Twitter Growth Surges 131% In March

Twitter's popularity is surging, thanks in part to constant news stories about Twitter's surging popularity, stories not unlike this one.

According to ComScore Media Metrix data for March, the number of visitors to Twitter.com reached 9.3 million, an increase of more than 5 million visitors, or 131%, from February.

India looks to broadband connectivity and fiber optic cable projects as major engines for economic development as it prepares for a huge uptick in demand for online access from consumers and businesses.

In a blog post on Wednesday, ComScore's Andrew Lipsman agrees that there appears to be some truth to the belief that media attention is fueling Twitter's growth. "[T]here may certainly be some merit to that," he said. "It seems you can't get through a typical newscast anymore without some mention of Twitter."

He points to Newt Gingrich's use of Twitter to criticize President Obama's handling of the Somali pirate crisis, to the use of Twitter by CNN's Rick Sanchez, and to the role Twitter played in recent national and international news stories as signs that the service has become an important mode of mass communication.

Lipsman observes that Twitter users are news junkies, visiting top online news sites two to three times more often than the average person. And he suggests that Twitter's attractiveness to avid news consumers is driving its growth in conjunction with the news media's use of and focus on Twitter.

"Like it or not, Twitter is quickly revolutionizing the way our entire news ecosystem operates, from journalist to consumer, and blurring the lines in between," he said.

However, such popularity isn't without its downside. Aside from the challenge faced by Twitter to make sure its infrastructure can handle stardom, the site also must endure increasing attention from cybercriminals, who see profit in Twitter's timeliness, reach, and viral nature.

Over the weekend, a computer worm spread on Twitter, generating almost 10,000 spam tweets and compromising at least 190 accounts. And other such incidents have disrupted Twitter in recent months as well.

Ebay to buy stake in S. Korean online marketplace

EBay Inc. said Thursday it plans to pay as much as $1.2 billion to purchase a majority stake in South Korea's top online marketplace in a bid to expand its presence in Asia.

San Jose, Calif.-based eBay and Gmarket Inc. said that eBay will make a cash tender offer of $24 a share to purchase all outstanding common shares and American Depository shares in the South Korean company. If successful, eBay said it would take a stake of at least 67 percent in Gmarket.

"Asia is a very fast moving market, fast growing market," John Pluhowski, an eBay vice president said in Seoul. The acquisition "also allows us to build a platform for growth in Korea but also in regions throughout Asia and beyond."

Pluhowski said the acquisition is "one of the largest since the company has been acquiring companies throughout the decade."

News of the deal comes two days after eBay said it plans to spin off its Internet communications service Skype through an initial public offering, undoing a $2.6 billion acquisition that puzzled analysts and which eBay struggled to justify.

EBay and Gmarket made the announcement in a statement handed out Thursday in South Korea and released late Wednesday in the U.S. It said the agreement calls for eBay to combine Gmarket with eBay's existing online marketplace in South Korea, Internet Auction Company.

"The combination of Gmarket and IAC establishes an exceptionally strong leadership position for eBay in one of the world's largest, most dynamic and innovative e-commerce markets," John Donahoe, eBay's president and chief executive officer, said in the release.

Park Joo-man, South Korean country manager for eBay, said that Gmarket and Internet Auction had a combined market share of about 36 percent in South Korea as of last year.

Separately, Yahoo Inc. announced that it has agreed to sell its approximate 10 percent share in Gmarket to eBay as part of eBay's announced tender offer. Yahoo said it would maintain its other operations in South Korea following the sale.

EBay said in September it received preliminary conditional approval from South Korean regulators for its potential purchase of a stake in Gmarket, though at the time the proposed stake size was far smaller.

Former Google.org chief joining new Skoll venture

Larry Brilliant, the founding executive director of Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the Internet search giant, is leaving the company to head a venture backed by the Skoll Foundation.

Brilliant, 64, who stepped down as head of Google.org in February and was named Google's "Chief Philanthropic Evangelist," announced his departure in a post on the Google.org blog late Tuesday.

"It's with a grateful heart that I leave full-time work with Google to begin a new chapter in my life," he said.

Brilliant, a leading epidemiologist who played a key role in the World Health Organization's efforts to eradicate smallpox from Asia, said he was leaving Google to become president of the Skoll Urgent Threats Fund.

The fund is an initiative of the Skoll Foundation founded 10 years ago by billionaire Jeff Skoll.

Skoll is the founding president of online auction giant eBay and the chairman of Participant Media, producer of such films as "An Inconvenient Truth," a movie about climate change featuring former vice president Al Gore.

In a statement, the Skoll Foundation said the Urgent Threats Fund would support "innovative high-impact initiatives to combat climate change, water scarcity, pandemics, nuclear proliferation and Middle East conflict."

The fund would have an initial budget of 100 million dollars "with additional funds available over time," it said.

Brilliant said he would leave Google on May 5 but would continue to serve as an adviser to Google.org.