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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

Tuesday

Saturday

In Vermont, A Hyper-Local Online Forum Brings Neighbors Together

Front Porch Forum co-founders Michael and Valerie Wood-Lewis run the company from their home office in Burlington, Vt. Angela Evancie/Vermont Public Radio hide caption

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Angela Evancie/Vermont Public Radio

Social Web

In Vermont, A Hyper-Local Online Forum Brings Neighbors Together

Vermont Public

At a time when many are connected to hundreds, if not thousands, of people on social media, a company called the Front Porch Forum is building smaller networks.

In Vermont, A Hyper-Local Online Forum Brings Neighbors Together

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Thursday

Monday

Thursday

Pro-ISIS Messages Create Dilemma For Social Media Companies

Zarine Khan (right) and Shafi Khan, parents of Mohammed Hamzah Khan, speak to reporters in Chicago Oct. 9 after a federal hearing for their 19-year-old son, accused of trying to join Islamic State militants in Syria. Charles Rex Arbogast/AP hide caption

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Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Social Web

Pro-ISIS Messages Create Dilemma For Social Media Companies

Facebook, YouTube and other sites are being asked to do more to stop terrorists. Yet they are also being asked to let some of the propaganda remain to help officials track jihadis.

Pro-ISIS Messages Create Dilemma For Social Media Companies

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Sunday

Virtual Games Try To Generate Real Empathy For Faraway Conflict

Allison Begalman, a student at the University of Southern California, wears goggles and headphones to experience a virtual mortar strike on civilians in Aleppo, Syria. James Delahoussaye/NPR hide caption

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James Delahoussaye/NPR

Society

Virtual Games Try To Generate Real Empathy For Faraway Conflict

A corner of the video game industry is covering the news through immersive experiences. One game transports players into the middle of the Syrian civil war.

Virtual Games Try To Generate Real Empathy For Faraway Conflict

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Wednesday

This Is True: Facebook Starts Cracking Down On Hoax News Stories

A Facebook worker at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. Facebook announced it will start flagging hoax news stories in users' News Feeds. Paul Sakuma/AP hide caption

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Paul Sakuma/AP

Social Web

This Is True: Facebook Starts Cracking Down On Hoax News Stories

Facebook says it won't delete fake stories, but it will start attaching notices to ones that users have flagged as hoaxes. And it will display bogus stories less frequently in users' News Feed.

Wednesday

Managing Conversations Online Is A Puzzle Of Picking Platforms

Social media provides voice to movements and helps drive them. Picking the right platforms for these sensitive conversations, though, is a sign of our growing digital sophistication. iStockphoto hide caption

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iStockphoto

Social Web

Managing Conversations Online Is A Puzzle Of Picking Platforms

While social media can galvanize movements and offer access to activists, sensitive conversations can easily go off the rails online. But we are becoming better managers of these online conversations.

Managing Conversations Online Is A Puzzle Of Picking Platforms

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Saturday

Tech Week: Sony's Cyber Woes, And A Coating To Ease Ketchup's Flow

Sony Pictures was forced to cancel the release of its film The Interview this week after the hacking group, Guardians of Peace, threatened theaters that planned to screen the movie. AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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AFP/Getty Images

Innovation

Tech Week: Sony's Cyber Woes, And A Coating To Ease Ketchup's Flow

In our weekly roundup of tech headlines, we get you up-to-date on Sony's troubles after North Korea targeted its film The Interview, and tell you a community organizer's advice for tech companies.

Sunday

Marine Corps Finds It Tough To Shut Down Sexist Facebook Groups

This Nov. 19 screenshot shows the cover photo of an unofficial Marine group on Facebook called Just the Tip, of the Spear. The group and those like it have been accused of promoting sexism and of acting as a forum for hate speech. Just the Tip, of the Spear - 21/Facebook hide caption

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Just the Tip, of the Spear - 21/Facebook

Social Web

Marine Corps Finds It Tough To Shut Down Sexist Facebook Groups

Female Marines are being humiliated and generally degraded by their peers on Facebook. The groups' pages are frequently shut down, but return within days due to a dedicated following.

Monday

Microsoft Wants To Mine Data Like A Social Network

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks at the Future Decoded conference in London on Nov. 10. The company hopes to create new social tools to increase productivity in and out of the workplace. Kevin Coombs/Reuters /Landov hide caption

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Kevin Coombs/Reuters /Landov

The Industry

Microsoft Wants To Mine Data Like A Social Network

Microsoft is going social. With more than a billion people using Office, the company hopes to gather data and create social tools to help users be more productive in their workplaces and lives.

Microsoft Wants To Mine Data Like A Social Network

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Wednesday

Behind The Scenes, Storyful Exposes Viral Hoaxes For News Outlets

Storyful is making a business out of verifying material on social media for journalists and news organizations. Storyful hide caption

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Storyful

The Industry

Behind The Scenes, Storyful Exposes Viral Hoaxes For News Outlets

Journalists regularly turn to this social media organization to seek out and verify online material that could bolster traditional reporting.

Behind The Scenes, Storyful Exposes Viral Hoaxes For News Outlets

Listen · 5:13
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Thursday

Wednesday

Facebook Apologizes For Name Policy That Affected LGBT Community

San Francisco City Supervisor David Campos (right) walks with drag queen Sister Roma to a news conference on Sept. 17 about a Facebook policy that requires people to use their "real" names on their profiles. The site said Wednesday it will modify how the policy is enforced. Eric Risberg/AP hide caption

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Eric Risberg/AP

Society

Facebook Apologizes For Name Policy That Affected LGBT Community

The social networking site will not change its requirement for people to use "real" names on their profiles, but it will adjust how alleged violations are reported and enforced.