This series is brought to you by HTC EVO 4G, America's first 4G phone. Only from Sprint. The "First to Know" series keeps you in the know on what's happening now in the world of social media and technology.
Google Acquires Slide
Following multiple reports that Google is preparing an aggressive entrance into the social gaming space, anonymous sources have revealed that Google has purchased social gaming, slideshow and widget maker Slide for $182 million. According to these same sources, the deal will be officially announced Friday. [via TechCrunch]
Twitter "Shoutout" Feature in the Works
Twitter may be readying a new promotional tool similar to @earlybird, an account that tweets out special deals from select advertisers. The account, @twittershoutout, is currently a private account followed only by Twitter employees. Its bio says, "Contribute your shoutouts to peeps."
It's not yet clear whether this account will be used for advertisers, users or perhaps non-profits; we could imagine a service in which users could promote fellow users in a fashion similar to #FollowFriday, or a way to bring attention to individuals or companies involved in compelling causes. What do you think it could be? [via Louis Gray]
Update: ShoutOut is an internal tool Twitter uses to let employees "give props" to each other, according to The Next Web.
Hunch Repositions Itself as a Recommendation Engine
Hunch, a much-buzzed about startup founded by Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake and angel investor Chris Dixon, has launched a redesign that positions itself not as a social Q&A service, but as a taste-driven recommendation engine. Log in with your Facebook or Twitter account, answer 20 quick questions, and the service will deliver a list of personal recommendations of music, books, magazines, TV shows, food, vacations, computer software and other products you're likely to enjoy [via ReadWriteWeb].
Further News
Facebook has purchased $40 million worth of social networking patents.
Word puzzle games have arrived on the Kindle.
Google has ceased development of its Google Wave product.
A PDF of the ruling overturning California's Proposition 8 appeared on document-sharing site Scribd, becoming the most viral document the site has ever hosted.
The fourth Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview is now available for developers [via IEBlog].
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