Research conducted by Bristol University’s Intelligent Systems Laboratory used information from location tagged tweets and status updates to predict flu outbreaks and rainfall by collecting keyword information related to the two subjects, and comparing their results to geographical weather information and NHS records to determine if there was a correlation.

During the several months over which the information was gathered, the academics were able to collect over 50 million geographically based tweets on which to base the study and help spot patterns relating to the two chosen subject matters.

In the future, the academics believe that information from social media could help to predict trends, disease outbreaks, and electoral voting patterns, and also gauge the scale of an event and its affect.

However only 0.00028 of the world’s 7 billion population is currently using social networks such as Twitter therefore the researchers concede that the information gleamed from such sources do have limitations and don’t cover enough of the population to give an accurate snapshot of events in specific geographical areas. Despite this, the researchers do believe that Twitter holds some value in its ability to track an event through the information shared on the network.

Women are also leading the way in terms of social network membership, with statistics revealing females are more likely to be a member of Twitter or Facebook compared to men with 60% of women found to be using social media, in contrast to 54% of men.

However when it comes to professional social networks such as Linkedln, men are storming ahead in the leader board as they are twice more likely to be part of one of these networks compared to women.

Facebook, Bebo and Twitter is at the forefront of the minds of the youngsters in the UK, with 91% of those aged 16-24 years, admitting to logging into social media in the last year. On the opposite end of the scale, Brits aged over 65 years of age are also getting into the swing of social networks as the figures show that 18% of pensioners are using social media of some kind.

Not only are more of us checking into social networks, the way we’re accessing information is changing as the results reveal that 45% of us are using smartphones to get online, compared to just 31% of use in 2010.

The year on year growth has been truly staggering, with just 8% of Americans having a Facebook page in 2008, however that number has jumped by 43% in just three years to a whopping 51%.

The statistics come from the study, Dial 2011: Navigating Digital Platforms by Arbitron and Edison Research, which is due to be officially published next month. The report will shed some light on the reasons behind the phenomenal growth and rise in popularity of Facebook, and will especially focus upon how the social network has found favour amongst the 35 year old + age group in recent times.

Another area the study will look into is the frequency of which members use their accounts, and also the rise in use of Facebook on mobile phones and how this has affected usage figures.

The statistics have been collected using a relatively small sample size of just 2,020 Americans aged over 12 years of age. Worldwide, Facebook now boasts almost 600 million users.

The partnership will allow Facebook members to view selected Warner Brother movies via their profile page. The scheme will only be made available to Facebook users in the US initially as the social network plans to trial the scheme first. If the movie screening project is well received, the systems could be rolled out across many different countries within the coming year.

It’s understood the movie studio has decided to launch this joint venture with the social network in an attempt to explore other potential avenues of revenue. There will be a small charge to view the movies via Facebook, users will have to pay 30 Facebook credits, which is the equivalent of approximately £1.85 to rent the film, which will be made available for them to view for the next 48 hours.

The first movie which will be made available via Facebook will be Warner Brother’s Batman: The Dark Knight.

However there is a fear amongst some industries insiders that the practice of making movies available to view online could trigger the same kind of problems which the music industry is experiencing with illegal downloads.

The lawsuit was initially filed against Love in March 2009 after comments made on Twitter accused fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir of theft and also insinuated that the designer had a criminal past.

The designer claimed the statements which the 46-year-old had made on Twitter and also a MySpace blog were false and derogatory.

The case was due to come to trial this month and would have been the first court case in which a jury would have been asked to decided whether comments made on Twitter could be considered libel.

Courtney Love and Dawn Simorangkir first met in 2008, and later held a meeting in February 2009 to discuss custom clothing. It’s not known what went wrong between the duo, and what promoted the singer to post derogatory comments about Simorangkir online.

However the singer avoided a court appearance after she made an out of court settlement with the fashion designer from LA.

Love’s legal team reportedly wanted to keep the case private, however lawyers acting on behalf of the fashion designer wanted the lawsuit to be made public in order to publicise the fact that the comments made on Twitter were false and “illegal”.

An official statement is due to be released next week.

The application went live on Sunday under the tagline: “You like someone. They’re in a relationship. Be the first to know when they’re out of it.” The app allows Facebook members to sign up to the service and choose which friends they’d like to be notified about using the app.

