According to the results of a new Associated Press/CNBC poll, half of Americans think Facebook is a passing fad. The poll also revealed that ahead of the company's highly anticipated IPO, half of Americans say the social network's expected asking price is too high. Expected later this week, Facebook's Wall Street debut could value the company at $100 billion, making it worth more than Disney, Ford and Kraft Foods.   [Read more]

According to a new study by RJ Metrics, Google+ is experiencing weak user engagement and minimal social activity. After selecting a sample of 40,000 random Google+ users, RJ Metrics (RJM) downloaded and analyzed every sample users' public timeline, which contains all publicly available activity. According to RJM's study, the average post on Google+ has less than one '+1', less than one reply, and less than one re-share. The study also revealed that roughly 30% of users who make a public post never make a second one. 

Global media group News Corp. has increased its stake in Rotana Group by acquiring newly-issued shares in the company. The acquisition was announced after a Rotana board meeting, chaired by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, chairman of Rotana Holding. News Corp will pay $35 million for the shares, which will take its stake in Rotana to 18.97%. News Corp had previously owned 14.53%.

Competition is brewing among the biggest daily-deals websites in the region, as both Cobone and Groupon Middle East compete for discount-savvy customers. Both websites profess to being the most popular daily-deals discount site in the UAE, claiming millions of email subscribers and thousands of customers log in each day to buy discounted vouchers for restaurants, fashion, electronics and travel. "I'm still very bullish about the business model," said Paul Kenny, the chief executive and founder of Cobone. "I think people trust us more than other sites. We are the only big local brand left."