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Social Media
updated 12:03 a.m. ET, Mon., Sep. 20, 2010
Facebook denies plans to build its own phone
Facebook Mobile
Facebook says it is working on projects to improve mobile phone integration but isn’t planning to build its own phone.
Alex Dobuzinskis
Reuters
Social networking website Facebook said on Sunday it is pushing deeper into the mobile phone sector but denied an Internet report that it will build its own phone.
Privately held Facebook has more than 500 million users worldwide and the company already has applications on a number of mobile phones that tie into its social networking website.
But Jaime Schopflin, a spokesman for Facebook, said the privately held company “is not building a phone.” Facebook’s current projects include “deeper integrations with some manufacturers,” he said.
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“Our view is that almost all experiences would be better if they were social, so integrating deeply into existing platforms and operating systems is a good way to enable this,” Schopflin said in a statement.
In a report on Sunday, the website TechCrunch.com said a source with knowledge of the project revealed that Facebook is secretly building software for a phone and working with a third party to build the hardware.
TechCrunch.com said Facebook wants to integrate deeply into the contacts list and core functions of a mobile phone, which it can only do if it controls the phone’s operating system.
Facebook, for its part, cited Facebook Connect, a service to allow members to log onto third-party websites, for Apple’s iPhone, and contact syncing on its iPhone application as projects it has already undertaken.
In May, Facebook also launched a stripped-down version of its social networking website designed for mobile phones with limited bandwidth Internet connections.
“The bottom line is that whenever we work on a deep integration, people want to call it a ‘Facebook Phone’ because that’s such an attractive soundbite, but building phones is just not what we do,” Schopflin said.
Facebook’s denial comes after Google Inc last year dismissed media reports about its plans to build a phone, and then later came out with the Nexus One.
At the time, the company said it was focusing on developing its Android mobile operating software, which works on a multitude of mobile phones developed by other companies such as Motorola Inc’s hot-selling Droid device.
But Google eventually did release in January its own smartphone called the Nexus One, manufactured by Taiwan-based HTC Corp. Google sold the device itself through an online store, but in May announced it was closing that sales outlet and said the store had not lived up to expectations.
Butter Up: New Facebook App Lets You Create Personalized Butter Statues
Brenna Ehrlich | Jul 21, 2010
Well, this adds a whole new meaning to the term “butterface.” The Midwest Dairy Association has just launched a new Facebook app called “Butter-Fy Yourself” that allows you to — get this — create and share of image of yourself that replicates the butter statues of state fair fame.If you’re anything like me — who hails from a town in Connecticut where people are mortally afraid of butter — you’re probably not aware of the illustrious history of the butter statue. Apparently, the first such statue was created by Tibetan monks, who carved animals and gods out of the fatty substance, which was then jazzed up with colorful dye. After that, the buttery creations found their way to North America in the early 1800s, where people whipped up decorative patterns and displayed them at state fairs. In 1910, the first butter cow was created at the Iowa State Fair, and now you can find sculptures of all shapes and sizes at fairs across the Midwest.All right, history lesson over — on to the app. It’s simple and rather fun, actually — just select a photo from Facebook or your desktop to butter-fy, and then select a butter persona — Dairy Princess, Butter Hippie, Butter Cow, Butter Liberty, Butter Bouffant and Butter Up — you can then arrange your photo within that frame, slap it on a postcard, and share it with your friends via your wall, photo album or personal invite to join in the fun. I tried it out below, selecting Butter Hippie and Illinois, seeing as how I used to live there.Yeah, it’s a silly app — and probably legit horrifying to the vegans among you — but with temps topping 90 around the U.S. of A. today, we’re all melting anyway, right?
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It’s Official: Facebook Passes 500 Million Users
07/21/10 by Adam Ostrow
As widely expected, Facebook has announced that it has passed the 500 million member mark.
In a blog post, CEO Mark Zuckerberg writes that, “I could have never imagined all of the ways people would use Facebook when we were getting started 6 years ago. I want to thank you for being part of making Facebook what it is today and for spreading it around the world.”
Zuckerberg has also announced the launch of Facebook Stories, showcasing interesting ways that people have used the social network around the world. News of the feature leaked over the weekend.
Later today, Zuckerberg is expected to make a rare television appearance on ABC’s World News, where he’ll be interviewed by Diane Sawyer. Presumably, the interview will focus on what the 500 million milestone means for the company, but we also expect a number of questions about recent privacy gaffes and other controversial subjects, including the soon to be released movie based on Facebook’s beginnings.