The Breakup Notifier is described by its creator, Dan Loewenherz, as “typical Saturday night fun”. By signing up to the new breakup app, Facebook users will be the first to know when nominated friends end or begin a relationship, meaning they can step in to offer a shoulder to cry on, or make their move on their newly single friend at the first instance.

The creator of the Breakup app, Dan Loewenhertz, devised the system after listening to a conversation between his fiancé and her mother in which they were discussing how the perfect man for an acquaintance of theirs was in a relationship, and how wonderful it would be if they could be notified as soon as the relationship ended so they could match make him with their friend. The idea for the Breakup Notifier was born, and Loewenhertz created the app in just four hours.

The app is proving popular with Facebook users with 100,000 downloading the system within the first 24 hours of its release.

With 500 million users worldwide, Facebook is a phenomenon which is growing stronger every day. INQ Mobile are hoping their two new mobile phone designs will tap into the huge appetite for social media amongst the under 30’s.

The INQ Cloud Touch and the INQ Cloud Q were unveiled this week for the very first time. The devices are aimed at the 18-28 year old market and feature a home screen with direct links to the user’s Facebook page allowing easy access to notifications, status updates, friend requests, and photos.

The Android smartphones have introduced Facebook friendly features to replace the traditional applications found on mobiles. For example, the typical calendar usually found on mobiles has been replaced by Facebook Events which also links up with Google Calendar, and the usual phone contacts list has been superseded by a Facebook inspired Friend’s List.

For the convenience of the user, the phone has a single sign-in feature which allows the users to access all of the Facebook features on their smartphone.

The Cloud Touch is due to go on sale in April, while the Cloud Q will be released later in the year. The price of the new Facebook phones is yet to be revealed, however it’s likely to be priced very reasonably in order to attract teenagers and students.

If the bill receives enough support, anyone serving time behind bars in a South Carolina jail would have 30 days extra added to their sentence if they are caught using Facebook or any other social network, plus a $500 fine.

The move comes amid concerns that inmates could be using their social media pages to intimidate people in the outside world, and also to engage in illegal activities from behind bars by communicating with outsiders using encrypted messages on social networks such as Facebook.

The bill would also seek to make it illegal for non-inmates to create Facebook profiles on behalf of prisoners in South Carolina, so if a person sets up an account for someone serving time, they could be punished through fines or even a custodial sentence, if the new guidelines are approved.

It’s currently illegal for prisoners to communicate with the outside world via the internet, however many recruit friends and family to smuggle mobile phones into prison so they can use these devices to access social media. It’s hoped that if the new bill is approved, it will act as a deterrent to prevent mobile smuggling into prisons and use of social networks by prisoners.

The application, which is available to download onto smart phones, was introduced in the US back in November. Now British Facebook members have the chance to bag a bargain thanks to the special offers brought to them via the social media application.

Scores of top name brands have signed up to be part of the app, known as Places Deals, including Starbucks, Argos, Debenhams, O2, Mazda, Alton Towers, and Mazda.

The app works by connecting Facebook users with deals and discounts in their area wherever they happen to be. Because the Places Deals app is available to download onto mobile phones, users will be alerted to offers wherever they are, even if they are away from home for a day trip, holiday or weekend break as the app updates according to your current location.

The Facebook app requires the user to check-in to the virtual Places Deals store to receive their money off coupon which they must then show in-store, in the real world, to cash in on the special offer.

As well as saving you money, the app will also benefit charities as some companies have launched a special feature whereby they’ll make a donation to a specified charity for every user who visits their site via Places Deals.

Facebook and Twitter are two of the most popular social networks being targeted by online scammers as the cyber criminals view these users as a “soft touch” in terms of members’ security practices. Sophos also suggested that online criminals target social networks as their security walls are not as sophisticated as the security measures in place to prevent malware getting through on email accounts.

The scammers work by infiltrating a social network member’s account, and sending out a spam message via that account. Because the message is supposedly sent via a friend, the recipient is more likely to open the message without realising the potential threat.

While the study found that a high number of social network members are now very conscious of the threat posed by these cyber criminals, there are still a large number of naive users who are oblivious to the dangers.

The security report found that over the course of the last year, two thirds of Facebook and Twitter members have been spammed, which represents a 90% increase since the summer of 2009.