Among other surprises, Facebook is expected to unveil some sort of ecommerce initiative at its f8 developer conference, on Wednesday. “We know it’s planning coordinated announcements with at least one ecommerce platform and one product testing service,” TechCrunch’s John Constine reports. Separately, “I expect Facebook may roll out an API for third-party websites, mobile sites, and mobile apps to add Autofill With Facebook.” 

Spelling more bad news for Google+, some developers have spotted an option to add a "sign in with Google" button to their Websites. The test, which Google has confirmed, “suggests that the company no longer wants Google+ to represent it around the web,” The Verge writes. “Google's brand is much stronger than that of its social network, and some developers may be more comfortable adding a generic Google login to their sites and apps.” 

Contrary to popular belief, neither Twitter nor Facebook possess the power to boost TV viewership. That’s according to NBCUniversal research chief Alan Wurtzel, who tells the Financial Times: “The emperor wears no clothes.” The pill should be especially hard for Twitter to swallow, considering the company has tied its fortunes directly to its supposedly symbiotic relationship with TV. Re/Code calls the story, which requires an FT subscription to read, “a red flag for Twitter.” 

Along with an imminent Android launch, the anonymous social network Secret is preparing for an international expansion. “Secret’s first moves outside of the U.S. will be to several English-speaking countries -- namely the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand,” TechCrunch reports. Also, “Secret has been adding and working on new features, such as a way to alert users when they’re making defamatory posts and the ability to share Secret posts on social networks and surface those nearby to you.”  

Pinterest on Thursday debuted Guided Search -- a service to search the social network through links or images chosen by users, along with those assigned by users to topical collections. “Unlike most search engines, where you must choose a precisely constructed string of keywords for what you want to find, Guided Search offers suggestions as you go, based on the associations Pinterest has learned to make between all the objects in its database,” ReadWrite reports. 

At least for the moment, Google has reportedly surrendered any hope of forging a successful social network. “Google+ will no longer be considered a product, but a platform -- essentially ending its competition with other social networks like Facebook and Twitter,” TechCrunch reports, citing sources. “Basically, talent will be shifting away from the Google+ kingdom and toward Android as a platform, we’re hearing.” The revelation comes on the heels of Google losing Vic Gundotra, Google+ head and the man credited with its current existence. 

Putting the focus on personalization, Instagram’s Explore page now features those photos and videos that have been “liked” by users’ unique communities. “Personalization highlights Instagram’s focus on your own social graph and a subjective vision of beauty, to contrast with Vine, which centers around re-sharing and globally popular expert content creators,” TechCrunch notes. Now, for example, “If you track a bunch of painters, you’re more likely to see fine art on Explore.” 

The Verge’s Ellis Hamburger thinks Facebook is bordering on social irrelevance. “Facebook is broken for its earliest users, and perhaps soon, for many of its new ones, as well,” he writes. Among other issues, “in the real world, losing touch with people happens naturally and effortlessly, but on Facebook, unfriending is reserved only for breakups and acts of malice,” he notes. “If Facebook wants its News Feed to remain the source of news about … people we care about it, it needs to change its definition of friendship.” 

It looks like time is running out for Twitter users who like to tweet as James Dean, Elvis and other deceased stars. Yes, “Twitter appears to have backed down in a legal fight over who can use dead celebrity images,” GigaOm reports. Along with other impersonators, “The case could have broader ripples for online expression.” Twitter previously held that one user’s @jamesdean account did not violate its trademark policy. 

Right, so, um, about that XXX-rated image that US Airways mistakenly re-tweeted the other day -- Yeah, it’s really sorry about that. “We deeply regret the mistake, and we are currently reviewing our processes to prevent such errors in the future,” the airline said in a statement. Forgivable or not, the foul tweet certainly isn’t the first time a large corporation has been bitten by its Twitter feed. “The pornographic tweet … is only the latest Twitter embarrassment for corporate America,” notes CNNMoney.com.