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State pressure blamed for new censorship on China's Twitter

Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Social media users in China face tighter controls after the introduction of new rules aimed at preventing the spread of online rumours on Sina Weibo, the country's version of Twitter.

Middle East under attack in cyber war discovery

Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

A massive cyber attack against Middle Eastern nations capable of sweeping up huge amounts of sensitive data has been discovered by security researchers who said it was most likely a state-sponsored spying attempt.

Trending: Your basket contains... everything

Mon, 28 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

At this point, original television series are probably the only thing left for Amazon to sell. It now flogs everything from gluten-free pasta to its own range of batteries. So the news that the company is rumoured to be reviving the battered corpse of ABC's Pan Am from television's canal of the damned isn't that surprising.

Trending: The author using a novel way to tell her story

Mon, 28 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Some authors have an uneasy relationship with Twitter, with Jonathan Franzen even calling it "the ultimate irresponsible medium". Others, however, are happy to experiment with the social-networking site.

Trending: Stray dog becomes a rider's best friend after 1,700km run

Mon, 28 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Mover over Uggie, the world has a new favourite dog, Xiao Sa. The former stray female pup has become an unlikely internet star after apparently running across China alongside a bike race for an extraordinary 1,700km over 20 days.

Facebook's shares slump 11 per cent in frenzy

Tue, 22 May 2012 12:00:01 +0100

Facebook shares slumped to more than 10 per cent below their float price on their second day trading as a public company.

The great Google gathering

Tue, 22 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Secluded within the 300-acre grounds of a luxury Hertfordshire hotel, a select gathering of new media gurus, political pointy-heads, start-up whiz kids and pop stars awarded the post-chart career title "humanitarian" are meeting to carve up the digital future.

'Sugar daddy' website seekingarrangment.com offers darker side of networking

Mon, 21 May 2012 11:00:01 +0100

An internet dating site which links wealthy men with young women – and boasts an MP as a so-called "sugar daddy" member – was launched in the UK yesterday.

Flurry of tweets mocks Pakistan's Twitter ban

Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Pakistani authorities lifted a ban on Twitter last night after earlier blocking it for hours.

Monmouth to become UK's first 'Wikipedia town'

Fri, 18 May 2012 07:02:51 +0100

Online encyclopaedia Wikipedia is set to launch a new project aimed at covering every aspect of life in one Welsh town.

Facebook raises IPO price as offering nears

Tue, 15 May 2012 12:26:40 +0100

Facebook is raising the price at which it plans to sell stock to the public.

Information Commissioner's Office website blocked by 'hackers'

Tue, 15 May 2012 11:49:55 +0100

The website of the UK's data protection watchdog has been blocked in an apparent attack by hackers.

Trending: It takes two to make a tweet go right

Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

This is as geeky as it gets, but great. An automated Twitter account scans hundreds of feeds to make unwitting poets of random people talking random rubbish.

Change is going to come... via Change.org

Mon, 14 May 2012 10:00:01 +0100

When Molly Katchpole got a letter from the Bank of America saying it would start charging her $5 (£3) a month to use her debit card she was furious. The 22-year-old American college graduate and part- time nanny had $2,000 in savings and little else. A $5 monthly charge was too much to bear and she wanted to challenge the bank.

Trending: There's no such thing as vintage online

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

There is not as yet an adequate phrase to sum up the feeling of embarrassment and mild existential unease that comes about when you post a link on Twitter or Facebook only to be told that it has, like, been around longer than your gran.

Heartbroken man gives away holiday on Youtube to 'make world a better place'

Thu, 10 May 2012 09:39:30 +0100

A heartbroken man who bought a holiday to Malta for his girlfriend has decided to give it away for free after they split up.

Hillsborough Facebook site investigated by police

Tue, 08 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

A Facebook page which mocked the Hillsborough football tragedy is being investigated by police. The page allegedly pointed fun at the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans who were crushed to death at an FA Cup semi-final in April 1989.

McDonald's counters critics with bloggers

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

McDonald's is assembling an army of a million burger-friendly bloggers to tackle critics like Jamie Oliver, the campaigning chef.

Conservatives to discuss plan to censor the internet after campaign in right-wing press

Fri, 04 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Internet service companies could be obliged by law to provide an automatic block to stop children being able to view hard core pornography online.

