Common sense dictates that it's probably not a super idea to criticize your boss on social media, but is it protected by the First Amendment if you don't actually say anything? That's the issue at the center of a case going to U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. According to the Washington Post, Daniel Ray Carter Jr., a sheriff's deputy in Hampton, VA, was fired after expressing support for a rival candidate for sheriff by clicking "Like" on the candidate's Facebook page.

That may seem like a strange headline for a blog devoted to all things social media-related, but several news stories about social media have finally pushed me over the edge: I have to share my own growing skepticism about social media from a purely personal perspective. Yes, social media represents an amazing advance in communications technology, which has opened whole new worlds of possibility in news, opinion, politics, entertainment, art, and activism -- not to mention marketing and advertising. And no, I don't think anyone is coercing us to use social media, nor do I agree with people who claim …

By allowing people to make constant, instantaneous updates, Twitter has at once increased the amount of information to be analyzed and decreased the amount of time in which to analyze it, leaving less room for people to judge the accuracy of news reports -- and more room for rumors. It's one thing when false reports of, say, a celebrity's death spread all over the Internet via Twitter: while momentarily distressing for fans (and the individual in question) these rumors aren't usually the kind of thing that can necessarily move stock markets or drive up prices. On Monday, however, a false …

"... in true Twitter fashion, even Curiosity was able to sound off on its landing. The rover has its own verified Twitter account: @MarsCuriosity" -- Los Angeles Times

The branded social network concept is getting a new lease on life thanks to celebrity fan sites that either aggregate other social networks in a distinct online hub or host bona fide, stand-alone social networks or "communities" (usually with integration of other social networks, of course).

For reasons that can't always be explained, some numbers acquire symbolic meaning, and in the case of Facebook's stock price, the magic number was $20: somehow that figure became a meaningful benchmark to analysts and stockholders. There's no denying that Facebook's prestige has suffered an additional blow as the stock dips below $20 for the first time today, to $19.88 at the time of writing -- down from $20.77 when the market opened.

The Olympics is a unique event that brings together people of all different nationalities, races, and creeds so they can express their shared love of sports and hatred of each other. Or so it would seem judging by the incredibly, gratuitously bitchy comments posted by fans and athletes alike. The only question I'm left with is: are they evil racists or just stupid dumbasses?

Boy, it just hasn't been Facebook's summer: a high-profile dumping by General Motors was followed by a busted IPO in May, and its stock continues to sink -- trading at $21.77 at the time of writing, down 43% from the IPO price. Meanwhile, a new eye-tracking study has cast (even more) doubt on Facebook's ability to monetize mobile traffic through advertising. But the most damaging news may come courtesy of a New York-based start-up, Limited Run, which claims that 80% of the clicks on its Facebook ads came from bots.

The [International Olympic Committee] says social media users helped cause problems for traditional broadcasters during the first big event of the London Olympics. Because of a glitch with GPS signals on Saturday during the men's cycling road race, broadcasters were unable to provide television viewers with much information about the location and timings of riders on the 155-mile course. -- Associated Press

Investors are sharing their feelings about Facebook following the company's first quarterly earnings reports since it went public, and they are not happy: the stock price tumbled from a high of around $29 earlier this week to $23.06 at the time of writing - a 20.5% drop over four days, with most of the decline coming in the last day or so.