The question a lot of people also want to know is how big Zuckerberg thinks Facebook can get. Is one billion users possible? With revenue approaching $1 billion and extensive efforts underway in mobile that can help Facebook extend its reach in the developing world, it certainly can’t be ruled out.
Update: Someone sent us this photo, apparently of Zuckerberg being interviewed by Sawyer right now inside Facebook HQ:
Let us know what you think by leaving a comment.
MySpace and MTV Will Livestream Comic-Con Celebrities
Posted by Samuel Axon on Tuesday Jul 20th at 6:22pm
MySpace and MTV are teaming up to stream live videos of interviews with celebrities like Seth Rogen, Jeff Bridges, Michael Cera and the cast of Glee — plus sneak peeks at unreleased entertainment — during Comic-Con this weekend.
The programming will stream at MTV.com and the MySpace Comic-Con page starting Thursday, July 22 at 12 p.m. PT with host Josh Horowitz from MTV Movies asking fan-submitted questions from the web, among other things.
The first show will feature Seth Rogen, who will be there to discuss The Green Hornet. You’ll also see the cast of RED and Machete’s Robert Rodriguez and Danny Trejo. On Friday, Tron: Legacy stars Jeff Bridges and Garrett Hedlund will be joined by director Joseph Kozinski at noon, and they’ll be followed by Michael Cera, Anna Kendrick, Jason Schwartzman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong and director Edgar Wright from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
Saturday’s show will be at 3:00 PM, and its focus will be legendary screenwriter and director Joss Whedon and Captain America: The First Avenger. There will also be pre-recorded features with the cast of Glee and The Vampire Diaries, plus a whole slew of stars from Sylvester Stalone to David Duchovny to Zachary Quinto to Stan Lee to, well, a whole ton of others.
MTV and MySpace have teamed up for big livestreams before; way back in 2007, they worked together to stream presidential debates to Gen Yers. More recently, they were partners for the Hope For Haiti Now benefit concert.
We would appreciate your comments on this subject.
Social Media Information: Warn Your Teens About The Dangers Of Using Social Networking Websites.
Warn Your Teens About The Dangers Of Using Social Networking Websites
Are you the parent of a teenager? If so, there is a good chance that you are wondering about their safety online, as you should be. Although the internet has changed for the better, that change has made it easier for people to access the internet and pretend to be someone that they are not, someone who you would likely not want socializing with your child. For that reason, you are advised to take the proper action needed to protect your child when they are online, especially when they use online social networking websites.
Online social networking websites? What are they? If you are not an internet user yourself, you may be completely unaware of social networking websites, what they are, and how they operate. The first step in protecting your teen is to famialrize yourself with them. Social networking websites are known as online communities that aim to connect internet users with each other. Unfortunately, these social networks have become the stomping grounds for many online predators and who are they after? Teenagers and chances are your teen may be one of them.
When it comes to protecting your child, your first thought may be to prohibit the use of online networking websites. Of course, you can do this if you want to. You are the parent, you can do anything that you want; however, there is really no need to. Despite the fact that danger exists, social networking sites are relatively safe, even for teenagers. However, to be safe and stay safe, your teenager needs to know what to avoid and who to be on the lookout for. Essentially, this means that they best way to protect your child from online predators is to educate them on the danger that is out there.
One of the first things that you may want to discuss with your child is who they are talking with online. Although they may not want to give you an answer, you need to emphasize the importance of knowing who they are talking to. Since social networks work to connect individuals who do not physically know each other it may seem impossible, but it can be done. Your child should fully read and try to understand the content of their friend’s online profiles. Tell your teen that if they learn that someone is being untruthful they need to end the conversation right away.
As with who they are talking to, your teenager may not want to give you a straight answer. Be sure they know that it is best to completely avoid individuals who like to speak of sex, drugs, and other illegal activities.
Perhaps, the most important thing to discuss with your teenager about social networking sites is arranging physical meetings. Let them know that these meeting are unacceptable. Unfortunately, many of these online friends turn out to be older and, in many cases, sexual predators. In the event that your teenager wants to meet an online friend and you feel that they would with or without your permission, you may want to offer to go with them. Of course, it is advised that you use caution and all meet in a public place.
By keeping the above mentioned points in mind, your child should still be able to use social network sites, but use them safely. In addition to the above mentioned safety concerns and precautionary measures, you may have your own. Whether you do or not, it is important that you keep your child aware of the dangers that lurk online, awareness is the key.
