This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here . The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark.

Last month, we reported that Facebook was transitioning from application notifications to e-mail notices . Today, the Facebook Developer blog has added further information about this new method and announced that as of March 1, 2010, app notifications will be discontinued.

If you’re one of the many searching for footage of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau (who was killed by Tilikum the whale during a show), be warned: You could be vulnerable to viral attack, or, at the very least, a Rickroll . Ever since the tragic incident at SeaWorld on Thursday, the top Google search term has invariably been “killer whale kills trainer footage” — meaning that many Internet surfers have been keen on getting a morbid glimpse of Brancheau’s death

Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppleman has just released a passionate statement denying all wrongdoing on Yelp’s part, addressing a class action lawsuit filed on Tuesday that purports that Yelp is running an “extortion scheme.” In the statement, Stoppleman begins by addressing “the long history of people accusing Yelp of monkeying around with reviews,” and then follows with strong assertions that the company “would never do anything to jeopardize” their trust with users. He then concludes that Yelp will fight the lawsuit “vigorously, and we are confident we will prevail.” The core of Stoppleman’s argument hinges around Yelp’s never-ceasing efforts to maintain the legitimacy of the site and its prized user reviews

Yes, it’s that time once again, folks — time for the Friday Poll ! This week we want to get a sense of how Mashable readers are reacting to all the services and features coming online that allow us to share our location information, from Foursquare, Gowalla, and Loopt to geolocation features in services like Twitter and Google Buzz. With sites like Please Rob Me springing up to remind us all of the potential perils that might befall us as we start broadcasting our locations publicly and semi-publicly, it’s a good time to take stock of where Mashable readers fall on the spectrum

Undoubtedly, social media is a powerful force.