SoftBank Sweetens Offer for Sprint
Japan-based SoftBank has increased its offer for wireless carrier Sprint, offering $21.6 billion to help counter an unsolicited bid from Dish Network.
Social Media
Yahoo Approves $1.1B Deal for Tumblr
Yahoo's rumored $1.1 billion cash acquisition deal for social blogging site Tumblr has been approved by the company's board of directors, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Target Turns to Facebook Promos for In-Store Purchases
Target is rolling out a program to let shoppers use their Facebook accounts to redeem special offers on in-store purchases, another brick-and-mortar response to 'showrooming'.
5 Ways You Could Engage With Warren Buffett on Twitter
On Thursday, Warren Buffett joined Twitter, so if #socialmedia's your thing, we have a few ideas about how you could use it to interact with the Oracle of Omaha.
The 'Oracle of Omaha' Tweets; Warren Buffett Joins Twitter
If followers were dollars, Buffett is having even more success on Twitter than he had with one of his best investments ever.
Netflix Plays a Sarah Palin Hashtag Game, Gets Burned
To Netflix's social media team, the trending hashtag #SarahPalinFilms was a good chance to chime in on Twitter. Now many conservatives are angry about the resulting tweet.
5 Practical Money Tips for New Grads
Beyond the usual platitudes and cliches, commencement speakers should consider giving their audiences of eager graduates these five crucial pieces of advice.
SEC Gives Companies OK to Use Social Media for Announcements
The Securities and Exchange Commission says public companies can make significant announcements on social media sites, if they tell investors which sites they intend to use.
Will SXSW Reveal the Next Technology Trend?
SXSW opened up big doors for Twitter, but do all businesses that get accolades at the festival go on to greatness? We look back at past award winners to see how they fared.
Trading Stocks Based on Tweets: Wise Crowdsourcing or Silly Fad?
Paul Hawtin created the first "Twitter hedge fund," which used social media metrics to guide its investments -- and it beat the market. Now, he's turned his "sentiment analysis" machine into a trading platform ordinary investors can use.
Debt Collectors Infiltrate Facebook to Track Down Delinquent Borrowers
Debt collectors have time and again proven to be ruthless in tracking down delinquent borrowers, so perhaps it was only a matter of time before social media became their go-to hunting grounds.
Facebook Privacy: 3 Features You Can Use to Avoid Oversharing
When it comes to social media companies, remember: You aren't the customer. You're the product. Those firms are collecting all the data about their users they can, so they can sell businesses micro-targeted access to you. Want to avoid some of that? Start with these three steps.
For Better Customer Service, Should You Tweet That Complaint?
When it comes to lodging customer-service complaints, people have taken to using social media in droves. But is sending a tweet or posting a gripe on a company's Facebook page really the most effective way to get your problem resolved?
Can Tweets and Status Updates Really Predict Stock Moves?
Investors looking to predict how the stock market will move have produced countless beat-the-market strategies over the centuries. The latest is a theory that suggests tweets and status updates can be used to foresee a company's fluctuations on Wall Street. Crazy ... but could it work?
Facebook Mobile Gains Spur Revenue Growth
Facebook posted a 32 percent jump in third-quarter revenue to $1.26 billion, as the company reignited advertising growth with the help of larger-than-expected gains in mobile. The company's shares leapt 9 percent to $21.22 in after-hours trading on Tuesday.
Why Yelp Turned to Public Shaming in Paid Review Fight
In its quest to keep its reviews free of bribery and bias, Yelp last week turned to a new weapon: Public shaming. Businesses found attempting to buy positive reviews will have their pages branded with a consumer advisory warning. Here's why it's a necessary move.
Goldman Sachs Goes from 'Muppets' to Tweets
In a move to give itself more of a voice in an online conversation in which it largely gets lambasted, investment banking giant Goldman Sachs joined Twitter Thursday.
How to Invest in Facebook With Less Risk (If You Still Want To)
As Friday's Facebook IPO -- and its gory aftermath -- proves, even experts can run into trouble investing in social media. But if you're still looking to get in on the Facebook action, and want to mitigate your risks, this ETF might be the way to go.
Why Facebook's Falling Share Price Really Doesn't Matter
On Monday, Facebook's stock fell from its IPO price of $38 to a low of (as of this writing) $33.60. So what? Nobody who actually paid attention to Facebook's statements before the IPO should be surprised by this latest turn, or even worried. Here's why:
Facebook IPO Valuation Sets Record: Is It Really Worth $104 Billion?
Facebook finally set its IPO price Thursday evening: $38 a share, for a record-setting value of $104 billion on the social media giant. Is it worth it? Who knows. But despite the skeptics, there are definitely ways to make money from all those Facebook users' eyeballs.
Maryland May Ban Employers from Demanding Facebook Passwords
Maryland is poised to become the first state to ban employers from demanding applicants or workers hand over their log-in information for social media sites like Facebook. The measure handily passed the legislature earlier this month, and now awaits the governor's signature.
Want to Protect Your Online Privacy? Too Late
Recently, companies have begun to ask potential employees to hand over their Facebook passwords, and the backlash has been loud, widespread and angry. Too bad we hardly have any online privacy left to save.
How Crowdtilt Brings 'Fun' into the Group Funding Craze
The evolution of the idea was probably inevitable. Once people got comfortable using sites like Kickstarter to crowd fund creative projects, someone was going to launch a pooled-money platform for funding the social activities of groups of friends. That site is Crowdtilt.
Why Facebook Is Paying These People's Tax Bills
When the Facebook IPO arrives, many of its employees are almost certain to hit it rich -- and they're getting an extra benefit no one would have expected: The company will pay the taxes on their stock profits. Crazy? Recent history says not. Here's why:
The Perils of Social Media Connectivity: We Can't Quit
Hyper-connection means missing an email, text, Tweet or status update -- or a moment of the Kardashians. But is that a good thing? Are we too connected? And if the answer is yes, is it even possible to back away from the smartphones and social media and go back to our old-fashioned ways?
SEC Warns of Social Media Schemes After Fraud Case
Regulators are warning the public to be wary of social media sites that could be offering bogus investment schemes. The warning follows civil charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission against an Illinois-based investment adviser who tried to sell fraudulent securities through Linkedin.
Music Video Moves BofA on Stalled Mortgage Loan
It might not be the right method for everyone seeking a home loan, but it worked for one Georgia couple: A music video that went viral got Bank of America to close on Ken and Meredith Williams' long-delayed mortgage.
How Facebook Timeline May Poke Holes in Your Privacy
Facebook's new Timeline program allows users to review everything they've ever shared on Facebook and showcase what they think is most worth remembering. It's fully customizable -- but there are some downsides.
What Insurers Could Do With Your 'Social Media Score'
Here's yet another reason to watch what you say and do online: Insurance companies are already surfing social media sites to get the scoop about their customers, and what their data-miners find may soon be compiled into a new way to rate you as a risk: a social networking score.
Investors 'Unfriend' the Facebook IPO
Are you hungry for a piece of the Facebook IPO? If so, then pull up a chair. There's plenty of room at the table ... because the other guests are fleeing. After months when all we've heard is that this (eventual) stock sale will be the hottest thing since Google, the hype trend has reversed.