After two members of the FDNY were recently disciplined for posting racist slurs on Twitter, and a group of cops last year posted offensive comments on Facebook about the West Indian Day Parade, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has issued a set of regulations detailing what cops can and cannot post on social media sites.

According to the memo, cops cannot identify themselves as members of the Police Department on their social media profiles, The Daily News reports.

They also cannot create profiles for their units or precincts, and they are prohibited from posting pictures of themselves in uniform, except at official ceremonies.

“Members of the service utilizing personal social media sites are to exercise good judgement and demonstrate the same degree of professionalism expected of them while performing their official duties,” the memo reads.

Anyone who violates these rules is subject to disciplinary action, including termination. The rules apply to Facebook, Twitter and any other public social media sites.

The order explains that some activity on personal profiles can undermine the credibility of officers, the News reports.

Seventeen officers were disciplined last August after it was discovered that they posted to a Facebook page about the West Indian Day Parade, using offensive and racist terms to describe parade goers.

An FDNY spokesman said the fire department is in the process of amending its code of conduct to include social media guidelines, the News reports.

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As the Supreme Court confronts the issue of gay marriage for the second day, people are using social media and witty signs to show their support for same-sex unions.

Today the court will focus on the Defense of Marriage Act, which limits the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman. It permits benefits such as Social Security survivor payments and federal tax deductions only for married, opposite-sex couples, not for legally married same-sex couples.

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  Witty posters in support of gay marriage

Support for gay marriage has erupted all over the Internet, with many changing their Facebook and Twitter profile pictures to red equal signs.

Many images are also spreading like wildfire, including the above image of Tim Gunn. While it’s hard to say if this image is real or not, Gunn’s Facebook page proves is he in favor of marriage equality.

“Modern Family” actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson tweeted, “SCOTUS: When Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner make the movie about today you are going to want to be the Tommy Lee Jones not the Lee Pace.”

Check out the photos of popular signs in support of gay marriage that are being shared on social media.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

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Our baby is growing up so fast. And by baby, we mean Twitter.

Twitter turned seven today. To celebrate, it released a video recapping the history of Twitter from its humble beginnings to present day.

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  Happy 7th birthday, Twitter

The site was launched on March 21, 2006 and today boasts 200 million monthly active users..

“As we’ve grown, Twitter has become a true global town square – a public place to hear the latest news, exchange ideas and connect with people in real time. This iw shwere you come to connect with the world at large,” wrote Twitter’s Editorial Director Karen Wickre in a blog post.

The video shows ways in which Twitter has helped change the way we get our news. From the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, to Tahrir Square and President Barack Obama’s re-election, users have become citizen journalists.

Twitter isn’t only used as a news service, though. Where would we be if our favorite celebrities weren’t tweeting? Here’s the list of the top seven (get it, in honor of Twitter’s seventh birthday) Twitter accounts with the most followers.

1. @JustinBieber: 36,011,871
2. @LadyGaga: 35,064,313
3. @KatyPerry: 33,617,790
4. @Rihanna: 28,806,073
5. @BarackObama: 28,377,249
6. @TaylorSwift: 24,961,927
7. @BritneySpears: 24,717,490

While the list consists of mainly pop stars – with the exception of President Obama – the tweets that have been re-tweeted the most vary from NFL players, to Wendy’s fast food choice.

Happy birthday, Twitter. We can’t wait to see what the next seven years will look like.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

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If there’s one thing the web loves, it’s an unsuspecting hero. Twitter users have found that in Booker today, after the news that he rushed into a house fire and suffered second degree burns while saving a young woman’s life makes headlines across the country.

The popular mayor, who is an avid tweeter himself, became the instant subject of memes and is also the topic of thousands of tweets today with the hashtag #CoryBookerStories.

His brave actions have launched him to Chuck Norris status, but Booker has yet to weigh in on the overnight fame on his own Twitter account. His last tweet, “Thanks everyone, my injuries were relatively minor. Thanks to Det. Alex Rodriguez who helped get all of the people out of the house,” was posted 13 hours ago.

But if the social media frenzy surrounding him is any indication of what he’s up to, Booker is most likely busy thwarting missile launches or averting asteroids.

Here’s a couple great memes from Mashable and a round up of the best #CoryBookerStories tweets.

[View the story "Cory Booker" on Storify]

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Netbase, a company that monitors social networking, has designed an info graphic compiled from information that men and women share on sites like Facebook and Twitter. Now we know exactly what’s on the minds of both sexes and, believe it or not — it’s not sex.

After analyzing about 27 billion internet conversations, Netbase found that women crave ice cream, while men want cars.

It gets more specific than that, though. Women prefer Dairy Queen over other types of their favorite frozen treat. Men mostly fantasize about Fords, much more than they do about Mercedes’ or Ferraris.

Men and women both want pizza. In fact, pizza, ice creams and cars are the top three things wanted by both sexes — just in different orders.

Other things women want: chocolate, cake, cookies, coffee, a phone, sushi and pancakes.

Men prefer: beer, cookies, cake, phones, pancakes, chicken and bacon (shocker).

