Category: Facebook

Facebook Making Efforts To Close Fake Accounts

Facebook is making a “huge effort” to weed out fake profiles to prevent misuse of such identities, a senior company official has said.

[quote] “Absolutely, there is a huge effort,” Facebook India business manager Pavan Varma told PTI when asked about the company’s action on this front. The doubt about the authenticity of the account will arise if an account has a generic name instead of a proper name, uses images of celebrities/ cartoon characters as display pictures, or does not have “enough friends”, Varma said. [/quote]

“It could even be that Facebook comes back to you saying, could you help us identify yourself if you don’t have enough friends, because we don’t want fake identities,” he said.

“We are worried about the experience we deliver…It’s not about protecting our brand identity so much,” he said.

As reported earlier, Facebook is also making efforts to crackdown on “Fake Likes” companies try to get on their pages.

[Economic Times]

September 9, 2012
Facebook to crackdown on fake, automated “Likes”

Facebook Inc is weeding out fake “Likes” on its social network that are being caused by spammers, malware and black marketeers as it strives to maintain credibility as an advertising platform.

Facebook said the number of Likes, or endorsements by users, on corporate pages is likely to drop by less than 1 percent, on average, after the crackdown.

[quote]

“Newly improved automated efforts will remove those Likes gained by malware, compromised accounts, deceived users, or purchased bulk Likes,”

“While we have always had dedicated protections against each of these threats on Facebook, these improved systems have been specifically configured to identify and take action against suspicious Likes,” Facebook said in a post on its official blog on Friday.

[/quote]

Thanks to a growing black market, companies can instantly raise their profile on Facebook by purchasing thousands of Likes at a time – a practice that is forbidden by the No. 1 social network, which has 955 million users.

Many of these Likes come from bogus Facebook user accounts rather than genuine users of the social network.

Meanwhile, various spam-like programs on Facebook deceive users into unwittingly liking something when they perform another action, such as clicking to watch a video.

Facebook said the cleanup will benefit both users and companies that maintain pages on the network, by giving a more accurate measurement of fan count and demographics.

Ensuring the integrity of Likes is serious business for Facebook, which depends on advertising revenue from large brands and other businesses. Many of the ad campaigns that companies conduct on Facebook are designed to garner Likes – a sign that their marketing message has resonated with consumers.

“It’s their currency,” said Jeremiah Owyang, a partner at research firm Altimeter Group. “Facebook is playing the Federal Reserve, to take the counterfeit currency off the market to ensure that there’s quality in the marketplace.”

The problem is not unique to Facebook, say analysts, who note that Twitter and Google Inc also grapple with fake accounts, spam and other techniques to game the service.

[Reuters]

September 1, 2012
Facebook will delete your embarrassing photos forever

Facebook has confirmed that users who delete images from their accounts can now be assured that the files are permanently erased.

Until recently, embarrassing or inappropriate pictures erased from a Facebook account would in fact remain stored on the company’s servers and so anyone who had a direct link could still view them.

The news may come as some relief to young people in the throws of trying get a job or impress a new employer, knowing that many companies today show an interest in the social network accounts of their staff.

Pictures now erased by an account user will be permanently wiped from the system within 14 days, but with a potential maximum delay of 30 days. They will be immediately removed from view on a user’s account from the moment they delete the picture
.

August 27, 2012
Facebook updates iOS apps

Facebook has rolled out new iPhone and iPad apps rebuilt from the bottom up in a drive to boost speeds and give better performance.

The long-awaited move was part of the social networking giant’s effort to appeal to the growing number of users accessing Facebook from mobile devices.

It was also an attempt to placate mobile users who for years have complained that the old apps were clunky and sluggish.

But while Facebook ads are well-established on its website, the company only recently started experimenting with mobile advertisements. That’s been a concern for investors, who’ve sent Facebook’s stock down by nearly half since the company’s initial public offering three months ago.

The app is available for free from Apple’s App Store.

Still absent from Facebook’s app is any integration of Instagram. That’s because Facebook hasn’t closed the acquisition of the photo-sharing app. Though it got a step closer Wednesday, when the Federal Trade Commission said it has closed its investigation into Facebook’s planned acquisition.

August 24, 2012
Facebook Will Force Timeline Onto All 955 Million Of Its Users This Fall

If you’ve been keeping it old school on Facebook with the previous generation single-column profile page, your days are officially numbered. Big Blue says it is preparing to move all 955 million of its users over to the newer Timeline-style profiles this fall.

Timeline, which organizes all of your wall posts and status updates into a continuous two-column stream dating back to the day you first joined Facebook, was first introduced late last year. Since then, many users have already been forced to make the switch, but some others have managed to fall through the cracks.

Until now, the change to the new-look Facebook has been voluntary, but the site’s users around the world no longer have a choice as Timeline will be made compulsory from August 8.

Before being moved to Timeline, users have a 7-day grace period where they can configure their new profile (and presumably clear out those beer bong photos from 2005) before it is published.

