service

Let’s say you own the most popular microblogging service on the Internet. Let’s say you want to grow that service and make it more valuable to your users (and maybe make money. You wouldn’t complain.). So you’re going to feature third party apps, but you want to feature the best ones.

I am going to write something that is likely to be unpopular. Today I experienced a "perfect storm" of sorts regarding the Internet and the idea of free is good. This apparent entitlement mentality that is pervasive among Internet users that everything should free is going to potentially ruin a lot of good opportunities. Of course, all of this is in my opinion so you can take it for what it's worth. At least reading it is free, right?

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has launched a "terms of service" tracker for Facebook, Google, eBay, and other popular websites. The goal of the EFF's "TOSBacK" is to give users a real-time feed of changes and updates to more than three-dozen policies from the Internet's most popular online services. Clicking on an update displays a side-by-side before-and-after comparison on what has been added and removed from the policy.

comScore has introduced Media Metrix 360. a new panel centric hybrid that combines panel based data with Web site server metrics. "comScore Media Metrix 360 represents an innovative and elegant measurement solution to the increasingly complex digital media landscape," said Dr. Magid Abraham, comScore President and CEO.

UPDATE: BillMyParents wanted to clarify the partnerships the company has forged: "The company did launch with partnerships with Artix Entertainment, Habbo, Outspark and RockYou! to integrate the BillMyParents payment system into their online games, virtual and social networks." 

Sharon Waxman formerly of the New York Times and the Washington Post, and now writing for the Wrap says that she went to a party at Arianna Huffington's mansion and spoke with Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Far from the idle chit chat about the weather, she claims that Schmidt told her about Google's plan to roll out a system in six months that would bring "high-quality news content" to users without them actually looking for it.

Symantec has officially launched OnlineFamily.Norton, an Internet safety service designed to help parents monitor their children's online activity. The launch coincides with the start of Internet Safety Week, which began today. The service is available for free until January1, 2010.

We have all heard about Twitter and Dell. A customer service coup of sorts that jacked up sales with a claim in December of ’08 that $ 1 million in sales could be contributed to Twitter efforts.