Please feel free to leave us your comment on this subject.
Online gaming site Roiworld surveyed 600 teens ages 13 to 17 in late April and found that teens spend two hours per day online on average, 80% of which is spent using a social network. These same teens are, however, showing signs of “Facebook Fatigue.” Nearly one in five (19%) who have an account no longer visit Facebook or are using it less.Of the group that are saying goodbye to Facebook, 45% have lost interest, 16% are leaving because their parents are there, 14% say there are “too many adults/older people” and 13% are concerned about the privacy of their personal information.While interest in Facebook may be waning, it’s still the most popular social network among teens — 78% have created a profile and 69% still use it. YouTube ranks second; 64% of teens claim to have a YouTube profile and continue to use the site. MySpace comes in a distant third (41%) and Twitter takes the fourth spot (20%).The study also suggests that the teens that continue to stick to Facebook do so primarily to play games. Roiworld found that more than one-third of the teens who play games on Facebook admit to spending at least 50% of their time on the site immersed in gameplay. The online gaming trend extends far beyond Facebook, as 75% of surveyed teens claim to play games on the web.It seems obvious that the newest generation of online users would have few qualms about spending money online, and this study supports that theory. The research purports that 43% of teens using social sites have spent money within a social network. They’re purchasing items such as currency for virtual items (35%), music (33%), avatar accessories (30%) and points to level up (23%). Nearly half of this crowd (49%) indicate that they have an allowance for such expenditures.For more on how teens are spending their time and money online, check out a portion of The Teens and Social Networks study embedded below.
Teens Study June 2010
[img credit: foreversouls]
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Facebook Scam Targets Whole Foods Shoppers [ALERT]
Jolie O’Dell | Apr 2, 2010
Whole Foods, a popular health and organic grocery chain, is the subject of a new Facebook scam that phishes for users’ credit and other personal information.
A deluge of fraudulent Facebook Pages are popping up that promise a limited number of users Whole Foods gift cards. These Pages are accruing thousands of fans and siphoning off sensitive and lucrative data.
The groups offering Whole Foods gift cards are in no way affiliated with the supermarket; rather, con artists are using the Pages to uncover important personal and financial information from users via a bogus credit assessment. After giving the requested information, users watch their computers crash as their identities are completely exposed.
Some of the Pages ask users to spam all of their friends to become fans as well, allegedly a required step for getting a gift card.
The food store chain is trying to shut the scammers down as quickly as possible and is also trying to notify folks via Twitter that the hoax is precisely that. “It’s a scam, unaffiliated and unauthorized by us!” says one tweet. “Please help us report these pages so Facebook can shut them down.”
Unfortunately, the scammers behind these Pages are creating more, even as Facebook, Whole Foods and vigilant users attempt to shut them down. To report these pages to Facebook, simply scroll to the bottom of the offending Page and click “Report Page.” To get real content from and about the supermarket, check out the official Whole Foods Facebook Page.
If you have any think before you click tips or comments please feel free to leave one.
Facebook Introduces Community Pages
Posted by Adam Ostrow on Thursday Apr 1st at 4:25pm
Think the distinction between Facebook profiles, Pages and Groups is confusing? Add a new wrinkle to the mix: the Facebook Community Page.
The new feature looks a whole lot like the Facebook Pages businesses and brands create, but there’s one key difference: It’s for the hordes of “unofficial” Pages that have been created by users in support of topics or causes (like “Can this pickle get more fans than Nickelback?”).
There’s a big difference in functionality too –- Facebook says that if a page becomes popular enough, administration will be handed over to the Facebook community. In other words, Community Pages become a whole lot like a wiki once they reach a certain threshold.
Another goal for Facebook is to keep official Pages in the hands of their respective brand owners. A company spokesperson tells us that Community Pages “give our users opportunities to express their enthusiasm and creativity, while allowing for Official Pages to continue representing official entities such as businesses, bands and public figures.”
At the same time, this means that we might start to see a whole lot more “unofficial” Pages crop up for brands and public figures, free of nasty naming rights issues (remember that girl who claimed Baja Fresh in the Facebook name land grab?).
You can create Community Pages here. What do you think of the feature? What might you use it for? Let us know in the comments.
