Facebook is the power hitter in social networking today, and is likely to drive the most activity and a fair share of the innovation in social networking in 2012. But it's not the only company driving things forward.
That puppy is about to get very, very rich.(Credit: James Martin/CNET)
Here's are five ways social networking is likely to play out in the coming year.
1. Mobile social networking means good news for new social startups In the U.S., the majority of consumers will soon have smartphones (Neilsen puts the figure at 44% today). Smartphones are about the most import
Smartphones know where you are, who your friends are, who's nearby, and soon thanks to NFC, they'll know what you're buying and where. They are the key element of the next, mobile phase is social networking.
Facebook is serious about mobile social networking, but it is not the leader in this space in terms of design or technology. Smaller companies, like Path and Milk (with its first app, Oink) are coming out with new takes on mobile interaction. Square could play in this economy as well. All these services will likely use Facebook's network to put people or businesses or in touch with each other in new ways. More specialized mobile networks (really riders on top of Facebook) will appear next year.
2. Twitter makes big impact with brand marketers While Twitter's new brand pages won't eat into big advertising or marketing budgets in 2012, the new business-friendly features will make an impact. Twitter is a highly effective platform for spreading brand messages via consumer/fans, and it doesn't take much to create an effective Twitter-based campaign.
While Facebook is still the most important and best social vehicle for marketing, Twitter will matter a lot in 2012 due to its simplicity and effectiveness.
You won't see a Super Bowl ad in 2012 without a Twitter tag on it.
In 2012, the major political campaigns will be even more dependent on social networks, possibly to the extent that effective social campaigns will be more important than broad-stroke and increasingly expensive TV ads. Certainly, no candidate will be able to succeed without a strong following on each of the major social networks.
4. Google+ remains a critical success but a consumer flop Google+ has a lot of good features, but it needs much more than that to take on Facebook and Twitter. Even Google's tacit promotion of Google+ on its other services and toolbars won't be enough to make it part of the daily diet of social networks for the hundreds of millions of users that Facebook has in its thrall.
Google+ also doesn't have enough muscle to be a big player as a branding tool, compared to Facebook and Twitter.
Even inside Google, we hear, employees don't use it very much.
So, the prediction? Google won't kill Google+, not after its failures with Orkut, Buzz, and Wave. The company will continue to blend Google+ into its other offerings, in particular GMail, Picasa Web, and its search result pages. But few people in the real world, if any, will switch over from Facebook to Google+. The smart thing for Google? Buy Pinterest. But this is a predictions story, not an advice column.
5. Facebook and Yelp: Social network IPOs do well For all the bad-mouthing of the Zynga IPO, it's not doing all that badly. As of this writing, it's down 5% from its offering price, and the stock has only be trading since December 16.
In other words, the stock wasn't priced crazy-high nor crazy-low, and if it doesn't drop much further, its middling out-of-the-gate performance will be unlikely to cool the ardor for social network stock offerings in 2012. Facebook and Zynga are two sides of a coin in the social network business. The one's success fortifies the other.
Interest in Facebook stock will be high as the company nears its IPO. The fire for this one will be stoked by the press, by politicians holding it up as an example of American technological and economic prowess, and of course by underwriters. From a financial perspective, it's far too early to tell if the IPO itself will be aptly priced. But Facebook's influence is growing, the company is making a lot of money, and a successful IPO will be good news for every social company out there. The forces are lining up to make sure this IPO is incredibly well-orchestrated, and successful in the right ways: that is, it pops when it goes public, but not too much.
Rafe Needleman
Rafe reviews mobile apps and products for fun, and picks startups apart when he gets bored. He has evaluated thousands of new companies, most of which have since gone out of business. Feeling lucky? Send pitches to rafe@cnet.com. And watch Rafe's tech issues podcast, Reporters' Roundtable, every Friday.
'Google+ is for finding, and talking with, the people who are interested in the same thing you are,' says tech blogger Robert Scoble, and as such may represent a refreshing break from Facebook for some. (JG Image)
Google is adding 625,000 new users a day to the Google+ social-networking service, which may total 400 million members by the end of next year, according to independent analysis of its growth.
The site’s popularity has accelerated in recent weeks, with almost a quarter of its total user base joining in December alone, said Paul B. Allen, the founder of Ancestry.com, who tracks the numbers as Google+’s “unofficial statistician.”