About 80 percent of the things both men and women want are food-related. Sex didn’t even make the top 10!

(via Mashable)

More adventures in psuedoscience:

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  A walk a day can keep obesity away.

• Scientists find human-like fossils in Chinese caves.

• Food-borne diseases on the rise from important fish, spices.

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The Time Warner-owned cable news giant is considering purchasing Mashable for $200 million, according to Reuters. The announcement could come later in the week.

Eric Yaverbaum, associate publisher for Tweeting & Business Magazine, told Metro it’s no surprise that a television network is seeking ways to increase its presence in social media.

“CNN needs this merger or they’ll be a minute behind everyone else all the time,” Yaverbaum said.

“It’s perfect for CNN to grab a larger share of digital culture, social media and technology which every television network is going to need if they expect to be relevant in a very short period of time,” he added. “If they can integrate the network with the 20 million visitors Mashable gets a month, they will stay very relevant and more.”

Mashable, which provides users with social media and internet-related news, could likely mean greater resources for CNN to reach its viewers and readers quicker and more easily during breaking news. Yaverbaum compared the potential merger to the partnership between Yahoo and ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

“It gave ‘GMA’ the ability to more easily streamline news and syndicate. As news breaks, Mashable resources would be at CNN’s disposal,” he said. “As a result of the evolution of the internet and social media, news breaks about one second after it happens.”

While the merger would likely be a lucrative move for CNN, it could mean a shake-up for management at Mashable. When AOL and the Huffington Post purchased technology blog TechCrunch, founder Michael Arrington found himself out of the job. Yaverbaum said a merger with CNN could mean the same fate for Mashable CEO and founder Pete Cashmore.

“They will say no, but I’d predict it will,” said Yaverbaum. “I’m not so sure that’s going to be as easy as CNN thinks it will be, though. And like in any business, when you make a large capital expenditure, it better make you more profitable or yes you are at risk of losing your job.”

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The results of the study, conducted by Cisco and published by Hot Hardware, show that new college graduates care more about  access to social networking sites than they do about salary when considering a job offer.

Shocked? About 56 percent of the 2,800 students and young professionals polled across the globe are so turned off by the idea of logging out that they would most likely turn down or ignore a job offer from a company that banned those social networking sites.

The ability to work remotely also proved more important than pay. About 40 percent said they would actually accept less money if it meant they could telecommute and use social networking sites on whatever device they want while working. A flexible work schedule was another plus — about one-third of respondents said it is their right, not privilege, to have flexible hours and permission to work remotely.

In the digital age we live in, it’s probably no surprise that 81 percent of the respondents said they want the freedom to choose what device they use for work. Additionally, 68 percent said they think they should be able to surf social networking sites with their work devices.

And why not? 31 percent of young professionals who participated in the study said said their social media know-how is one of the traits that landed them the job in the first place. If being Facebook savvy is an important factor to employers during the interview process, than we guess it’s no surprise that their employers will be updating their statuses at work.

These results are perhaps a sign of times as to how important social networking has become to the business world but, geez, what’s next — a 40-hour work week??

(Cisco Systems via Hot Hardware)

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Net income in the first half of 2011 came to almost $500 million, according to the source, who wished to remain anonymous.

Facebook’s stronger results come as investors have pushed its valuation to roughly $80 billion in private markets, with many industry observers expecting the world’s No. 1 Internet social network to go public in 2012.

Facebook earned $355 million in net income in the first nine months of 2010 on revenue of $1.2 billion, according to documents that Goldman Sachs provided to clients during a share offering this year.

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As for how you can respond to such a situation, if it’s a first or second date, consider this behavior an enlightening moment as you get to know the person. Clearly you have different social-etiquette values that could prove problematic. If, though, it’s someone you’ve gotten to know and like, then let that person know you enjoy his or her company, acknowledge the calls and suggest meeting another time. This subtle yet direct approach should be an obvious wake-up call. 

– Jonathan Alpert is a licensed psychotherapist. E-mail him your questions at jonathan@jonathanalpert.com

Metro does not endorse the opinions of the author, or any opinions expressed on its pages.

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The agreement, announced by Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg at the company’s Palo Alto, Calif. headquarters on Wednesday, deepens its cooperation with Microsoft Corp, which is in the process of acquiring Skype for $8.5 billion.

Zuckerberg said Facebook now has 750 million users. The new service, rolling out immediately, could be a huge boost for Skype, which currently has about 145 million regular users.

Facebook’s move comes a week after Google Inc turned up the competitive heat by introducing a social networking service dubbed Google+.

While many of Google+’s social networking features are similar to those already available on Facebook, Google has attracted praise for its videoconferencing function, which allows up to 10 people on the service to participate in a video call.

Facebook’s new offering, which initially is limited to one-to-one video chat, could benefit Microsoft, which is a small shareholder in Facebook and announced its purchase of Skype in May.

The world’s largest software company is trying to muscle in on Google’s turf with its Bing search engine, and is hoping Skype will help it broaden its portfolio of Web-based properties.

Skype, which was founded in 2003, allows people to make Internet phone calls and video calls at no charge and has also developed premium services.

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