Category: Facebook

Here’s How Facebook is Supporting ‘Digital India’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Silicon Valley has already created quite a buzz on social media platforms. While the likes of Sundar Pichai and Tim Cook have expressed their support for Digital India on Twitter, Mark Zuckerberg wanted to express his support by displaying it to the world on his home turf, and by that we mean Facebook. On Sunday, Zuckerberg changed his profile picture ahead of his Townhall interaction with the PM. The new profile picture has his own display picture with the Indian tricolour overlaying it.

I changed my profile picture to support Digital India, the Indian government's effort to connect rural communities to... Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Sunday, September 27, 2015

Clearly, Zuckerberg's "effort to connect rural communities" integrates Digital India with his own Internet.org initiative (now changed to Free Basics by Facebook). Following Zuckerberg, Modi changed his profile picture as well, and expressed his thanks for Zuckerberg's support.

Thanks Mark Zuckerberg for the support. I changed my DP in support of the efforts towards a Digital India. You too can change your DP at fb.com/supportdigitalindia Posted by Narendra Modi on Sunday, September 27, 2015
Pretty soon the rest of Facebook caught on as well with thousands of users changing their profile pictures in support of Digital India. Users can visit fb.com/supportdigitalindia to have their own version of the profile picture. It seems likely that Facebook is attempting to merge Internet.org with Digital India since the former has received strong criticism in India. In the last few months, we have been seeing advertisements by Facebook claiming how rural India will benefit from free internet. Post your comments below if you think Digital India should merge with Internet.org or not.

September 28, 2015
Like, Unlike and Now a Dislike Button For Facebook

Our favourite social networking site, Facebook is now expected to come out with a new ‘dislike’ button. Why? Well, you know all those sad posts about bad things happening to someone, or a world crisis that is so appalling and you can’t really do much to help, but you still have an opinion about it? This button is for that. So, now when your friend posts a status about losing a dear one, you don’t have to ‘like’ the status and later feel awkward that you didn’t feel the need to comment but yet wanted to express support, so you went ahead and ‘liked’ the fact that your friend just lost a loved one. These kind of situations can hopefully be avoided in the future.

The unique element about Facebook that seems to keep it running, is its ability to stay updated with all the current trends, and today the world seems to have moved on from merely ‘liking’ things or ignoring things that they’re not comfortable with. Today, if you don’t like something you’re expected to give an opinion about it, ignoring things is apparently cowardly, escapist and spineless etc. nowadays. So therefore, ‘dislike’ and let the world know.

However, Facebook’s reason for introducing the ‘dislike’ button is more constructive than merely voicing an opinion for the heck of it. This button is expected to help Facebook build their NewsFeed better. As of now the content for each person’s NewsFeed is basically constructed by an algorithm that takes into account many actions of the user, but is mostly guesswork. This algorithm can’t tell what exactly the user dislikes and does not want to see. So, the introduction of the ‘dislike’ button will now help Facebook to not only show us things we like, but will also make a conscious attempt to hide the things we dislike.

In conclusion, we would just like to say that you have nothing to worry about, Facebook should not become a hateful and sad place for people with complex issues. But yes, you may see a lot of Taylor Swift haters and Miley Cyrus lovers being more vocal as ever. So, if you’re not a celebrity you should be fine. No one is going to hate on your new Facebook display picture more than they already do. The solution: Take it all with a pinch of salt!

What do you think about your new right to dislike on social media?

September 16, 2015
Facebook Brings Out its Very Own Artificial Intelligence Assistant Named “M”

We all know about Siri, Cortana and Google Now, but yesterday our favourite social media platform, Facebook launched “M”. M is its very own text-based virtual assistant, which is also integrated with Facebook Messenger. What is different about M, is that it relies on both human and artificial intelligence to fulfill requests. This is something that both Siri and Cortana need to catch up on.

Reports suggest that there is a team of M Trainers, who are prepared and trained to fulfill requests that the artificial intelligence component cannot answer. It is also said, that as of now, the artificial intelligence does not have access to all the social data that Facebook collects and therefore has to depend on the information available through earlier conversations and follow-up questions. This however could change “with proper user consent” says Facebook’s VP of messaging products, David Marcus.

