Morning Radar: Three things we're talking about this morning
A new leader: The results for 2010 are in and it looks like Facebook has dethroned Google as the most-visited site of 2010.
According to research firm Experian Hitwise, 8.93 per cent of all website visits from January to November in the U.S. were to the social network. Google was a close second at 7.19 per cent and Yahoo Mail trailed at 3.52 per cent.
The people behind AddThis, a widget that tracks internet sharing, may be onto the reason why we're Facebooking more than Googling: the way we're getting content is much more passive.
Rather than visiting news and entertainment sites on our own or Googling topics that interest us, we're turning to Facebook to find content that comes with friends' seals of approval.
It's a phenomenon that has been reported on before and now there's data to back it up -- 44 per cent of online sharing happens through Facebook, a jump from 33 per cent last year.
Tech teasing: Has your child been cyber bullied? In a new Norwegian survey of children, two out of three reported being bullied on the internet or by mobile phone. Gone are the days of ICQ and MSN Messenger teasing: in keeping with its unstoppable growth, Facebook seems to be the main forum where bullying occurs.
The country's Data Inspectorate launched a website this spring offering advice to victims of cyber bullying. It found that about 40 per cent of inquiries were about Facebook, almost 8 per cent were about Google and almost 8 per cent were about the press. This new age of information sharing means attacks have greater staying power.
A classroom diss has an audience of a few, but an online one could reach millions and leave an indelible mark on Google search results.
Saving to the extreme: What's the best antidote to holiday spending exhaustion?
Taking frugality seriously -- or at least watching others do so. Last night was the premiere of Extreme Couponing on TLC, a show being discussed fervently on Twitter this morning (it's made the list of Trending Topics).
Viewers saw it as a freakshow more than any kind of instructional guide and coupon bloggers are pretty upset with the way couponing culture was portrayed. After viewing a promo for the show, the blogger behind Consumer Queen wrote:
"I was horrified, my jaw dropped and I slushed down in my chair. I couldn't believe my eyes. It portrayed couponers as crazy obsessed hoarders. It showed all the things that we couponers teach NOT to do at our coupon classes."The writer behind Our Frugal Future was equally aghast -- particularly at scenes of dumpster diving:
"They made couponing look like a disease and that these people were out of control."
All we can say is hey, it's TLC. Did you really expect a moderated view from the people who brought you Jon & Kate Plus 8?
Dakshana Bascaramurty