Facebook

Facebook has found itself at the core of a heated controversy after the popular social-networking Web site removed photos of breast-feeding mothers. The company threatened to close the account of 23-year-old Heather Farley after she posted two photos of herself breast-feeding her infant daughter.

The move has launched protests by Facebook members and pro-breast-feeding groups. Facebook officials told The Washington Post they are not against breast-feeding and refer to it as "beautiful," but photos that show nipples violate its terms-of-use policy.

Someday we may find it quaint that multiple Web sites required you to sign on separately, set up a separate profile, and act like you had no other identity on the Web. A step in this direction came Thursday when Facebook and Google continued efforts to allow their users to sign on once across a network of sites.

Other sites on the network may share components of a user's social identity, with access to profiles, ratings, friend lists, and more. The expanded networks could also include a desktop application or a mobile device.

'A Dash of Social'

Facebook's leaders are smiling as the company announced an antispam victory. The popular social-networking Web site was awarded more than $873 million in damages Friday against a Canadian spammer who was sending sexually explicit images to Facebook users.

Adam Guerbuez and Atlantis Blue Capital were ordered to pay Facebook the damages by U.S. District Court Judge Jeremey Fogel in San Jose, Calif. And Guerbuez can no longer access Facebook. The ruling came after four months of court arguments.

The admission by Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg -- that the social network's optimum revenue model remains a mystery four years after its launch -- has raised some eyebrows. Despite claiming that it will double its revenue to between $300m and $350m this year, the question remains as to when, if ever, Facebook will turn a profit.

Facebook has added yet another change to the way it does business -- resulting in a slew of angry developers and users.

The social-networking Web site on Tuesday announced a new application-verification program, an optional new system that will give registered application developers a seal of approval -- for a fee.

The move has made developers angry, with some posting their disappointment on Facebook's developer forum. Many developers believe the program is genius, but the fee that comes with the seal of approval is what has them angry.

New Program's Pros

The Nov. 4 election will be a spectacular display of the power of a new generation of Americans. I call them the Net Generation because they're the first to grow up digital, and in this election year they've shown that their revolutionary model of working collaboratively online can topple powerful leaders and, if the polls are right, even make history.

The Facebook duo is no more. One of Facebook's two cofounders is leaving the popular social-networking site.

Dustin Moskovitz is leaving and forming a new duo by taking engineer Justin Rosenstein with him. Together, the two will launch another company, Rosenstein said on his Facebook page.

Rosenstein, who was recruited from Google by Moskovitz in the early stages of launching the company, said the two have had similar visions on software and what Facebook needs to do to evolve as a company.

As first-year CEO Brad Smith tries to reshape software maker Intuit for the online age, he has opened his Rolodex and is cribbing ideas from some tech industry icons.

Sayonara, arrivederci, and adios to the old Facebook.

No matter which way you say it, Facebook's 100 million global users said good-bye Wednesday to the old version of Facebook and hello to the final version of the social-networking Web site's face-lift.

It was no secret that users would be switched to the new version. Last week Mark Slee, Facebook product manager, said the time was coming.

Microsoft has all but shut the door on the prospect of resuming talks to buy all or part of Yahoo. Speaking at the company's annual meeting for analysts on July 24, Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said a Yahoo deal at this point "essentially makes no sense."