Firms found editing their Wikipedia entries
A number of well known companies and political partites have been accused of altering their entries on Wikipedia, in order to cover up previous misdeeds, or to make their rivals' entries less appealing.
A new tool developed by the California Institute of Technology can find out about the editors of Wikipedia entries by comparing the net addresses of editors on Wikipedia to a known database of IP addresses.
UK firms blocking access to Facebook
More than 70% of UK businesses are preventing their employees from accessing Facebook while at work, according to a survey.
Many are also reportedly warning their staff that use of the social network at work constitutes a sackable offence - City firms Credit Suisse and Dresdner Kleinwort have both banned use of the site.
Whole Foods boss rumbled for anonymous postings
The boss of Whole Foods Market, the organic food retailer that launched a huge store in London last month, has been caught using Yahoo!’s stock market forum to criticise a competitor, which he then proceeded to buy.
John Mackey, chief executive of Whole Foods, used the moniker 'Rahodeb' to make postings about rival Wild Oats over several years, according to a filing from the Federal Trade Commission.
Facebook preparing for mega IPO? Probably...
There is plenty of speculation around that Facebook is preparing for an IPO, which has been fueled by Facebook advertising for a Stock Administration Manager.
In addition, Mark Zuckerberg's sister Randi Jayne, who also works for Facebook, has recorded a video trashing the competition. That this has been taken down at Facebook's request has added to the IPO speculation.
LinkedIn preparing for IPO?
Business network LinkedIn is reportedly gearing up for a possible IPO that would make it one of the first social networks to go public.
Reuters reports that the move could happen as early as next year, thanks to the company's rapid growth - its membership has doubled to almost 12m in the past nine months.
Threadwatch to shut on Friday
Threadwatch, a web community dedicated to posting and discussing internet marketing news, will close on Friday, its proprietor said.
Aaron Wall explained that he did not have the time to take the site mainstream, counter competition from a growing number of blogs and keep contributors on the straight and narrow, thanks to new personal commitments.
Business.com could sell again for new record
Domain name Business.com could sell for between $300m and $400m this year, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The name went for a then record $7.5m when it was bought by two entrepreneurs at the height of the dotcom boom in 1999.
News Corp looking at MySpace/Yahoo! deal?
News Corporation is reportedly considering a deal with Yahoo! that would see the group transferring its social network MySpace to Yahoo! in return for a 25% stake in the combined company.
The Times is reporting that negotiations between the two companies are tentative, and may be under threat after Terry Semel's replacement by Jerry Yang as Yahoo CEO.
BBC, ITV and Channel 4 to partner for web TV?
BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are in talks about partnering to launch an on-demand broadband TV service, according to The Guardian.
A source told the paper that the new service would "do for broadband what Freeview did for digital television". It has been dubbed 'Project Kangaroo'.
Google points to VW.com over cloaking
Volkswagen's US marketing web team has made changes to the way its pages are constructed following an intervention from Google.
VW.com had been featured by Google's Enterprise blog last week for making search front and centre of a new design.
Social media: the best and worst of 2009
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Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
