So you’ve got a bit of a dilemma, the Mass Effect 3 demo comes out this coming Tuesday, but that also happens to be Valentines Day, and you’re sweetie may not be too keen on you skipping your scheduled dinner and viewing of The Vow to get a taste of the crew of The Normandy’s finale. What do you do?

If you’re a card carrying member of Facebook (and let’s be honest, who isn’t these days), you can head over to the Mass Effect 3 Facebook page and take part in a flash game — the result, early access to the Mass Effect 3 demo, like instant access.

So boom — you get your first taste of Mass Effect 3, and your girlfriend doesn’t miss out on her Channing Tatum flick. You’re welcome.

Lashing out in response to sharing service Megaupload being taken offline and its founder jailed, hacking activist group Anonymous took down websites for Universal Music and CBS.com. One rumor suggests that Xbox.com and Xbox Live could be next.

The group sent out a video earlier this week claiming that if the MegaUpload services were not restored within 72-hours, they would begin targeting such sites as Capital One, The United Nations, Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. There are rumors that the video was merely an empty threat posted by either smaller members of the organization or someone not even affiliated with them.

This wouldn’t be the first time that Anonymous allegedly took down a gaming service. Though they denied any involvement, the group was credited with taking down the PlayStation Network, taking the service offline for 23-days in response to Sony taking legal action against a hacker who “jailbroke” his PS3 system.

It’s unclear whether the Xbox Network is a verified target of the group, or which of the services would be effected.

By Caitlin Buckley at Emmanuel College

The literary world has entered the social network stream. Marketers have 140 characters to catch your interest.

Lexie Winslow has social media down pat. Every day, she is the queen of clever hash-tags and witty status updates. She needs to get the most comments and “likes.”

“Learning to write concisely and persuasively has been invaluable in the business world, especially in marketing,” she said . “Social media marketing is all about making an impression in a finite amount of characters!”

Photo Cred: AIS Media

In Boston’s Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade and Reference Division, 24 year old Winslow is the Web Content Administrator. She uses Twitter and Facebook to blog new book titles.

She appreciates the desire to discuss favorite books and the next big hits. Her updates relate to the reader– what sparks their interest, what they want to talk about most. In one line, she invests in the reader as much as she promotes the book.

“I find social media a very forgiving platform, so it’s a good place to try things out and see how the fans react. I put myself in their shoes as a reader, to think of what would entice me to learn more about a book,” Winslow said.

It’s a world in which people want to voice their own opinions. If Winslow does it right, social media provides an organized and exciting forum, friendly to both discussion and marketing. Every day is a little different, so the fresh and stimulating new ideas need to keep coming.

“I think social media is a blessing for the publishing industry,” she said. “Twitter and Facebook especially are so text-based that literary people gravitate to them.”

But there are limits to her expression.

Winslow feels the pressure to make each and every status update interesting. She can’t be too offensive, but she can be a little controversial. There is a balance somewhere in between that keeps readers returning and increasing in numbers.

When she feels lacking in followers and friends, she wins them over by giving them something for their effort.

“Free books usually go over the best,” she said. “Whenever I want to drive up follower numbers, I put together a giveaway.”

Living in the digital age, creativity is important. Marketing has become Winslow’s playground.

For the promotional websites, she creates designs that are easy to follow and visually appealing. She features the newest and most intriguing books on the homepage of the company’s website. Each tweet and status update has a purpose.

There is a sense of accomplishment that comes from clicking that tweet into the web-universe.

“I can feel proud of the products that I share with the world,” she said.

Winslow credits her English degree from Holy Cross for helping her succeed in the professional world. She had a passion for literature in college, and followed that instinct when looking for jobs in book-related fields.

Publishing was the perfect fit.

After graduation, she interned at a smaller publishing house, The History Press. When she received another internship at Houghton Mifflin, she was at a crossroads: internship or graduate school? She chose the internship for experience, over observation in a classroom.

Experience paid off and she was given a job at the company—one that relies on a quick mind and a youthful spark—the essence of social media.

“It’s casual, sometimes silly, and all about instant gratification,” she said, “and I’ve become very comfortable with it.”

One of the first things I do upon waking up in the morning is roll over, my eyes squinting with lethargy in the semi darkness, and check my Facebook. About an hour later, as I brush my teeth or apply my makeup, I check it again. Throughout the day, whether in class or eating lunch I am always ready to check up on the lives of the few hundred people who make up my list of friends. Facebook, and its odd mix of voyeurism and real human connection, has attracted millions upon millions of people to join. It and the newly popular Google+ have a strict policy of only allowing members to join if they are willing to share their real name.

These “nymwars”, as they have dubbed on Twitter, are raging between those who want to remain separated from their online personas and websites like Facebook that remain steadfast in their affirmation that requiring the use of real names leads to better online behavior and an easier way for others to find you on the internet. In many ways, this is a debate that leaves me with mixed feelings. As someone who is young and lives for Facebook and social networking, it is difficult to understand why anyone would want to hide themselves. For most of my friends, the entire reason for having a Facebook is to show off those drunken pictures from Friday night, or the ring your boyfriend just gave you. The point of Facebook , at least as I see it, is to let the world see the best and happiest parts of your life, even if they tell a lie about who you are.

The fact that my name attached to everything I do while on Facebook has  prevented me from speaking up on a rude status or posting an embarrassing photo. The fact that other people, people who actually know me and see me in the hallway or at work the next day, will see what I have said and done online has definitely stayed my hand from doing pretty stupid things. Then again, I am somewhat conservative in my activities because there are undoubtedly people who post and say outlandish things without worrying about the real world consequences their statements cause. It does make me wonder though, would those kind of things happen more often if Facebook allowed us to operate under an alias? I tend to think so.

To see the dark side of the internet, the side with people who say rude and horrible things indiscriminately is very easy. All you need to do is go to an article on Kim Kardashian or a story about President Obama. The comment sections of these pages are rarely full of thoughtful and well articulated answers. Instead they are littered with comments that are racist, ageist, sexist, and any kind of “ist” you can think of. In the real world are the people behind the fake names in the comment section that hateful? Would they be able to look the same person they are bashing in a forum in the face and say what they have written? Probably not, and it is for that reason alone that I am more inclined to believe that it is better for social networking websites to have policies of real names only.

