Twitter has struggled to bring more users onto its website. Approximately 70% of end-user interaction with the microblogging service takes place away from Twitter.com. As the company moves toward its search-based ad model, expected to be released later this quarter, website traffic is becoming increasingly important. Yet, it's this gap between use and on-site action that might protect the company going forward ... at least if Facebook can be used as an indicator.

With Facebook Connect, members of the social networking site can interact with their profiles "remotely." If you want to share this blog post on Facebook, for example, you can do it without opening a new browser, plucking www.facebook.com on the keyboard and pasting the URL into the status field. This connection, even though it costs Facebook a pageview or two, reinforces the user's relationship with the site, increasing the likelihood that he or she will remain active overall. It also provides fodder for other members, fueling more clicks, comments and likes ... and ultimately cash in the Facebook till.

As Facebook passes the 400 million user threshold, a flight from social media is beginning to take shape. A growing number of users are reconsidering the sharing (and oversharing) of life details. Reasons vary -- from seeing their networks swell from just close friends to distant connections and strangers to worries over where their personal information can wind up. More than anything else, they say they want to return to "real life."

Depending on how this shakes out, the trend could force social media company employees to get back to real life as well. If the backlash gains momentum, it could cost these companies traffic, which translates to a revenue hit and, in the extreme, viability. Yet, if the likes of Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook can weather the storm, they will come out the other side stronger than they are now.

The recent announcement by the New York Times (NYT) that it would start to require subscriptions next year has drawn no shortage of attention and commentary. It has tried to put content behind a pay wall before (and failed), as have other newspapers.

Almost universally, newspapers have struggled with online subscriptions, with the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal, a News Corp (NWS) property, the only two that have really delivered results better than awful. Whether the New York Times can operate at that level is in doubt, particularly given the stunning realization about Long Island daily newspaper Newsday.

If Mark Zuckerberg knew then what he knows now ... Facebook would be more like MySpace, which is now owned by News Corp. (NWS). And, he's willing to admit this in public.

In a six-minute on-stage interview with TechCrunch, Zuckerberg went on at length about the social media platform's privacy settings, which have been the subject of unending debate. He says that he'd make more data public by default if he could start Facebook again. Though Zuckerberg cites Internet trends that indicate a reduced concern with privacy, the real reasons are more likely financial.

The newspaper industry continues to blame Google (GOOG) for its woes, and Google continues to claim its innocence. The search engine giant's CEO, Eric Schmidt, says that his company could actually help the newspaper industry survive the shift from print to digital ... a shift that's been more than a decade in the making, he was kind enough not to note.

According to Schmidt, publishers need to dig into the online environment and find new ways to generate revenue. "With dwindling revenue and diminished resources," he wrote in an op-ed piece published in News Corp's (NWS) Wall Street Journal, "frustrated newspaper executives are looking for someone to blame."

Bundling is beautiful for newspapers. Since April 1, 2009, new rules for counting circulation have turned some newspapers from losing to gaining, even in a market where the print community is getting thrashed. Instead of selling more copies every day, these publications are counting online visits, as long as they are from paying subscribers – for either protected portions of the website or digital replica editions.

The new auditing standards, which affect USA Today, a Gannet (GCI) property, and News Corp's (NWS) Wall Street Journal, among others, often allow newspapers that bundle print and digital editions to count the subscriber twice. According to a report by the Associated Press, the new rule is preventing circulation from looking as bad as it really may be.

The mayhem in the media industry continues. The Wall Street Journal, a News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS) property, is closing its Boston bureau and sending nine employees into the wind. The newswire and MarketWatch operations are going to stay open in Boston, however, with no headcount impact.

The Journal doesn't have any plans to close other offices, according to a memo by managing editor Robert Thomson: "there are no plans, nascent or otherwise, to close any other U.S. or international bureau." The WSJ will still support an "investigative function" in Boston, but the New York-based Money and Investing team will cover Boston's mutual fund industry, which boasts such heavy hitters as Fidelity.

At the same time, magazine company Time Inc., owned by Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) is looking to cut $100 million in expenses, and layoffs will undoubtedly figure into the equation. The company that owns Time, Fortune, People and Sports Illustrated – and falls under the same umbrella as AOL, which owns BloggingStocks – is feeling the squeeze of a media recession that's even worse than the regular recession we've all been battling for what feels like decades.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) makes it easier to search for websites, e-mail messages, passages from books and videos. Where you haven't heard much about Google's search capabilities -- or Google in general -- is the music business.

But, that's about to change. On Wednesday, the search giant announced that it was partnering with music services such as Pandora, Lala, News Corp's (NASDAQ: NWS) MySpace, and Rhapsody by RealNetworks (NASDAQ: RNWK) to help users find, listen to and ultimately buy music on the web.

Printers of the world unite! Feeling the squeeze from the likes of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), a group of magazine publishers is forming an industrywide joint venture ... for protection.

