By Jordan Valinsky 4/16 9:51am

Love in the Time of Algorithms

How it looks. (Photo: OKCupid)

Modern Love: OKCupid Officially Accepts Bitcoin Payments

Good news, singletons: you can now spend your Bitcoins to help you get laid. OKCupid has begun accepting the popular decentralized digital currency as a form of payment. Payments will be accepted via Bitcoin wallet website Coinbase, according to an announcement on its blog.

Betabeat first reported two weeks ago that the IAC-backed site was considering accepting Bitcoins after a Reddit user posted a screenshot from an alleged OKCupid representative claiming that the company was looking to expand its payment options.  Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 4/12 8:30am

Linkages

Scenic, boring West Virginia. (Photo: Flickr/tobyotter

Booting Up: LinkedIn Ponies Up $90M to Buy News Aggregator Pulse

As predicted, LinkedIn has shelled out $90 million for the mobile news aggregation startup Pulse. [AllThingsD]

Facebook is still the biggest social network for teens but they’re getting, like, so totally bored with it. Ditto YouTube. [Business Insider]

People who believe they’re “electrosensitive” are moving to a small town in West Virginia to escape Wi-Fi and cell phone service and other such rays. [Slate]

“Because people broadcast their lives on Facebook and Twitter and Vine, there’s a notion that everything that happens is going to be shared.” Social media is helping convince people they need to film their wedding proposals. [Forward]

Bitcoin has dropped 77 percent in two days. Hope everyone’s learned their lesson. [Business Insider]

Twitter is reportedly launching its music service sometime either today or this weekend, to coincide with–sigh, of course–Coachella. [AllThingsD]

By Jordan Valinsky 4/09 11:50am

Craigslist Goodies

"Super clean interior." (Photo: Craigslist)

We Found Your First Big Bitcoin Purchase: A Mercedes Convertible (Minus One Door)

If those Bitcoins are burning a hole in your electronic wallet, it might be time to cash out. So, we found something that’s totally worth it: a used, slightly damaged, red Mercedes Benz convertible for sale on Craigslist that’s accepting Bitcoin as payment.

And with the record values Bitcoins are trading at, what a deal she is!  Despite the fact that the 2002 CLK430 is missing a large chunk on its left side (it has a “super clean interior,” though) it could be yours for just $3,500. Convert that to Bitcoin’s current value of $215 per coin, and this fixer-upper rings in at just 16 BTC. Read More

By Jordan Valinsky 4/08 6:10pm

Bitcoin Drama

(Photo: Flickr/Zach Copley)

BitInstant CEO Calls Bitcoin a ‘Really Risky Investment’

As evidenced in the past week, dealing with Bitcoins can be a traumatic experience. With so many record highs followed by equally steep drops that seemingly happen several times an hour, we wouldn’t be surprised if traders have broken out the Xanax by now.

Now, some fans of the hacker-created, crypto-currency are complaining that their problems are only being compounded by BitInstant, an online exchange service that transfers cash into Bitcoins. Read More

By Jessica Roy 3/22 7:39am

Linkages

(Photo: Talk Android)

Booting Up: Yes, Eric Schmidt Loves His BlackBerry

Google has applied for a new patent that shows the company is thinking about programming Google Glass to be able to control objects like your garage door and your refrigerator. You’d simply look at your fridge door and superimposed controls would be reflected onto it, telling you you need milk. Uh, want? [Engadget]

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who reads our rumor roundup, but turns out Google chairman Eric Schmidt does indeed prefer his BlackBerry over an Android phone. [The Guardian]

Now Google is building a smartwatch. How many watches can one human need? [The Verge]

If you want to commit cyberwar, you’re going to need the manual. [AP]

Virtual currency like Bitcoin is getting money laundering rules that will hold providers accountable in a similar manner to money-order providers like Western Union. Sorry, Silk Road. [Wall Street Journal]

By Patrick Clark 1/23 8:15am

Linkages

(Photo: Rex Sorgatz)

Booting up: It’s a Cold, Cold World (for Those of Us Without Google Fiber)

Social media is making Google search less useful. Facebook isn’t ready to compete, at least not yet. Welcome to the search desert. [BuzzFeed]

If you’re a PC maker who wasn’t so thrilled when Microsoft launched the Surface, how exactly do you feel about news that the software maker might invest $2 billion in the deal to take Dell private? [Bloomberg]

Apple releases its quarterly earnings report today, and your guess is as good as ours. As far as what earnings mean for the company’s stock, which has plummeted nearly 30 percent since September? How about something in the $1 to infinity range?[@ReformedBroker]

Two Bitcoin casinos say their businesses are minting profit. [Ars Technica]

Larry Page said that Google Fiber was not a “hobby” for his company, during a conference call to discuss quarterly earnings. Cruelly, he didn’t say anything about when the company might expand the product beyond Kansas City. [Los Angeles Times]