Even though Google+ has recently relented and will now allow pseudonyms, I cannot help but think a victory has not been won. Bullies and those who would seek to hurt others online depend upon the ambiguity that internet handles give them. Yet, supporters of internet pseudonyms are adamant that Facebook and others only want real names, not because transparency of identity is morally correct, but  because they profit by giving those names to advertising companies. This may be true, and I am personally annoyed when I get advertisements on Facebook. But in reality, they really aren’t obnoxious enough to warrant a call for names to be hidden. Proponents of pseudonyms also say that this ambiguity protects those who could otherwise not voice their opinion. Whether it is a young gay man in a small town or a woman who is the victim of abuse, without the protection of obscurity they would not be honestly state what they believe. i am in complete agreement with these sentiments, but I feel like these occurrences are too rare to outweigh the bile that people who are hiding behind a fake name spew while on the internet. I am aware that my actual name is one of my most important assets in my life, and I use it on the internet with caution. The fact that what I say holds me accountable makes me wiser, and couldn’t we all do with a little more wisdom?

The environmental impact of so much online time really boils down to energy usage, which in turn affects the amount of greenhouse gases we pump into our atmosphere. Google, which has been carbon neutral since 2007, has been a real leader in the building of green data centers, even powering them with renewable energy. (Media credit/Jurgen Plasser via Flickr)

The environmental impact of so much online time really boils down to energy usage, which in turn affects the amount of greenhouse gases we pump into our atmosphere. For one, each of us can help by limiting computer time (whether surfing the ‘net or not) and shutting them down or putting them into sleep mode when we aren’t using them (this can be automated via the computer’s power management control panel).

Also, when shopping for a new computer, consumers and businesses alike can opt for models certified by the federal government as energy efficient with the Energy Star label. If all computers sold in the U.S. met Energy Star requirements, Americans could pocket $1.8 billion annually in saved energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an amount equivalent to taking some two million cars off the road.

Individual responsibility aside, the creation and management of more efficient data centers by the major online hubs—especially as we enter the age of “cloud” computing whereby most of the software, content and services we look to our computers for resides online and is served to us as-needed—is what can have the biggest impact. Google, Facebook, and Amazon.com are already deeply committed to the cloud computing model, with Microsoft, Yahoo and others following suit accordingly.

For its part, Google has been a real leader in the building of green data centers, even powering them with renewable energy. The company recently released environmental footprint scores for several of its data centers. While the energy usage required to run its cloud services (Google Search, Google+, Gmail and YouTube) seems huge in the aggregate—it used 260 megawatt hours to power its data centers in 2010—it boils down to only 7.4 kilowatt hours worth of energy annually per user. Google reports that to provide an individual user with its services for a month uses less energy than leaving a light bulb on for three hours. And because the company has been carbon neutral since 2007, “even that small amount of energy is offset completely, so the carbon footprint of your life on Google is zero.”

In an April 2011 report entitled “How Dirty is your Data?” the non-profit Greenpeace examined energy sources for the 10 largest IT companies involved in cloud computing, finding Apple, Facebook and IBM especially guilty of getting significant amounts of power from coal-fired power plants. (Facebook had come under fire earlier this year when reporters uncovered that the company planned to buy electricity for its brand new eco-friendly data center in Prineville, Oregon—one of the greenest such facilities ever designed and constructed—from a utility that derives most of its power from coal.) Yahoo, Amazon.com and Microsoft scored best in use of renewable alternative energy sources for cloud services.

In the long run, analysts think that the widespread shift to cloud computing will be a great boon to the environment. A report released in September 2011 by Pike Research, “Cloud Computing Energy Efficiency,” predicts that because of the shift to cloud computing and increasing efficiencies, data center power consumption will decrease by 31 percent between 2010 and 2020.

CONTACTS: Energy Star, www.energystar.gov; Greenpeace, www.greenpeace.org; Pike Research, www.pikeresearch.com.

Where were you when your mom showed up on Facebook? How did you feel? Did the walls start to close in and a sharp panic run up your spine as you frantically began deleting every picture of yourself toasting a cup of whatever mix drink you preferred at the age of 19? The opening of the social network Facebook from strictly college students to the general public seems like the first time the format became a chore, but it wouldn’t be the last.

Within the last three years, Facebook has drastically changed its layouts, features, and privacy settings four times, each being met with a large amount of criticism and disdain. The latest update, that went live Wednesday, has been met with everything from misspelled jeering to mass threats of defection to the recently public released Google +. What are the new changes to our beloved streaming social life, and are they all as bad as they are made out to be by the hating masses? Here’s the Blast Magazine breakdown.

New News Feed

What is it? The New Feed that once showed you a list of chronological events in one tab and a list of “Most Popular” in a second has been replaced by a single feed that will show you both. The order in which these will appear will depend on the last time you visited Facebook, with “Top Stories” appearing first if you haven’t visited for an extended period of time and “Recent Stories” appearing if you recently checked.

What’s it supposed to do? Facebook’s official blog claims ““When you visit Facebook, you should see the things you’re most interested in…”. This new feed will attempt to prioritize your stories in order of what you are most likely interested in seeing.

Like or Dislike? DISLIKE — Both Kurt Vonnegut and Ray Bradbury warned us of a time when computers would tell us what we should care about and how that would bring an end to human culture as we know it. But outside of the doomsday literary references, more often than not the algorithm used to determine what you want will misunderstand you completely, making a hassle out of something that was once effortless.

The Ticker

What is it? A sort of “Inception” Facebook within a Facebook, The Ticker acts as a second, smaller Newsfeed at the top right of the main screen that displays real time updates.

What’s it supposed to do? While the new main News Feed will update you with your “Top News Stories” based on a new algorithm the company has developed, The Ticker will update in real time the newest occurrences on Facebook for those who wish to see events chronologically.

Like or Dislike? DISLIKE — This happens from time to time in social networks where the powers that be take what you used to have in a previous version and kind of shrink it down so they can eventually completely cut it out. Its slow death and it’s never fun to watch.

The Subscribe Button

What is it ? A new option in the way of what you see from individuals on your feed, choosing to “Subscribe” to a person rather than simply “Friend” them allows you to filter the content that you are made aware of.

What is it supposed to do? Allows users to filter out some of the excess posting that some of their friends tend to put up. Also allows you to completely filter out people’s posts without having to unfriend them.

Like or Dislike? LIKE — Facebook’s take on what Google + introduced with the “Circles” concept, it’s always good to have the option to take the coward’s way out when you don’t want to hear from certain people.

The New Friend Button with Smart Lists

What is it? A more detailed way to categorize the people on your friends list between “Close Friend” or “Acquaintance”. Also added is a section of “Smart Lists” allowing users to quickly categorize their friends into different listings such as school mates or family.

What is it supposed to do? Along with the subscribe option, this feature is another way to filter some unwanted posts from showing on your feed by disavowing minor posts put on by people marked as acquaintances. Also the smart lists are used to remind you where you know some of your friends from.

