In advance of its f8 developer conference on Wednesday, Facebook Monday formally unveiled its new “Community Pagesâ€� for people to connect with others on the social network who share similar interests. The new Community Pages, soft-launched earlier this month, will serve as an alternative to the official Facebook Pages for businesses, organizations and public figures. The aim is to let people create unnofficial pages around favorite products, brands or other topics that don’t fit into more narrowly-tailored Facebook Groups. The new initiative still in beta will allow Facebook users to link information from their profile pages directly …

Yahoo just named Microsoft veteran Blake Irving as its new chief product officer. Irving fills the void left by Ari Balogh, Yahoo’s CTO and EVP of products, who said earlier this month that he was leaving for “personal reasons.â€� During his time at Microsoft, Irving led the back-end development of its Windows Live platform. Irving “retiredâ€� three years ago -- shortly before a major reorganization of Microsoft’s online operations, according to paidContent. More recently, he serves as a professor at Pepperdine’s business school. Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz said she liked Irving’s “large scale internet expertise from a mature company.â€� …

Why is Adroid’s app marketplace growing so much faster than Apple’s iPhone app store? Two reasons, according to The Times’ David Pogue, include willpower and deep pockets. Likening Google’s efforts to Avis car-rental’s old slogan, “We’re Number 2. We try harder,â€� Pogue posts a letter from one developer who was offered an olive branch (and a free Nexus One) by the search giant. “It shows that Google is actively recruiting developers to their platform, using the enticements of free hardware and open communication,â€� the developer pointed out. “Contrast with Apple’s approach: it took us about three months of resubmitting …

Well, I received a second notice that Apple received my order for the iPad with 3G. The first email notice came shortly after I placed the order when the iPads went on sale. The email from Apple explains the iPad will ship later in April. It's nearly the end of the month. So is this second email order notification foreshadowing an email ship notification? Sure would like to get it by the weekend.

Foursquare is considering a sale to Yahoo, according TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington -- a move he insists is not in the best interests of the hot location-based social network. In recent days, “Yahoo and maybe others expressed interest in the company, and are reportedly offering way above [its current valuation of] $80 million,â€� Arrington notes. Such a deal, he maintains, would be bad for both parties. “What the heck is Yahoo going to do with Foursquare that will somehow turn around their business? Absolutely nothing, that’s what. M&A for PR purposes is not what savvy executive teams do. Whatever tech …

Following a week of rumors, social buying startup Groupon has secured $135 million from Digital Sky Technologies, along with Battery Ventures. The startup, which closed its Accel-led second round of funding late last year to the tune of $30 million, is now profitable and has 270 employees -- the majority of whom are sales associates responsible for reaching deals with local service providers from yoga studios to sushi restaurants. According to Boom Town, the funding will be used “to speed far ahead of numerous rivals,â€� although it will also likely inspire more entrepreneurs to join the social buying marketplace. …

Steve Keyes, longtime media relations pro at Herndon, VA-based Volkswagen of America, Inc. will be retiring from the company effective May 1, per VW. Keyes has been at the company for 31 years. The company says he will continue as a consultant to the public relations team, with responsibilities for strategic planning for vehicle drives and the media-related aspects of auto shows. Keyes, who became director of press and public Relations for the Audi and Volkswagen brands in the U.S. and Canada in 1997, started at Volkswagen as the district sales manager responsible for Chicago metro.

Automotive was the top-gaining site category in March, increasing 23% to more than 30 million visitors as potential buyers researched car purchases online, according to a new comScore report on top-growing Web properties. General Motors led the segment with 7.6 million visitors, up 32% during the month, followed by Hyundai (5.4 million), Toyota (5.1 million), Ford Motor Company, (5 million), and Honda (3.6 million.) One has to wonder if Toyota’s site traffic has actually benefited from the recall debacle. Online ad spending in the auto category dipped slightly last year from $2.8 billion to $2.5 billion, going from …

Ford Motor Company says it now has the highest customer satisfaction with vehicle quality among all major automakers. The Dearborn, Mich. automaker says 84% of customers who purchased 2010 model-year Ford, Lincoln and Mercury cars and trucks are satisfied with the quality of their vehicle, a 4 percentage point improvement since the fourth quarter of 2009. The data comes from a Global Quality Research System (GQRS) study for Ford by Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based RDA Group. The automaker says the data means that customer satisfaction is higher for Ford than for all other full-line automotive manufacturers, including Asian and European …

Mercedes-Benz says Hollywood stars dig its BlueTec and hybrid vehicles. The Montvale, NJ-based Mercedes-Benz USA says Robert Downey Jr., Gerard Butler and Miley Cyrus are among those driving the 2010 S400 Hybrid luxury sedan. The company says Sarah Jessica Parker, Liv Tyler, Rosario Dawson, Christina Applegate, Molly Sims, Giles Marini, Felicity Huffman among others also drive Mercedes hybrids or BlueTecs. The company says purchase of one of these vehicles does not include a contract with a famous Hollywood agent, a heated pool overlooking Topanga Canyon, or an invite to Downey, Jr.’s Academy Awards after-party.