WebProNews

Facebook Beach Party Stalled By Police

A beach party organized on Facebook that was expected to attract as many as 10,000 revelers has been canceled after police warned that it was illegal.More than 7,000 people had confirmed on the social networking site that they would attend the party billed as "a night of mayhem," in the coastal town of Torbay, England.

Selling Your Soul On The Internet Is Hell

Things aren't cool anymore once everybody starts doing them, that's the Law of Cool*. The same applies to selling one's immortal soul on the Internet, which has entered let's-throw-a-toga-party-like-they-did-on-Animal-House status**.  Our latest soul peddler is from New Zealand, who learned like others before him that hosted auction websites don't want anywhere near his soul or lack thereof.

More Than Half Of Americans Have Broadband Connections

Over half (55%) of all adult Americans now have a high-speed Internet connection at home, according to a new survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.The percentage of Americans with broadband has increased from 47 percent in early 2007 and 42 percent in early 2005. Of those who access the Internet at home, 79 percent have a high-speed connection and 15 percent use dialup.Adults who live in households whose annual incomes are less than $20,000 a year, home broadband adoption was at 25% in early 2008, compared to 28 percent in 2007.

Ball Girl’s Catch Online Sensation

A video on YouTube depicting a ball girl at a minor league baseball game making an unbelievable catch is actually a shelved ad for Gatorade.The ball girls superhuman leap was actually done by a stuntwoman who was helped into the air by cables. The accidental viral video has received more than 3.5 million hits on a variety of Web sites within the last month.

Borders.com Adds Social Features

Borders.com has partnered with Bazaarvoice, a social commerce applications provider to offer user rating and reviews on its recently launched Web site.Borders said its working with Bazaarvoice because it helps create a "Compelling and interactive online experience.""When you walk through a Borders store, you quickly realize that customer conversations are an essential part of the shopping experience," said Kevin Ertell, senior vice president of e-business for Borders Group, Inc.

Army Blogger Ordered To Shutter Site

A solider in the U.S. Army has been ordered to shut down his blog for writing posts that criticized his superior officers.Blogging about the Iraq war under the pseudonym "LT [Lieutenant] G" since December 2007 the popular blog called "Kaboom: A Soldiers War Journal," detailed the daily life of the war describing firefights, combat patrols and tribal meetings.

Orbitz Partners With MSN On Travel Services

Orbitz Worldwide has announced that it has signed a multi-year agreement with Microsoft to be the online travel agency for MSN.com's travel portal in the U.S. and the UK.Orbitz.com replaces the Microsoft founded Expedia in the U.S. and affiliate ebookers.com will serve the MSN UK site.Orbitz says the deal could attract 3.5 million visitors per month to Orbitz through MSN Travel. Orbitz did not offer data on how many visitors it could bring to its ebookers site.

Video Of Angry French President Is Online Hit

French public television channel, France 3 has launched an investigation into how an off air video of irritated French President Nicolas Sarkozy found its way online.The video shows a France 3 technician attaching a microphone to Sarkozy's tie, and ignoring the presidents greeting. "It's a question of manners," Sarkozy is heard saying on the video. "When you're invited, you're entitled to have people say 'hello' to you."

Washington Online Sales Tax Now Law

Online shoppers who are residents of the state of Washington will now have to start paying sales tax on purchases made on the Internet.Starting today Washington joins 18 other states that require some online retailers to collect sales tax. About 1,100 ecommerce retailers have agreed to collect taxes in exchange for the state not going after them for back taxes.

Nobody Went Public Last Quarter

For the first time in thirty years, Wall Street saw a quarter come and go with no companies going public. The second quarter of 2008 proved to be a disappointing one all around. Adding on to residual distrust from the dotcom bust, venture capitalists and investment firms are reluctant to debut their startups to the public market during such a weak climate. Memories of Vonage's embarrassing public offering two years ago don't help the situation; venture capitalists feel going public during the current market's mood would be anticlimactic.