Privacy issues aside, what is Facebook offering to its users that people are spending an average of 7 hours per month on the site?

The tax collection battle between Amazon and the State of North Carolina has heated up again, with America’s largest online retailer filing suit to block a demand to turn over customer records. Is this a battle over privacy, or simple economics?

Recently, a mom in the UK received a huge shock when she discovered her 12 year-old son used his savings and her credit card to spend a total of $1,400 playing the Facebook application game Farmville. Here is some advice to parents who want their children to enjoy themselves, but seeking to avoid a surprise smack to the wallet.

The Wall Street Journal posted an interesting article on Changing Face of Social Networks earlier this week, suggesting “five years is a lifetime for the average teenager’s habits,” citing the rise of MySpace, until its eclipse by Facebook two years later as an example. Current research indicates that the trend continues, with facebook usage by 18–24 year-olds diminishing over the last three months.

The mobile devices market moves so quickly it’s often hard to keep up and while some industries enjoy a certain amount of brand loyalty, technology lovers are a fickle group. Blackberry has maintained a significant following for several years and although it is still the popular choice for many business-oriented users, iPhone has taken the market by storm and gained a huge amount popularity this past year.  While not the only available touch screen Smartphone, it has been the best marketed. Until now, that is.

Only 3 percent of "smart" phone users are consuming 40 percent of AT&T's network capacity, leading the company to rethink pricing for data plans. Will AT&T use a carrot or a stick to "influence" the usage pattern of it's mobile subscribers?

The new Guides are effective December 1st, 2009. As is usually the case, ignorance of the law is not an advisable defense. Since the new Guides specifically address “new media” content such as blogs and viral marketing, it is a good idea for anyone writing reviews, or providing testimonials in online publishing, become familiar with the Guides, particularly if they have a direct relationship with, or receive any sort of compensation from product or service providers.

Following a lawsuit brought by Major League Baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals' Manager, Tony La Russa, Twitter is taking a hard stance on users creating profiles that pose as celebrities and is testing out verified accounts on their website.

On Wednesday, June 17th, Amazon.com sent an “Important Notice from the Amazon Associates Program” email to all affiliates in North Carolina. While Amazon.com is not terminating North Carolina-based affiliates, they intend to if legislation being considered by the North Carlolina General Assembly is passed in its present form. Amazon claims the bill includes an  "unconstitutional tax collection scheme that would leave Amazon.com little choice but to end its relationships with North Carolina-based Associates." What is it really about?

Did your favorite third-party Twitter application begin acting strangely, or quit working altogether Friday evening? If so, don't panic, you are probably just experiencing a Year 2000 Bug for the new millennium, dubbed the Twitpocalypse. Who would have thought 2 billion tweets could cause so much trouble? Read on to learn how we got into this mess, and what will have to be done to dig us out.