ReadWriteWeb

This week, Facebook unveiled a number of updates to its mobile platform, including the launch of a location-based coupons and discounts offering called Facebook Deals, a more open read/write location API, single sign-on support for mobile and revamped iPhone and Android applications.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wouldn't give specific numbers on how many people were using Facebook Places as compared with its competition like Foursquare, Gowalla, SCVNGR and others. So you tell us: are using it as a consumer? Or if you're a developer, what your plans are to integrate it into your app?

Digg has had one heck of a week. On Wednesday the social news aggregator decided it was a good time to make the switch to version 4 of its platform, which sent servers crashing and drove users bonkers. That was followed with overwhelming outrage over the buggy and feature-stripped new site, and today loyal Digg users spammed the site pleading for founder Kevin Rose to "do the right thing." This afternoon, Rose responded to the Digg community on his personal blog, announcing the return of features like "Upcoming Stores."

Yesterday we reported on the launch of Digg's latest iteration of it's social news platform. Due to server problems that hampered much of Digg's functionality (including commenting), many users chose to voice their opinions here on ReadWriteWeb. Yesterday we asked you to let us know how you felt about the new Digg, and boy did you ever. The vast majority of comments - both here and on other sites including Digg - are those of disgust and anger over the new Digg, as many believe the site's core functionality has been inexplicably stripped away.

For many successful startups, there exists a point where their product is popular enough to grow beyond the minimum viable product, but is yet to be discovered by millions more that may be turned off if the service is too complicated. Internet startups need to find a balance between keeping the power users interested, while not overwhelming the newbies. According to Spark Capital's Bijan Sabet, Tumblr, a rapidly growing micro-blogging service, is one company doing a beautiful job of finding this balance by turning the "less is more" mantra into "less and more."

Here at ReadWriteStart, we've mentioned the importance of credibility as an entrepreneur when meeting with venture capitalists and potential investors, but it is also important to carry that credibility forward into your company as you interface with customers. Amid rumors that it was extorting businesses by offering to de-emphasize negative reviews in return for adverting purchases, social review site Yelp announced Monday that it would be "lifting the veil" on its review system and removing controversial features in hopes of securing customer trust.

We have talked about the power of utilizing social networks for businesses before in our Weekend Reading series with books like The Facebook Era, by Clara Shih and Crush It!, by Gary Vaynerchuk, and this week we've got another book under a similar vein. Published just last month, Social Networking for Businesses: Choosing the Right Tools and Resources to Fit Your Needs, by Rawn Shah is a guide for companies looking to take advantage of the collaborative communities of social networks to improve their business.

We've talked about design a lot recently, highlighting the nuances of thoughtful placement and treatment of various elements of a web page. Today I stumbled onto an interesting blog post by Ryan Spoon of Polaris Venture Partners about how small changes or additions, specifically in design, can at times make a huge difference for a product on the Web. In the example Spoon references, Facebook added a post log-out message to their homepage which for some users will suggest they look into using Facebook mobile - a small change that is proving useful for the social media powerhouse.

When Sigma Partners' Richard Dale posted a video of a random dancing guy to his Venture Cyclist blog I was skeptical. I'd seen the original video sans narration and dismissed it as a strange sociological phenomenon condensed into a quick three minute clip. Nevertheless, when the same video is narrated by MuckWork and CDBaby founder Derek Sivers, it provides some valuable leadership lessons for entrepreneurs.

In the summer of 2008, J.R. Johnson sold Virtual Tourist to Expedia for $85 million dollars. While Johnson seems like the type of laid back Los Angeles entrepreneur that would take some vacation time, his quest for relevancy had him launching a new community the following March. Lunch.com is Johnson's attempt to cut through the noise that has proliferated since he first started in the user-generated-review space in 1999.

Says Johnson, "When I started, people asked me why anyone would want to read an amateur review. Now the environment has changed and there's even pay-per-post happening across the net. Virtual Tourist is travel-specific and you increase relevancy by picking a niche topic on which to base your community. With Lunch I'm trying to solve something new." Johnson spoke to ReadWriteWeb about some of the ways he's managed to ensure that his community is more than just search engine bait.

In any relationship, business or personal, first impressions are critical to getting off on the right foot. For startups, if a user gets a bad first impression of your website, that same sentiment will carry through to their opinion of your service. A few weeks ago we told you about some pointers to make sure your site's registration process isn't scaring away users. A recent post on web development blog Six Revisions focuses in on this issue by providing some techniques and best practices for creating and designing the perfect registration button.