Like or Dislike? LIKE — Really we should be taking steps as a culture towards talking to people who post to many useless things on the feed and getting used to saying “We can still be friends, just not on Facebook.” But since the path to Hell is paved with good intentions, another option to skirt around people is nice.

The Smart List seems a bit useless, but it is a skipable step to friending someone so it won’t be held against the judgment.

Bigger Photos on the Feed

What is it? Photos now appear larger on the feed.

What’s it supposed to do? Make pictures bigger on the feed.

Like or Dislike? LIKE — The pictures are bigger! Bigger and on the feed! Isn’t that great?!?!!

New Top Right Corner

What is it? The original top right corner of the Facebook page has been changed from including “Home,” “Profile” and “Account” to two quick links between your profile page and the main news feed. A drop down menu has been included to allow users to change to using Facebook as their “Page” if they have one.

What’s it supposed to do  Allow for a simpler interface and make it clearer when a user is logged onto their “Page” and when they are logged in as their personal profile.

Like or Dislike? DISLIKE — The biggest problem that occurs when a website changes interface is the time it takes to get used to the muscle memory motions that have come with using the site so long. Going from three options to two is a bit of a superfluous change and users will find themselves taking that extra few seconds to get it right for a while.

Those are the major changes made to the site, here’s a quick list of minor changes:

• You no longer need 25 likes on a business page in order to grab a custom URL. LIKE
• There is now a “Friend Activity” feed on business pages so that people can see how their friends interact with your page. LIKE
• Facebook will now email you a daily summary of the “less important” notifications instead of individual ones. DISLIKE — I have never understood why people would need Facebook items emailed to them
• Posts or comments in another language prompt the appearance of a “translate” button. LIKE
• You can now post birthday wishes to peoples’ walls without leaving your homepage by clicking the birthday’s link in the upper right corner. DISLIKE — Nothing says “I don’t care” like not bothering to go to someones profile in order to write the classic “Happy Birthday dudeeeeee”

Final verdict

The small changes are OK, the big changes are a pain, and all the changes are unnecessary.

Our complaints about the New Facebook are the same as most people’s. That being no one had any real problem with what Facebook was. It was quick, free, and has been a standard in most people’s life for the last half decade.But the company has the Myspace train of thought, which reads “any new threat to our social network supremacy must be outdone ten fold” with the results being an overblown web of useless features smothering the original format that got us into the network in the first place.

Over 700 million users on Facebook have faced this dilemma … confirm or ignore a friend request. We’ve all been there, weighing the options of allowing yet another friend into our lives. Some may be nonchalant about adding friends, “the more the merrier.” Other users may be more selective, only allowing “specific” friends into their lives. One thing they all have in common… there aren’t many rules when it comes to Facebook.

Social networking is a huge force to be reckoned with. We are consumed by posting on news feeds, giving status updates, and sharing pictures with our “friends.” But what does all of this mean? More than you think… here are six (unofficial) rules for using Facebook.

1. Know your friends. First and foremost, would you randomly walk up to a total stranger, and show them a picture of your adorable and innocent children?

Most likely not, yet people accept friend requests from friends of friends they barely know, or strangers who happen to know someone they’ve met once. Participating in the world of social networking doesn’t mean you have to throw all your regular rules out the door. Just because you can’t see the predator at the door doesn’t mean they aren’t lurking in cyberspace when your safety guard is down. When you’re chatting with someone, are you chatting with a true “friend?” Think about the person you’re adding, and who’ll be seeing the most intimate details of your life. Posting your husband will be out of town for a couple days is probably not the best idea, but numerous times a day, people do share this type of information. Would you post a huge note on your front door reading, “My husband is not home, he’s away on business until Friday?”
Common sense and knowing who you’re friends are will help keep you and your secrets safe within your inner circle of friends.

2. Know what matters to you. People often join Facebook on a whim, but don’t really grasp the enormity of what social networking has become. Why are you choosing to be a member? Do you want to catch up with old friends? Do you want to share your life with everyone you know, or are you just nosy and want to snoop around and not participate? If you’ve identified yourself as at least one of these people, than you’re a step ahead of everyone else. Always remember the real reason you joined a social networking site in the first place. If you start straying from that truth and allow outside influences to distract you, your judgment can become clouded. Stick with what matters and be honest with yourself. If you own your actions and the way you handle yourself on Facebook, you’re less likely to run into trouble.

3. Know what to share. Who are your “friends?” Do you care who sees your posts or pictures? If the answer is no, than go about your day but still have your eyes wide open for your sake. For people who want to share their information and details of their life with just “friends,” think before posting or downloading. Once you click the button, there’s really no turning back. Yes, you can delete your post or pictures, but who is to say someone hasn’t already taken your words or photos and saved them to their account or computer? An innocent post or picture can be timeless in the world of social networking. Don’t take the power of social media lightly.

4. Know if you want to please people. Are you “liking” everything in sight? Do you encourage and comment on “friend’s” posts constantly? Do you say things you really don’t mean, because you don’t want to hurt someone else’s feelings? Facebook and social networking can mirror high school, the days where acceptance and fitting in were staples in the world of adolescence. Fast-forward five, ten, or twenty years. If you had the chance to do anything over or be someone else, would you? Being true to who you are is probably one of the best gifts you can give yourself. Don’t sell out or pretend to be someone you’re not, and sacrifice a part of you for that acceptance. Try not to compromise yourself for people who you didn’t really care for in the first place.

5. Know to anticipate the “what ifs.” No one really thinks confirming a friend is difficult, but it’s not as innocent as it seems. What if your ex friends you out of the blue? Do you confirm them as a friend? What if you’re married? Do you tell your mate your ex has friended you…or is it none of their business? What if your spouse finds out you confirmed an ex without disclosing or discussing it first? What if you aren’t prepared to allow someone back into your life? Temptation has never been this close. With a click of a button, you can see what your ex is doing at that very moment and instantly communicate with a person you haven’t seen in years. Are you prepared for what comes next? Curiosity can lead to the “what ifs” being answered, even if they aren’t necessarily good.

6. Know your boundaries. How far is too far? You’re married but speak with an old friend, sharing more intimate thoughts with that person than your significant other. An emotional connection can lead to something more dangerous … a physical affair. Can a friendship with an ex be platonic? Is discussing intimate topics, meeting for coffee or dinner, and becoming more secretive and withdrawn from your significant other crossing the line? Can you look in the mirror, and know you’re not doing anything wrong? Temptation and availability can cloud someone’s judgment, leading to mistakes and regret. When have you gone too far? Difficult questions that should be answered before it’s too late.

