WRAL Tech Wire

Who won 'Social Bowl'? Super Bowl ads paying fans to play

Ad agency McKinney and social media data firm EvoApp tracked and are now analyzing tons of social media data "buzz" generated by Super Bowl-related advertising campaigns. The early analysis shows brands that paid their fans with contest offers harvested the most benefit.

Social Bowl early winners

Google bows to India's censorship demands

The action follows weeks of intense government pressure for 22 Internet giants including Facebook and YouTube - to remove photographs, videos or text considered "anti-religious" or "anti-social."

Google India website in Hindi

'The Hacker Way:' Inside the mind of Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg

"As part of building a strong company, we work hard at making Facebook the best place for great people to have a big impact on the world and learn from other great people. We have cultivated a unique culture and management approach that we call the Hacker Way." So writes Mark Zuckerberg. As part of its SEC filing to go public, Facebook's founder, chairman and chief executive officer explains in a "letter" the social media giant's business plan, mission and why he hopes people will make an investment. But to him, hacker isn't a pejorative. "The word 'hacker' has an unfairly negative connotation from being portrayed in the media as people who break into computers. In reality, hacking just means building something quickly or testing the boundaries of what can be done."

A graphic in Facebook's IPO plots its global community

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Power users turn Facebook into more of a getting than giving space

The report from the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project comes two days after Facebook filed for a $5 billion initial public offering of stock that could eventually value the company at $100 billion.

Facebook tagging procedure

In filing to go public, Facebook reveals its profitable secrets

The social media giant is very profitable and getting stronger. The company Mark Zuckerberg started with some friends in 2004 has seen its annual revenue soar from $777 million in 2009 to $3.7 billion last year. Facebook's earnings have grown at a similar rate too, ballooning from $122 million in 2009 to $668 million last year. Facebook ended 2011 with $3.9 billion in cash.

Facebook's Building 1 in Western NC

Is Facebook worth the price? Money advisors are split

Some of the money managers interviewed by The Associated Press like the $5 billion price while others are wary.

Ignore Facebook hype - Check out 'risk factors,' too

Before you take out a loan against your 401K plan in hopes of buying Facebook shares, take time to read Facebook's SEC filing. It includes a section on "Risk Factors," something required in such documents. There truly are risks, as Facebook points out

A graphic from Facebook's SEC filing

Facebook vs. Google IPO: Which deal ranks better?

Google, says Scot Wingo, the founder and chief executive officer of ecommerce services provider ChannelAdvisor who likes to play in the market.

Wall Street

Driven by 'cocky' Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook could raise $10B in IPO

The social media giant is expected to file as early as Wednesday to sell stock on the open market in what will be the most talked-about initial public offering since Google in 2004, maybe since the go-go 1990s.

Mark Zuckerberg on Time's cover

Facebook bigger than Google? Its stock offering could be

The buzz surrounding an outsized haul for Facebook's founders, employees and early investors remains a hopeful sign for capital markets following a deep recession. At the reported price, Facebook's IPO would be the biggest for a U.S. Internet company ever -- topping the debut of one of its main rivals, Google.

Facebook as seen through its new iPad app

Tech firms design system to confront email 'phishing' scams

15 major technology and financial companies have formed an organization to design a system for authenticating emails from legitimate senders and weeding out fakes. The new system is called DMARC -- short for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance.

How DMARC works

Tweet this: Teens moving to Twitter where posts are more private

Teens tout the ease of use and the ability to send the equivalent of a text message to a circle of friends, often a smaller one than they have on crowded Facebook accounts. They can have multiple accounts and don't have to use their real names. They also can follow their favorite celebrities and, for those interested in doing so, use Twitter as a soapbox.

Tracking Internet use by age

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Facebook IPO filing could come next week

Sources close to the matter said regulatory paperwork could be filed as early as Wednesday.