Social network discovery platform StumbleUpon has fired 35 of its employees, reducing 30 percent of its staff as the social platform attempts to streamline its business.

StumbleUpon spokesman Mike Mayzel says the firing were necessary so the company could �become more streamlined [and] focused.”

In 2012 StumbleUpon continued to lose traffic referrals to Facebook, Pinterest, Reddit and other up and coming social stars. StumbleUpon traffic was down by more than half in 2012.

In an attempt to attract a new audience StumbleUpon underwent a major redesign in late 2012, utilizing many of the design features found on other Web 2.0 competitors.� read more

�

My biggest complaint about most browsers on the market today is the simple fact that they offer a ton of bells and whistles yet they fail to offer basic features that most users actually use. Sure you can download Firefox and Google Chrome add-ons but that involves choosing a program that may or may not be up to bar. Needless to say I was happy when I discovered the Torch Browser, an application that allows me surf the web while also taking care of all my social media, multimedia and torrent needs.

As a tech writer I mostly use the internet to find new programs, share cool tech stories with friends and of course download a ton of files. The Torch Browser in its most basic sense is a standard browser, just like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and others. The big difference is that the browser also integrates useful multimedia and social media features. read more

Vimeo users can now more easily share their favorite videos with their connected social networks. The company on Thursday announced via the�Vimeo blog�that a slew of new social networking features have finally arrived.

Speaking of the sites new focus on social sharing�VP of product and development Andrew Pile showed off the social video platforms new social options.

The first thing Vimeo users will notice is that they can now automatically link their Vimeo account to�Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn and Google+ accounts. According to Pile:

�Previously, connecting to Facebook and Twitter only published your likes.� Now you can choose granular share settings for a whole plethora of actions including�uploads, likes, comments, people you follow, adding videos to groups and channels, and more.� On Facebook, you can even choose to publish to a Facebook page instead of your news feed.� read more

Instagram isn’t just about adding filters to images, 40% of America’s top 100 brands are now using the social photo sharing website to build a stronger web presence while attracting new supporters.

The company Simply Measured conducted a quick study by examining the Interbrand Top 100 Global Brands list and then examining which of those company’s have a presence on Instagram. In comparison 98% of those brands are on Facebook and 94% are on Twitter.

Instagram is growing in important now that it has grown from 15 million iPhone users since the beginning of 2012 to more than 80 million iPhone and Google Android users since being purchased by Facebook.

Web users these days grow tired of the same old marketing practices at a rather alarming rate, with more brands realizing the power photos and Instagram integration can bring to their brands we can expect to see more Instagram accounts for top brands in the near future. read more

Remember when Digg.com was estimated by some analysts to be worth upwards of $200 million? Those days are long gone as New York incubator startup Betaworks announced on Thursday that it has purchased Digg for a measly $500,000.

Since launching in 2004 Digg has received more than $45 million in investor funds

On it’s blow Betaworks says Digg will fold into the News.me team. Betaworks also promises to “turn Digg back into a startup. Low budget, small team, fast cycles.”

Digg was once hailed as the future of the internet until Digg v4 was widely panned by critics and the sites most loyal users as a complete failure that confused some users and took away other favorite features used by devoted Diggers. After the release of V4 the website watched traffic plunge, lost much of its management structure and was forced to lay off half its staff.  read more

In an effort to “streamline” the StumbleUpon experience for users site officials have announced several updates to the company’s platform which will see the removal of Groups, the discontinuation of the ability to select from various Themes and a more simplified blogging setup.

According to a StumbleUpon representative:

We know some of you have enjoyed having these features, but we believe that this change will allow us to better focus on making stumbling amazing for you.

The changes to the system which will take effect on October 24 include: read more

Facebook may have more than 750 million users and a massive network of sites that allow users to “Like” and “Recommend” webpages but when it comes to social sharing StumbleUpon is the new king of the internet.

StatCounter racked up total shares on various networks and found that while Facebook use to generate close to 70% of traffic based on social sharing that number has falling below 40% while StumbleUpon accounts for nearly half of all social shared links.

Here’s a look at social sharing stats from the US: read more

Evernote has become the pre-imminent note taking tool for many mobile phone and desktop and internet browser users. The program not only allows users to take notes, but also share those notes on Twitter and Facebook, allowing for instant collaboration from a myriad of devices and now we have learned that the company has passed the 10 million registered users mark.

That 10 million user milestone is a 67% increase over the company’s 6 million users in January of this year, while 424,736 users are said to be premium users at the low cost of just $5 per month.

In celebration of their numbers the company has also released information on the type of devices used by their customers. For example, 46% of Evernote users have two devices they use the software with, while 18% use three devices routinely with Evernote, 7% have four devices for Evernote use and a high 4% use the program on five or more devices. read more

Pepsi is taking social sharing to a whole new level. The company on Wednesday announced the world’s first “social vending machine” which allows users to insert money and send refreshing beverages to friends who can then access their free drinks through other social vending machines around the country.

The system is simple enough to operate, first a user walks up to a machine and chooses a beverage to “share” with a friend, they then insert their cash and enter a personalized text message, while some machines will even have cameras for video messaging.

After the users send the drink they’ve paid for the receiving party can access their beverage from any social vending machine they can find.

Pepsi will also be offering random free drinks to social media users in a program they call “Random Acts of Refreshment.”

Here’s what Pepsi had to say about their social vending machines: read more

Facebook on Monday rolled out several updates to their Group feature that makes it easier to share content with small networks.

As part of the updates Administrators for groups now have the option to implement a “new member approval” system, allowing Admins to ensure that groups do not grow larger than they would like to administer.

Also added is the ability to share entire albums with group members, rather than going through photos one by one as was the case with the older Groups setup.

Groups can also now implement the Facebook Questions system which was left off the last update to the Groups system.

Finally a Group Search function has been added to the mix which allows users to perform searches within each group they are participating in, allowing for a much more streamlined option. Users should be aware that this final feature is rolling out to different members throughout the week and may not be available in your account immediately. read more