Recently we wrote about the fact that Twitter has just updated their Terms of Service, effective immediately (you can read our article about Twitter’s new Terms of Service here). One interesting new development is the aspect of the new Twitter ToS in which Twitter explicity spells out that they have…

As we recently wrote, Twitter has just posted a new Terms of Service. And, intentionally or otherwise, Twitter has banned anyone under 18 years old from using Twitter.

Twitter has updated and posted new Terms of Service (ToS), which are effective immediately. The new Terms of Service more directly address the issues of spam, and make clear that what happens on Twitter can be used by Twitter, but still belongs to the user.

The next time someone asks you about social networking, and what it is, or to describe a social networking website, you need look no further than the laws of the state of Illinois. Because Illinois has taken the unusal step of defining just what makes a social networking site, in the context of their new law banning sex offenders from using any social networking site.

While the Internet is all abuzz about how Facebook and Friendfeed have just announced that Facebook is acquiring FriendFeed, the bigger coup may be in that in the doing, Facebook has effectively acquired FriendFeed founders Bret Taylor and Paul Buchheit, and Jim Norris and Sanjeev Singh.

If you use Gmail, and also use Facebook, it can be very easy for someone to password crack and access your Gmail account using Gmail’s recover password retrieval feature. This is because Gmail’s access password recovery feature allows anybody to guess the answer to your “forgot password” reset security question. And if the answer to your forgotten password reset security question happens to be information easily gleaned from your Facebook account (or some other social network information), then password hacking your Gmail account is as easy as typing in that password protection answer. (And we use the term “password protection” loosely.)

As online society becomes ever more social, and cares ever less about personal security, the phrase “social security” seems more than ever an oxymoron. Perhaps nowhere is this more clearly brought home than in this week’s announcement by researchers at Carnegie Mellon that they have cracked the social security code, and were able to predict with frightening accuracy many social sercurity numbers (SSN). In many cases, their hack was aided by information gleaned from such social networking sites as Facebook.

Well, look what the spam cat just dragged in – address book importing spam from Bebo.com. Why is it that these various social networking and other sites seem to simply consider the incidental spam attendant to address book importing (if they think about it at all) to be the cost of doing business – and, mind you, a cost sent COD to the people receiving the spam – when in fact it’s really an occupational hazard?

Many, many people find themselves a bit lost when they first start using Twitter. They don’t really get how to use Twitter. They don’t really understand what Twitter is. Here is a clear, plain English, real-world explanation that answers the questions “What is Twitter?” and “How to use Twitter?” and that explains the various messaging functions of Twitter such as @, DM, D, Retweet, RT, and #, and including Anne’s famous “Party Analogy” for Twitter.

It has come to light that none other than the Obama administration itself asked Twitter to please delay planned routine maintenance this week, so that the juggernaut of Twittering and Twitter coverage of the Iran elections and ensuing demonstrations and riots could continue without interruption.

Isreal Hyman and his wife were no doubt looking forward to their vacation a few weeks ago. Hyman, the proprietor of IzzyVideo.com in Mesa, Arizona, shared his plans with his 2,000+ followers on Twitter. So when he became the victim of a home burglery (which differs from robbery in that the victim is not present), he had to wonder if the burgler had seen his Tweets.

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone has confirmed that Twitter will begin the beta roll-out of a new Twitter service – the Twitter verified account service – designed to confirm and verify that the Twitter accounts of celebrities, public personalities, and other famous people are actually the accounts of the people they say they are, and not imposters and pretenders.

With just two days until the 20-year anniversary of the horrific massacre at Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government has censored and blocked Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, Live.com and Hotmail.com, and even the new Microsoft Bing.com

It would seem that Phil Spector is Twittering from prison. While it seems unlikely, even unbelievable – and speculation about whether it’s really Phil Spector Twittering from jail, or an imposter, abounds – in reading the actual Twitter messages, if it’s not Phil Spector (whose full name is actually Harvey Phillip Spector, or “Harvey P. Spector”), then it’s a darned good facsimile Tweeting in Phil Spector’s name.

Sources have revealed that there is a Twitter reality television show in the works, which would feature real time Twitter messages (“tweets”) from the show’s contestants, who will be pitted against one another in an effort to track down celebrities.