Google, the world’s largest Internet-search company, aims to challenge the social-networking supremacy of Facebook, a site with more than 800 million members. Google+, which lets users organize their friends in circles, was introduced earlier this year as a test project and then opened up to the general public in September.
Google+ may be benefiting from the popularity of Google’s Android mobile operating system, which makes it easy to sign up. As the service gains traction, more people will invite family and friends to join, further accelerating its growth, Allen said in a Google+ posting. He works at FamilyLink.com, a company he helped start in 2006.
Katie Watson, a Google spokeswoman, declined to discuss the current user numbers. The company last gave an update during its October earnings conference call, when Google+ had more than 40 million users.
Bloomberg
Google+ surpasses 62 million users
by Lance Whitney
Google+ has captured more than 62 million users, at least according to one "unofficial" count.
Chiming in with his own Google+ post yesterday, Ancestry.com co-founder and Google+ unofficial statistician Paul Allen reported the latest numbers as of December 27.
Running queries on different surnames to gauge the number of total users, Allen and his team found a surge in daily signups over the past several weeks. Around 625,000 new users have been hopping aboard the social network each day, which means almost a quarter of all Google+ users joined in December alone.
Assuming that rate continues, Allen's crystal ball sees Google+ hitting 100 million users on February 25, 200 million on August 3, and 293 million by the end of 2012. But can Google maintain and even increase that growth rate? Allen believes so.
"I expect the growth to continue to accelerate," Allen said. "Google can continue to integrate Google+ into its other products and word of mouth will continue to build. Most importantly, 700,000 Android devices are activated daily and this will become a very significant source of new users for Google+. That number will also grow next year."
Google has been busy the past few months integrating Google+ into more of its products, such as its core search engine. The company has also been fine-tuning its social network by adding more features and sanding over some of the rough spots. It also unveiled its Google+ Pages in early November in an attempt to reach out to the business world.
Still, Allen's numbers alone don't paint the full picture. His team records how many people Google+ is signing up. But they don't factor in how frequently those people actually use their accounts. Data from ComScore and Experian Hitwise released this past summer showed a decline in the number of weekly visits.
And rather than just relying on word of mouth, Google realizes that it also now has to tap into the world of advertising, using such celebrities as the Muppets to promote its social network to the average user.
Lance Whitney
Lance Whitney wears a few different technology hats--journalist, Web developer, and software trainer. He's a contributing editor for Microsoft TechNet Magazine and writes for other computer publications and Web sites. Lance is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and he is not an employee of CNET.
Ran Chengqi, the Director of the China Satellite Navigation Office introduced China’s global navigation satellite system. Beidou is independently established and operated by China. It can provide accurate, reliable all-time, all-weather positioning, navigation and timing services.
The State Council Information Office held a press conference Tuesday to announce its Initial Operational Capability.
Ran says there are three steps in Beidou’s development. Ran Chengqi, director of China Navigation Satellite Office, said, "The first step was achieved in 2000 when the Beidou satellite demonstration system was established. It made China the third in the world to possess its own independent navigation satellite system. The second step is that the system will be able to provide services to the Asia-Pacific region by 2012. The third step is that by the year 2020, the system will be completed with global coverage."
China is implementing the second generation of its navigational satellite system, known as Beidou.
So far, ten satellites have been launched, forming the basic system. Ran Chengqi announced that from now on, Beidou will officially provide Initial Operational Service to China and its surrounding areas. Services include continuous positioning, navigation and timing.
Beidou is one of the four satellite navigation systems in the world. The other three are America’s GPS. Russia’s GLONASS, and Europe’s Galileo.
Besides China's Beidou, there are three similar services around the world: the GPS of the US, the Russian Glonass and the EU’s Galileo.
The Global Positioning System, or GPS, was developed by the US in the 1970s and completed in 1994. It is the most widely used navigation system now. GPS provides location and time information in any weather, anywhere on or near Earth. GPS was originally run with 24 satellites, and four backup satellites have since been added. The system provides two types of signals, one for military use and the other, civil.
Russia’s GLONASS - or Global Navigation Satellite System developed since 1976, had achieved full coverage of Russian territory by 2010. Now the total number of satellites in orbit is 28, among them, 23 are in operation, 3 are under maintenance, and 2 are being tested. Though its precision is a little less than GPS, it is a strong performer with few operational interruption.
