This Morning's Top 3 Stories in Tech, Business & Media

This Morning's Top 3 Stories in Tech, Business & Media

Welcome to this morning’s edition of “First To Know,” a series in which we keep you in the know on what’s happening in the digital world. We’re keeping our eyes on three particular stories of interest today.

Amazon-Hosted Sites Somewhat Recovered

While two of Amazon’s major AWS servers are still down, causing downtime and latency issues with several big sites, most — including the ones that host HootSuite, Reddit and Foursquare — are running normally at this time.

Google’s Groupon Competitor Goes Live

Google Offers, the company’s long-awaited response to Groupon, has gone live with a signup for beta program in Portland, Oregon.

Apple May Beat Google to Market With Cloud Music Service

According to reports, Apple is almost ready to release a cloud-based music storage service compatible with iTunes.

Further News

• Zynga and Lady Gaga are in talks to promote the singer’s upcoming album to Zynga’s huge userbase, the WSJ reports [subscription required].
• New Verizon customers can pick up a HTC Thunderbolt, Verizon’s first LTE phone, for the reduced price of $129.99 at Amazon this weekend.
• Investors have established the first investment vehicle dedicated to Android-focused startups and developers called the A-Fund.
• The Facebook “Like” Button is celebrating its first birthday. Don’t we feel old.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, DNY59