New research from the University of California-Berkeley shows there's a pronounced class divide between those who frequent the popular social networks Facebook and MySpace. According to the report, Facebook users are more likely to be white, come from wealthier homes and attend college, while MySpace users tend to get jobs after finishing high school instead of continuing their education. Facebook got its start as a social network for high school and college students. Last fall, founder Michael Zuckerberg and co. open up its 9 million-strong user base to anyone, which means it's likely to see its exclusivity numbers drop. …

The rise of social networks has pushed providers of organizing software to the margins somewhat. These sites also provide tools like calendars and bulletin boards, so friends can keep themselves up-do-date. In light of this consumer shift, Plaxo, one of these address book organizers, is fighting back. On Monday, the 6-year-old company created a new Web-based program which lets users open up their online datebooks to build their own social networks. Called Plaxo 3.0, the new, free service lets friends synchronize information locked inside programs from Microsoft, Yahoo, Google Apple, Mozilla and many mobile phones. The free service …

At Google's press day in Paris last week, CEO Eric Schmidt dropped several hints that it would be furthering its partnership with Apple, especially the company's forthcoming iPhone. Earlier in the week, Google said it would make YouTube videos available for free on the iPhone, which would sync to Wi-Fi networks. That announcement stoked speculation that the companies would seek further integration, which was affirmed at the press event by Schmidt. "You should expect other announcements between the two companies over time," he said. "The iPhone is a powerful new device and is going to be particularly good for …

Anyone can syndicate their own celebrity on the Web through social networking profiles, blogs, photo-sharing sites and confessional online videos. And millions do. As Dave Wienberger, author of "Everything Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder," notes, this is the danger for future generations. As they grow up seeking jobs, especially public office, they may regret having left their digital footprint all over the Web. For example, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton may never have been elected president had camera phones and YouTube existed in their college days. Anyone and everyone is under surveillance now. …

They say any publicity is good publicity, and Yahoo is getting its fair share. Of course, the portrait of Yahoo's CEO switch as a temporary band-aid prior to a sale or merger isn't necessarily good publicity (except maybe for shareholders). Neither is the revelation that next quarter will likely be disappointing. If nothing changes by say, 2008, then one of a few takeovers become possibilities. Private-equity firms have shown they like an Internet fix-'em-upper, DoubleClick being the most famous example, and at 7-1 odds, Ka group of private investors would have their hands full dealing with Yahoo's corporate …

The FBI hopes to deter bot-herders by warning consumers whose computers had been hijacked. After the recent indictment of three bot-herders revealed the IP addresses of more than 1 million users, the FBI decided to use the door-to-door approach to spur a public awareness movement, warning "botnets" pose a threat to national security. Witness the crippling denial of service attacks in Estonia. Still, regular users either don't know or don't care that their computer is under the control of some cyber-geek who wishes to exact revenge on a company. Moreover, the FBI's approach to solving the problem--asking users to …

Are social networks running out of steam? Judging by the rapid resurgence of Facebook, not yet. But the manner in which users are change allegiances is worrying for advertisers and media partners. The movement of Silicon Valley contacts from one social network to another highlights the fickle nature of social media. First, it was Friendster, then it was Orkut, MySpace, LinkedIn and now, Facebook. Even MySpace apparently isn't hip anymore, according to industry bloggers, which leads to the conclusion that social networks are the Web's ultimate representation of flash mob mentality. The Internet is a place where …

The Web industry scoffed when Jake Winebaum and Sky Dayton bought the domain Business.com for $7.5 million in 1999. At that time, the purchase set a record as the highest for a domain name. The pair turned Business.com into a Web portal that receives conversion fees for sending traffic to sites selling real products and services. Now the duo are ready to sell, and sources say Business.com could fetch upward of $300 million. Not a bad return, even when you consider that the Santa Monica, Calif. company posted $15 million in earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortization …

On his Searchblog, John Battelle publishes the findings of Interpublic SEM firm Reprise in its early interactions with Yahoo's Panama search ad system. Overall, the search firm calls Panama "a significant upgrade over the previous Yahoo DTC (Direct Traffic Center) system, but it worries about the complex system's ability "to access the long tail of the market." The Reprise study evaluates Panama's campaign management and performance, user interface and technology over a three-month period (January-March). In terms of SEM performance, the cost-per-click for keywords actually dropped 6.2% during a period where the average CPC for Google AdWords increased …

Apple, Inc. is getting closer to Web industry leader Google. The companies on Thursday announced that videos from Google's YouTube would be available for play on Apple's iPhone, which goes on sale next Friday. YouTube clips were made available on the company's Apple TV service a few weeks ago. Easily the most-hyped consumer electronics product of the year, if not the past five years, the iPhone marries the media-playing capabilities of Apple's iPod with a Web-enabled cellular phone running on AT&T's wireless network. iPhone users will be able to download music and video, but it will also be …