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Social Web : All Tech Considered Sites like Facebook and Twitter have revolutionized the Web, altered how we interact with each other and even changed the way news is gathered and delivered. Read about the impact of social media and its continuing evolution.
All Tech Considered

All Tech Considered

Tech, Culture and Connection

Social Web

Friday

For Advocacy Groups, Video Games Are The Next Frontier

A screenshot of Half the Sky, where virtual successes sometimes lead to real-life donations. Games For Change hide caption

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Games For Change

Gaming

For Advocacy Groups, Video Games Are The Next Frontier

As video games become more mainstream, some social action organizations are using them to raise awareness or raise funds. They advocate for a range of causes, from the struggles of women in the developing world to the effects of power in Congress.

For Advocacy Groups, Video Games Are The Next Frontier

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Monday

Helping Low-Income Seniors Build A Social Web Online

Hazel Avery, 86, holds her iPad for the first time. The Connecting to Community program, with funding from the AARP Foundation, teaches low-income seniors how to increase social engagement online. The Washington, D.C., program chose seniors with no previous computer experience. Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post/Getty Images hide caption

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Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Behavior

Helping Low-Income Seniors Build A Social Web Online

More older Americans are going online, but many seniors don't have the resources, devices or skills to navigate the Web. One pilot program is giving tablets and training to seniors to help them combat isolation while staying safe online.

Helping Low-Income Seniors Build A Social Web Online

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Monday

Share And Share Alike: A Time Of Collaborative Consumption

Renting out your couches — or your entire place — is powered by San Francisco–based Airbnb, which has now connected more than half a million willing hosts and travelers in more than 34,000 cities. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Social Web

Share And Share Alike: A Time Of Collaborative Consumption

From renting lightly used gowns to assembling Ikea furniture, things or tasks can now easily be rented or outsourced. Fast Company writer Danielle Sacks discusses the implications of the sharing economy and where it goes from here.

Share And Share Alike: A Time Of Collaborative Consumption

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Thursday

Facebook Takes On Cyberbullies As More Teens Leave Site

On Wednesday, Facebook released a digital resource center to expand its efforts against online harassment. Facebook hide caption

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Facebook

Social Web

Facebook Takes On Cyberbullies As More Teens Leave Site

The social networking site with 1.2 billion users released a cyberbullying prevention hub with suggestions on how to start conversations, both online and off, and take action on Facebook. It's the first step — but one digital advocacy group says it should have been taken earlier.

Nick Bilton On Twitter's Creation Myth & 'Forgotten Founder'

A worker unveils a floor mat bearing the logo of Twitter on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Andrew Burton/Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Burton/Getty Images

The Industry

Nick Bilton On Twitter's Creation Myth & 'Forgotten Founder'

Thursday's stock darling was an idea that came out of one man's loneliness. Bilton shares details of the betrayals and ousters during Twitter's earliest days.

Nick Bilton On Twitter's Creation Myth & 'Forgotten Founder'

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Tuesday

Raising Social Media Teens Means Constant Parental Learning

The Ask.fm website has been linked to two bullying cases that led to suicides. Danny E. Martindale/Getty Images hide caption

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Danny E. Martindale/Getty Images

Social Web

Raising Social Media Teens Means Constant Parental Learning

For parents of teens in the fast-changing social media landscape, which includes sites such as Ask.fm, it can be tough to figure out the balance between giving your children freedom and protecting them from danger. That dilemma was illustrated by the suicide of a 12-year-old Florida girl who reportedly was cyberbullied.

Raising Social Media Teens Means Constant Parental Learning

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Monday

Online Dating Is On The Rise (But There Are Still Haters)

Wait, where can we get a heart-shaped mouse? Monkey Business Images/iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Monkey Business Images/iStockphoto.com

Social Web

Online Dating Is On The Rise (But There Are Still Haters)

We're buying cars online, ordering groceries online and, more and more, finding love there too. Online dating, and social support for it, is at an all-time high. But whether you're beginning or ending relationships digitally, you might have some awkward encounters.

Saturday

Credit Cards Under Pressure To Police Online Expression

Some advocacy groups say credit card companies should stop doing business with websites that promote controversial views or policy positions. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Behavior

Credit Cards Under Pressure To Police Online Expression

The Web is full of sites promoting views that many find offensive — and often, those sites do business with credit card companies. Some advocacy groups are pressuring Visa and MasterCard to end those relationships, but others worry these campaigns will have a chilling effect on free speech online.

Credit Cards Under Pressure To Police Online Expression

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Tuesday

A Company's Tweets Can Help Make It Creditworthy
Courtesy of Kabbage

The Industry

A Company's Tweets Can Help Make It Creditworthy

Banks use credit scores and similar metrics to assess creditworthiness. A company called Kabbage that lends working capital to small businesses does some of that but also relies on unconventional measures, using real-time data from things like UPS shipments, eBay, Facebook and Twitter.

A Company's Tweets Can Help Make It Creditworthy

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Thursday

Wednesday

Social Media Detectives: Is That Viral Video For Real?
via YouTube

The Industry

Social Media Detectives: Is That Viral Video For Real?

After the Boston Marathon bombing, Storyful helped journalists verify that a popular YouTube video was actually an eyewitness account. But it doesn't stop there — the company also hopes to change the "Wild West" model of news organizations using citizen journalists' uploaded content free.

Social Media Detectives: Is That Viral Video For Real?

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Sunday

Monday

Fake Reviewers Get Zero Stars From New York Attorney General

Some reputation management companies required that its writers have a certain number of Yelp friends. Yelp says it welcomed the New York attorney general's crackdown on fake reviewers. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Social Web

Fake Reviewers Get Zero Stars From New York Attorney General

Nineteen companies agreed to pay more than $350,000 in penalties to settle accusations that they wrote or bought phony online reviews of their products, services or restaurants.

Fake Reviewers Get Zero Stars From New York Attorney General

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