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WASHINGTON -- The Census Bureau is recommending that Hispanics be treated as a distinct race, a move that acknowledges the group's growing significance, but could reduce their numbers in future surveys.

The census currently considers "Hispanics" an ethnicity, allowing people to identify both as Hispanic and as a member of a separate racial group. The proposed change would drop the ethnicity question, and simply ask about race, allowing people to check a box next to choices that include black, white, or Hispanic.

The proposal concerns some Hispanic political leaders who fear that it would lead to a lower overall Hispanic count as some people of mixed origin choose to identify as white or black.

"This is a hot-button issue," said Angelo Falcon, president of the National Institute for Latino policy in New York City and a community adviser to the census. "The burden will be on the Census Bureau to come up with evidence that wording changes will not undermine the Latino numbers."

But others doubt it will undermine the numbers because Latinos who are of European, African or indigenous American descent will more likely choose Latino as their race if it's an option.

"There'll be a lot fewer Hispanics checking the white box," said Tomas Jimenez, a sociology professor at Stanford University. He said the proposed change might better reflect how Latinos define themselves. If anything, making Hispanic a race "will probably mean a decrease

The proposal was among several Census Bureau recommendations released Wednesday, stemming from new government research on the best ways to count the nation's demographic groups. The other changes would drop use of "Negro" from census surveys and add write-in categories Arabs and Middle Easterners to specifically identify themselves.

The changes are based on research conducted during the 2010 census that showed many people who filled out the traditional form did not feel they fit within the five government-defined racial categories: white, black, Asian, Pacific Island and Native Indian/Alaska Native.

More than 14 million Californians identified themselves as Latino/Hispanic in the 2010 census, and a growing number, in the race category, are describing themselves as "some other race."

Nationally, about 18 million -- roughly 37 percent -- Latinos used the "some other race" category.

Originally posted here:
Census Bureau wants to drop word "Negro," asking Hispanics what race they are

MANILA, Philippines Months after Friendster was relaunched as a social discovery and gaming platform, Multiply announced that it will shut down its social networking and content sharing services to shift its focus to online shopping.

In an announcement posted on the website, Multiply chief executive officer Stefan Magdalinski said users will no longer be able to share photos, videos and blogs starting December 1.

Magdalinski believes that other websites will do a better job serving you than we can.

Facebook currently leads the pack in the social media race with over 900 million followers.

From December 1st, we will unfortunately no longer be able to support Multiply in its current form notably we will be removing the social networking and content sharing part of Multiply (photos, videos, blogs, social messaging, etc.). We have decided to discontinue providing and hosting these services, as we have concluded that other Internet sites who are committed to social networking services will do a better job serving you than we can.

For our existing users of social networking features, we will be providing easy ways for you to either download your stuff (photos, blogs, content, etc.), or migrate it to other online services. Well announce the precise details shortly. It will be your choice whether to download, migrate or just let your content lapse (and get deleted).

For our existing commerce users (both buyers and sellers) in Indonesia and the Philippines, there will be no action required.

Magdalinski said Multiply will now focus on improving its online shopping capability, citing its 350 million consumers in Indonesia and the Philippines.

I suspect that many of you will not like the news, and I am sorry to have to deliver it now. I hope that you will be able to understand the reasons for our decision and thank you for being a part of the Multiply community over the past eight years, he said.

Social networking pioneer Friendster discontinued its services in 2009 as it lost ground to Facebook. The website instead focused on allowing users to play games and earn points to buy virtual goods.

View post:
Multiply to shut down social networking services

Time to transfer those photos and videos.

Mutliply.com announced on Thursday that it will stop its social networking functions in December, choosing to focus instead on its electronic commerce operations in Indonesia and the Philippines.

From December 1st, we will unfortunately no longer be able to support Multiply in its current form - notably we will be removing the social networking and content sharing part of Multiply (photos, videos, blogs, social messaging, etc.), Stefan Magdalinski, chief executive officer at Multiply Global, said in a statement posted on its website.

With the rise of Facebook as the dominant player in the social networking arena, Multiply had sought to differentiate itself from competitors by highlighting itself as the social shopping hub for online marketers.

For our existing users of social networking features, we will be providing easy ways for you to either download your stuff (photos, blogs, content, etc), or migrate it to other online services, he noted, saying that they will announce the file migration details soon.

Here is the original post:
Multiply.com quits social networking

Published: Aug. 8, 2012 at 6:00 PM

NEW YORK, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Social networking is quickly making the jump to mobile as more U.S. smartphone users turn to their devices to check social Web sites, a research study found.

By the end of this year, nearly 82 million U.S. mobile users -- more than a quarter of the country's mobile population -- are expected to use a social networking site on their phone at least monthly, research firm eMarketer reported.

By 2014, eMarketer estimates, nearly half of the total U.S. mobile population will be mobile social networkers.

Facebook is leading the way as nearly 70 million people will access the site from their phones each month this year, the study found.

By 2014 about four in 10 mobile users and nearly two-thirds of smartphone users will check Facebook on mobile devices, eMarketer said.

The study was based on the analysis of survey and traffic data from research firms and regulatory agencies, historical trends, company-specific data, and demographic and socioeconomic factors, the firm said.

Excerpt from:
Social networking said going more mobile

08-08-2012 10:45 London Olympic officials said Wednesday that Cameroon officials were seeking help in locating 7 missing athletes, but stressed that they had not breached the terms of their visas and were not violating any immigration laws. (Aug. 8)

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Cameroon Missing Athletes May Want New Home - Video