Trending: Want to be alone? You’re in luck

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Call me a cynic, but the phrase "worrying trend" seems inherently dubious to me. Setting aside the fact that a mere three or four incidences of something can be termed a trend, you've got the more nebulous question of exactly who is doing the worrying. This week we're supposed to fret over the "digitally dominant", a "significant" group of people who mainly communicate via text, email and video, and as a result can go "up to" 48 hours without speaking to someone in person.

UK ISPs must block The Pirate Bay, High Court rules

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:40:01 +0100

The High Court has ordered five internet service providers to block access to the world's largest illegal file-sharing website The Pirate Bay.

Trending: All in all you're just another brick in the wall

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Thanks to digital-savvy idle thumbs, the opportunity to transform your looks using a quick online feature is a regular one. There have been programmes that allow you to transform yourself into a Mad Men character, or a yellow-skinned Simpson or a pixellated digital blur. And, all the way back in 2001, Chris Doyle's website Reasonably Clever offered users the chance to make themselves as a Lego figure. Which is fun – we all need a Twitter avatar. But two French artists have flip-reversed the idea with Legolize.

Facebook benefits from higher ad rates ahead of IPO

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Facebook's advertising rates have shot up 41 per cent on a year ago, an authoritative new survey suggests, boosting hopes for the social networking website's planned $100bn (£63bn) stock-market flotation.

Tim Walker: How can Instagram have 'integrity'?

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Lots of people were shocked when Facebook spent a whole billion dollars to acquire Instagram, the little photography app that could – despite it never having made a dime in its short life. Social networks don't produce anything tangible, so they tend to be valued according to guestimates of their future usefulness to advertisers.

Grade: charge for online content

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

The former ITV chairman Michael Grade has urged broadcasters to start charging for online viewing, levying micropayments for TV shows such as Downton Abbey.

The Independent announces Spotify partnership

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:19:54 +0100

The Independent has teamed up with Spotify for the first time to allow users to listen to Spotify content while viewing relevant music-related features on independent.co.uk.

Coalition split on online monitoring

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

David Cameron will have to resolve a split in the Coalition over a "Big Brother" plan to allow monitoring of everyone's online activity.

Trending: How Moshi Monsters ate the world

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

There's a good chance you don't know what Moshlings are, or that their ranks include a singer and member of the Moptop Tweenybops species called Dustbin Beaver. But if you're eight years old, or the pestered parent of a pre-teen, you'll know all of this, and that Moshi Monsters, a social-networking and gaming franchise for children, has become a virtual empire whose legions of Moshlings have colonised toy shops – and have now launched an assault on the music charts.

Backlash over plans to monitor all internet use

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Theresa May faced criticism from across the political spectrum and from civil liberties groups yesterday over her plans to give police and security services the power to monitor the email traffic and internet use of every person in Britain.

Police and MI5 get power to watch you on the web

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Police and intelligence officers are to be handed the power to monitor people's messages online in what has been described as an "attack on the privacy" of vast numbers of Britons.

How the internet will solve an Olympian puzzle

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Most of us weren't around when the Olympic Games last came to London, in the summer of 1948, and few of us have had the experience of living and working in an Olympic city during the Games. Those who do remember 1948 will recall the "The Austerity Games", an event whose budget was pared to the bone in the aftermath of the Second World War: no new venues were built and there was no Olympic Village for the athletes to relax in.

Trending: How do you clean your YouTube trail?

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

While George Galloway, Respect Party MP, basked in the glory of his big win at the Bradford West by-election last week, the online community slowly undermined his achievement by dredging up his less glorious moments: namely, clips of the infamous Celebrity Big Brother incident where, posing as a cat, he drank milk from the hands of actress Rula Lenska.

Thousands face axe in rethink at Yahoo

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

The 14,000 employees of Yahoo are bracing for thousands of layoffs that could begin as early as this week as the company's new chief executive finalises a major new strategy for the internet firm.

Chris Cairns wins £90,000 over fix claims

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:00:33 +0100

Former New Zealand cricket captain Chris Cairns won £90,000 libel damages today over an accusation of match-fixing which he said turned his achievements to "dust".

Trending: The jam that's spreading

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:00:01 +0000

What do you do when you've got "The Final Countdown" or the latest chart-topping irritation by Nicki Minaj stuck in your head? Moan to all your friends and co-workers, of course. But now, thanks to a nifty new website from a former Last.fm staffer, you can post that one track, a favourite blast from the past you've rediscovered, or the new song you've found that is just so awesome you have to share it, to all of your digital followers, right now.