Today, Facebook and other social networking sites are under a microscope. Without established rules, people are making mistakes and paying for them. Have you encountered anything in life that hasn’t had some form of rules or regulations? Temptation is a driving force within social media. People simply can’t help themselves, but what are the consequences? Recent scandals show no one is immune to scrutiny and the negative spotlight that comes from making a social media blunder, so to all of you addicted to social media, remember to use with caution!

Google has never been accused of sitting idly by, what with it still being the number 1 search engine across the world, and constantly trying to branch out into other fields that are already dominated by other juggernauts like Skype and Facebook.

On Google’s blog, they have just announced a new social media function called Google+ which is trying to incorporate your online world and real world experience into one.

Google+ is actually several different social media ideas to get you involved with the people in your network, both on and off line.

• +Cirlcle is a way to connect with a select few people in your social network of friends. Instead of blasting the world you interact with a “circle” of friends with the same likes.
• +Sparks delivers a feed of highly contagious content from across the Internet. On any topic you want, in over 40 languages. Simply add your interests, and you’ll always have something to watch, read and share—with just the right circle of friends. This sounds like it would be the equivalent of Twitter and Facebook combined.
• +Hangouts By combining the casual meetup with live multi-person video, Hangouts lets you stop by when you’re free, and spend time with your Circles. Face-to-face-to-face. In other words, this would be the equivalent of Face Time on a phone or Skype.
• +Mobile has three counterparts such as +location, +instant upload, +huddle. Each of these make your phone a way to connect with your circle online offline, by giving your location where they could join you for fun, by checking out a photo you just took, and by coordinating with a meetup that you’ve planned.

As you can see Google+ is not only stepping into the social media landscape, it is trying to carve out its own niche as well. It is combining several popular medias such as Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter and Skype. Why use all four when you can have it all in one place?

Want to get in on the action? Right now it is currently available in the Android Market and will be available at some point in the future on other platforms.

A judge ruled against the twins who waged the legal battle against Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, made famous by the movie “The Social Network,” on Wednesday, ending the case.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss originally agreed to a $65 million settlement in 2008, but then tried to undo the deal.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the duo and they denied a trip to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Their stock is now worth more than $100 million, according to Boston.com.

The founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, wants kids under 13 to be allowed on Facebook, saying the youngsters should be allowed, for educational purposes, to access his social network.

In theory this sounds like a great idea, especially as children are the future and definitely more savvy when it comes to computers and the internet, but some groups — and law — would disagree with the plan.

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) bans sites from collecting information from kids under 13. Parental groups also worry that child predators out there could possibly be detrimental to this plan.

Zuckerberg is tech savvy as well as business savvy, and opening the flood gates to children would certainly be good for Facebook’s bottom line, but at the same time, the question reamins: how can he stop those who are still out there waiting for something like this? For parents of younger children, they may not want their kids online.

What do you think of the idea? Comment below!

From the “a bunch of stuff that Joe doesn’t care about put together” file, Lady Gag has invaded popular Facebook game Farmville. Try to contain your excitement.

Featuring everything from motorcycle riding sheep and new crystal based plants, Gagaville’s main draw is the ability to unlock a new track from the singer’s upcoming album each day from now until May 23, when it releases.

“Everything we’ve created has been in collaboration,” said Raquel DiSabatino, Zynga’s Director of Entertainment and Media in an interview with MTV News. ”From giving players a listen to unreleased songs as a reward for game play within ‘FarmVille,’ to creating daily experiences in ‘Words With Friends’ that embody the album’s messages and songs. We’ve had a lot of fun developing this program as a unique celebration of the album.”

A Fremont, Calif., man was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison and was fined $20,000 for possessing child pornography and attempting to extort additional child pornography images from a minor, according to an announcement made by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag for the Northern District of California.

James Dale Brown, 28, harrassed the 14-year-old girl via Facebook using the username “Bob Lewis” from December 2008 through April 2009. He was aware of the victim’s age. Prior to contacting the victim, he had obtained a “revealing” photograph of her and told her that he would delete this picture, along with others he claimed to have of her, “from the Internet” only if she sent him a video of herself engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Brown threatened to expose said images to the victim’s friends, also minors. The victim did not give in to Brown’s threats, and on April 18, 2009, Brown sent one of the victim’s friends, a minor, two Web links to an explicit image of the victim.

On April 23, 2009, FBI agents executed a search warrant on Brown’s residence. Brown was arrested on Aug. 26, 2010 and pleaded guilty on Feb. 2, 2011.

This case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. This is the first case involving the attempted extortion of a minor for child pornography via a social networking website to be prosecuted in the Northern District of California.

Last month Facebook and Warner Bros. entered into a licensing agreement to stream “The Dark Knight” over the social network, available for rent with credits on the site, to the tune of about $3. Now more films have been added, including two “Harry Potter” films and recent blockbuster “Inception.”

And with that, Facebook is dipping into the digital media delivery service, but what does Facebook hope to gain here? Netflix is the king here, Hulu is hoping for action, and iTunes will always have the Apple ecosystem to summon users.

Facebook could be a powerful tool for digital media sales: more than films, but encompassing television, apps, and music. After all, consider the social aspect of sharing films, reviews, comments — imagine the ability to watch a film with friends across the site, commenting in real time. When a friend posts or links to media, instant delivery of that medium.

That’s a jump in logical progression. But it’s not to fanciful. And perhaps this is what Facebook is going with here, or perhaps not.

The point is Facebook is putting feelers out. It’s been constantly testing the potential of its expanses, from Facebook games/apps to the recent email/chat/message consolidations.

And now it’s looking at the media industry. Just like its looked at the Facebook phone. Hell, its even threatened to wade into Google’s territory with search.

Which brings us to Google. When Google started leveraging its dominance earlier in the past decade to branch into everything. Just as Google was the behemoth of the previously-unheralded search, Facebook is of social. The possibilities are limitless, and Facebook is exploring.

He’s Han Solo. He’s Indiana Jones. Now, he’s a game developer. Oh Harrison Ford, is there anything you can’t do?

Ford, has teamed up with developer Talkie and Conversation International to create city building sim Ecotopia. So what’s so different about Ecotopia from other city building games currently on Facebook? The focus is not only on building the player’s created city, but doing so in a green way. In fact, the game’s developers say that players will be rewarded with in game incentives for real world green acts (once they’re verified).

“As we work to address the most fundamental issues facing humanity,” says Ford, “I think Ecotopia will help get people involved in a way that is fun, educational, and meaningful.”

