Gawker
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cubicle culture
How MySpace Humiliates Fired Workers
MySpace's CEO purportedly keeps his body pretty tight. But he should lay off the weight obsession at work. Owen Van Natta said MySpace was "bloated" when he laid off 400 workers; now they're reportedly called "fat" to their faces. More »
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By Ryan TateComment by Airvault: You can tell who the fat ones are. Their photos are black and white and taken from above. (Where did I... 2 Responses | Other threads
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class war
MySpace Exec Gets $500K to Sit at Home While 300 Laid Off
MySpace today confirmed the rumors it will lay off 300 international staff, on top of 400 U.S. layoffs last week. The social network also shoved aside purported co-founder Tom Anderson, who has a new gig: NOT going to the office. More »
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By Ryan TateComment by markscottmusic: ...he's still very handsome and very rich. 7 Responses | Other threads
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breaking
MySpace Lays Off 400
Two months after taking over as CEO, Owen Van Natta is laying off 30 percent of MySpace employees. His outlook remains bleak; when was the last time you heard a CEO call his company "bloated" in a press release? More »
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By Ryan TateComment by The Real JR: How and why in the world did MySpace have over 400 employees to begin with? The platform hasn't changed in... 4 Responses | Other threads
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valleywag
New MySpace Regime Lowers Expectations
MySpace chief Own Van Natta is a consummate dealmaker; at Facebook he helped sweet talk Microsoft into a critical ad buy. MySpace is a trickier case: insiders at the social network are spreading word it faces "horrendous" user disengagement. More »
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By Ryan TateComment by The Dominant Glee Club: Own Van Nutta? Really? You don't have to use typos to make his name sound weird. It's already there. 1 Responses | Other threads
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media wars
News Corp. Would Like to Renew Its MySpace Deal with 'Parasite' Google
News Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch has referred to Google "stealing" or "taking" his copyright. His Wall Street Journal lieutenant Robert Thomson has likened the company to a "parasite or tech tapeworm." But now News Corp. needs to renegotiate a lucrative MySpace ad deal with Google. Whoops. More »
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By Ryan TateComment by Turd Ferguson: And with that, Rupert sent out the Silver Surfer to find him another world to devour... 2 Responses | Other threads
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housekeeping
Valleywag: An Instruction Manual
Dear Ryan:
As I head to NBC to run its Bay Area site, I'm leaving you one Silicon Valley gossip blog, used but in good condition. A few thoughts on how to keep it that way. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by RheaPollstry: Is that Owen? Mmmmmm, I do luv me some bears. And working in a bar, no less! My heart is... 4 Responses | Other threads
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servicey
How Valleywag Got MySpace to Drop Its Sony Ban
Sony Pictures employees can now waste their time on MySpace again, thanks to Valleywag. (You're welcome.) Here's the tale, from inside Sony's Internet operations, of how our story got the ban lifted. More » -
breakdowns
Sony Moviemakers Banned from MySpace
A tipster tells us that when Sony employees in L.A. try to log onto MySpace, "it directs you to google.com." Bizarrely, Sony's IT staff is saying it's MySpace's fault. More » -
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Shut Up, Twitter
Finally, Twitter Learns When to Shut Up
The Twittersphere is up in arms over a move the message-broadcasting service made to make its site a bit less noisy: You can no longer easily eavesdrop on conversations with strangers. Hurrah!
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By Owen ThomasComment by Soup: There is a simple solution to this. Make it an option. The default can be set to turn off @... 5 Responses | Other threads
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crime
MySpace gossip about an affair allegedly ended in a Staten Island murder.