WiFi at Tube stations for Olympics

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Tube passengers will have access to free WiFi during the Olympic Games. Platforms at 80 stations will have wireless coverage after Transport for London appointed Virgin Media to provide the service.

I'm a Twitter celebrity... now get me out of here

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Just like any social group, Twitter has its orders and hierarchies. It's sometimes described as having a level playing field, but that's only true in the sense that we all have an equal chance of being ignored by Lady Gaga, Stephen Fry or Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan.

Campaign brings shocking scale of sexual violence to light

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Revelations about the shocking scale of sexual violence against women and girls have triggered an impassioned debate on Twitter, with hundreds of women sharing personal stories about shame, guilt and the fear of not being believed.

Here is the news: Aberdeen's Zuckerberg to make $200m selling web firm to CNN

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Pete Cashmore fell in love with the internet as a 13-year-old while recovering from an operation in his native Scotland. It was, he said, something useful he could do while laid up in bed.

Now Facebook squares up for Google fight

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Facebook is working on a revolutionary online advertising plan that executives believe could allow the social networking phenomenon to take on Google.

Fast Show star Charlie Higson considers setting up an online comedy channel

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 00:00:39 +0000

One of the stars behind The Fast Show is considering setting up an online comedy channel following the success of the show’s internet comeback last year.

Chinese Googlers besiege Obama internet page

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

The Chinese are posting a flood of comments on an internet page devoted to President Barack Obama's re-election campaign after China seemingly lifted long-standing blocks on Google.

Trending: Board of the internet? Try Pinterest

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

"I joined a year ago when it was in beta stage – it was a bit glitchy but I knew within minutes of using it that it would become a daily must for my work and play," says Anna Burles, 41, an interior designer. Founded by two Yale graduates – Paul Sciarra (a former venture capitalist) and Ben Silbermann (a former Google advertising product specialist) – Pinterest.com lets users create virtual internet pinboards.

Tony Blair takes questions on Twitter

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:14:26 +0000

Tony Blair took to Twitter today to promote his faith work, answer questions about life after Downing Street and gently tease his former spin chief Alastair Campbell.

Airport tweet 'made law look silly'

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:11:17 +0000

A man found guilty of sending a "menacing tweet" was the victim of a legal "steamroller" that threatened to make the law look silly, it was argued at the High Court today.

Pop goes the fashion editor

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Who said fashion icons must cultivate a bone-chilling froideur? Not the French.

Joey Barton to face no action over John Terry Twitter comments

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:34:50 +0000

Footballer Joey Barton will not be prosecuted for posting a series of comments online about John Terry ahead of his trial for allegedly racially abusing Anton Ferdinand.

End of the road for Twitter's fake McCarthy

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

To say it was a surprise when Cormac McCarthy appeared to have turned up on Twitter would be an understatement worthy of the reclusive novelist himself.

Digital setback for Murdoch as 'secret' iPad project folds

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

A year after Rupert Murdoch described the iPad as the tool that would make newspapers "viable again", News International has abandoned a project to produce content for the company's brand on the Apple tablet and similar devices.

Internet 'fuels' radical Islam

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

The internet plays a greater role in the violent radicalisation of Muslims than time spent in prisons and mosques, a group of MPs reported today.

Court joins tweeters

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

The highest court in the land will "tweet" from today, issuing news about judgements.

Shoot, upload and wait for stardom - all thanks to Youtube

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Charlie Bit My Finger

Facebook: $100bn – are you kidding?

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:00:01 +0000

So, about that $100bn figure ... Partly it is because of the breathless anticipation we saw ahead of its flotation prospectus, partly it is because it's such a delicious, round number, but Facebook has failed to dampen expectations that it could hit a $100bn valuation – either when it sells shares to investors over the coming weeks or on what will surely be a frenzied opening day of trading.

The net closes on cyber-snoopers

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

When new rules governing the way companies collect and use data about our movements online come into force, a little "i" symbol will appear on screen to reveal adverts generated by "cookies". Many internet users find these digital devices, which are used by websites to create personal profiles based on use of the Internet, intrusive.

Thailand backs Twitter censorship policy

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Authorities in Thailand have become the first to welcome a controversial new censorship policy introduced by Twitter, announcing they will work with the micro-blogging site to ensure any content posted online is in compliance with strict local laws.

The real power behind Facebook

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:01 +0000

They are an unlikely set of friends. Yet the Russian physicist, Hong Kong tycoon, Silicon Valley billionaire and Wall Street veteran have been getting on famously since they all became members of the same exclusive club.