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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

Monday

Online University For All Balances Big Goals, Expensive Realities

Students work at the University of the People student computer center in Haiti. Students from 129 countries are currently enrolled with the institution. Courtesy of University of the People hide caption

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Courtesy of University of the People

Social Web

Online University For All Balances Big Goals, Expensive Realities

The University of the People says it's the "world's first, tuition-free, online university," designed for poor students who would otherwise lack access to higher education. The institution has 1,300 students in 129 countries, but it's also struggling to maintain its "free" mission.

Online University For All Balances Big Goals, Expensive Realities

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Monday

Smartphone Apps Help More Singles Find The Boy (Or Girl) Next Door

A growing number of smartphone apps use internal GPS to help singles locate potential mates nearby. While men are enthusiastic about the apps, women have been slower to adopt them. Sean Locke/iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Sean Locke/iStockphoto.com

Privacy & Security

Smartphone Apps Help More Singles Find The Boy (Or Girl) Next Door

People have long looked to computers to meet potential dates. Some are now using their smartphones, too. A growing number of phone apps are using internal GPS to locate other potentially compatible singles nearby. But to date, far more men than women are signing up for the services.

Smartphone Apps Help More Singles Find The Boy (Or Girl) Next Door

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Thursday

Its Financial Future In Question, Facebook Tries To Tell A Different Story

Mayank Sharma of New Delhi lost his memory. A video by Facebook shows how he used Facebook's "people you may know" feature to rebuild his life. Facebook/Vimeo video screengrab hide caption

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Facebook/Vimeo video screengrab

Social Web

Its Financial Future In Question, Facebook Tries To Tell A Different Story

Facebook's stock has lost nearly half its value since the company went public. Many analysts are skeptical about Facebook's future as a business. Now it's trying to change the narrative, launching a site devoted to stories showing the different ways people use Facebook. They include a man in India trying to rebuild his life after losing his memory.

Its Financial Future In Question, Facebook Tries To Tell A Different Story

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Friday

'Techie Computer Programmer Guy' And The Website Reddit Deliver The News

Morgan Jones, an 18-year-old from Denver, gave minute-by-minute updates Friday on the movie theater shootings in nearby Aurora, Colo. Courtesy of Morgan Jones hide caption

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Courtesy of Morgan Jones

Social Web

'Techie Computer Programmer Guy' And The Website Reddit Deliver The News

Shortly after the Colorado shootings, a Denver 18-year-old named Morgan Jones started a thread on the social media site Reddit. It built through the night into a minute-by-minute chronicle of tragedy.

Thursday

As Wikipedia Gets Pickier, Editors Become Harder To Find

The German-language Wikipedia is the second-largest edition of the online encyclopedia after English. Wikipedia is currently available in more than 285 languages. Michael Gottschalk/AP/DAPD hide caption

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Michael Gottschalk/AP/DAPD

Social Web

As Wikipedia Gets Pickier, Editors Become Harder To Find

Content in the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia can be generated and edited by anyone. But the power to delete or lock those entries lies in the hands of the site's "administrators." A rigorous screening process for new administrators has partly led to a drop in site participation. Now, Wikipedia is struggling to find new editors.

As Wikipedia Gets Pickier, Editors Become Harder To Find

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Thursday

New Online Users Have A Longer Timeline

More older adults are using the Internet, thanks in part to introductory classes offered offline. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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iStockphoto.com

Social Web

New Online Users Have A Longer Timeline

WNYC

For the first time, more than half of adults 65 and older are using the Internet. Pew Center data shows that trend really picked up in the past year, particularly with help from offline outreach to senior citizens. Besides, few grandparents can resist a wall full of family pictures.

New Online Users Have A Longer Timeline

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Monday

Friday

9 Powerful Moments In The Day Of A Viral Web Editor At BuzzFeed
Audie Cornish/NPR

Social Web

9 Powerful Moments In The Day Of A Viral Web Editor At BuzzFeed

Every day, all day BuzzFeed scours the Web for click-happy material like photos of corgis and Ryan Gosling. We spend a day with Matt Stopera, one of the minds behind the popular social news site, and see what goes into making content viral.

9 Powerful Moments In The Day Of A Viral Web Editor At BuzzFeed

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Thursday

ICANN's Call For New Domain Names Brings Criticism, And $357 Million

ICANN President and CEO Rod Beckstrom unveiled nearly 2,000 proposed new "top-level" domain names during a press conference in London Wednesday. Tim Hales/AP hide caption

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Tim Hales/AP

Policy

ICANN's Call For New Domain Names Brings Criticism, And $357 Million

The corporation that regulates the Internet plans to increase the number of "top level" domains from the current 22 to 1,000 domains starting in early 2013. The proposed domains offer a cross-section of the Internet — what we use it for, and where the money is.

Monday

Thursday

Social Web

Friend Your Students? New York City Schools Say No

WNYC

This spring, the city's Department of Education issued its first guidelines about how teachers should navigate social media. The rules make it explicit: Teachers cannot friend or follow their students on Facebook or Twitter, but they can have professional accounts and pages for students to follow.

Friend Your Students? New York City Schools Say No

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Tuesday

Stolen Phone Beams Photos To Owner, Who Puts Them On Facebook

A month after Katy McCaffrey's iPhone was stolen, photographs began streaming from the phone to her "cloud" account. She used them to create a photo album on Facebook; she called it "Stolen iPhone Adventures." Facebook hide caption

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Facebook

Social Web

Stolen Phone Beams Photos To Owner, Who Puts Them On Facebook

When Katy McCaffrey's stolen iPhone began beaming her photos from a cruise ship, she posted a batch of photos from the purloined iPhone on her Facebook page, in an album called "Stolen iPhone Adventures."

Monday

We Ask The Pros: Should You Friend Your Boss On Facebook?
iStockphoto.com

Social Web

We Ask The Pros: Should You Friend Your Boss On Facebook?

Rejecting a friend request from your boss could be seen as a vote of no confidence, but do you really want his Burning Man photos showing up in your news feed? Comedian Baratunde Thurston and media technologist Deanna Zandt discuss proper workplace friending etiquette.

We Ask The Pros: Should You Friend Your Boss On Facebook?

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Military Addresses Double-Edged Sword Of Troops On Social Media

At Forward Operating Base Payne in Afghanistan's Helmand province, Marine Cpl. Jonathan Odriscoll looks at pictures of his sister on Facebook. Troop access to social media has been both a blessing and curse for the military. Bay Ismoyo/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Bay Ismoyo/AFP/Getty Images

Social Web

Military Addresses Double-Edged Sword Of Troops On Social Media

Thanks to Facebook and other sites, American troops in Afghanistan are more connected than ever with what's going on back home. But that connectivity has also led to incendiary videos and photos getting posted online. Now, military leadership is taking steps to further educate troops on what is and isn't appropriate for public viewing.

Military Addresses Double-Edged Sword Of Troops On Social Media

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Wednesday

'What Facebook Is Selling Is Us'

A worker sits in the Facebook office in Menlo Park, Calif. The amount of information Facebook learns about its users seems to have entranced Wall Street. Jeff Chiu/AP hide caption

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Jeff Chiu/AP

Social Web

'What Facebook Is Selling Is Us'

Facebook's initial public offering — $16 billion and counting — is shaping up to be one of the largest in history. The company and its investors are betting that the social media giant can learn enough from its users so it can target ads that will be worth big, big money.