’ll be sure to hear more about it over the coming weeks.

Analytics firm StatCounter, looked at global internet usage through mobile devices (excluding tablets) and found that global internet usage through mobile devices rose to 8.5%, almost double than what it was in  2011(4.3%). That is in comparison to the years previous where 1.6% of traffic in 2010 was mobile while 2009 only made up 0.7%. Practically, mobile web use has doubled year on year

The firm also announced new statistics regarding mobile vendors on its site. They found that when covering all traffic on their network, it was Nokia that clearly leads worldwide with roughly 38% – the report attributing this to the company’s dominance in India. Apple follows behind in second with roughly 29% but leads the U.S. and U.K. markets while in the U.K., RIM is placed second among British users but fourth worldwide (9%), while Samsung is placed in third making up roughly 14%.

They’re interesting trends when you consider that Apple isn’t the behemoth it is in the U.S. and that Nokia’s dominance in this sector suggests that they’re in a stronger position than most people give them credit for. The real point to take from this is that if these trends continue, it’ll eventually mean that one in three people (34%) will be accessing the web through smartphones by January 2014. Considering the strides mobile devices have made over the last few years, it’s very much possible.

The Financial Times are reporting that several people familiar with Facebook’s planning say that it has already discussed proposals with advertising agencies, some of which involve displaying “featured stories” in the news feed, similar to how Twitter advertise on their main site.

Facebook said that putting ‘sponsored stories’ adverts – where brands pay to highlight people’s endorsements or interactions with them in their friends’ list of online activity – on mobiles was one possible route it could take.

In its IPO filing last week, Facebook stated to potential investors that the lack of ‘meaningful revenue’ from mobile devices, used by half of its 800 million users, could negatively affect their revenue intake as more and more users turn to smartphones instead of PCs to connect with friends.

The challenge for Facebook is finding the balance between satisfying their future shareholders with their rapid revenue growth and their users. The latter, judging by reactions to previous changes Facebook has made to their site in recent times, may be resistant to the idea of being bombarded by advertising on both desktop and mobile platforms.

Considering their 800 million users, it’s practically impossible to make changes without upsetting a portion, but the company must figure out the best way to incorporate adverts without breaking up the experience. The small screen and streamlined presentation presents numerous headaches for Facebook who, if they create the perfect formula, could be set to uncover a revenue goldmine.

Facebook are exploring other areas for increasing revenue, for one, it is also holding an event for marketers in New York on February 29th where they are expected to unveil Timeline brand pages for companies to avail of. Also The Financial Times say that the company may go further towards incentivising brands to post ads that link back to Facebook, rather than external sites.

1# Social Media Advertising: 89 per cent of agencies have said that they would use be using Facebook for their social media campaigns. Zdnet.com report that this was more than double the percentage of agencies that said they’d use Twitter and Youtube for advertising.

2# Super Bowl Tweeting: The Super Bowl XLVI has become America’s most tweeted about sporting event after hitting a record average of 12,233 tweets per second (TPS). The final saw the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots 21 – 17 in Indianapolis.

3# Facebook’s Deleted Photos: If you’ve ever uploaded a photo onto Facebook only to later remove it, chances are the image is still online. Ars Technica have reported that three years after bringing up the issue with Facebook, it’s still possible to access photos that you once thought were deleted, provided you have the direct URL address.

4# Microsoft Vs Google: The bickering between Microsoft and Google continues with Fusible.com discovering that Microsoft has now trademarked “People Powered Stories”, alluding to them incorporating Twitter and Facebook related searches onto Bing and taking another pot shot at Google.

5# Facebook Mobile Advertising: The New York Times are reporting that Facebook is now preparing to introduce mobile advertising onto their site as another way of generating advertising revenue for the company.

6# Objectionable Content: A court in India has ruled that internet firms such as Google and Facebook have 15 days to remove content which it described as objectionable content. NDtv.com report that the civil case accused 22 different firms of allowing “anti-religious” and “anti-social” content that could provoke communal tension.

7# Google Poaching: Google have reportedly poached an Apple employee to be part of its own staff. 9to5Google are reporting that Apple’s (former) Senior Director of Product Integrity, Simon Prakash, has been hired by the company to work on a secret project. Prakash was responsible for product quality across Apple’s products ranging from the iPhone to the Macbook.

8# Android Apps Appeal: Google have lost its final appeal in Taiwan after it was fined NT$1 million ($34,000) after the city of Taipei issued a complaint regarding a seven day trial period where users could request a refund. Google were the only company that refused to budge, not changing its 15-minute refund window and ceasing to offer paid apps in the country.

9# Publicly Trading SM sites: The transformation of social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter could signal a move from privately owned companies to public enterprises. It’s expected that more companies such as Dropbox will follow on from the likes of Linkedin and Groupon and become public to remain competitive.

10# Twitter Addiction: How much time do you spend on Twitter daily? A team from Chicago University’s Booth business school have discovered that Twitter can become “more addictive than alcohol and cigarettes“. The Drum report that the likelihood of self control failure rates were highest when social media is involved.

Finally, on yesterday’s Simply Viral, this has to be the best Siri parody made so far, a fantastic short film where the personal assistant ends up becoming a psychopathic killer.

Based on the brand’s second global film ‘The Date,’ users can send the songs to potential partners, inviting them on a date. Available in twenty languages, ‘The Serenade‘ is designed to put love in the air and smiles on faces around the world.