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geek love
Love in the Age of SMS
Things were simpler when the only medium for asking someone out was the telephone. Text messaging, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace have complicated romance, if not ruined it, the Washington Post reports. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by serpentinefire: I don't know if this is related, but facebook (along with deeply embedded emotional and abandonment issues) makes it really... 12 Responses | Other threads
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valleywag
The Global Village Is Too Poor for YouTube
Just a few years ago, venture capitalists pushed Internet startups to conquer every last corner of the world. Now they're asking why they don't just pull the plug on the Third World. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by oneinsixbillion: 2009 and imperialist tendencies are still strong more » | Other threads
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hires
MySpace Job Is Sweet Revenge for Ex-Facebook Exec
Owen Van Natta, Facebook's former COO, is officially taking over MySpace, News Corp.'s social network. With its user numbers stagnant, MySpace desperately needs a restart. Is Van Natta the guy to do it? More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by Cheap Shot: I don't know why I haven't killed my MySpace account. It would be great if he rechristened it 'MySpaceBook' just... 2 Responses | Other threads
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geocities
The Billion-Dollar Blackhole of Social Media
Will anyone miss GeoCities, the antiquated homepage service Yahoo bought for $3.5 billion in 1999, and then left to rot? Venture capitalist Fred Wilson will — he hasn't seen that kind of payday in ages. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by johnnypotatoes: Owen, I may be overreacting to what is just a personal peeve, but I'm also right, and you do this... 10 Responses | Other threads
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blowhards
Jason Calacanis Nominates Himself MySpace's Captain Obvious
The most amusing thing about fameballs is when they don't realize their balls have stopped rolling. Such is bulldog entrepreneur Jason Calacanis's lot, as he desperately tries to pose as MySpace's next CEO. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by stanhalen: Guy looks like a classic doofus...If you squint he looks just like Corky from life goes on.. Not that any of... 3 Responses | Other threads
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hires
Should MySpace Hire the Hero or the Zero?
Former Facebook COO Owen Van Natta is the frontrunner to replace Chris DeWolfe as MySpace CEO. Blog lordling Jason Calacanis has been jokingly nominated for the News Corp. gig. Here's who should get it. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by nirreskeya: Obviously it's possible, but is it common for execs to live in the Bay Area and commute to L.A.? 3 Responses | Other threads
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exits
Friendship with Boss's Wife Can't Save MySpace CEO
Sucking up to the CEO's wife is usually a wise move. But did it doom MySpace chief Chris DeWolfe? More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by owenmeanie: I prefer to think of MySpace as the girl who I lost my virginity to - DAMN it was hot... more » | Other threads
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privacy
Your MySpace Rant Will Go Down on Your Permanent Record
If you write something on the Internet, you can't later claim it was private. That's the surprisingly commonsensical ruling in the case of Cynthia Moreno, a California college student who sued her hometown newspaper. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by badasscat: While I'm totally down with the idea that anything you write in public on the internet is, well, public... is... 7 Responses | Other threads
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Shut Up, MySpace
Courtney Love in MySpace Libel Suit
A fashion designer has sued wacky-mess rocker Courtney Love for libel on MySpace. Love's response? Going on a blabby Twitter rampage and accusing Lindsay Lohan of stealing drugs.
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By Owen ThomasComment by Baroness: Along with jive, I speak fluent Courtney- or rather have honed my interpretive skills in reading her Internet missives... 3 Responses | Other threads
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hires
AOL Outcast Jon Miller to Join News Corp.'s Soap Opera in Progress
Rupert Murdoch's media empire continues its turmoil after the announcement of COO Peter Chernin's departure. The newest player: Former AOL CEO Jon Miller, who's widely expected to take the top digital job there. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by Miss Anita Manbadly: Are those his legs, or is this some Muppet-like trickery? It looks like they stuck some poles through his... 1 Responses | Other threads
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rumormonger
Is Chris DeWolfe on His Way Out at MySpace?
Bad days for MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe: A tell-all book about the lowbrow social network's shady origins is hitting the shelves as a Wall Street analyst predicts layoffs. How long will he last? More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by Nick Denton: Why exactly is it such a scandal that the founders were involved in porn and spam? Where else were they... 1 Responses | Other threads
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leaks
MySpace Memo: Three Top Execs Leaving
Amit Kapur, the 27-year-old No. 2 executive at MySpace, is leaving, according to a memo from MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe. It looks like he's planning a startup: He's taking two executives with him. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by heroinandpeeps: Be honest with me...there is no "Tom," is there? 4 Responses | Other threads
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myspace
Wendi Deng Murdoch's MySpace Problem
A tipster tells us Wendi Deng dropped by MySpace headquarters with a friend on Friday. What is Mrs. Rupert Murdoch up to at the News Corp.-owned social network? More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by jbk: You know what would be really funny - if Murdoch's media empire ever relentlessly pursued Bill Clinton for cheating on... more » | Other threads
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rumormonger
Intel's Secret Geekfest to Kill the iPhone
Apple's got the iPhone. Google's got Android. Even Amazon has the Kindle. After flirting several times with the ooohs-and-aaaahs gadget business, Intel convened a brain trust last week to work on their own mobile phone. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by Figaro: I'm willing to wager that this thing will flop. Intel just doesn't get consumer products and design. Every one of... 3 Responses | Other threads
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parties
Why Skipping Davos Is This Year's True Status Symbol
How a conference dies: The savvy crowd stays away, while eager second-raters fill their seats. Google cofounder Sergey Brin is skipping Davos. Meanwhile, MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe fought with a colleague to go amid layoffs. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by Nick Denton: Hmm. Are you sure people staying away from Davos because it's over? I think it's more likely that all the... 7 Responses | Other threads
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celebritards
MySpace plague Tila Tequila smooches Yahoo CEO spawn
What is it, precisely, that is so annoying about the on-off romance between MySpace-MTV fameball Tila Tequila and Courtenay Semel, the daughter of former Yahoo and Warner Bros. bossman Terry Semel?