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg appeared on “Saturday Night Live” and met actor Jesse Eisenberg, who portrayed him in “The Social Network.”
Also, Andy Samberg, who got dressed like Zuckerberg, came onstage wearing hoodie and a curly-haired wig.

Nicki Minaj also appeared the show as the musical guest that night. She appeared in the “SNL” digital short with Andy Samberg’s Lonely Island group, “Do The Creep,” and performed “Right Through Me” and “Moment 4 Life.”

MySpace, the former king of social media, is rebranding itself as an entertainment hub.

Apparently it takes fewer employees to run an entertainment hub than it does to run a social network. (Apparently parent company News Corp. didn’t see the movie.)

MySpace has fired 47 percent of its workforce, about 500 employees, as the company struggles to survive.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the company is forging relationships with companies in the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia

As part of the restructuring, the company is forging partnerships in the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia for advertising sales and content for its new “hub” operation.

MySpace still has 110 million members worldwide. But Facebook has grown to about 600 million at this point.

When you’re Mark Zuckerberg what’s a cool $8.5 mil?

Apparently not much.

While Zuckerberg previously announced Facebook’s purchase of fb.com in November, the American Farm Bureau (the previous owners) let the domain’s $8.5 million dollar price-tag slip at a conference this week.

The domain was purchased for Facebook internal use. Zuckerberg announced his acquisition of fb.com in true TIME person-of-the-year-fashion: “the farm bureau has agreed to give us FB.com and we in return have agreed to not sell Farm subsidies.”

On another note, if you have been mindlessly searching the internet for the Farm Bureau only to be redirected someone’s status about impending snow cancellations their site has been moved to fb.org.

The National Society of Film Critics on Saturday selected “The Social Network” as the best picture of 2010.

Also, Jesse Eisenberg was named best actor for his role as Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. David Fincher was chosen for best director and Aaron Sorkin won for best screenplay as well.

The National Society of Film Critics was founded in 1966 and is composed of 61 film critics from across the country. “The Social Network” was voted on by 46 critics.

“The Social Network” has been chosen as the year’s best picture by Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

The movie, as everyone knows, is all about how Facebook was created by Harvard students and what was going on behind the huge development as one of the biggest social networking sites.

The Boston Society of Film Critics also picked “Social Network.”

Many celebrities, including Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, Ryan Seacrest, Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Elijah Wood, Serena Williams, Janelle Monae and Swizz Beatz are getting ready for a new campaign called “Digital Life Sacrifice,” which will benefit Alicia Keys’ AIDS charity, “Keep a Child Alive.” The charity organization was started in 2003 in order to support people in Africa and India who are affected by HIV/AIDS.

This is how this works. They will sign off social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter starting Wednesday, which is World AIDS Day. And, they will not come back until the charity campaign raises $1 million.

Alicia Keys told the Associated Press, “It’s really important and super-cool to use mediums that we naturally are on.”

Loud whispering. Knowing Santa. Incorrect ideas about nutrition. These things have made Buddy the Elf a beloved holiday character since comedian Will Ferrell created him in the 2003 movie “Elf.”

Buddy is on Broadway this season in “Elf the Musical” playing at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre with Sebastian Arcelus in the title role. And in the likely event that Buddy the Elf will fans get their way, Buddy — again played by Will Ferrell — will host the 2010 Saturday Night Live Christmas Special.

Betty White ended up as host of Saturday Night Live last year after a Facebook campaign to put her there reached almost half a million members. Now Buddy’s fans have a politely-named Facebook page, “Dear SNL, Please Let Buddy the Elf Host the 2010 SNL Christmas Special.” It has over 135,000 members.

Ferrell was an SNL cast member from 1995 to 2002. But unlike some other characters that SNL alum have portrayed in movies, Buddy the Elf didn’t premier on that show, nor was the “Elf” film made by SNL Studios. This means there might be some copyright agreements to be worked out between New Line Cinema, MSNBC, and their respective corporate octopi. There are no other obvious reasons why Will Ferrell, Lorne Michaels, and every else involved with SNL wouldn’t go for it.

Will Ferrell, as himself, hosted SNL in 2005 and 2009. But Buddy the Elf won’t be the first fictional character to host an SNL episode (if the Christmas Special, a clip show, is considered an episode). That honor probably goes to Pee Wee Herman, played by Paul Reuben, who hosted in 1985.

Image media credit/Christopher Crosby

It’s almost the time of year for snuggling by the fire and kissing under the mistletoe, but don’t get too warm and cozy just yet — you could be in for some holiday heartbreak.

According to British journalist David McCandless, two weeks before Christmas is a peak time of year for couples to break up. He knows this because he has analyzed over 10,000 Facebook status updates in an effort to discover the days of the year when you’re most likely to be watching chick flicks and stuffing your face with pints of ice cream.

In a video from last July’s TED conference in Oxford, England, McCandless explains that after searching Facebook status updates for the terms “breakup” and “broken up,” he and his colleague Lee Byron created a graph of how frequently the terms were used on different days of the year. The graph shows clear spikes in breakup activity, suggesting that these findings may hold true to relationship trends outside of online status updates. According to the data, couples split most frequently during these times of the year:

• Just after Valentine’s Day. Breaking up with someone right before or on the day dedicated to love would reserve you a special place in hell.

• Right before Spring Break. You don’t want to have to be the “attached” buzz-kill in Cancun.

• Two weeks before Christmas. Because breaking up with someone on Christmas Day is just cruel. And face it, you don’t want to have to buy your soon-to-be-ex presents because, well, they’ll soon be your ex. And the idea of meeting “the family” makes you gag.

Other times of the year with notable spikes of heartbreak are April Fools’ Day (the joke really is on you) and during summer break (your ex is so last school year). Mondays are the most popular break up day of the week, because, really, what’s one more reason to hate them?

But, relax, if your relationship is intact on Christmas Day, you’re in the clear for at least 24 hours — it’s the slowest break-up day of the year.

Jostens Personal Yearbook Pages seem to be targeted at current high school students, but a few months back our 10 year reunion came and went without so much as a couple pictures snapped, and without the enthusiasm our senior yearbooks once instilled. Had I known about a way to supplement our yearbooks with an added insert such as this, maybe the memories wouldn’t appear as lame as I remember them. Jostens provides a simple and fun process of logging on to the Web and uploading your favorite pictures from the school year and other events, vacations and memories. Images can also be uploaded from your personal Facebook or Flickr account. Customize four pages for $15 with your own style that includes all design, color, layout and images choices created by you, and are then sewn into your individual yearbook. Pages are next to autograph sections so friends can enjoy your photos while signing their names. You can even “share” your pages among friends so that even if you are far apart, you can include pictures that someone else may have taken.

