Is The Dotcom Craze Back?

For a bubble-wary Internet observer, some of the indicators may seem ominously similar to the dotcom boom. But 2010 is no 1999


These are tough times for the US equity market. The fear of a double dip recession looms large. Investors are wary and quick to punish stocks for the slightest hint of shrinking margins or slowing growth rate. Nothing surprising; investors are still licking the wounds caused by the recent crisis.

Salman decides to quit Twitter

Salman decides to quit Twitter 

Controversy's favourite child, Salman Khan, may sign out of of the micro blogging website, Twitter. In the wee hours of Monday morning, Khan left a message on his Twitter page. "Looks like I might have to get off Twitter. Don't want to but what to do? I think I messed up. So sorry guys, sorry bolne mej  Koi sharam nahi (There's no sharam in saying sorry)," he said.

This decision follows the severe backlash he faced over his interview to a Pakistani TV channel, in which he claimed that the 2008 Mumbai attacks attracted publicity only because the elite were targeted. Khan's remarks riled the Government and he later apologised for them.

Priya Dutt to get onto the Twitter trail?

Mayber for her friend's movie; also reveals she will definitely pay a visit to brother Sanjay when Maanyata delivers their twins


Politician priya Dutt may have been conspicuously absent from actor brother Sanjay Dutt's iftaar parties, but she says that people are reading too much into it. "If you go back in time, you will realise that I have never attended any film parties. Sanjay, my sister Namrata and I lead separate lives. We do not interfere in each other's matters. Besides, what will we do at a film event?" questions priya.

When queried if she would be there at the celebrations when the babies arrive for Sanjay and his wife Maanyata, she shoots back, "Of course, I'll be there. In fact I'll be there before anyone else!"

Play safe on Twitter

Cyber experts tell you how to protect your online identity

Barack Obama has something in common with Meghna Naidu and Miley Cyrus. All their Internet accounts were recently hacked into, making communication through them either difficult or impossible. Increasingly, it seems that celebrities who sign on to social networking sites make themselves predisposed to Internet miscreants. 

If it's not hacking, it's either fake accounts or lewd messages from anonymous users. Like the tweet Karan Johar received last month from a user asking him to describe the colour of his "lingerie".

So, are you a 'Tvoyeur'?

...a Twitter voyeur, that is. It's a breed of peeping Toms at large on social networking sites

There are those who like to watch, and then those who like to watch. And when it comes to a social networking site like Twitter - the former may include folks who have joined up to catch up with pals and speak their own minds, while the letter those who like nothing better than to look into the lives of others, prying as much as is possible. So, how does one deal with 'Tvoyeurs'.

City in splits over Kalmadi's 'joke of the decade'

It was a rather quiet week, with no major trending topics of national or local significance keeping city's tweeple occupied. A few of them, however, got together on Saturday evening at Zenzi Mills at Bandra to discuss how to use social media to daring about change. Besides that, the Twitterati finally found some fodder to chew on over the weekend as the Commonwealth Games (CWG) saw some announcements.

When the fakes beat the originals

May fake Twitter profiles are more popular than celeb originals. Arcopol Chaudhuri addresses a classroom of fakes, begging them to keep tweeting

Dear class,

I'm you biggest fan, so please continue tweeting in class.

It's become rather boring to follow a celebrity on Twitter. They neither reply to my tweets, nor do they retweet mine. So predictable they've become that I can manage their accounts in my sleep and type stuff like, 'heyaa pple...how is every1 doin...jus finished a shoot...went off well..believe in hard work, follow your dreams..luv ya!

Google's real-time search page challenges Bing, Twitter

You can narrow the search to find out what people are saying on various subjects in different locations

New York: Google is digging deeper into real-time search, with a new search page that displays only results from timely sources, like updates from Twitter and other social networks.

Google is the default search engine for most people searching most topics. But as the real-time web exploded, other search engines, like Twitter's and Bing, became more useful for those who wanted quick access to just those live updates.

Jackie Chan's tweets draw ire in HK

Hong kong: Jackie Chan's tweets about the Manila bus hijacking have drawn a barrage of Internet attacks in his native Hong Kong, which lost eight residents in the tragedy.