August 3, 2012
Facebook improves image compression to allow larger images (PR)

The website that started massive image uploading has now given its image service yet another makeover. The new Facebook Image management will be a new tool for thumbing through galleries across the site, presenting photos in a new square format with the option to “highlight” certain shots to increase their footprint on the page.

The new system is yet to go live, But, Facebook has already made the announcement so expect it soon.

Today we’re announcing improvements to the photos section that make viewing photos more enjoyable.

[toggle_box title=”Facebook Images PR” width=”Width of toggle box”]

See bigger photos

Now when you click Photos at the top of your timeline, you’ll see larger pictures that fill up the page. You can use the menu to find shots you’re tagged in, pictures you’ve shared and albums you’ve created.

Showcase photos you like

With your Facebook photos all in one section, it’s simple to show friends your favorites. Click the star button to make important photos stand out.

We’ll continue to improve the experience and then begin rolling out globally. To learn more about the tools you can use to make your photos look better, visit the Help Center.

[/toggle_box]

July 31, 2012
Facebook acquires Mac, iOS app developer Acrylic

Facebook has acquired Acrylic Software, a Vancouver-based developer of Mac and iOS apps.

The small firm is known for the RSS app Pulp (a personalized newspaper) and the secure database app Wallet (for securely storing passwords, credit-card numbers, etc.).

The company has decided to cease development of the two apps, which Facebook itself has not acquired. This means that the apps will continue to be available for download and purchase, but will no longer be updated.

Acrylic has two employees and both are moving to work on the social-networking giant’s design team in San Francisco. Additional details of the acquisition were not disclosed, but this appears to be mainly a talent acquisition; Facebook will not be getting the technology behind the service, or its user data.

[toggle_box title=”Statement” width=”Width of toggle box”]

Facebook is an invaluable service that we all use daily, and a company I believe is one of the most innovative and important around today. After visiting late last year, I discovered that we shared many of the same core product design goals and principles, and it soon became obvious that it was a natural fit. Simply put, there’s an opportunity at Facebook to have a big impact in many people’s lives. More importantly, Facebook is full of extremely talented people who will be able to help realize its full potential in the years to come.

Our products and services have not been acquired by Facebook, and while there are no plans for further development on them, Wallet and Pulp will continue to remain available for download and purchase in their current form. We’ll certainly be the first to let you know of any updates or changes here in the future.

A special thanks to all of our customers and supporters who have helped us grow and build the best products possible throughout the last four years. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without you.

Dustin MacDonald
Acrylic Software

[/toggle_box]

July 23, 2012
Facebook want your mobile number! – to improve security

Skeptics believe this is just another tactic used by Facebook to gain private details

In wake of the recent leaking of passwords of LinkedIn and eHarmony accounts, social networking giants Facebook started promoting security tips at the top of each user’s home page, with a link to information about scams, passwords and how to stay safe on the social network.

Users are urged to give Facebook their mobile phone numbers, which the company says it will use to text them a new password in the event of a data breach. Facebook said the desktop security message, already seen by millions of users in the U.S., will be on all accounts in the next few days. Skeptics are far from pleased with the move, suggesting that the Menlo Park web giant is taking advantage of the recent leaks to prise yet more personal data out of their users under a benevolent guise. Admittedly, it’s unlikely to be something that appeals to the Internet’s more paranoid surfers, assuming they even use Facebook to begin with.

June 17, 2012
Sony announces Xperia Miro, Tipo, Tipo Dual
The Miro will be available in various colours

Sony yesterday announced three colorful, entry-level Android handsets (9 days before the official countdown) via its Facebook page that are expected to ship in the third quarter of the year. Though no spec-sheets have been revealed, here they are!
- Xperia Miro
The Miro is an entry level Xperia

Xperia miro packs a 3.5″ screen, 5MP camera, DLNA, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and, of course, a bunch of Sony exclusive software tricks to go with the adjustable illumination effects of the handset. There’s also a front facing camera for video chat. This is a Sony’s Facebook-centric smartphone, with the social networking site being integrated into the device.
- Xperia Tipo, Tipo Dual
The Tipo dual has a dedicated sim-switch button

The Xperia tipo and tipo dual are basic Android ICS handsets with a 3.2″ display and 3.2 MP camera. The phones run on an 800 MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor but only 2.5 GB user accessible memory out of the 4 GB onboard memory. The tipo dual features a dedicated SIM-swap key to help switch between SIM cards. Users can also preset the phone to swap between SIM cards at a particular time during the day. Both the devices feature identical specifications except for the dual-SIM capabilities on the Xperia tipo dual.

Check out these introductory videos put up by Sony-
June 14, 2012
Facebook launches App Center

The App Center will be made available for Android and iOS

Facebook on Thursday launched it’s App Center to enable it’s billions of users to find and play games and use other apps. The App Center will be made available on it’s website and to Android and iOS, where users can send apps to their phones and then get redirected to the App Store / Google Play to download it if necessary.

