eBay Launches Social Media Seller Initiative

eBay sellers who use Twitter and Facebook on a regular basis might soon receive a bit of recognition for their efforts. Something called the eBay Ink Social Media Seller program has launched, and while it's still very much in the early stages, it's not looking like a terrible idea.

Richard Brewer-Hay explained this afternoon on the eBay Ink blog, "We've been working on a program behind the scenes here at eBay that I'm hoping will help promote all of the great online sellers that are embracing social media tools as a way to augment their presence online, ultimately promoting their stores and sales."


The program's payoff: badges that are supposed "to drive traffic to their social media seller profiles and/or their ecommerce stores." Plus, at least at this point, a fair amount of publicity to split between not many folks.

You see, it seems that just six people (@ColderICE, @PowerSellingMom, @thesavvyseller, @galleriagifts, @auctionwally, and @katskloset) have been granted eBay Ink Social Media Seller status so far, meaning the label may be reserved for a fairly special set of individuals. Which would mean the badges could be of real value.

U.S. Launching Program To Detect Cyberattacks On Critical Infrastructure

The U.S. National Security Agency is launching a program called "Perfect Citizen" aimed at detecting cyberattacks on private companies and government agencies running critical infrastructure such as the electricity grid and nuclear power plants.

Perfect Citizen would rely on a set of sensors deployed in computer networks for critical infrastructure that would flag "unusual activity" signaling an impending cyberattack, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Defense contractor Raytheon recently was awarded with a classified contract for the first stage of the surveillance program valued up to $100 million.

Some industry and government officials with knowledge of the program view Perfect Citizen as overreaching by the NSA into domestic affairs, while other view it as a critical program to fight emerging security threats that only the NSA can manage.

"The overall purpose of the [program] is our Government...feel[s] that they need to insure the Public Sector is doing all they can to secure Infrastructure critical to our National Security," said one internal Raytheon email, the text of which was seen by The Wall Street Journal. "Perfect Citizen is Big Brother."

A U.S. military official said the program was long overdue and would not be a violation of privacy.

U.S. intelligence officials have grown increasingly concerned about possible Chinese and Russian surveillance of computer systems that control the electric grid and other U.S. infrastructure.

"Because the program is still in the early stages, much remains to be worked out, such as which computer control systems will be monitored and how the data will be collected. NSA would likely start with the systems that have the most important security implications if attacked, such as electric, nuclear, and air-traffic-control systems," according to the Journal.

NSA chief General Keith Alexander head of the recently created US Cyber Command said in a speech that the role of the agency is to ""deter, detect and defend against emerging threats against our nation in cyberspace."

"All of us in government recognize that we cannot do this without the help of industry, academia and our allies," he said. "Securing cyberspace is a team sport."

Twitter Launches @earlybird Deals Feed

Twitter has introduced a new ecommerce feature called @earlybird which offers "special time-bound deals, sneak-peeks, and events."

"We partner with select advertisers and retweet offers that they have crafted only for the Twitter community," the company said.
"Our advertising partners determine the terms of the offer, including availability, amount, and price. As with other forms of advertising from Twitter, we are focused on bringing value to our users and will keep your interests in mind as we develop this program."

Twitter said it launched @earlybird because many users find the site timely and that it has relevant information. "We believe that surfacing deals through the @earlybird account will help you discover the best of those deals, as well as find and follow accounts that consistently provide exceptional value," Twitter said.

Twitter did not name any advertisers or brands but did say they would large brands initially focused on the U.S. market. The company said @earlybird will feature US-wide offers but it will consider location-based deals in the future.

2 Billion Add-Ons Downloaded by Firefox Users

Mozilla has served its 2 billionth Firefox Add-on download. The download rate has been increasing each year, but Firefox also faces increasing competition in the open source browser market.

This week Google actually took efforts to make Chrome more accessible, and introduced a new category of featured extensions.

Mozilla's milestone is certainly a significant one though, and there's no question that Firefox has been revolutionary in the web browser space.



"This exciting feat was made possible by the huge community of people who have made and used Firefox Add-ons since we launched in 2005," Mozilla says in its announcement. "Over the years, we remained dedicated to building features and products that make Firefox the world’s most customizable Web browser for consumers and developers."

Mozilla has put up a "Best of 2 Billion Firefox Add-ons" list based on feedback. There are 25 add-ons in the collection, with the top one being Adblock Plus.

Facebook Gets Into Customized Data Centers

It's always a big deal when a company like Google, Yahoo, or Microsoft begins to build another data center; the move proves that they've got a fair amount of cash on hand and are growing at an impressive rate. More significant, though, may be the idea of a company first getting into the DIY data center business, and Facebook appears to have reached that juncture.

Rich Miller reported yesterday, "Facebook has decided to begin building its own data centers, and may announce its first facility as soon as tomorrow. The fast-growing social network has previously leased server space from wholesale data center providers, but has grown to the point where the economics favor a shift to a custom-built infrastructure."

The facility Facebook's rumored to be behind is under right now construction and will cover 117,245 square feet in Prineville, Oregon. Unless some seriously innovative construction techniques and types of hardware are employed, it's sure to cost more than $100 million, and data centers often carry price tags along the lines of $500 million.

Then, when the construction's done, Miller writes that it will take about 35 people to staff the data center.

So Facebook does indeed seem to be making a major move. We'll try to relay more details as they become available.

UPDATE: Yep, it's official.

Twitter Earns Itself a Candy Heart Phrase

You know those candy hearts everybody has around Valentine's Day with the little sayings on them? Showing just how much of a stronghold Twitter actually has on pop culture, this year, one such saying that will appear on these candies is "Tweet me."

NECCO, the company that makes Sweethearts announced today that this (and "Text Me") were among the top user-generated choices for sayings to appear on the hearts this year. In the past, they have said things like "Fax me" and "Email me." Twitter hasn't exactly toppled email, but is "all the rage" right now to say the least.

I can't figure out if this is better marketing for NECCO or for Twitter. On the one hand, you will have the increased exposure of the tweeting culture to a wide candy-hungry audience (which will likely include some who have absolutely no idea what tweeting is referring to), and on the other, you will have a generation of Twitterers possibly considering Sweethearts over circus peanuts the next time they go to buy candy. I guess it's a win-win. Sweethearts are also coming in new colors and flavors.

"Sweethearts have long been America's favorite Valentine's Day candy for sharing a sweet sentiment with loved ones," said Jackie Hague, vice president of marketing at NECCO. "The new tastier flavors, vibrant colors and modern expressions will ensure that Sweethearts continue to delight people of all ages and help them say something sweet to those they care about."

"It's great that America chose 'Tweet Me' to be a new Sweethearts saying," said Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, Inc. "Twitter is a new way to communicate in 140 characters or less and Sweethearts have been helping people communicate using short phrases for decades."

There is also an iPhone App that works with a user's Twitter account and allows them to personalize up to five Sweethearts with up to 25-character messages on each. These digital Sweethearts can then be sent to prospective Valentines.
source: http://www.webpronews.com