The European Union’s satellite navigation system is known as Galileo. It is the first navigation system to focus on civilian use, and aims to provide high-precision positioning services for European nations. Galileo is formed of 32 satellites and two ground operations centres. Compared with GPS, its precision level is ten times higher.
China has now developed the Beidou Satellite Navigation System, which can operate unmanned. It includes five static and 30 non-static satellites, and its locating precision reaches ten metres. It not only provides navigation, location and timing services, but also a communication service. Compared with the other systems, Beidou has a much stronger location performance.
As the Beidou Satellite Navigation System is further developed, China is now applying the system to more areas, such as the transportation of dangerous items, postal services and even car rental.
Besides Beidou, there are three other satellite navigation systems in the world. They are the GPS of the United States, GLONASS of Russia, and GALILEO of the European Union.
GPS, or the Global Positioning System, was developed by the US in 1970s. It provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth.
GPS was originally run with 24 satellites, and four backup satellites have been added. GPS provides two types of signals, one for military use and the other civil.
GLONASS, the Global Navigation Satellite System, is a radio-based satellite navigation system developed by Russia starting from 1976. By 2010, GLONASS had achieved 100 percent coverage of Russia's territory. In October 2011, the full orbital constellation of 24 satellites was restored, enabling full global coverage. It displays high-level performance in avoiding interruptions.
Galileo is a satellite navigation system developed by the Europeans. It is the first civil use oriented navigation system and aims to provide a high-precision positioning service for European nations. Galileo is formed of 32 satellites and two ground operations centers. Compared with GPS, its precision level is ten times higher.
Financial advisors at Raymond James are now able to use social media tools including LinkedIn,Facebook and Twitter through the Actiance compliance tool, Socialite. Advisors also have optional access to a library or pre-approved content and tools to measure engagement.
Mike White, marketing director at the Florida-based financial services firm, said the Actiance alliance fulfills a commitment made early in the year to provide social media tools for advisors.
Financial firms have been slow to adopt social media, he said, and they have watched to see how regulators would interpret social media communications.
“In addition to incorporating the technology and archiving platform with Actiance, we have developed guidelines, training sessions and marketing and communications support to help advisors leverage social media in their client engagement and new prospecting activities,” added White.
In the two months since the Actiance rollout, 1,200 of the firm’s 5,000 advisors have signed up. The company offers interactive video training to show advisors how social media can be used properly.
“We know there have been a lot to mis-steps [with social media] by public figures and we want out advisors and our brand to be protected in the process.”
Early adopters at Raymond James spread across all ages; the fastest to move to social media are the advisors who are most marketing oriented, White said. As the technology becomes easier to use, the age skew is not as pronounced as it once was, he added. Grandparents are among the most active users of Raymond James online services.
White thinks advisors will use social media both to stay in communication with existing clients and to prospect for new ones.
Raymond James has several people in its 200-strong compliance group who review all social media content before it goes out, with the result that approvals can usually be done the same day content is submitted. Tweets and posts go through a workflow process to provide the firm compliance oversight while allowing advisors to offer a personal touch.
“Our understanding [of the regulations] is that we do not have to review communications ahead of time, but we are being conservative.”
White said that in addition to approved canned content the company offers Tweets and posts from its economist or stock strategist.
“One great thing about Actiance is they were relatively early to the game of social media so they understand the importance of providing flexibility and insight to the communications.” The company also reviews blogs by its advisors before they are posted, a process which White said is now at the point social media was a few years ago.
“We treat blogs as ads that have to be pre-approved.”
The Aite Group, a financial research firm, entitled a recent report on social media for financial advisors “The Bloom is off the Rose.” Roughly 7 in 10 financial advisors use social media for personal purposes and half use it for business, figures which have increased since 2009, said Ron Shevlin, senior analyst with Aite Group and co-author of this report.
Use of LinkedIn has increased for business purposes and the time spent on Facebook, Twitter and blogs has declined among financial advisors. Advisors don’t spend much time on leading social media finance sites such as Stockpickr or Wikinvest; only a third of the advisors surveyed were even familiar with them.
Advisors are seeing diminishing returns from social media, according to Aite. Reaching new prospects was cited by only 19 percent, half the percentage in 2009 while increasing revenue or fees linked to social media declined from 16 percent to 6 percent.
