Increasing pressure from regulators has forced Apple to re-think their privacy options concerning user’s personal contacts. Until now, many apps running on the iOS platform were free to download a user’s personal contact information like phone numbers and e-mail addresses without proper consent. The matter came into light after recent revelations of Social Network “Path” downloading user’s address books and keeping them on their servers without permission. The company quickly cleaned up its act by deleting the data and modified the policy.

The exercise has come to a stage, where it’s become a common practice in the industry. Twitter, Foursquare and Instagram are some of the usual suspects when it comes to collecting such data without consent.

Congressmen Henry Waxman and GK Butterfield have come down hard on Apple and have asked them to tweak the current functionality. They have also raised questions as to why Apple has not taken the privacy of the address data as seriously as its user’s location data. In 2011, the revelation that Apple had an in-built database that could track user location created quite a stir. Apple immediately obliged and made sure such data was removed. Much in the same vein, Apple has said that any application currently collecting user data without permission was in breach of its guidelines. In the next upgrade, it has promised to make sure that users will be asked permission before any data is downloaded.

In a move that is likely to be the most posted news on the popular social networking website Facebook, Angry Birds the most downloaded, purchased and played game that was first launched with Apple iOS in Decemeber 2009, will now be available for internet users on Facebook. Developed by the Finnish gaming powerhouse company, Rovio, the game received immense success when it was made available to Apple user. Very soon as the popularity of the game surged, the game started appearing on in its online and desktop versions. Featuring wingless angry birds that need to be slingshot at unstable structures that house pigs, was popularized further due to comical style, addictive game play and low price. The game gained immense popularity amongst teens and youngsters while there is no denying that almost all age groups took an instant liking to the game.

Facebook has largely become a phenomenon that has been more pervasive than Google or YouTube put together. Its effects have been felt over a wide range of aspects like friendships, politics and business while it has increased the depth of virtual interactions through its very interestingly designed platform. The global reach of Facebook has not only made records but also broken a few. It has given people an opportunity to connect with long lost friends and estranged family members while acting as a consistent connectivity medium to those who are far away from their loved ones. Facebook’s meteoric rise has had profound effects on the way human beings are connected and how they react. Adding a new facet to human social and cultural cognition, Facebook has induced a new realm of study in the context of technology shaped human behavior and interactions.

In 2010, Facebook became world’s most visited online resource beating Google to it. As a countermove, Google started its own social networking space. This particular move gives us an idea about the time we live in.

Social Media has grown and is no longer just a space for communication and content sharing as it originally began. Now social media has started to influence the success of business and has become a thing of interest for investors and consumers.

In 2011, social media began to significantly influence the global markets too such an extent that now it helps in determining trading strategies and stock value.

A decision on Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) has been postponed. Mr. Lamar Smith, Chairman of House Judiciary Committee, said he could come to a decision only when a compromise was reached.

SOPA and PIPA are anti-piracy bills that are being considered by the House of Representatives and the Senate. These bills are to address the issues of hosting pirated content on foreign servers. Under these bills, the websites that host infringed content or links to infringed content will be blocked.

In today’s society, technology is growing at an exponential rate.  87% of the American population own a cell phone.  61% of Americans get their news online and within this group of people 75% receive such modern information by visiting their favorite or preferred web sites.  The days of buying hard copies of newspapers from vendors are slowly dwindling.  What is growing paramount for the average Joe is to rely on SOCIAL MEDIA in order to progress and live in accordance with their dreams, whatever they may be.