Category: Social Media News

Not desiring their brand to go the way of Xerox, Aspirin and Kleenex (which lost their trademark status in the US), the folks at Twitter wrote a post linking to not only their new logos, but also highlighting the rules when it comes to using “tweet” or “twitter” in a product or service.

We understand that you want your application or product that enhances the Twitter experience to be identifiable as part of the Twitter ecosystem. This is important to us too, but Twitter is also the name of our service and company, so we’re cautious about potential confusion.

Use Tweet in the name of your application only if it is designed to be used exclusively with the Twitter platform.

If Twitter were to attempt to enforce their trademark rights today, they would not only have to go after TweetDeck, but also Twitter for Blackberry as both applications connect users to Twitter and Facebook (note: Twitter for Blackberry is supported by RIM, not Twitter).

Fortunately for everyone Twitter isn’t the type of company to go after complimentary services or individuals unintentionally misusing their brands, although developers would be wise avoid using Tweet and Twitter in their applications (especially those dependent upon Twitter for their business).

Twitter also listed a few other rules regarding how to spell Twitter (they’re emphasizing the capital “T”), as well as asking companies not to merchandise public tweets of users without their express permission.

Surprisingly despite owning the trademarks to both “Twitter” and “Tweet” in Europe, the company has been unable to secure rights to the latter in the US (which is owned by Paul Rosario) who fortunately for the company operates in an unrelated industry (ironically one dealing with birds instead of code).

A leading data journalist has taken to Facebook to analyse the status updates of 10,000 members to create a pictures of the times during the year when couples are most likely to split.

David McCandless collected the data and created a graph to display his findings. The finished product was revealed for the first time during a TED lecture in Oxford this week.

According to the data collected from Facebook updates, the number of break-ups peaked during the Spring Break, the week long holiday for US college students, and the two weeks leading up to Christmas. However, Christmas Day itself saw the fewest relationship splits than any other day of the year.

It may be a day to celebrate your love, but Valentine’s Day is also responsible for breaking up a large number of couples. The lead up to the summer holidays is also a danger time for relationships as couples may be feeling the urge to be free and single when the sunshine comes out.

Monday was also found to be the day when a relationship break-up is most likely to be announced, presumably after a bad weekend with the other half.

For those of you who do end a love affair on Facebook, the social networking site has now modified their “photo memories” feature to ensure no painful pics of you and your ex in happier times pops up on the side of your page.

A newly opened Domino’s Pizza store in Pontyclun, South Wales, is planning a pizza giveaway once they reach 1,000 fans on their Facebook page.

Achieving 1,000 on a social networking site is a big deal for any business, let alone one that’s been open for just 4 weeks, and Domino’s Pizza Pontyclun are planning to mark the occasion in style with free pizzas for five of their loyal Facebook fans.

Many businesses are cottoning on to the power of social networks for boosting sales. While celebrities log-in hourly to micro blogging site Twitter to keep fans updated on new projects, or products they want to plug, many companies are turning to sites such as Facebook to target customers direct.

In exchange for being a fan of a particular company on Facebook, you’ll receive the latest information on discount codes and special offers, while the company benefits from free advertising which in turn helps to raise brand awareness.

If you live in the South Wales area and would like to make the most of this exclusive free pizza offer from Domino’s Pizza Pontyclun, first off you’ll have to become a fan of the store by visiting their Facebook page. Then send your name and telephone number to info@dominos-pontyclun.co.uk to be entered into the free prize draw.

The Queen has joined half a billion other people across the globe by signing up to the biggest social network site, Facebook.

Launched this morning at 8am, the Official British Monarchy page attracted 40,000 users within its first hour online.

However the Queen’s Facebook page is unlike the accounts of every other users as other members cannot befriend HRH, but instead they can connect with the Queen and the rest of the royal family by the liking the new page with a virtual thumbs up.

The new Facebook page will function as an online version of the traditional court circular giving details of upcoming Royal engagements across the UK and further afield. There’s also a special “near me” application which allows Facebook members to search for royal events taking place in their area.

Fellow Facebook users will also be able to discuss royal related news, and give their opinions on recent royal engagements on the Official British Monarchy page. However the palace says members of the Royal Family will not be responsible for personally updating the news and status posts online.

A selection of Royal snaps will also be uploaded onto the brand new page, however other Facebook users won’t be able to tag the Queen or any other royal family members online.

This isn’t the Queen’s first foray into the world of social networking as the Royal Family already has an account on the micro blogging site Twitter where they boast over 70,000 followers.