What makes M’s activities different from Siri, Cortana or Google Now? Well, an example of what it can do is this – it can allow people to get recommendations for vacations and restaurants for instance, and can also follow through with bookings or purchases.

David Marcus also added that Facebook is planning to hire thousands of M trainers in the future. This artificial intelligence assistant can be good for Facebook’s financial strength, since it can generate money via various partnerships with businesses.

The sad part is, that currently M is only available to residents of California’s Bay Area. This has been reported to be an intentional move, so as to, ensure commonality between M trainers and the people making requests. The product will be launched on Messenger apps all around the world, soon. Watch this space for more updates.

Source : [tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_blank” link=”http://www.wired.com/2015/08/facebook-launches-m-new-kind-virtual-assistant/”]Wired [/tw-button]

August 27, 2015
Facebook Has Now Launched a Donate Button For Non Profits

Facebook is realising the kind of social impact it can have in today’s society and has made a statement, following the launch of a “Donate” button:

“Every day, people use Facebook to raise awareness and show support for causes they care about and to motivate others to do the same, we’re inspired by how much good comes from these connections, so we’ve added a ‘Donate Now’ call-to-action on Pages and link ads to make those connections easier than ever.”

Facebook is therefore, launching a “Donate” button for all non-profit organizations to use on their Facebook Pages.However, this isn’t the first time Facebook is taking such an initiative. It had previously in December 2013 introduced a “Donate” button, but only to a select few nonprofits. This time around, it is open to all.

The “Donate” button will take users to the associated sites outside the social network. This helps the user to have a complete understanding of the project that the NGO undertakes and exactly where his/her money is going.The previous button on the other hand, would bring users to the donation screen within Facebook and the requested payment information would be stored for future purchases.

What do you think of Facebook’s new move?

August 25, 2015
Facebook Would Now Like to Become a Blogging Platform

Most of us may not know that Facebook did have a small ‘Notes’ feature back in 2006, where one could write longer statuses, pictures, articles etc. This feature got buried, when the Timeline came into being in 2011. However, with blogging currently being the hottest trend amongst college graduates and job-seekers, Facebook has decided to bring back its ‘Notes’ feature with a bang.

With Facebook now testing design updates for Notes; it is said that the new features include nearly full-width images without cluttered sidebars, and big cover images like Facebook profiles.

“We’re testing an update to Notes to make it easier for people to create and read longer-form stories on Facebook.” – Facebook

The new Notes’ sleek design caters to both business entrepreneurs, politicians, and other public figures alike. However, questions have been asked as to whether Facebook is willing to put the power of the feed behind it. With the design still being updated, it is yet to be seen, whether the new Notes gathers momentum and helps Facebook expand over the internet, even more than it already has.

Source:[tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_blank” link=”http://thenextweb.com/facebook/2015/08/17/through-the-medium-of-facebook/”] NextWeb[/tw-button]

August 18, 2015
Here’s How Facebook Might Become Your Go-to News Source

According to reports, Facebook is working on a new mobile application as part of its Facebook for Business Initiative. It is said that a few companies were chosen by Facebook to pilot the app. However, Facebook has declined to comment on the story.

With vague details and reports, it is suggested that the app is currently in an early testing phase and will work once users download a new mobile app created by Facebook. Users can also choose publications and topics that they want to follow; this will allow them to receive news alerts and articles specifically from those publications.

The report stated that the partnering publications will be able to create mobile notifications that can blast out to all of the followers instantly, as fast as a tweet would. The alerts allow up to a hundred characters of text and URL to the news article, so that one publication cannot create a notification for another. Once the blasts go out, the user can click on the link to read the article.

Source: [tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_blank” link=”http://www.businessinsider.in/Facebook-is-working-on-a-Twitter-like-app-that-lets-publishers-send-mobile-breaking-news-alerts-to-the-masses/articleshow/48444931.cms”]Business Insider[/tw-button]

August 12, 2015
Facebook Jumps into Live Streaming

Seems like the live streaming hype is taking over all social media networks. We already have Meerkat, Periscope and now the biggest social media network, Facebook, has dived right into the mania.