The Flash based Valentines app is sure to cause a bit of a stir, and asks the user to choose a connection to target along with the messages they’d like to send. Across three very simple steps, lovers can tell their partner why they like them, where they want to take them, and give reasons for accepting the invitation. Of course, this being a lad’s beer brand, there’s also the opportunity to have a little bit of fun, so if you want to tell a female friend that you like her sister or want to invite someone special to go “ride an ostrich”, the option is available.

Once you’re finished choosing your answers, the app then combines them into a personalised video, which can be shared privately or publicly, depending on its content. The lyrics on offer are basic, and the singer may start to annoy you before the end, but it’s a fun way to engage users and a viral way to promote the brand.

Heineken takes great care to ensure relevant, targeted content is continuously available for fans, and is a perfect example of a global brand using one page to talk to an international audience. For example, recent content for Irish users has been based around local brand sponsorships (including Champions League and Heineken Cup) and music combined with regular interesting campaigns, this provides the backbone for an engaged community.

To top it off, the campaign will feature an eight hour Youtube event dubbed ‘Serenade Live’, which will be held on February 8th. Individuals around the world will get the chance to serenade the object of their heart’s desire live online, hopefully leading to a host of successful dates.

After downloading and selecting your area through an app, the device then translates that data physically and reflects the temperature outside. The neutral state of the cube is about 85°F (30°C), which is perceived as neutral by the skin. The cube then adjusts itself by the number of degrees that forecast differs from typical room temperature (73°F/23°C). Touching the cube gives you a perfect indication as to how hot or cold the weather is now or the next day so you’ll be able to tell whether you’ll need to keep that coat or not

Where Is The Growth?

If you look at the Google share price over the last five years even though it has had spikes it has more or less stayed stagnant for 5 years. This can happen to big companies (Look at Microsoft) and it could be a sign that the days of huge growth are gone for Google. Another sign that they are just moving towards “ordinary”. While Apple, Facebook and Microsoft are successfully diversifying their revenue streams across different verticals (gaming, mobile, virtual goods, apps etc) Google is still completely focused on advertising. You could see it as a one trick pony or you could see it as remarkable focus on Google’s behalf. Either way if ever they do run in to problems with advertising (lets say by losing their search dominance) then the road downhill could be slippy indeed.

Social Media To Blame?

The web is shifting beneath all of our feet at the moment. Is Google In Danger of Being Shut Out of the Changing Internet? is a brilliant piece that shows how the shift in the last few years is walling more parts of the online world off from Google’s spiders and crawling ability. Google simply can’t get at the data on Facebook or within Apple’s apps and it is hurting their end product. They are still the dominant search engine but the web is no longer just static web pages. Realizing this shift Google have poured massive time, money and promotional muscle in to Google +. It’s not last chance saloon by any means but Google knows that it needs to start creating it’s own social platforms so as data can start flowing in to their system instead of Facebook and Twitter or else they could be in huge trouble. I personally don’t think Google will be able to bridge the gap. Facebook and Apple have way too much momentum and mainstream appeal. The tide is turning on Google and the harder they try to stop that tide turning the more mistakes they are making and the more “evil” they are becoming in the eyes of many. They haven’t done anything wrong but the Internet is just changing in front of their eyes and their positioning is leaving them exposed.

You won’t make it through them all in one sitting but it’ll bring you up to speed with this week’s happenings. So just sit back, grab a coffee and enjoy what’s on offer!

What the appointment of John Browett as Apple’s new retail boss means for the company.
Twitter CEO Dick Costello gives his views on censorship, Twitter as a platform for the 2012 elections & the company’s decision to block tweets. [Video]
How Microsoft’s Kinect will change the way laptops work.
Reuter’s fray into reporting via social media with their new service, Social Pulse.
Foursquare planning to introduce auto check-ins to help increase its user base.

The real face behind Facebook’s IPO: the company’s CFO David Ebersman.
Why Apple should shift from reinventing products to reinventing manufacturing.
The obstacles faced when a site achieves popularity and the need for moderation.
Why the inclusion of Mint on Android could end up boosting its user base.
The story of the graffiti artist who could walk away with $200 million because of Facebook’s IPO.

Why the perks enjoyed by advertisers on Facebook could be coming to an end.
The dirty little secret behind Silicon Valley’s Startup boom.
The awkward moment when Motorola sells used tablets and forgets to delete the personal info still saved on them.
The free fall experienced by About.com and whether the New York Times Company can reverse it.
Does iOS apps crash more than Android apps, a data report.How the venture capital fund Andressen Horowitz raised over $2.7 billion in three years.
A breakdown of Facebook’s revenue over the past three years.
How iMessage conversations has been interpreted and could end up in the wrong hands.
Bing finally speak out about Google’s new ‘Search Plus Your World’ feature.
Having trouble figuring out whether you’re working on a fake Apple project or not? A handy flowchart [Comic]

Finally, remember that commercial where Samsung poked fun at iPhone owners? Well they’re back with a second advert entitled “You’ve just got Samsung’d”, effectively continuing the same theme from the last one.

So what is this large search box that dominates the top of Zuckerberg’s profile? Is it actually some sort of competitor to Google search? Is it just something that they have hacked together and are testing? It could just be an internal view of Facebook that he uses with the logo pushed to one side but my own hunch is that With Google pushing so hard in to the social search space Facebook could be preparing it’s own overhaul of their search functionality. It really would be about time.

As you can see below a standard Facebook profile looks nothing like the one that Zuckerberg has on his screen. The search box is small and only sits at the center of the profile and isn’t a main focus probably because of the poor quality results it currently returns. Lets hope this is a new version of Facebook search because we have all been waiting for it for long enough at this stage.