Facebook vs. Google: The Billion Dollar Battle to Be Your Default Social Profile
Jim Tobin | Mar 31, 2010
Jim Tobin is president of Ignite Social Media, where he works work with clients including Microsoft, Intel, Nature Made, The Body Shop, Disney and more implementing social media marketing strategies. He is also author of the book “Social Media is a Cocktail Party: Why You Already Know the Rules of Social Media Marketing.”
“What’s next in social media?” It’s among the most popular questions out there. But while most folks currently answer with “location-based services” (i.e. Foursquare, Gowalla) or “group purchasing” (i.e. Groupon, Twongo, Living Social), the real battle may be between Facebook and Google.
The fight between these two Internet giants to become your default social profile has been brewing for a long time, and the prize is an enormous potential revenue stream. Let’s take a closer look.
Connect It. Buzz It.
Many sites allow you to become a member using Google Friend Connect. While the benefit of doing so wasn’t always clear, it was one of the first efforts to encourage the use of Google profiles across the web. Google Buzz and its thus-far poorly executed Gmail integration, is another. Google Wave, if widely adopted and used at its full capability (which hasn’t happened yet), would be yet another a compelling reason to use your Google profile as a way to engage with most sites.
At the same time, on many sites, including Mashable, you can use Facebook Connect to leave a comment. If you do, it will grab your profile picture and leave a link to your Facebook profile.
All these features are pretty basic so far, but these are just the recon teams prepping for the coming war. Right now, each company is trying various tactics to condition you to use their service as your default social profile.
Social Commerce is Coming
In April 2009, Forrester released its “Future of the Social Web,” a report that outlines five major eras of social media. The final one, set to begin in 2011, is “social commerce,” in which social networks start to become intermediaries in the buying process.
With programs like Alvenda, where you can buy flowers from within the Facebook Fan Page of 1-800-Flowers, and Payvment, where you can buy from multiple businesses on Facebook using one shopping cart, we’re seeing the early efforts of outsiders to make buying within social networks easy and natural. I believe this will continue. If the process is easy and secure, why wouldn’t users feel comfortable making purchases directly through their social interactions with companies and friends? Because of this trend, I expect Facebook and Google to start generating their own revenue streams from these transactions.
Virtual Goods Worth Billions
Add to this a genuine interest in the purchase of virtual goods (from little Facebook gifts at birthdays to just about everything in the online game Second Life), and you’ve suddenly got a $1 billion market in the U.S. alone.
In China, the market for virtual goods last year was $5 billion, and the larger social networks in China are profitable — something Facebook is reportedly still reaching toward.
Facebook, therefore, now has a genuine interest in having a very secure, very simple e-commerce platform, where you can buy whatever you want with one-click, similar to Amazon’s Kindle Store, and Apple’s App Store.
Make Checkout Portable
So Facebook has Facebook Credits. Google has Google Checkout.
While Google Checkout has always been designed to be used on other sites, in Q2 this year Facebook will roll out its Open Graph API, which will “allow any page on the web to have all the features of a Facebook Page.” If “all the features” includes the ability to make purchases (large or tiny) using Facebook credits, we’ve got something there. Plus, Facebook just announced that they might automatically connect you with certain pre-approved sites without you even clicking a button — a strong move if their goal is to become that default social profile.
Google can counter this by integrating Checkout data (your credit card, basically) with your Google Profile, allowing sites that choose Google to also have the potential for one-click buying. And both Google and Facebook are good at making these programs easy to implement, so the friction for site owners to add that functionality is very low.
Certainly Amazon has also had a long interest in people using its cart functionality on sites, but I’m not considering it here because it doesn’t aim to use your social profile as the hook for connecting – it is a more traditional e-commerce play.
Team Facebook? Team Google?
Suddenly, whether Facebook or Google becomes the default social profile around the web has billion-dollar ramifications. Just ask credit card companies how much can be made by taking just a small percentage of all of those transactions. And with billions at stake, it’s likely to be a real battle ahead.
The winners may be all of us, because to compel us to connect using their services, both companies will have to think about providing a lot of genuine utility. When they get creative, we get better web experiences.
Get it right, make it secure, and I’m there.
Which social network do you think will ultimately triumph and why? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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More social media resources from Mashable:
– How Facebook Can Become a Money Making Machine
– 6 Easy Ways to Score the Best Deals with Social Media
– 5 Big Twitter Trends to Follow Right Now
– 5 Ways Non-Profits Can Increase Engagement With YouTube
– 4 Tips for Reducing Social Media Stress