News

mediabistro.com was on the ground at the Inside Network's third annual Inside Social Apps conference in San Francisco, delivering around the clock coverage on the social and mobile app ecosystem. Read the latest from our blogs.

Facebook, Apple, Google - Which Platforms Hold the Most Opportunity in 2012? (SocialTimes)

A Single Loyal App User Costs $1.81 (GalleyCat)

Social Apps for Marketers and Brands, Maximizing Audience Engagement (InsideFacebook)

Our interview with erotica pioneer Zane sparked several debates Wednesday. Should authors get higher royalties for handling their own marketing? Does an African-American section in bookstores hinder or help sales?

Read the full interview and share your comments.

Sloane Taylor All my work is e-pub. I'm happy with that and the royalty percentages.

Patricia W Although not a fan of AA sections in book stores, I understand their value and if it is proven that they lead to increased sales, then so be it.

Tanisha Christie So does that mean we should split the sections into Commercial Fiction and Literary Fiction? I can hear authors screaming now.

Mizrepresent I found much truth to what Zane is talking about. As far as eBooks go, i offer my authors 30-50 percent of the profit, because i think they deserve it.

"I have no doubt that Grand Central [Publishing] employees work hard, have lots of meetings, and are selective about what they publish," said author J.A. Konrath in response to our interview with GCP's Jamie Raab. "That doesn't mean they're worth the 52.5 percent they currently make from each $6.99 ebook."

Read the full response on GalleyCat

The moment we've all been waiting for is here: Facebook officially filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission for its initial public offering this afternoon.

Read the full story on AllFacebook.

Few things have been as harshly scrutinized in the last year as Rupert Murdoch's The Daily. So how is The Little Tablet Paper That Could doing now? Its Publisher, Greg Clayman, says "just fine, thank you."

Read the full story on FishbowlNY.

Formula Capital managing director and author James Altucher bashed the Penguin publicity team that worked on one of his earlier books and urged entrepreneurs to abandon traditional publishing. What do you think of his provocative article? Check out article discussion on GalleyCat and meet us on Twitter to join in the conversation.

@lindsey_donner I'm pro-book, but why does it need to be self-published?

@DaveCullen So many clueless people on this.

Karen Lee Hallam Why not?

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Reporters at a Facebook news conference in Seattle were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement, according to reports coming from local news outlets. Did the company go too far? Read the full story at 10,000 Words.

@mskerryd Happens at SF tech events too. I just say No.

@j_nb The irony: Company that wants users to share everything doesn't want to share with reporters

@mtwelves I like Google more.

@coldfusion11 Seems Odd. 'open' Privacy (free press) is good for everyone except FB? I do agree about the 'spam' part.

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In a telephone poll conducted by Poll Position, respondents were divided on that question, with almost exactly the same number of people arguing that it was fair as unfair. What do you think?

Is it Fair to Brand Journalists as Part of the 'Elite Media'? (TVNewser)

Yep, that's the number of Tweets and related hashtags that were sent last night about the State of the Union address. Find out which themes got everyone buzzing over at 10,000 Words.

Twitter's Reaction To The State of the Union in One Compelling Infographic (10,000 Words)

The long odyssey surrounding his abrupt departure from Two and a Half Men is long over, but Charlie Sheen still has strong feelings about the incident, even if he doesn't exactly know what happened. "I don't know what it was, I am still baffled by it. Can that ever happen again, the way it did?" Sheen told our own Alex Weprin.

The FishbowlLA Interview with Charlie Sheen