Although it isn’t available to use for public just yet, celebrities through the app ‘Mentions‘ can live stream bits and pieces of their life. The feature will show up on your NewsFeed if a celebrity you follow is shooting a live stream, you can also get notifications about broadcasts if you have recently commented, liked or shared any celebrity’s post. Apart from watching the stream, this feature also allows you to comment, like or share the video while viewing it.

On the other hand, for the celebrities who would like to start live streaming, can just tap the Post button inside the Mentions app and then select Live Video, after which they can add a description for the video and click on Go Live.

The app, will also feature an option to toggle between their smartphone’s front and rear cameras, so that they can see how many viewers have tuned in and can monitor comments. The video will be saved to their Facebook pages after the stream.

Facebook director of platform Deborah Liu, at a keynote this year, pointed out that users on Facebook, watch over 3 billion videos daily, while celebrities with verified accounts use Facebook Mentions, and therefore justified the launch of this new Live Stream feature on Facebook.

Some of the celebrities who are helping promote the app are, Dwayne Johnson, Serena Williams, Michael Bubble and Martha Stewart.

Do you think the app will go viral, despite the existence of similar apps such as Meerkat and Periscope? Let us know.

August 6, 2015
Facebook Reveals Aquila, the Drone That Will Provide Internet

A few months after Facebook declared its plans to provide internet access to the remote areas around the world via drones, the social media giant has revealed its first solar powered drone, Aquila. Developed under Facebook’s Connectivity Lab, the drone is part of Mark Zuckerberg’s ambition to connect the world to the internet through “drones, satellites and lasers”.

The drone, which has a wingspan of a Boeing 737, can fly at an altitude of between 60,000ft (18 km) and 90,000ft (27 km), higher than any commercial airliner. The solar powered drone can fly without landing for a three months at a time. The drone will fly at the highest altitude during the day and at lowest at night to conserve power.

https://www.facebook.com/zuck/videos/10102274951725301/

Mark Zuckerberg also announced that a new breakthrough in laser technology that would allow the company to transmit internet upto a 10 gigabit per second. The drone, combined with the laser technology, will deliver wireless internet over rural areas. The laser technology was mentioned by Zuckerberg a few weeks ago.

Aquila, the mother drone will receive the signal from ground and will then transmit the signal to the other drones in the sky through lasers. It is to be noted that even though Facebook will provide internet access through the drones, it won’t become an ISP. The company is looking for telecom carriers to partner with in providing affordable internet to remote areas.

Facebook is not the only company venturing into wireless internet. Google’s Project Loon aims to provide internet through balloons and Elon Musk is teaming up with Google to put internet beaming satellites in space.

July 31, 2015
Facebook Testing Its Own Virtual Assistant: Moneypenny

Facebook has grown from being a website where people post last night’s party pictures to a site where anything can happen. You can advertise your business, you can check out various events happening nearby, read the latest news and now, Facebook is venturing into streaming too. To enhance your experience, Facebook is reportedly testing a new virtual assistant along the lines of Siri and Cortana, named ‘Moneypenny’.

Named after the famous assistant in James Bond series, the feature will be present in the Messenger App. According to Engadget, Moneypenny will assist you in shopping and research, which sounds rather useful. Facebook is known for its penchant for data collection, and if people are excited about a feature like Moneypenny, then it’s a goldmine for the company as well as advertisers.

No other details about Moneypenny have been revealed yet. It will be interesting to see how Facebook integrates this with its website and app, considering that the virtual assistants by Apple, Microsoft and Google are integrated into the OS as a whole.

We can’t wait to meet ~~Bond’s~~ Facebook’s new assistant, Moneypenny.

So

July 14, 2015
Whatsapp is Slowly Gaining Facebook Characteristics With ‘Like’ Option

Facebook acquired Whatsapp last year for a whooping price of $19 billion. After the acquisition, Zuckerberg has been slowly been remodelling Whatsapp to the likes of Facebook. Both have been exchanging features with each other like Facebook is slowly turning its independent Messenger app into Whatsapp, integration of the ‘Seen’ blue tick on Whatsapp, and many more. Now, there are rumours about Whatsapp’s adoption of Facebook’s unique features, the ‘Like’ and ‘Mark as Read’ options.

