When Facebook introduced usernames in June 2009, users were happy and many went straight to the selection page. However, it might seem that not all decisions were made wisely.

More and more people register with social networks, like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and many more. Registering is really easy – but if you want to unregister afterwards, that can get complicated. It is not that simple to say good-bye to the social networks.

With presenting a new product (well, a Gmail extension) on Tuesday evening (9 February 2010), Google has started a little revolution, most reporters and bloggers agree. Google Buzz is the name of the new service, integrated into Gmail and going with the social community trend.

The social network Facebook has rolled out a new home page layout. The top navigation as well as the sidebar and footer have been changed.

Often, Facebook knows non-members surprisingly well: Facebook is also collecting data about non-members—with the aid of the members.

ICQ has released version 7 of its messenger client for Windows. The combination of Instant Messaging and Social Networking results in “Social Messaging,” ICQ stated.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has defended the recent privacy settings change. Since one month, Facebook members’ personal data are publicly accessible by default.

Social Networks have existed ever since the beginning of the decade, varying from social blogging portals, such as Windows Live Spaces, to video-hosting networks, such as YouTube, to mere social networks, such as Hi5, Bebo, MySpace, and most importantly, Facebook.

From the Messenger Plus Contest to the anticipated Windows 7 release, from Office Web Apps to the first images of Messenger 2010: The recent six months of 2009 were as interesting for me as January to June. Here is a short summary.