Most users are introduced to new apps through the irritating requests that fill up the notifications panel, but looks like that will change now. The app center helps you find new games based on searches or your preferences.

The new App Center will initially feature about 600 Facebook apps, mostly games, which will undergo a quality check first by the company to maintain a particular standard. Games, such as Zynga’s “CityVille” and Electronic Arts’ “The Sims,” are the most popular types of apps on Facebook.

It will be made available to users from the US first, with the rest to follow later.

June 8, 2012
Facebook now trying to make another Smartphone

Facebook is back to building smartphones, and this time around its no ChaCha. According to the New York Times Bits blog, the company is hiring old Apple iPhone and iPad engineers and employees to develop phones exclusive to Facebook

[quote]Mark is worried that if he doesn’t create a mobile phone in the near future that Facebook will simply become an app on other mobile platforms. – Said one of the Facebook employees[/quote]

With Facebook’s IPO now out, this unique move may actually help the company gain some movement, when they seem to be slowing down.

May 28, 2012
Facebook iPhone messenger to get Video Chat, plus new version for iPad

According to various sources, the new upcoming Facebook iPhone messenger will have inbuilt Skype/video chat integration, to allow you to video chat with online Facebook friends. What’s more interesting is the fact that the company is supposedly working on a dedicated app for the iPad, since they have got huge back-appeal for the sloppy in-built chat in the iPad app.

[9to5Mac]

May 3, 2012
Facebook will buy Instagram (PR)

Talk about big acquisitions! Social networking giant Facebook will buy popular imaging app Instagram for $1 billion in cash and shares. This comes soon after the app was developed for Android.

We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.

-Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom

[toggle title_open=”Press Release” title_closed=”Press Release” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]

Facebook to Acquire Instagram

MENLO PARK, CALIF.-April 9, 2012-Facebook announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire Instagram, a fun, popular photo-sharing app for mobile devices.

The total consideration for San Francisco-based Instagram is approximately $1 billion in a combination of cash and shares of Facebook. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close later this quarter.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, posted about the transaction on his Timeline:

I’m excited to share the news that we’ve agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook.

For years, we’ve focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family. Now, we’ll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.

We believe these are different experiences that complement each other. But in order to do this well, we need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.

That’s why we’re committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.

We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.

These and many other features are important parts of the Instagram experience and we understand that. We will try to learn from Instagram’s experience to build similar features into our other products. At the same time, we will try to help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook’s strong engineering team and infrastructure.

This is an important milestone for Facebook because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all. But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together.

We’re looking forward to working with the Instagram team and to all of the great new experiences we’re going to be able to build together.

[/toggle]

April 10, 2012
Yahoo sues Facebook for infringing on the social networking patent !

This is possibly going to be the biggest battle since the Apple vs Samsung saga began, Yahoo has allegedly filed a lawsuit to sue social networking giant Facebook for infringing on several patents that are owned by Yahoo. These patents include a series of things Facebook is famous for, ten patents in all, which cover everything from advertising and privacy measures to messaging and social networking itself.

Yahoo claims that the company licenses its patents to several other companies but the matter of Facebook remains unresolved.

Yahoo! has invested substantial resources in research and development through the years, which has resulted in numerous patented inventions of technology that other companies have licensed. These technologies are the foundation of our business that engages over 700 million monthly unique visitors and represent the spirit of innovation upon which Yahoo! is built. Unfortunately, the matter with Facebook remains unresolved and we are compelled to seek redress in federal court. We are confident that we will prevail.”

– Yahoo Spokesperson

Facebook on the other hand claims that there has been no real discussion when it comes to the matter of Facebook infringing Yahoo Patents.

We’re disappointed that Yahoo, a longtime business partner of Facebook and a company that has substantially benefited from its association with Facebook, has decided to resort to litigation. Once again, we learned of Yahoo’s decision simultaneously with the media. We will defend ourselves vigorously against these puzzling actions.”

-Facebook

[AllThingsD]

March 13, 2012
Angry Birds Comes to Facebook

The overly popular mobile platform game Angry Birds has come to overly popular social network Facebook. The Facebook variant features the same game play as the original mobile app along with added social components, new power-ups and exclusive new levels. The game itself is free to play, with a 20-use power up costing $1.

“Angry Birds” on Facebook — which uses Flash Player 11 — supports 3D graphics, according to tech news site ZDNet.

Angry Birds has been downloaded more than 700 million times since its release for Apple’s iOS in December 2009, and with Facebook’s 800 million users, it’s bound to hit 1 billion soon.

Thanks to the success of Angry Birds, game maker Rovio emerged as a gaming powerhouse, and it’s looking to go public as soon as 2012. Right now, the company is worth more than $1 billion, according to CMO Peter Vesterbacka.

Click Here to Play the Game

February 15, 2012