Available at: www.yearbookyourself.com

Reviews are starting to trickle in and “The Social Network” is looking like a hit. Metacritic and Rotten tomatoes are showing that critics have given the film extremely high marks. (Look for Blast’s review of “The Social Network” Thursday).

Admittedly, when word of a Facebook movie came out, I was beyond skeptical. My thoughts were pretty similar to when they announced movies coming out about “Stretch Armstrong” and “Battleship.” It seems like a blatant attempt to cash in with a franchise that has built-in appeal. With 500 million users, most of the world is affected by Facebook. But a movie? Boring.

My ears perked up when it was announced that Aaron Sorkin was writing the film. Sorkin is known for writing “The American President,” “A Few Good Men,” and winning about a dozen Emmy Awards for creating “the West Wing.” So the man’s got cred.

Then came David Fincher. Yeh, the one that directed “Fight Club,” “Zodiac,” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” So now the movie’s got tons of appeal.

The film also sports an impressive cast. Justin Timberlake needs no introduction; Jesse Eisenberg starred in Zombieland and Andrew Garfield is the next Spider-Man. So that adds to the pie.

But impressive reviews, a great writer and director and an appealing cast–is that enough to lure viewers to a film about Facebook? We’ll find out next weekend.

The film has an attractive marketing campaign that has me intrigued every time I see the trailer, and now that critics are calling it “this generation’s ‘Network,” so I’m in, when a year ago I thought it was a lame idea. Has the finalized “Social Network” got you in its grasp yet?

PopCap Games, who fancy themselves the worldwide leader in casual video games, have announced that Zuma, their second best-selling franchise with nearly 20 million units sold worldwide, will soon debut on Facebook in a free, social form. Zuma Blitz will be the first version of the game to offer players the opportunity to see how they stack up against other players, and will include a host of other social-centric features that will be new to the game.

Zuma Blitz will join PopCap’s Bejeweled Blitz as their second full-fledged social game on Facebook, and will roll out gradually via Beta launch in approximately three weeks.

While soccer may not receive the praise and recognition it does in other regions of the world, the sport is about to get rammed down the global population’s throat, as the once ever four years tournament, the World Cup, is upon us.

On top a World Cup branded FIFA title that released two weeks ago, Electronic Arts has today announced a soccer title for Facebook.

The game is called FIFA Superstars, and while the details, stemming from EA Sports boss Peter Moore’s blog, on the project are extremely vague, we do know a few things.

It’s a result of EA’s purchase of casual game maker Playfish and is said to be an “engaging interactive football experience.”

Moreover, Moore said the game is a combined effort of EA Sports’ knowledge of the game and Playfish’s “social gaming expertise.”

That’s it for details. Moore promised “more details soon” and hopefully he delivers, because I know when I’m on Facebook, instead of staring at faces, I’d much rather play soccer!

Everyone and their brother is familiar with Facebook and its plethora of in-browser games. There’s the oddly alluring and ultimately addicting games like Farmville and Mafia Wars that seem to make no sense outside of their location on Facebook, but what if you want something else? Something silly, fun and brain-teasing?

Dumbville

The Game Show Network has a digital brand dubbed GSN Digital Labs and these game-makers are storming Facebook with a unique game.

It’s called Dumbville and with a enjoyable pick-up-and-play quirky quiz design, coupled with in-game currency actually worth something, it’s a game that should be on your radar.

I teleconferenced with Jeremy Shea, vice president at GSN Digital Labs this week, and he told me all about the project and why it deserves your attention.

Blast: What the heck is Dumbville, anyway?

Shea: We call it a hokey, irreverent MENSA challenge, or a brain-buster. There’s no way it’s going to get you into MENSA or any collegiate institution, but [the challenge of creating the game] was to find content that we could write, draft and produce in such a way that it was frustrating, but no so frustrating that you didn’t do it. We’re looking for people to not get upset when they can’t get it right the first time or the first ten times, but rather have that be a sort of Homer Simpson D’Oh. When you finally realize what was the correct answer, you realize "oh my God, I can’t believe I’ve been answering that wrong 20 consecutive times…" We thought that had a lot more legs for being viral right out of the gate than traditional casual games.

Blast: Talk about the in-game currency of Dumbville and what it affords the player.

Shea: GSN launched a currency, prizing currency last summer, and we’ve had tremendous success with that virtual currency. It’s like any other virtual currency program and you can redeem those for a variety of prizes on GSN.com like sweepstakes entries…

The fastest way to draw in growth and engagement on Dumbville would be to make it available to our passionate, fanaticals, point hoarders on GSN and give them another channel, another vehicle.

The way that is probably the virality of the application is a concept we came up with called friendfails or dumbfriends, and what the idea is, is every time one of your friends fails a level, you’re gonna earn five oodles. So you benefit at your friend’s demise, as we like to say, which is very different than a lot of the other social apps where your friends do well and you do well. Here it’s sort of a juxtaposition on that concept. You’re actually rooting against your friends.

Blast: Tell us all about Dumbgifts and why, when they release, gamers will want them?

Shea: Right now we’re trying to come up with more ideas to sustain the virality of the app beyond what we have now, which is the friendfail component. What we’re going to try to do is come up with concepts where you can build Dumbville collections that you may unlock.

The content of those gifts is going to be what you’d expect in a town that’s run by idiots. So everything we’re doing is tied to this brand of being dumb and sort of irreverent, hokey. When we’re building this, I always think of the old Monty Python episode with the village idiot on the wall. That’s sort of what we’re trying to do. You can imagine the gifts are going to be things no one in their right mind would want.

Here’s an umbrella full of holes. The galoshes made of leather. It shows up in your newsfeed, it’s a funny invite to your friends. Our estimate is to have that launched in 25-30 days.

Blast: So, I can rise from Village Idiot to Mayor Of Dumbville. Both titles don’t sound very great. Why do I want to become Mayor of a town of morons?

Shea: You want to become the mayor of Dumbville for the primary reason of saying you were actually able to sustain yourself through a battery of these tests.

Mayor is not going to be the end of this application. It’s just sort of where we are now for our first 30 days.  You’re gonna start to see the traditional cabinet members, the administration, the unique things that you’ll see, in the next 25 levels once you hit mayor, will put you more on the national government scenario.

Ah ha!

Blast: Do you ever think about the consequences of the social games you make? That is to say, how do you feel about students failing real-world tests because they were up all night playing your game?