According to reports from WhatsApp beta tester Ilhan Pektas, WhatsApp could get characteristics such as “Like” and “Mark as unread” in a forthcoming update. The Like feature is exciting though we are not sure at this point how it will operate. Perhaps it will act in a similar manner as the thumbs up button on Facebook Messenger or like the photos being exchanged.

The Thumbs up feature will allow users to send a fast and concise reply to simple questions without having to type it out. It could also be executed in group chats where photos and videos are shared and group chat members can “Like” it, which once again does away with the need to type out a comment if it isn’t required.

The “Mark as unread” feature is impressive since this allows users to avoid the dreaded blue ticks to indicate a message has been read. However given that the blue ticks feature can be disabled, we are not sure if this feature is indeed necessary, but given that this is a rumored feature for now, do consider it for now.

If this comes out to be true, the Facebook’s ‘Like’ button, which is a highlight trait of the social platform, will be an unique attachment to the most popularly used instant messaging service worldwide while the ‘mark as unread’ feature would also come handy similarly as seen in mail services.

July 10, 2015
Facebook is Working on a Music Streaming Service Of Their Own

With Apple’s recent and successful launch of Apple Music, the Music streaming space has gotten really crowded. With companies like Spotify and Pandora already eating the pie, Facebook wants now a big chink of this space.

According to reports the social networking website has already tied up with various music labels and has already started showing music videos which are ad supported.

With reports of a Youtube-esque video service for Facebook already in the works, an all audio variant is expected to roll out later this year. It would be rather easy for Facebook to just acquire an already running service, say Spotify.

However, the folks over at Facebook are mum on the conversation and fail to add any new insight.

Source : [tw-button size=”small” background=”” color=”” target=”_blank” link=”http://musically.com/2015/07/08/facebook-early-talks-audio-music-streaming-service/”]Musically[/tw-button]

July 9, 2015
Facebook Goes Green With Its New Data Centre

Just because we are digital doesn’t always mean we are doing our bid to go green. Every photograph, video and every other file we upload on social media, cloud storage and email are stored in a facility known as a data centre. Without the data centres, companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google cannot handle the intense volume of traffic on Internet.

Data centres mainly require electricity for the central servers that handle the data and to cool down the servers, which often get heated due to excess traffic. Environmental concerns have been raised due to the amount of energy consumed by these data centres. Companies like Apple and Google have been taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint generated by data centres and it seems Facebook has taken another step in that direction.

Facebook’s new data centre in Fort Worth, Texas, USA.

Facebook has announced that its next data centre in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, will be entirely powered by wind energy. With this data center, Facebook hopes to reduce its carbon footprint. In 2011, Facebook announced that its data center in Sweden would employ 70% fewer power generators than usual.

The data centre in Fort Worth will run on 200 MW of power and is already under construction. The new facility is expected to operate by 2016.

IT industry consumes about 10% of the world’s energy, most of which is used up by data centres. Thus, it has become important for technological companies to run their data centres on renewable sources of energy, which allows for a smaller carbon footprint without damaging the environment.

Source: [tw-button size=”small” background=”” color=”” target=”_blank” link=”http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2015/07/the-newest-addition-to-the-facebook-data-center-fleet-fort-worth/”]Facebook[/tw-button]

July 8, 2015
Facebook Aims to Provide Fast Internet Access To the World Through Lasers

Facebook’s latest endeavour, Internet.org has received a lot of flak for violating the rules of net neutrality. Co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has defended the company’s initiative many times, as he insists that the initiative’s sole purpose is to provide affordable Internet access to developing nations. It seems that Facebook has taken another step in this direction, as the company is working on lasers to improve Internet connectivity around the world.