Just six percent of advisors who don’t already use social media plan to do so over the next year. Thirty-eight percent said it wasn’t worth their time and 34 percent just don’t like to communicate with customers that way. Nearly three-quarters said their firms have policies that limit or ban the use of social media.
Vendors had some suggestions for the best ways to use social media. Actiance told Aite Group that responding to clients’ postings, such as a new child or a new job, with an appropriate messages is effective. Echoing what White said about early adopters eMoney Advisor noted that advisors who are good at marketing are good at using social media. Financial Social Media’s recommendations suggest why some advisors are losing interest — they recommended Tweeting three to five times per day and updating LinkedIn and Facebook at least twice a day. That suggests a substantial time commitment. Other vendors of social media tools including SocialVolt, Socialware, SocMediaFin, SunGard, ThomsonReuters and Wired Advisor had a variety of suggestions about defining an approach to marketing, listening to the market and building out social networks.
Aite concluded that many financial advisors have decided that social media is not living up to its hype.
“The absence of tangible benefits from social media is muting advisors’ perception of its potential importance,” said Shevlin. Financial firms should expand their focus beyond compliance to look at effectiveness, added Aite, offering several specific suggestions for defining messages, choosing the proper platform and improving marketing skills.
Apple dominates Google's list of "Fastest Rising Technology" searches of 2011 from the United States. (Credit: Screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET)
Google's annual Zeitgeist roundup of the hottest trends in search from 2011 is out, and when it comes to tech, Apple dominates the list.
In Google's top 10 list of fastest-rising technology searches for the United States, the top six are all Apple-related, led by "iCloud," "Osx Lion" and "Ipad 2." "Steve Jobs" also makes the list at No. 8.
Google fared a little better on its own overall global top 10 list, with "Google+" snagging the No. 2 spot. In a major milestone in the history of collective global humiliation, the top search slot for 2011 goes to "Rebecca Black." Apple also occupies three places on the overall list, with "iPhone 5" at No. 6; "Steve Jobs" at No. 9; and "iPad 2" at No. 10.
Google's list of fastest-rising gadgets for the year is a little more representative of the overall market, with Kindle Fire grabbing the search gold in that category. The iPhone 4S was the second-fastest-rising term, and the iPad 2 fills the seventh place. "Sidekick 4g," "HP Touchpad," "HTC Inspire," "Palm Pre 3," and the "HTC Thunderbolt" are some of the other devices that people spent plenty of time coveting via Google in 2011.
It's important to note that these "fastest rising" terms are based on comparing year-over-year data and seeing which terms increased their buzz the most from 2010. So since the Kindle Fire didn't exist in 2010, it had a bit of an advantage over terms like "iPad 2," which was already in the lexicon even before the Fire came onto the scene.
Finally, in Google's top 10 list of cell phone searches--overall, not using the fastest-rising methodology--the query "iPhone" sits on a pretty tall throne above all others. But it isn't completely an Apple world. Serving as a reminder that we can't all afford a top-of-the-line smartphone is the No. 5 entry on the list--prepaid budget carrier "Tracfone."
Eric Mack
Crave freelancer Eric Mack is a writer and radio producer based high in the Rocky Mountains in a "one bar" service area (for both drinks and 3G). He's published e-books on Android and Alaska, and is a contributing editor for Crowdsourcing.org and A New Domain. He also contributes to NPR, Gizmag, and Edmunds Inside Line. Eric is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CBS Interactive. E-mail Eric.
Physicists work out how to generate a backward pulling force from a forward propagating beam
A photon has a small momentum which it can impart to anything it hits, as Arthur Compton and Peter Lebedev discovered at the beginning of the last century. We now know that photons can be used to push anything from electrons to solar sails.
Today, Jun Chen from Fudan University in China and a few pals demonstrate the counterintuitive result that photons can pull things too. In other words, they've worked out how to generate a backward pulling force from a forward propagating beam.
Chen and buddies say this is possible when the system meets two conditions. First, it works only for beams in which the momentum in the direction of propagation is small, as is the case for beams that merely glance off an object. Second, the photons must simultaneously excite several multipoles within the particle, which scatter the beam.