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By Owen ThomasComment by Hydroceph: Tila Tequila's still here? I thought for sure she would've sunk back into whatever inky abyss had belched her forth... 1 Responses | Other threads
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advertising
Your Facebook Page Increasingly Undesirable
Sites like Myspace and Facebook, which are technically called "social networking" sites but are better known as "Lisa is...OMG are you watching The Hills right now? Craziness" ego-projection mechanisms for creating alternate realities, are suffering just like everyone else during this recession. Not traffic-wise; humans' desire to keep the outside world appraised of their moment-to-moment "status" only continues to increase. But money-wise, things are not looking quite so wildly engrossing: More »
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Comment by lionel-mandrake: "Bullshit advertising" is an oxymoron. 3 Responses | Other threads
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DailyFill
MySpace launches another doomed gossip site
The celebrity-industrial complex will expand, must expand, can't help but expand until every site on the Web features gossipy famous-people headlines. The latest entrant: DailyFill, MySpace's slapdash copycat celebrity-news site.
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By Owen ThomasComment by JustStart: satan shat myspace out one night after a raging circuit party. 1 Responses | Other threads
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online advertising
Why Facebook can't sell ads
Facebook has made a bold bet on being the next Google. The problem is that it may have made the wrong bet. The Wall Street Journal has taken tardy notice of Facebook's "engagement ads," first launched in August. They are not an easy sell; they require advertisers to come up with some compelling "action" for Facebook users to take, which will then be shared with their friends, and thus spread virally through the social network. And yet the chief way Facebook hopes to sell these ads is through an automated sign-up process. Facebook has a direct-sales team, but its top management lacks experience in managing large sales teams. Which may explain why MySpace, which has built a large salesforce by recruiting heavily from Yahoo, has 15.9 percent of the display-ad market, while Facebook has a mere 1.1 percent. (Chart by WSJ/ComScore)
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By Owen ThomasComment by ifstone: But Facebook doesn't run many (any?) display ads, which is one point in its favor compared to MySpace, which has... 2 Responses | Other threads
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digital music
MySpace wants to sell MP3 players
Want a MyPod? MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe hints that the social-networking site might sell MySpace-branded MP3 players to make its MySpace Music spinoff a more plausible competitor to Apple's iTunes. Last we checked, this plan did not work for Napster, either. [BetaNews]
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Comment by daruma_mac: Is it going to sneak up on me with emo music(or nickelback for that matter), and scare my dog... like... more » | Other threads
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Camp Cyprus
MySpace DJ taunts Wall Street Journal reporter
Poor Jessica Vascellaro. The Wall Street Journal reporter will never be able to live down the video she and several Webhead friends recorded on a Cyprus vacation. The song-and-dance number was controversial as a sign of bubble-era excess — and as an indication that Vascellaro might be rather too close to the companies she covers. Last night, as Vascellaro partied at the MySpace Music party, the DJ put on "Don't Stop Believing" — the same Journey song which provided the soundtrack to their seaside frolics. Kara Swisher has video from the party: More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by NickDentonMumsBum: wn hts brsts. Y'r gy. K. K. W gt t wn. Y ht Bbs. Htrs. Jgs. Gzmbs. Grn Ttns. Jggly Wggls.... 2 Responses | Other threads
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party report
MySpace Music party a dud
When the highlight of the evening is Twitter CEO Ev Williams meeting faded hip-hop star MC Hammer, you know the night was a waste. Indie-music consultant Corey Denis reports that the event "had ten actual music industry people there, tops." MySpace didn't have much to celebrate, either: It has yet to appoint a figurehead CEO to its MySpace Music faux joint venture. The only thing confirmed about Courtney Holt, the MTV executive widely rumored to be taking the job, is his gender. (Photo by Brian Solis/Bub.blicio.us)
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By Owen ThomasComment by FaceMelter: Lionel Ritchie and DJ AM? I know AM used to fuck his daughter, but what kind of crazy combination is that?... 1 Responses | Other threads
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corrections
New MySpace Music chief Courtney Holt is a dude, okay?
