Twitter Partners is a company focusing on helping other companies utilize Twitter, as in doing PR and utilizing the platform. There are several companies that offer Twitter consultation, but as the name implies, Twitter Partners has got Twitter endorsing it. This means Twitter Partners should be able to build pretty cool applications and solutions for Twitter usage, since the fact that Twitter is backing the company should mean that they can have an ongoing dialogue with the developers. If nothing else, Twitter Partners are bound to get a nice flow of new clients – they already scored a couple of heavy names in Europe – because of this relationship. read more

Mark Zuckerberg announced today that Facebook hit the 200 million user base.

Growing rapidly to 200 million users is a really good start, but we’ve always known that in order for Facebook to help people represent everything that is happening in their world, everyone needs to have a voice. This is why we are working hard to build a service that everyone, everywhere can use, whether they are a person, a company, a president or an organization working for change.

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A survey on 10,000 of the “top websites on the Internet” (according to Alexa) done by Pingdom reveals that a whopping 40% of the Google Analytics users still use the old tracking code, known as urchin.js. This script still works, but it might not in the near future.

“The information we are getting from Google is that urchin.js will be decommissioned sometime this summer,” says Julien Coquet from LBi, a Google Analytics Authorized Consultant.

When we asked Julien what will happen once urchin.js is decommissioned, his guess was that it will eventually start returning a 404 error (file not found) and therefore stop registering traffic.

There’s really no reason to use the old urchin.js script, the new one (known as ga.js if I’m not mistaken) is faster and has more features. If you’re a Google Analytics user, you really should check what version you’re using, and update the code if it is pointing to a file called urchin.js.

Copyblogger has published a list of five things to consider when getting hit by those snarky critics that just want to pick your carefully penned blog post to pieces. We’ve all been there, haven’t we, gotten hit by criticism. Sometimes it is warranted, and sometimes not. It really doesn’t matter, what does is how you handle it. read more

European e-commerce web site Vente-Privee.com has announced the launch of UK and Italian blogs, aimed to offer a more direct line of contact with its seven million strong membership base and increasing transparency.

The press release suggests that the blog “reveals all the secrets behind the website: how it works, tricks of the trade, the latest news, new projects, prizes awarded, the professional teams… In a nutshell, everything that goes on behind the scenes.” read more

The UK-based Sportingo sports network has been acquired by entertainment ticket listing service Tixdaq.com.

Sportingo includes the Caught Offside football blog and the Get Sport video portal, and receives a reported one million visitors each month. It’s written exclusively by sports fans rather than journalists. read more

You know what is worse than someone stealing the hard work of someone else and profiting from it? No, I didn’t either, until today.

The answer? Claiming that THEY are the victim.

Yes, you read that right. Not only did this guy steal 50 of Darren Rowse’s posts (50!), but they are trying to make out that they are the victim of the situation. read more

My husband was doing his best to explain Twitter to non-techy friends of ours. As the experienced web user and teacher, I was fascinated to hear how he would explain something he’s never used.

Twitter is a public way to have a private conversation.

He’s very right. In “Silly Out-of-Context Tweets — Can They Hurt?” Liz Strauss brings up the “elephant in the room” that describes much of what Twitter is, does, and can do, especially when Twitter meets search engine, exposing your tweets to the world. read more

At least that is what Reporters Without Borders thinks, as well as journalists and others that don’t play along the Iranian rules online.

In the latest move, Tehran prosecutor general Said Mortazavi announced yesterday that the “special prosecutor’s department for Internet crimes” will henceforth work directly with the intelligence services.

They also adds:

The organisation added: “The creation of a special prosecutor’s department for Internet crimes is part of a broader project by the authorities designed not only to monitor online content but also to impose extremely severe sentences, including the death penalty, for Internet crimes. We deplore this department’s increased power, which is a formidable repressive tool and an excellent way to get people to censor themselves.”

Not too long ago, Iranian blogger Omid Reza Mir Sayafi died in prison, which makes this even more serious for people in Iran who doesn’t agree with the government. Hat tip: Committee to Protect Bloggers.

Collis Ta’eed, of Envato fame, has a great post up on The Netsetter, about analyzing and tracking the competition. This is something that is a lot easier today, with all the great services online, than it was five years ago. If you’re serious about knowing what your competitors are doing, you really should check this one out.