An armed former police officer seeking reinstatement commandeered a bus carrying a Hong Kong tour guide and 20 tourists in the Philippine capital on Monday.

Arun Rampal's social experment

While promoting We Are Family, Arjun Rampal started a little social experiment. The actor, while on the sets of a TV show, gave out a mobile number for an hour. "Call me, then we can chat starting now here for an hour.

Will the real SRK STAND UP?

The Twitter world has spawned several fake Shah Rukhs, Sachins and Amitabhs, who enjoy as much admiration as the real ones

If you are not Twitter savvy, then you may just end up following one of the fake Priyanka Chopras, Kareena Kapoors, Sachin Tendulkars or more such celeb imposters. Interestingly, these impostors boast of a huge fan base when it comes to their followers.

Vuvuzela enters Oxford dictionary

London:

The ever-present hum of the vuvuzela during this year's soccer World Cup has earned it a place in Oxford Dictionary of English.

Vuvuzela is among 2,000 new words and phrases added to the third edition of the dictionary, published on Thursday, which is compiled from analysis of two billion words used in everything from novels to Internet message boards.

Imran Off Twitter

Actor signs off from the micro-blogging site, many celebs have begun to reject it as well, citing privacy issues

For over a year now, many Bollywood actors have used Twitter to make an announcement, promote their movies, and interact with fans. But seems like all that communication is getting to them, so much so that the frequency with which most stars have been tweeting have reduced considerably. On Wednesday, Imran Khan quit the micro-blogging site for good, few days before the promotion of his forthcoming film, Break Ke Baad, was scheduled to begin.

Neil's account hacked

My twitter account has been hacked. Please ignore all messages you are receiving from my ID," tweeted Neil Nitin Mukesh from his publicist's twitter handle.

Twitter, N Korea's new mouthpiece

Seoul:

North Korea's propaganda campaign has surged into the 21st century with a new Twitter account, hot on the heals of its foray into video with clips posted on YouTube.

The secretive regime has begun micro-blogging under the number of posts pointing its few dozen followers to anti-seoul and anti-US statements on the country's web site (http://www,uriminzokkiri.com).

India is 18th in global Twitter use

New York:

ComScore released today a report on Twitter stats for the months of June, the report reveals that 93 million Internet users visited Twitter.com - excluding third party app such as TweetDeckan increase of 109% last year.

MTV names Gabi Gregg as its first - ever Twitter Jockey

New York:
MTV has named 23-year-old Gabi Gregg its first Twitter Jockey.

Gregg won the position on Sunday night after a nationwide vote. The TJ position is the updated version of the network's VJ job, and Gregg will report on pop culture news using Twitter, Facebook, blogs and MTV's website.

Poor customer service? Don't call, just tweet

Savvy consumers are discovering that raising a stink on Twitter works better and quicker than dialling a call centre and being put on hold forever, reports Arcopol Chaudhuri

When noted blogger Kiruba Shankar had a harrowing experience booking an air ticket on a travel website, it threatened to spoil his wedding to Malaysia with his wife. While the ticket got booked, it was yet to be a 'confirmed ticket'. When he and his wife landed at the airport, officials continued to pass the buck, and eventually, after running from pillar to post, when he did get the tickets, the couple was the last to enter the flight, five minutes before take-off.

Police still to shut down fake account maligning force

In what appears to be the handiwork of a skilled programmer highly disgruntled with the city's police force, a malicious account on Twitter, a micro-blogging network, has been created in the name of state director general of police.

The account also carries a link to a defamatory website which displays the Mumbai police logo in its masthead. Though the account and the website were created as early as in February, they are yet to be shut down.

Robonaut2 to tweet from outer space

London:

Robonaut2, the first humanoid robot to go into space, is going to keep in touch with Earth via Twitter, The Telegraph reported.

The robot is to join the International Space Station's crew next month. It is intended to help researchers build a robot that can carry out dangerous or repetitive tasks in space that must otherwise be performed by an astronaut.