Today, Zuckerberg has posted a few photos from the Connectivity Lab, Facebook’s ambitious project to connect the world to the internet through “drones, satellites and lasers”. According to his Facebook post, the Connectivity Lab has developed laser beams that will be able to transmit data from the sky into communities. As the Facebook founder explains, the beams will dramatically increase the speed of sending data over long distances.

https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10102217102231151

The laser beams in the photos have been made visible for demonstration purposes. Zuckerberg says the beams won’t be actually visible and has not provided any further explanation on how the system works.

Internet.org is an initiative by Facebook to provide affordable Internet to developing nations by giving access to select Internet services for free. Facebook has been criticised for violating the principles of net neutrality through this initiative, as the program favors certain sites over other.

It seems Facebook’s vision to provide the internet for everyone is one step closer to reality.

July 2, 2015
Facebook is Slowly Turning its Independent Messenger App into WhatsApp

Recently, Facebook came out with a new feature that allows you to log into its Messenger without actually having a Facebook account. The social media giant made this announcement on Wednesday, stating that this move is being done to push Messenger’s count of 700 million users, higher. They said that users in US, Peru, Canada and Venezuela would no longer need a Facebook account to use Messenger.

Users in the mentioned countries can make an account using their names and their phone number only. They can upload their phone contacts to the app. Yes, we know what you’re thinking, this is quite similar to popular instant messaging apps like WeChat and (Facebook-owned) WhatsApp.

With Messenger, we’ve been focused on creating the best messaging experience possible by giving people a fun and easy way to connect and express themselves with friends. With this update, more people can enjoy all the features that are available on Messenger – including photos, videos, group chats, voice and video calling, stickers and more.

Last year in July, when Facebook announced that it will be removing the messaging feature from its mobile app, which will require people to use its standalone Messenger app instead. This forced users to download the Messenger app to chat with their Facebook contacts on their mobiles.

Just a few months prior to this, Facebook had acquired WhatsApp for $19 Billion. Then why, has Facebook been trying to make Facebook Messenger more and more like WhatsApp? It owns both. What difference would remain between the two, which were once entirely different apps?

The math is simple. Currently, WhatsApp has about 800 million active users, and Messenger has about 700 million monthly users. If added up, the number would outweigh any other competitive instant messaging app. Messaging has become a way of life, and there are many users that use Facebook purely for chatting and talking with friends. This group of users will find the change very welcoming.

Mark Zuckerberg is also on a spree to convert the chat-only app to something more. Messenger has, earlier this year, introduced the payment feature that allows you to make payments through the Messenger interface. He also introduced video calling and location sharing features.

Needless to say, we’re certainly interested to see where the continuously-evolving Messenger finally lands in the near future.

June 27, 2015
Facebook Lite is a Compressed Android App That Works Fast Even on Slow Networks

Finally, Facebook is accomplishing its aim of expanding the internet to every corner of the globe. Recently, the social networking giant launched a trimmed-down version of its app that has been in the works for more than a year. Termed as ‘Facebook Lite’, the modern tool is dedicated to working in areas where telecommunication services are constrained. Facebook Lite uses less data and works even in narrow wireless bandwidth.

The blog post updated by the company reads –

In many areas, networks can be slow and not able to support all the functionality found in Facebook for Android. Facebook Lite was built for these situations, giving people a reliable Facebook experience when bandwidth is at a minimum.

The slimmer version is just 1MB in size, so it would take few seconds to download and install. However there will be certain design changes, the core functionality will be uniform in both the Facebook app and its lighter version. The social platform states that features like News Feed, status updates, photos and notifications will be identical on Facebook Lite.

Facebook Lite is the company’s push to make basic services available in developing countries at the lowest price possible. There are places in the world where buying internet data is an excessive expense because of its high cost. The app works faster with any device, and is data efficient, giving the same features with less data consumption. It’s like Facebook with an in-built Data Saver mode.

As it works even on slow mobile networks, the page loads comparatively faster. Users can upload, download and check photos instantly, for which users had to wait for more than a couple of minutes on 2G networks. Users can have a real-time conversation with friends – either one-on-one or in group – on the slimmer Facebook edition.

The tool is rolling out to countries across Asia, and in the coming weeks, it will be available in parts of Latin America, Africa and Europe. It works on all Android phones. The app is not available on Play Store for now, but will soon be live.

June 5, 2015