If the scattering angle is just right, the total momentum in the direction of propagation can be negative, meaning the particle is pulled back towards the source and the light becomes a tractor beam.
This must not be confused with various "optical tweezer" type mechanisms in which particles trapped in a beam follow the intensity gradient of the light. In this case, the particles always reach some point of equilibrium where the intensity reaches a maximum.
Chen and co's new force works when there is no gradient. Given the chance, their tractor beam will pull a particle all the way back to the source.
That's a handy additional tool in the nanomanipulator's box of tricks. "This may open up new avenues for optical micromanipulation, of which typical examples include transporting a particle backward over a long distance and particle sorting," say Chen and co.
This is a theory paper so there's one piece of the puzzle left to fit. All they have to do now is demonstrate that their tractor beam works.
Events were staged Tuesday to remember the victims of the Nanjing massacre on its 74th anniversary. Occupied by Japanese troops on Dec. 13, 1937, China's former southern capital city suffered a six-week massacre in which more than 300,000 were... Edit
http://RapeofNanking.info Rape of Nanking - Nanjing Massacre. Japanse Atrocities in Asia. Part I of 2. This documentary, by Rhawn Joseph is based on 20 years research and consists entirely of archival photos and film-clips. This film begins with an overview of Japan and China at the beginning of the 20th Century, explains the mind-set of the Japanese and their God, Hirohito, and then continues with the invasion of China, the crimes committed by the Japanese (during the Fall) on the road to Nanjing, Nanjing Massacre, the rape of the Philipines, Unit 731, the Baatan death camps, Japanese denials, and the dropping of the A-bomb on Japan.
The purpose of this film is educational, and to explain the mind-set that led to a horrible crime: the torture and murder of 280,000 civilians by Japanese soldiers who took great pleasure in raping, bayonetting, beheading and burning people alive. We wish to emphasize: These crimes took place throughout Asia, and the Japanese planned the same for the White races as well, including America.
Those who do not learn from the past, are condemned to repeat it. The purpose of this film is, thus, educational. We have no hatred for the Japanese people.
This documentary is an independent production. We are not associated with and never received any financial help from the Chinese government or any group or organization. The film is completely independent. We have no political motives. We have no purpose and no other goal other than to create an interesting, provocative, educational movie that speaks to the mind and intellect, and which can speak to the heart and one'e emotions.
Credits: The English edition is narrated by Rhawn Joseph, Ph.D.. The film was produced, written, and edited by Rhawn Joseph, Ph.D. Additional Credits: Music. The musical soundtrack (all music is identified at the end of the film) was arranged and selected by R. Joseph, Ph.D., and was reproduced in this film courtesy of Arc Music Productions Int., LTD, United Kingdom; Nonsuch Records, Warner Music Group, Rhino Entertainment, New York. Sony Classical Music, New York.
Modern History Sourcebook: The Nanking Massacre, 1937
The Japanese occupation of Nanking, the capital of the Republic of China, lead to one of the greatest horrors of the century . This eyewitness report was filed by a New York Times reporter.
Aboard the U.S.S. Oahu at Shanghai, Dec. 17 [1937]. Through wholesale atrocities and vandalism at Nanking the Japanese Army has thrown away a rare opportunity to gain the respect and confidence of the Chinese inhabitants and of foreign opinion there....
The killing of civilians was widespread. Foreigners who traveled widely through the city Wednesday found civilian dead on every street. Some of the victims were aged men, women and children.
Policemen and firemen were special objects of attack. Many victims were bayoneted and some of the wounds were barbarously cruel.
Any person who ran because of fear or excitement was likely to be killed on the spot as was any one caught by roving patrols in streets or alleys after dark. Many slayings were witnessed by foreigners.
The Japanese looting amounted almost to plundering of the entire city. Nearly every building was entered by Japanese soldiers, often under the eyes of their officers, and the men took whatever they wanted. The Japanese soldiers often impressed Chinese to carry their loot....
The mass executions of war prisoners added to the horrors the Japanese brought to Nanking. After killing the Chinese soldiers who threw down their arms and surrendered, the Japanese combed the city for men in civilian garb who were suspected of being former soldiers.
In one building in the refugee zone 400 men were seized. They were marched off, tied in batches of fifty, between lines of riflemen and machine gunners, to the execution ground.
