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Facebook Studies Marriage Decisions

Nikki Schwab | May 18th, 2013

As a twentysomething woman, I’m always interested to see–when female friends get married–if they make the name change or keep their maiden name.

These days, that decision is usually announced by making it “Facebook official,” by simply changing the relationship status, or changing the last name along with it.

Using these data points, and women’s birth dates, Facebook analyzed what percentage of women from different age groups are taking their husbands’ last names, hyphenating their names or keeping their maiden names. The results were announced on the Facebook Data Science page this week.

Tumblr to Yahoo: Make My Day

Daily Download Team | May 17th, 2013

Is the social blogging site Tumblr about to sell out?

Ad Week’s Mike Shields has the story that Tumblr has been having negotiations about being acquired by Yahoo.

As Shields reports, a deal could make sense for both companies:

“Yahoo is in serious talks with Tumblr to acquire the social blogging site, according to multiple sources familiar with the talks. The deal is not done, but could reach as high as $1 billion, Adweek has learned. Allthingsd.com was first to report on the talks between the two companies.”

Google Plus Pointers, Twitter Fools

Lauren Ashburn | May 16th, 2013

Tatiana Aders of Social Media News has made my day. If you don’t quite get how to use Google Plus, help is here:

“Google Plus has some of the most robust posting & sharing capabilities of any social network. From rich snippets to photo editing to individual circles, there are so many features that can make your post stand out from the pack. Here are some highlights from a cheat sheet that I built to get the most out of Google Plus posts.”

Amy’s Baking Co. Social Media TIRADE

Lauren Ashburn | May 15th, 2013

Via Hollywood Reporter

Amy should have stuck to baking.

The owners of Amy’s Baking Co. suffered what can only be described as an online meltdown after being pummeled on social media sites. And we’re normally sympathetic to anyone who gets beaten up by the mob. 

But Amy and Samy Bouglazo poured kerosene on the digital fire.

Google Play Rocks Music World

Daily Download Team | May 15th, 2013

Google, which dominates much of our online life, is now expanding into the music business.

 As Greg Sandoval reports for The Verge, the online giant now has Spotify in its sights:

“Google plans to add separate music subscription services to YouTube and Google Play, the entertainment hub for the Android operating system. Earlier this year, Fortune magazine reported that Google had already struck similar licensing agreements with Warner Music Group, the smallest of the top three record labels. But landing Universal Music and Sony gives Google access to the two largest record companies, home to such acts as Bob Dylan, Alicia Keys, Lil Wayne, Rihanna, and Jay-Z. Spokespeople from Sony and Universal declined to comment.”

Gutenberg Be Gone: E-books Posting Profits

Daily Download Team | May 15th, 2013

Americans are increasingly reading books not in hardcover or softcover, but online and in digital formats.  In 2012, publishers earned 20 percent of their revenues from e-book formats according to a publishing industry survey. As Julie Bosman reported for the New York Times:

“In a year that was monopolized by the “Fifty Shades” erotic novels and their various knockoffs, e-book sales in fiction rose 42 percent over the year before, to $1.8 billion. Growth in nonfiction e-book sales was smaller, a 22 percent increase, to $484.2 million. E-book sales in the children’s and young-adult categories increased 117 percent, to $469.2 million.”

Website Reviews

The Real Boobs At The Grammys? CBS’s Program Practices

Life and Style Magazine

Earlier this week, CBS’s program practices department sent a memo to this year’s Grammy Awards attendees:

“Please be sure that buttocks and female breasts are adequately covered. Thong type costumes are problematic. Please avoid exposing bare fleshy under curves of the buttocks and buttock crack. Bare sides or under curvature of the breasts is also problematic. Please avoid sheer see-through clothing that could possibly expose female breast nipples.”

First of all, I want to know where else would nipples be? And second, there is no mention in the memo of…to be as delicate as possible about this…problematic male bulges. I’m just sayin’.

When the CBS memo came to light earlier this week, it was a flashback to the time between 1930 and 1968 when filmmakers had to answer to the Hollywood censorship offices if their films showed the least bit of objectionable epidermis. Scandalous skin was to be avoided at all costs if a movie expected to be released with a non-prurient seal of approval.