Shea: I’ve worked in the casual gamespace for so long, if I started thinking about that I probably wouldn’t be able to sleep. We’re more focused on providing something that’s different than what you get in your traditional role playing games, like Mafia Wars or Social City. It’s not meant to be about sitting there and mindlessly clicking on parts waiting to grow asparagus, or to harvest your apple trees. It’s supposed to be digestible, fun, a little bit of a stimulus for you. When you play you actually have to do a little thinking.  We’re not really worried about what we’re doing to the youth of our institutions.

Blast: How successful has Dumbville been for you, in this first launch month?

Shea: Right now we’re very happy and also optimistic about where we are in the first 25 days. After 25 days we’re at 155,000 monthly active users, and that’s not even a full month. We’re doing about 20,000 active users a day. If you would have asked me 25 days ago a number I would be happy at  it probably would have been about 50 percent of that. So we’re very positive about where we are. The first 30 days for us was a lot of learning, working in the Facebook world, learning how to stimulate virality, and how to work within the confines of Facebook and the opportunities they provide. I don’t see any reason why in the next few month this won’t be a top app and have a seven digit following.

Blast: How do you feel about Facebook as a stable platform for your games. Is it stable?

Facebook has definitely, in the past 18 months, demonstrated a capability to be the number one destination for games on the Web. It’s introducing games to people who would have never seen themselves a gamer before. People that never had a console, people that never played smartphone games, people that never played PC based games all of a sudden found themselves engaging in what might be considered games today.

I do believe they can sustain this as long as they continue to recognize that the developers that are out there, drive the traffic and do what they can to make sure they a supportive of the development community.

It’s hard for us, as late stage adopters, to drive an app to 82 million, but I don’t see any reason why with 400 million people and growing every day, Facebook won’t be a significant player in the games space for the next three to five years.

Check out Dumbville on Facebook today, right here.

Rockstar Games whispered in our ear today, letting us know a Facebook game in the world of Red Dead: Redemption arrived on the massive social networking hot-spot.

It’s called Gunslingers and Rockstar is touting it as an “action-RPG experience” where players can “duel friends, frenemies, foes, and everyone in between.” Additionally, in it you’ll be able to play as any of the game’s three classes; Outlaw, Fast Hands, and Sharpshooter and collect “dozens” of achievements, because everyone loves those.

Gunslingers

We can probably expect these kinds of tie-ins moving forward, especially if Rockstar sees the experiment succeed. As a rule, I don’t play Facebook games, so I haven’t installed it. If you feel like wasting time while you creep on socialize with friends, head over to the Gunslingers page to get started.

I came across a really interesting blog post today. It’s written by a woman who, rightfully I believe, argues a double standard perpetuated by Facebook’s staff.

She was messaged by Facebook and told to take down a photo of her breastfeeding her two children. They said if she failed to remove the photo, she’d be banned from the site. But there are a number of other photos, more sexualized of course, that Facebook apparently has no problem with.

Click here to check out her blog post.

This needs to STOP.

Despite its age, Zynga Games’ Farmville, the Facebook game we love to hate and hate to love, is nearing 80 million users and setting its eyes on total world domination.

New statistics from AllFacebook.com indicate that Farmville is “about to surpass” 80 million monthly unique users, which represents a 10 million user growth from December numbers.

The surge in popularity can likely be attributed to the growing Facebook popular (over 400 million) and the game’s recent Haiti relief in-game effort as well as its Valentine’s Day shebang.

Additionally, according to AllFacebook, of the 200 million that log in to Facebook every day, 15 percent play Farmville. Wow.

Source: AllFacebook via Destructoid

Blue Fang Games, a Waltham-based developer doesn’t make a lot of noise, but you should know its work. In a partnership with Microsoft, the PC game developer has sold nearly 7 million Zoo Tycoon games since 2001. It’s Lion Pride game has been listed as “New and Noteworthy” on the iTunes store.

Now the developer is working on what it hopes will be the next addictive Facebook game.

“The Blue Fang team has been working around the clock to launch a new tycoon-style zoo game for Facebook and we want to give our fans the first chance to play,” the company said in a statement.

Head on over to their website to find out more.

Do you need another reason to log more hours of your life away on everyone’s favorite social-networking site Facebook?

If that’s you, EA Sports today revealed a Facebook version of Madden NFL is coming to the online space sometime in the to-be determined future.

Extending to Facebook is a move EA Sports president Peter Moore sees as necessary.

“We have to make ‘Madden’ more accessible,” Moore said. “You’ll see us on Facebook going forward.”

While today’s announcement was nothing formal and came with no press release or release date, Moore said the goal of the new Facebook version is to give players a “simpler experience” compared to that of its console cousins.

Last November, EA bought Playfish, a noted Facebook games developer, in a deal worth about $300 million.

Would you play a Facebook version of Madden NFL?

Source: IGN

This is a tricky topic, mostly because no one actually keeps New Year’s Resolutions. So really, what’s the point of dispensing my well-thought-out advice on the matter? Not sure I have a good answer to that question, but I’m going to give it my best shot anyway.

So the first thing to remember is to not even bother with making a resolution if you don’t think you will keep it. Because if you end up breaking your word, you’re just going to get all upset and your roommates will have to hear about it and blah blah blah. So only make a resolution if you sincerely want to and if you think there is a chance on earth you’re actually going to stick to it.

Here’s a nice one to start off with: relieve stress every day by "sharing" with your roommates. I say sharing, but really I just mean complaining. This will create a great bonding moment while also allowing your roommates to work on their problem solving skills. Good deal.

Turn off the lights in a room when you leave it. You probably already do this but you may not be aware of it. So all you have to do is realize that you are doing it and you are automatically keeping your resolution.

An old staple is about to come back to haunt you: stop smoking. I don’t want to make a judgment call here … but yeah, I’m going to anyway. Smoking is expensive and unhealthy. Oh yeah, sounds like a great habit to pick up. Don’t tell me it’s relaxing. You know what’s relaxing? A hot shower. A grimey, toxic, rolled up stick of pollutants is only one thing: a bad idea. So grab the gum, the patch, or go cold turkey. Doesn’t matter to me. If you are a nonsmoker, you will instantly smell better, taste better, have more money in your wallet, and have better lung capacity.

Stop being so addicted to Facebook. Yeah never mind, that’s not going to happen.

Be a better student. So this one might be a little personal, but I figure other students out there can certainly relate. Stop using Facebook as a procrastination tool, stop using meals as procrastination tools, stop using the gym as a procrastination tool, stop using … yeah you get it. Getting a paper done with more than 20 minutes to go before it’s due is a great feeling. I’d like to enjoy that feeling more often. Feel free to enjoy it with me.

