American divorce lawyers and academics have stated this week that Facebook is now cited in 65 percent of all divorces in the United States, despite divorce levels remaining relatively stable in the fast few years.
Says Dr. Steven Kimmons, a clinical psychologist and marriage counsellor at Loyola University Medical Centre near Chicago (via Guardian):
We’re coming across it more and more. One spouse connects online with someone they knew from school. The person is emotionally available and they start communicating through Facebook.
A survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) showed a huge jump in divorce cases citing social networking sites, with Facebook at the top at 65 percent, followed by MySpace at 14 percent and Twitter at 5 percent.
The sites weren’t only used to show off evidence of infidelity but also used in custody cases, where spouses could point out pictures of drug and alcohol use by their husband/wife.
Facebook has 600 million users worldwide.
Result for: myspace
Google has acquired the social networking gaming company Slide, according to multiple reports.
The startup was created in 2005 by Max Levchin, the co-founder of PayPal.
NYTimes reports the acquistion price at $228 million while TechCrunch says $182 million. Regardless, the price is a lot cheaper than the $500 million valuation the service was given in 2008.
When Slide began, Levchin used it as a third-party photo sharing service but it quickly evolved into a widget and app service, used in social networking giants like Facebook and MySpace.
The company’s two most popular apps are SuperPoke and SPP Ranch. The first allows you to adopt a virtual pet, and exchange money for virtual goods.
Google has been spending significant amounts of money in an effort to start a social gaming platform, investing $150 million in market leader Zynga among other purchases.
Result for: myspace
The Food Network and YouTube have teamed up for a new challenge this week, asking YouTube users to submit video applications to be considered for a spot on the upcoming The Next Food Network Star.
You can enter the challenge now, and entries are accepted until July 16th.
The winner of the challenge will then be given a one-on-one audition with Food Network executives in New York City, with the chance to become a contestant on the show.
“The Next Food Network Star” is a reality series that pits contestants against each other in food-based challenges with the winner getting their own series on the channel.
In the past, other networks have tried similar challenges, with Fox starting a “Glee” casting call via MySpace and “America’s Got Talent” doing auditions via YouTube.