Led by Time Inc., a division of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), participating companies would create a digital storefront for their content. In this way, they could peddle their goods without the hefty carve-outs that come with Amazon and Apple deals.

It took a while, but the broadcast media community is starting to realize that Nielsen Media may not have the answers to all their audience-related questions.

So, 14 of the largest players in the space -- including programmers, advertisers, and ad buyers -- are shelling out some cash to see if there's a better way. The group claims it isn't looking for an alternative to Nielsen ... but let's do the math on this one. If they aren't looking for some new choices, then just what the hell are they doing?

Russian business runs on different rules. News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) Rupert Murdoch, who has been doing business in China for years, is nervous about his Russian enterprises. This morning, the FBI announced it had rounded up a ring of data thieves, many from former Soviet Union countries. And then there's the little matter of BP-TNK, a joint venture between BP (NYSE: BP) and a Russian company, whose Russian shareholders are booting out its Western executives so they can take over the operation.

Here's what Silicon Alley insider reports Murdoch had to say about doing business in Russia: "We have great growing business there but just -- this is purely me, I'm sorry, I'm -- the more I read about investments in Russia, the less I like the feel of it. The more successful we'd be, the more vulnerable we'd be to have it stolen from us, so there we sell now."

In case you missed it, The Detroit Free Press reports that an international ring of data thieves used wardriving -- the practice of stealing data from unprotected Wi-Fi networks -- to take 40 million identities, use the information to print fake ATM cards, and steal millions of dollars. The corporate victims include customers of TJX (NYSE: TJX), Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS), and OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX). Five of the 11 defendants are from former Soviet Union countries -- "one is from Estonia, three are from Ukraine, and one is from Belarus."

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that a spokesperson for New Corporation (NYSE: NWS) said the company has dropped out of the bidding for Tribune Co's (NYSE: TXA) Newsday. This leaves Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) as the apparent winner of the auction.
• According to people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported that American International Group Inc's (NYSE: AIG) airplane-leasing unit is considering a split from the company. The people said International Lease Finance Corp have grown "increasingly concerned" the company will be hurt by AIG's financial troubles.
• Royal Dutch Shell Plc (NYSE: RDS.A) and Spain's Repsol YPF SA (NYSE: REP) are pulling out of one of Iran's biggest gas projects, the $10B-plus development of phase 13 of South Pars, the world's largest gas field, the Financial Times reported.

WEB SITES:

• Bloomberg reported that HSBC Holdings Plc (NYSE: HBC) set aside a smaller-than-forecast $3.2B for bad loans in the U.S. The bank also said its Q1 profit was higher than Q107.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• In an effort to refocus on coffee, the Wall Street Journal reported that Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) will attempt overhaul its entertainment business.
• Private equity players Apax Partners and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, along with Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (NYSE: LEH) in a supporting role, are looking to form a consortium to examine a bid for the insurance assets of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (NYSE: RBS), the Financial Times reported.

OTHER PAPERS:

• Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) is going to let outside developers create applications across its network of sites, the New York Times contended. The search engine is also going to combine its online services under the social profile concept in an attempt to allow its users to replicate the social experience that social networks like News Corporation's (NYSE: NWS) MySpace and Facebook have made so popular.

WEB SITES:

• Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) will reportedly delay the launch of its new hotly anticipated 3G BlackBerry phone, Fortune reported, which the company is developing for AT&T Inc (NYSE: T). The phone, originally supposed to be launched in June, may not be released until as late as August, inside sources said.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• If the financial crisis hasn't crippled banks enough, the cost to build bank loan reserves may be just as painful, according to the Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street". The need for larger reserves is eating away at earnings and is showing up in first quarter reports for banks such as Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), whose results took an additional hit because of a $6B addition to its loan loss reserve.
• Just four months after Journal parent Dow Jones & Co. was bought by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation (NYSE: NWS), Wall Street Journal managing editor Marcus Brauchli is expected to resign, according to the Wall Street Journal. Journal publisher Robert Thomson may temporarily take over until a new managing editor is hired.
• The Financial Times reported that Citigroup Incorporated (NYSE: C) is seeking advice from IT group Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) on how to overcome a crisis without breaking up the company.

WEB SITES:

• According to Reuters, activist shareholders in ASM International (NASDAQ: ASMI) believe, by giving more equity to top managers, that they can boost its value by $1.6B.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• To help stop Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) $44.6 billion takeover offer, Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) is in talks with Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) about combining internet operations. Meanwhile, Microsoft is talking with News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) about a joint bid for Yahoo! And Yahoo! is is considering a possible advertising agreement with Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), the Wall Street Journal reported.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) is planning to launch a number of new web sites, and hopes to capture a variety of audiences including African-Americans, children and news followers.

WEB SITES:

• Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEH) said it liquidated three investment funds, with assets valued at $1 billion as of February 29, because of "market disruptions," Bloomberg reported.
• Reuters reported that the U.S. Department of Defense approved the sale of 157 armored trucks to Britain. The trucks are built by Force Protection Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT), and the deal is valued at $125 million if all options are exercised.