I’m starting do to a quick weekly round-up of the Social Media and Mobile news that I find most interesting.  Enjoy

AOL:

• AOL Journals and AOL Hometown are shutting down (joining Xdrive and BlueString)
  

Apple:

• Apple announces retroactive improvements to “MobileMe”. The following improvements were silently launched in Sept. : http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3182
• iPhone users in the US now get free wi-fi at all AT&T hotspots.
  
• Ralph Lauren launched an iPhone app.  I agree with TechCrunch… They’re better off focusing their mobile marketing dollars and efforts elsewhere…Like ShoZu. 😉
  

Fox Interactive Media:

• Rumor has it…According to TechCrunch, MySpace Music’s CEO position is going to Courtney Holt, MTV Networks’ executive vice president of digital music and media.
  
• TechCrunch reports that MySpace is getting out of the Netherlands, closing its Amsterdam office and moving Beneluz ops to Berlin. When it’s attempted acquisition of Hyves didn’t happen in February, it opened an office in Amsterdam to enter the Dutch market.
  

Facebook:

• Facebook’s lead over MySpace is reportedly widening. The global gap between the two is now 43.2 million visitors.
  
• Rumor has it… Facebook may be looking for more investment earlier than anticipated. TechCrunch reports that the bad economy may be slowing Facebook’s revenue growth, causing Facebook to look for investment in Dubai.
• TechCrunch reports that Facebook Connect will officially launch on Nov 30.
  

Google:

• Mobile text messaging apparently coming soon to Gmail.
  
• Google launched Google Apps Labs, which makes it “easier for business customers and schools using Google Apps to also take advantage of our innovations and ideas that aren’t quite ready for prime time. We encourage your organization to experiment with the Google Labs features listed below to improve how you communicate and collaborate.”
  

Motorola:

• Motorola’s earnings call…”$3.1 billion, down 31 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. The segment reported an operating loss of $840 million, compared to an operating loss of $248 million in the year-ago quarter. The loss this quarter includes significant charges, primarily related to decisions and plans to consolidate silicon and software platforms and simplify the product portfolio.”
• Reportedly cutting 3000 jobs, 2000 in mobile unit.
  

Yahoo!:

• Yahoo! is now open: They are attempting to open their network, unlock social relationshps, and “mesh” Yahoo! expeirneces with other sites.  Developers can learn more here.

Miscellaneous news:

• Rumor has it…
  • AOL and Yahoo may be doing due diligence on each other looking towards a possible merger.
• Recent Layoffs
  • hi5 (last week)
    
• Technology improvements:
  • OpenID:
    • TechCrunch reports: “If you have a Yahoo account, you have an OpenID. If you have a Windows Live account, you will soon have an OpenID. And today, if you have a Google e-mail account, you can also start using your Gmail address as an OpenID”.
      
    • Windows Live is now supporting OpenID.
  • LinkedIn launched it’s new App Platform.
    
  • Netflix is now available on Tivo in the US
    
  • QIK streaming video recording from the mobile is now available for Blackberry:
    
  • SlingMedia’s new portal Sling.com set to launch soon. TechCrunch reports that the launch may be Nov 10.
    
  • Twitter: As of the last few weeks, Britney Spears is now on Twitter.