Be more sophisticated. After all, we have to do something to set ourselves apart from the masses of undergrads in this city. So go for the fancy drink with the classier vodka. Leave the crappy cheap stuff for the annoying undergrads with the fake ID’s. You might not be able to tell the difference once it’s in the glass, but you’ll feel superior and really that’s all that matters. I say it’s worth the investment.

Be nicer to your parents. I mean, they let you bring your laundry home. And eat their food. And they buy you groceries. And let you complain to them when you have too much homework, real work or problems with your apartment. So yeah, be nicer to your parents.

Smile more. I’ve decided people in Boston don’t smile enough. It makes me sad and I don’t want to be sad. So let’s just all smile, k? Sure, you might think everyone is stoned for a bit. But just make Sober Sally stand next to Stoner Steve for a quick second and the difference will be fairly obvious.

Tip better. Yeah, that includes even the damn unpleasant waitresses. I mean, maybe she’s just pissy because her last customer stiffed her. So make her day and round up. And yes, that’s after tax.

Pick one bad habit to break. I figure I’m being generous by only suggesting one. Stop picking your nose, your ears, your whatever. Help out my gag reflex and just stop.

Stop texting in class. Wow, I honestly couldn’t even type that with a straight face…

Stop buying useless things. Beer mugs from each of the Boston sports teams: fine. Beer mug from the Star Wars concert you secretly went to … not so much.

So I realize this is kind of a short list, but everyone is busy at this time of year so I figured I’d better keep this short and sweet. I wish everyone a great New Year’s and go come up with your own ideas for a change. Love ya.

Electronic Arts today launched a Need For Speed: NITRO application on the uber-popular social-networking site Facebook, so that when you’re not playing the game on your Wii and sit down to stalk check up on friends, you can get your racing fix.

Now, as a rule, I don’t install any apps on my Facebook account in an effort to stay clutter-free, but, according to word from EA this morning, the application is a mini social game where enthusiasts can pick a car, and race against friends for “cash, street cred, and bragging rights.”

Best of all, every car from the Wii version is available in the App and so is every city, and most tracks!

Need for Speed: Nitro on Facebook

Nathalie Blanchard has been on sick leave from her IBM job in Bromont, Quebec for a year, but she just lost her health benefits, the Associated Press reported.

Blanchard’s sick leave was for depression, and when her Manulife insurance agent found photos on her Facebook where she was apparently having fun, her monthly benefits were promptly cut. The pictures depicted Blanchard at a Chippendales bar, at a birthday party and on vacation.

Blanchard got a lawyer and is fighting back. She says the doctor told her to try to have fun, and that’s what she was doing. Manulife had no comment on the particular case for the Globe, but did say that the company does not deny or terminate claims based on what’s published on Facebook, or other Web sites.

A sidebar poll on the world’s second biggest Web site, Facebook, reveals almost an equal breakdown between Xbox 360 and PC Dragon Age: Origins gamers.

The number of respondents I believe was in excess of 28,000. See, I voted “Xbox360″ then hit “show results” and the number of participants sadly disappeared upon refresh. I guess Facebook is smart to not show me a poll I’ve already voted in.

Anyway, what does this data show us? First off, PS3 is getting its cute little backside kicked, but also that the parity between Xbox 360 and PC is significant, unlike many multiplatform titles out there today.

Anyone who spots this poll on the ‘ole Fbook, please pass the participation figures along and I’ll update the story.

Unless I’m living in a parallel universe where today is Nov. 17 only for me, the long-awaited Xbox 360 Fall Update has hit, bringing Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm to the Xbox Live masses.

The update, which popped up in the wee hours of this the November the 17th, has been available for those in the Preview Program for weeks now, but having entered my information incorrectly, I missed out on the pre-release fun.

However, now that the update’s gone live for one and all, there’s no excuse not to jump in on the new available social avenues from the seat of your pants on your Xbox 360.

Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm integration works pretty simply. You quickly enter your credentials from each of the three social-networking sites and within seconds you’re up and running, stalking friends, listening to music, and writing 140 character snippets of your life for all to enjoy.

A cautionary note: Using all three services demands typing, and as you know, the Xbox 360 controller is a b*tch to type with. Thankfully, USB keyboards (as well as the standard issue Messenger Pad), work just fine.

Right now? I’m enjoying listening to varied tunes streamed for me via Last.fm as I type this. Very, very nice!

Microsoft today announced that the Fall 2009 Xbox 360 Dashboard update will officially hit Nov. 17 for everyone.

With the update, a triple-shot of social-networking avenues, including Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm, will hit Xbox Live for all to bask in.

"We’re delivering some truly exciting social entertainment experiences to our members," said Marc Whitten, Xbox LIVE general manager. "Xbox LIVE’s differentiator has always been our community, and we’ve already seen a tremendous response to these features in our public preview. It’s the community that drives us forward and allows us to pioneer new ways of connecting people through the entertainment they love."

So if I have this correctly, beginning next Tuesday I’ll have no reason to leave my Xbox 360 ever? Uh oh.

Next month, when Microsoft unleashes the hefty Fall 2009 Dashboard update, gamers will enjoy more than the aformentioned addition of Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm.

Microsoft said today that a dedicated Music Game Store and News and More section will also be packed into the update.

The Music Games Store aims to streamline your purchases by compiling all available DLC for Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and Lips into their own store, available through the dashboard, and with previews of each tune ready and waiting as well.

The News and More section is pretty much just what it sounds like. According to the press release it’ll give gamers a “regularly-updated stream of content from MSNBC.com, MSN Autos, The New Yorker and Dilbert.”

With Facebook, Twitter, Last.Fm, and now news available on my Xbox, it’s going to be damn hard to leave that thing.

Facebook, the second most visited Web site on the Internet, sucks up hours and hours of lives everyday and while stalking social interactivity is its main draw, games are climbing up the ladder quickly.

You might play Farmville, Mafia Wars, or any of the others, but what if you love football, then what?

Enter Gridiron Live, a game that, according to its maker “combines the casual, quick gameplay of social gaming with high-quality 3D graphics.”

Now, as a personal rule, I don’t install third-party apps on my Facebook account, I guess I’m afraid of the clutter, but from these screens and personal reviews, the game is the real deal.

The game is fully browser-based and thus requires no download. It’s a Flash game and looks on par with PlayStation 1 games and like QuickHit Football, you don’t control an individual player, rather you play the role of the coach– watch out for the Gatorade!

Best of all, when you complete feats in the game, like “longest pass,” that achievement and others, can be published to your news feed for all to revel at.

If you’re one of the over 250 million members of Facebook and love football, check out GridIron Live on Facebook today!