Welcome to this morning’s edition of “First To Know,” a series in which we keep you in the know on what’s happening in the digital world. We’re keeping our eyes on six particular stories of interest today.
Digg Gets an Overhaul to Draw Users Back
Digg has overhauled its site in an attempt to bring users back and regain some momentum.
Google Launches Voice-to-Twitter Service To Help Protesters in Egypt
A group of engineers from Google, Twitter and SayNow (which Google acquired last week) have released a speak-to-tweet service for protesters in Egypt.
Facebook To Launch Third-Party Commenting Platform
Facebook is about to launch a commenting platform to compete with the likes of Disqus and other third-party services, sources familiar with the matter have told us.
Facebook, Google, & IBM Partner With White House to Encourage Entrepreneurship
On Monday, the White House announced Startup America, a national campaign to encourage entrepreneurship. The campaign already has an impressive list of partners, including Facebook, Intel, IBM, HP, the Kauffman Foundation and Google.
LG Optimus 3D To Have Dual-Lens 3D Camera
LG has confirmed several details about its forthcoming glasses-free 3D smartphone, the LG Optimus 3D, which will be fully unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona between February 14 and 17.
Foursquare’s University Badges Now Available at All Colleges & Universities
Foursquare has announced that its “Foursquare for Universities” program is now available at every college and university around the world.
Further News
Several airlines have teamed up with Gogo Inflight Internet and Ford to offer free in-flight Facebook access throughout the month of February.
In a survey released Tuesday morning, Nielsen reported that 31% of mobile consumers in the U.S. now own a smartphone, among other findings.
Facebook Deals, a service that enables users to surface nearby deals using their mobile phones, went live in five European countries Monday.
On the same day it quietly rolled out an algorithm-based recommendations service, The New York Times added links to both its Facebook and Twitter accounts on its homepage.
Google is not the only company with plans to go on a hiring spree this year: Skype announced Monday that it expects to hire 350 people between now and the end of 2011.