Content about World Wide Web

Something is wrong on Wall Street.

The whole financial community is aflutter over Facebook shares, which stumbled out of the blocks as a publicly traded company last month.

But that’s not the problem. The problem is that the company’s market capitalization is completely out of whack with acceptable notions of corporate significance and meaningful contributions to society. The value of Facebook shares multiplied by the number of those shares is — at last tally — an amazing $87.33 billion.

E-commerce sales continue to grow, proving that more and more consumers are choosing to shop online in addition to or instead of shopping at brick-and-mortar stores. Measurement firm comScore reported that online retail spending (excluding auctions, autos and large corporate purchases) for the fourth quarter reached $49.7 billion, up 14% versus year ago. This growth rate represented the ninth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth rates. For the entire 2011 year, U.S.

York, Pa.-based WOLF, the supplier of kitchen cabinets and building products, is giving away a cabinet and vanity top package through a Facebook-only sweepstakes.

Visitors to WOLF’s Facebook page who are over the age of 18 may enter the contest by completing a simple form. The sweepstakes ends on Dec. 9.

The Coalition for Energy Star Water Heaters has joined Facebook, in an effort described as a way to share current information about higher-efficiency water heating.

Contractors, plumbers and homeowners can now access the most up-to-date information about the national awareness and education campaign at facebook.com/ESWaterHeaters. 

DiggersList.com — the online classifieds described as a Craigslist for home improvement — is borrowing from the playbook of popular social networking sites. In June, the site introduced a new program, offering features that it said are similar to those found on Facebook, Twitter and Groupon. 


There’s nothing like “free paint” to catch consumers’ attention, as Valspar learned during its recent “Power in Color” campaign. According to an article in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal, the manufacturer handed out 100,000 free paint-sample kits during the first 100 days of 2011, or 1,000 kits per day.

The Scottsdale Police Department, working with fraud investigators from eBay, Home Depot, Walmart and federal authorities, arrested 36 suspects involved in a major retail theft syndicate that returned stolen merchandise to retailers and then auctioned the gift cards on eBay, according to a Feb. 25 news release from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. The case has uncovered more than $1.2 million in proceeds from the crime, authorities said. 

Towson, Md.- based Black & Decker announced Monday that it has re-launched its website blackanddecker.com after an extensive upgrade.

The new site aims to provide an improved resource for its DIY customers, the company said.

The site features new additions, such as an interactive project section where visitors can contribute projects and questions to other DIYers. The new project section also features step-by-step project guides and provides before and after images.