URL shortening is becoming more and more popular with the use of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. Bit.ly is currently the most popular URL shortening service being used on social networking sites, especially on Twitter where posts are limited to 140 characters.

Google and Facebook has now come to the party with their own URL shortening services. Facebook launched fb.me thats already in use for mobile and page link sharing, while Google has launched Goo.gl the official Google URL shortening service.

In a short announcement, the tech giant revealed that the Google Toolbar and the FeedBurner syndication service now utilize Goo.gl for link sharing.

The company also made sure to preach the strengths of its URL shortener and why it should be chosen above others. Google’s three key talking points are stability, security, and speed. These are no surprise

Facebook and Google are trusted brands with huge audiences and very good short URL domains. This may just mark the beginning of a new battle for the URL shortening market.

The Internet is, well it’s really huge. Just to show you how huge it is, the guys from Gizmodo has put together a nice Infographic to show us just how crazy huge the Internet is, and what 210 billion emails, 3 million Flickr images, 43 million gigabytes (on phones) sent on an average day really means.

A while back Microsoft announced that they will be rolling in a update on the XBox 360 console to enable users to Twitter, Facebook and Last.FM from the comfort of their couch on a big screen TV.

So last night I decided that its time to test out this functionality. Using the applications is really straight forward, just log in with your credentials and away you go.

The Twitter interface looks really sleek and nice, but just don’t try to do a status update with your remote control. Writing the update is really time consuming as you need to move around the on-screen keyboard with your remote control to find the correct letters, not worry, all I did to avoid this was pop in a usb keyboard and all was well again.

All the the Xbox 360 now lacks is a browser, would be cool to be able to open up the links on tweets and view them. Me hold thumbs that they do not implement IE on the Xbox 360.

Here is a screenshot taken from GameSpy

Facebook has lately seen a huge growth in registrations from people we know as our parents, uncles and aunts.

In India a new social networking site was started with just them in mind. Verdurez is a social networking site aimed at people older than 55 years of age.

Verdurez has already a userbase of just over 4000 registered users with the oldest people in their seventies. Users older than 55 years can use Verdurez to read blogs and health news, aswell as chat to other users and even build puzzles online.

To be older doesn’t mean you have to stop living, Ishita Sukhadwala owner of Verdurez said. There is so much to do specialy now in a internet era.

@pigeonrace2009 was born due to the mere fact that Telkom is useless when it comes to internet in South Africa.

Neil the man behind the Pigeon Race idea was getting realy frustrated with the slow speed and unreliable lines that the company he is working for is using to transfer large files between satallite call centres. This made him think about a april fools paper he read a while back about using carrier pigeons as a network layer.

This all got Neil thinking about how long it takes to transfer large amounts of files in South Africa over standard ADSL line, and how fast it can be done using carrier pigeons. After discussing it with his CIO, Pigeon Race 2009 became a reality.

Basically they will be flying a pigeon with a 4GB micro SD card from Howick to their central site in Hillcrest. They did a dry run. Here is the stats: Pigeon took 48 minutes to deliver the data. ADSL is still downloading. Telkom got hold of this via the media and is currently in a flat spin. They got a call from Telkom asking them for their circuit numbers so they can make sure they have good service.

Now for the best part, tranfering the data through ADSL circuit is costing them +- R45 000 per month, now if they moved to Avain Carrier Pigeons they will be saving a whopping R35 000 per month.

If you would like to support Neil and Winston the Carrier Pigeon go check out their site, follow them on twitter or search for Winston on Facebook. You can also buy a very nice shirt from springleap to show your support.

Facebook 3.0 for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch was released yesterday afternoon on the Apple AppStore.

The new Facebook 3.0 application bring users a freshly new redesigned user interface. Many of the new features was requested by users, such as a customizable Facebook home screen, and the ability to Like user posts.

Facebook Version 3.0 was designed to be easier to navigate on the iPhone, enhanced the post feed view, added the ability to RSVP to event invitations, and more.

Facebook 3.0 for the iPhone and iPod Touch is free and available for download from Apple’s AppStore

Great news for local The Killers fans, they will be doing two shows right here in South Africa this December.

Capetonians and Johannesburgers will have the privilege to go see The Killers live on tour right here in South Africa this December brought to us by Heineken and 94.7 Highveld Stereo.

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter had been filling with news that The Killers will be comming to South Africa, and now it is comfirmed that they are set to perform in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

The Killers has released three albums and has numerous hits such as Mr. Brightside and Human, aswell as a number of awards behind them.

Fans of The Killer can catch them in Johannesburg at the Coca Cola Dome on the 4th of December and Cape Town fans can check them out at Val De Vie Polo Estate in Franschhoek on the 6th of December. Tickets go on sale at Computicket from tomorrow, 28 August, or if you are a KFM club VIP member you can already get a prime spot by purchasing a ticket through the Club VIP website.

Is social networking just a fad? Or is it the biggest shift since the industrial revolution?

An excelent youtube video on social networking.

Facebook will be launching a brand new simplified version of their Facebook platform called Facebook Lite. This news come only one day after Facebook acuired FriendFeed and rolled out the real-time Facebook search.

Facebook Lites looks like something that is a direct shot at Twitter, a simplified micro blogging platform.

Now you are asking what is Facebook Lite?

To put it simple its a complete stripped down version of the Facebook platform, almost something like a Twitter stream. You can see your most recent status updates and the updates of your friends. There is a left-hand navigation with four main categories: Wall, Info, Friends, and Photos & Videos.

Here is a screenshot snapped by a user from Hacker News

By the looks of thing its still has too many menu items and options to directly compete with Twitter, I still prefer the shortness of doing thing on Twitter with simple keywords/letters. Maybe this will just help make Facebook junkies used to a Twitter like environment.