I feel sorry for Courtney Holt. Partly because the MTV executive is rumored to be taking a terrible job running MySpace Music, a feature of the social network masquerading as a separate company. But mostly because of his name. In a previous article, I was enough of a bonehead to refer to Holt as "she." Trying to do my part to promote the role of women in the tech industry, okay?
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By Owen ThomasComment by PaulaSilo: i've worked with him. he's a total loser. more » | Other threads
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great moments in pr
Three's a Trendrr
Dear Trendrr publicist who sent us a data dump on the presidential candidates' social-networking prowess a day after the election: Here's your "hit" on a hot "influencer" site that thinks you're "dumb." Hands up, everyone who still cares how many MySpace friends John McCain has this afternoon. Thought so. -
hires
Another MySpace Music CEO candidate stalls on the job
Why is it that Courtney Holt, the MTV executive reportedly offered a job running MySpace Music, has yet to take the CEO position there? Because, like the other candidates, he figured out that running a feature of a website is not a real job. -
online advertising
Viacom turns MySpace bootlegs into an advertunity
A year ago, Viacom sued YouTube for one billion dollars, claiming YouTube was not blocking uploads of copyrighted Viacom material from Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV, VH1 and others. Today, MySpace will join YouTube in running ads targeted to Viacom-owned clips, instead of deleting them. Auditude, a Palo Alto startup, provides the software that identifies Viacom-owned content. Remember when musicians believed all advertising was evil? Now, I'm looking forward to seeing a Big & Rich ad targeted against another Big & Rich ad, overlaid by another Big & Rich ad for a Big & Rich ad I haven't seen yet. Collect them all!
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By Paul BoutinComment by Uncle-Sam's Littlle Helper: Thanks! I tried to write you back on MySpace, but my network is running so slow because of all... more » | Other threads
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breakdowns
MySpace foe can't keep it up
Brad Greenspan, the former CEO of Intermix Media, the company which launched MySpace, loves to make trouble for News Corp., the media giant he claims bought Intermix and MySpace for a song. Too bad he pays more attention to his ongoing, one-sided feud than his revenge vehicle, LiveUniverse. Greenspan's startup is having trouble with his uptime; a tipster says his LiveUniverse and LiveVideo sites have been down for two days running. That's not the real problem; the real problem is that it took two days for anyone to notice they've been down.
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By Owen ThomasComment by MaiaEuryalus: The company is being evicted from its LA offices after months of not paying rent, and they had their phones... more » | Other threads
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owen van natta
MySpace Music's fruitless CEO search
Why can't News Corp. find anyone to run MySpace Music, the spinoff from its social network which is part-owned by major labels? No one seems able to state the obvious: MySpace Music is a feature, not a company. The outside investment it garners is just an elaborate way of cutting in the labels on MySpace's music-related profits. No wonder former Facebook COO Owen Van Natta turned down the job; TechCrunch reports that he cleverly tried to get MySpace to buy Project Playlist, a music startup he'd invested in, as part of the deal. Van Natta picked the right test: If MySpace had been willing to fold Project Playlist into MySpace Music, it would have proven that the music venture really had some independence. Any other CEO candidate should ask the same questions Van Natta raised with his quid-pro-quo deal.
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By Owen ThomasComment by nirreskeya: Was Owen planning on moving to LA, or just commuting from the Bay? Both sound terrible to me. more » | Other threads
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xochi birch
Bebo founder admits her fortune came from ripoffs
Imitation is the sincerest form of getting rich. MySpace got bought early, on the cheap; Facebook has yet to cash out. Michael and Xochi Birch's sale of Bebo, a social network more popular overseas than in the U.S., to AOL for $850 million has been the best social-network cashout to date. And how did they manage it? Shamelessly copying other sites, Xochi Birch admits to the BBC. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by HardyEurytus: Xochi is the most endearing person you may ever meet. And what's so surprising about copying other sites? ... more » | Other threads
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earnings
MySpace wants to remind you that glitter text on profiles makes bank
Downturn? What downturn? Strategically placed sources are whispering that MySpace is likely to hit $1 billion in annual revenue, a jump from its $850 million in revenue last year. The milestone is impressive since MySpace is joining the $1 billion club in only five years, a year faster than Google. Facebook, meanwhile, is just too cool to worry about revenue or releasing products. [VentureBeat]
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Comment by TheDestructionator: Yeah, it's very impressive. And to think for months I thought Facebook was a better model for an SNS. more » | Other threads
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Sat Jul 11
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