Tech tools for the financially challenged

By Lindsay Blakely

Americans' credit card debt is expected to reach a staggering $780 billion this year, according to Equifax and Moody's economy.com. And that doesn't even include the unpaid bills accumulating on department store charge cards. What's bad for our bank accounts is turning out to be a wealth of opportunity for a slew of startup companies looking to help you manage your finances.

With names like Wesabe and MORE

Facebook Ads: What will the kids think?

By Lindsay Blakely

Mark Zuckerberg and his Facebook team spent an entire afternoon Tuesday explaining their new ad strategy to an audience of big-name corporate advertisers and Manhattan media. But as a series of high-profile executives from Blockbuster (BBI), Verizon (VZ), Coca-Cola (KO) and other new Facebook advertisers paraded across the stage, no one talked much about the Achilles heel of Facebook Ads: Facebook members.

Facebook is letting them control what MORE

Review: Yahoo's Kickstart

By Lindsay Blakely

Just how many social networking sites do we really need? At least one more, according to Yahoo. On Monday, it unveiled Kickstart, a sort of LinkedIn for the college set that aims to hook up students and recent grads with alumni and potential employers.

Here's a primer on what Kickstart has to offer.

Target audience: 18-to 24 year-olds

Design: Kickstart is certainly one of the cleanest-looking social networks. Profiles look MORE

MySpace and Bebo join Google's OpenSocial team

By Lindsay Blakely

Google today announced two big new partners in its battle to make social networks more open -- MySpace and Bebo.

When news surfaced Tuesday of Google's (GOOG) OpenSocial alliance, MySpace (NWS) and Bebo were conspicuously absent from the list of partners joining the effort to create common standards for social networking applications. So, not surprisingly, was top-tier network Facebook.

OpenSocial will allow developers to build widgets that work MORE

The battle for the soul of social networking

By Lindsay Blakely

Google's new OpenSocial initiative is just the opening shot in what promises to be a long fight with Facebook.

The OpenSocial alliance, which seeks to create common standards for social networking applications, has so far signed up Google's (GOOG) Orkut social network -- it's big in Brazil -- as well as Hi5, LinkedIn, Ning, Friendster and business software makers Salesforce and Oracle.

"I view this as Version 1.0 of MORE

Meebo's platform play

By Michael V. Copeland and Lindsay Blakely

Instant messaging startup Meebo has opened up its online service to outside developers. It has become -- wait for it -- a platform.

In its new guise, Meebo will allow hand-picked developers to put their browser-based applications in front of the site's 6 million monthly unique users. The widgets will exploit IM technology to focus on instantaneous interactions between the folks on your buddy list. MORE

AdBrite launches Facebook network

By Lindsay Blakely

With Facebook widely expected to unveil a big advertising initiative next week, ad network AdBrite today is launching its own way for advertisers to target consumers on the social networking site.

The question, of course, is if Facebook gets into the ad game, will there be room for anyone else?

"Facebook may have a brilliant new way to do ad targeting based on profiles," but that doesn't mean it will MORE

Madison Avenue awaits Facebook's next move

By Jessi Hempel and Lindsay Blakely

Now that Facebook has scored a $240 million investment from Microsoft (MSFT) and is reportedly negotiating for another $500 million from two New York hedge funds, it's time to ask: how is Mark Zuckerberg going to use that pile of cash to make money off his social networking site's nearly 50 million members?

One clue came this week when a select group of national advertisers received MORE

Facebook's Blackberry deal

By Lindsay Blakely

Here's an addictive combination: Facebook on your BlackBerry.

Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz kicked off the second day of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association conference in San Francisco by announcing a deal that puts the social networking site's features on Research in Motion's (RIMM) BlackBerry smartphones.

Facebook will come with new T-Mobile BlackBerry smartphones and will be available as a download for BlackBerrys from other wireless carriers. The application will allow MORE

StumbleUpon personalizes search on Google, Yahoo

By Lindsay Blakely 

StumbleUpon, the San Francisco startup acquired by eBay (EBAY) in May for $75 million, wants to personalize search - even if you prefer to use sites like Google and Yahoo.

As its name suggests, StumbleUpon helps you "stumble" around the Web and find new content. A downloadable toolbar suggests Web sites and videos and learns your preferences as you give a thumbs up or down to what you see.

On MORE