In Case You Missed It: Tech & Social Media

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By Lauren Appelwick, Blog Editor

It might just be me (and it often times is), but I could hardly blink this weekend without seeing yet another article announcing, discussing, or otherwise pointing to a big development in the world of technology/social media. So – since I find it difficult to keep anything to myself anyway – I decided to share them with you. Below, I’ve highlighted several stories of note, and I hope that if there are others that even I missed, you will comment and us know.

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Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is going after 11 major companies (including Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Apple, and eBay) on the grounds of patent infringement.

Mr. Allen’s suit, filed in federal court in Seattle, asserts [these companies] are using technology developed a decade ago at the billionaire’s now-defunct Silicon Valley laboratory. Mr. Allen, a pioneer of computer software, didn’t develop any of the technology himself but owns the patents. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

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Many people thought that the location-based social network Foursquare would quickly vanish into the shadow of Facebook Places. However,  when Places launched, Foursquare reported record sign-ups, and now it is boasting an impressive 3 million users. Read more at TechCrunch.

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It seems Google is in talks to launch a global pay-per-view video service by the end of the year, making YouTube a major competitor in the movie rental market.

This could be the video service’s big break more than four years after being acquired by Google. The combined power of YouTube’s popularity and Google’s dominance in search technology could create a new revenue model to replace falling DVD sales. But what does it mean for the homemade videos – the cat videos, the on-the-street news footage, the Rickrolls – that are YouTube’s soul? Read more at ReadWriteWeb.

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It’s no secret that Mark Zuckerberg runs a technologically voracious, aggressive, and ambitious company. And now, in a (wildly unsurprising) move, Facebook is looking to trademark “Face.”

It is not just the word “book” at the end of a company or product name that Facebook might object to. If it has its way, the word “Face” at the beginning of a name might also bring out its lawyers…However, at least one person is objecting to this trademark: Aaron Greenspan. Yup, that Aaron Greenspan, Mark Zuckerberg’s classmate at Harvard. Read more at TechCrunch.

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TechCrunch founder/co-editor Michael Arrington penned a controversial article titled Too Few Women In Tech? Stop Blaming The Men.

The problem isn’t that Silicon Valley is keeping women down, or not doing enough to encourage female entrepreneurs. The opposite is true. No, the problem is that not enough women want to become entrepreneurs. Read more at TechCrunch.

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There’s a new study out that shows that social networking increased by 88% for users aged 55-64, and by 100% for users aged 65+. The usage increase by people aged 18-29 was only measured at 13%, so these are some very impressive numbers. Read more at Pew Internet.

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This just got me thinking about the future of audio-listening devices will be, since Apple just reported the lowest quarterly sales for the iPod since 2006. Perhaps it’s just that our smartphones are doubling as music players?

In short, the iPod, launched in October 2001, looks to be in terminal decline. While Apple is unworried – sales of its iPhone and iPad are booming – the drooping figures for the digital music player market are a concern for another sector: the music companies. Read more at The Guardian.

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Many of us are tied to our smartphones and computers, constantly engaging in multiple forms of social media. But hark! What’s that? There are 27 Essential Social Media Resources You May Have Missed! Don’t worry though, you’ve probably missed many, many more than that, since Mashable publishes one of these roundups every week. Read more at Mashable.

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Now that the new school year is just around the corner, it’s time to consider 5 Ways Tech Startups Can Disrupt the Education System.

After all, if as Bill Gates suggests that in five years the best education will come from the web, we should probably consider now what we want that education to look like if it’s to be different than just an online version of that old factory model. Read more at ReadWriteWeb.