Just before boarding the ship for Shanghai the writer watched the execution of 200 men on the Bund [dike]. The killings took ten minutes. The men were lined against a wall and shot. Then a number of Japanese, armed with pistols, trod nonchalantly around the crumpled bodies, pumping bullets into any that were still kicking.
The army men performing the gruesome job had invited navy men from the warships anchored off the Bund to view the scene. A large group of military spectators apparently greatly enjoyed the spectacle.
When the first column of Japanese troops marched from the South Gate up Chungshan Road toward the city's Big Circle, small knots of Chinese civilians broke into scattering cheers, so great was their relief that the siege was over and so high were their hopes that the Japanese would restore peace and order. There are no cheers in Nanking now for the Japanese.
By despoiling the city and population the Japanese have driven deeper into the Chinese a repressed hatred that will smolder through tears as forms of the antiJapanism that Tokyo professes to be fighting to eradicate from China.
The capture of Nanking was the most overwhelming defeat suffered by the Chinese and one of the most tragic military debacles in the history of modern warfare. In attempting to defend Nanking the Chinese allowed themselves to be surrounded and then systematically slaughtered....
The flight of the many Chinese soldiers was possible by only a few exits. Instead of sticking by their men to hold the invaders at bay with a few strategically placed units while the others withdrew, many army leaders deserted, causing panic among the rank and file.
Those who failed to escape through the gate leading to Hsiakwan and from there across the Yangtze were caught and executed....
When theJapanese captured Hsiakwan gate they cut off all exit from the city while at least a third of the Chinese Army still was within the walls.
Because of the disorganization of the Chinese a number of units continued fighting Tuesday noon, many of these not realizing the Japanese had surrounded them and that their cause was hopeless. Japanese tank patrols systematically eliminated these.
Tuesday morning, while attempting to motor to Hsiakwan, I encountered a desperate group of about twentyfive Chinese soldiers who were still holding the Ningpo Guild Building on Chungahan Road. They later surrendered.
Thousands of prisoners were executed by the Japanese. Most of the Chinese soldiers who had been interned in the safety zone were shot in masses. The city was combed in a systematic housetohouse search for men having knapsack marks on their shoulders or other signs of having been soldiers. They were herded together and executed.
Many were killed where they were found, including men innocent of any army connection and many wounded soldiers and civilians. I witnessed three mass executions of prisoners within a few hours Wednesday. In one slaughter a tank gun was turned on a group of more than 100 soldiers at a bomb shelter near the Ministry of Communications.
A favorite method of execution was to herd groups of a dozen men at entrances of dugout and to shoot them so the bodies toppled inside. Dirt then was shoveled in and the men buried.
Since the beginning of the Japanese assault on Nanking the city presented a frightful appearance. The Chinese facilities for the care of army wounded were tragically inadequate, so as early as a week ago injured men were seen often on the streets, some hobbling, others crawling along seeking treatment.
Civilian casualties also were heavy, amounting to thousands. The only hospital open was the American managed University Hospital and its facilities were inadequate for even a fraction of those hurt.
Nanking's streets were littered with dead. Sometimes bodies had to be moved before automobiles could pass.
The capture of Hsiakwan Gate by the Japanese was accompanied by the mass killing of the defenders, who were piled up among the sandbags, forming a mound six feet high. Late Wednesday the Japanese had not removed the dead, and two days of heavy military traffic had been passing through, grinding over the remains of men, dogs and horses.
The Japanese appear to want the horrors to remain as long as possible, to impress on the Chinese the terrible results of resisting Japan.
Chungahan Road was a long avenue of filth and discarded uniforms, rifles, pistols, machine guns, fieldpieces, knives and knapsacks. In some places the Japanese had to hitch tanks to debris to clear the road.
From F. Tillman, "All Captives Slain,'' The New York Times, December 18, 1937, pp. 1, 10.
This text is part of the Internet Modern History Sourcebook. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts for introductory level classes in modern European and World history.
Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No permission is granted for commercial use of the Sourcebook.
'Google+ is for finding, and talking with, the people who are interested in the same thing you are,' says tech blogger Robert Scoble, and as such may represent a refreshing break from Facebook for some. (JG Image) 
Chiming in with his own Google+ post yesterday, Ancestry.com co-founder and Google+ unofficial statistician Paul Allen reported the latest numbers as of December 27.
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