Archivi Blog
Facebook Announces Graph Search (Video)
Facebook has announced Graph Search, which is a social search engine, and the service is now available as a beta, and the new Graph Search is a new way to search Facebook.
The Graph Search tool is designed to find specific information on Facebook for a specific search query, so it works differently than Google, which returns general results for a specific search query.
Facebook’s Graph Search appears as a larger search bar at the top of your Facebook page, and Facebook certainly has a lot of information to power Graph Search with over 1 billion users and more than 240 billion photos.
Graph Search and web search are very different. Web search is designed to take a set of keywords (for example: “hip hop”) and provide the best possible results that match those keywords. With Graph Search you combine phrases (for example: “my friends in New York who like Jay-Z”) to get that set of people, places, photos or other content that’s been shared on Facebook. We believe they have very different uses.
Another big difference from web search is that every piece of content on Facebook has its own audience, and most content isn’t public. We’ve built Graph Search from the start with privacy in mind, and it respects the privacy and audience of each piece of content on Facebook. It makes finding new things much easier, but you can only see what you could already view elsewhere on Facebook.
You can find out more information on exactly how Facebook’s new Graph Search feature works over at Facebook, it certainly sound very interesting and I wonder what Google will think of it.
Source Facebook
MySpace relaunches with new design and Justin Timberlake all over it
A totally revamped and unrecognizable MySpace has just gone public, enticing new joiners with a track by Justin Timberlake — who now owns a good chunk of the business alongside Specific Media. Based on the limited access teaser we saw back in September and the image above, this fresh incarnation of the social network retains the emphasis on music (“FREE Unlimited music and videos!”) but adopts a more commercial style of presentation. In a similarly modern twist, the site now lets you sign in with a Facebook or Twitter account as well as with your old MySpace details, which means there shouldn’t be too many barriers to at least exploring it.
Via: The Verge
Source: MySpace
Firefox introduces preliminary support for Social API, brings your networks into the browser
While you might use Firefox to access your social media of choice already, preliminary support for a new API has been introduced that could integrate key features into the browser itself. The aptly named Social API, will allow developers to embed services into the browser directly, letting you interact with friends and stay updated without having to open new windows, or keep hopping into different tabs. There’s no solid info just yet on how this will manifest itself, or how issues such as security and privacy might be addressed, but with testing beginning soon, we’re expecting the curtain to lift on the finer details soon. Interested developers can head to the source, for the other billion, you’ll just have to wait.
Facebook lets Americans try promoting their posts, won’t let you escape saccharine updates
Visiting your Facebook news feed can feel like a chat with parents eager for grandkids — it’s sometimes a flood of engagements, weddings and baby photos. Whether you enjoy it or not, that not-so-subliminal messaging is about to get more prominent with a US trial for promoted posts among everyday users. Just as with earlier deployments, American socialites can click a link to push a given post higher in others’ news streams and get feedback on just how many have taken a peek. The testing is limited to those with under 5,000 friends and subscribers to keep the celebrities and social media experts on the sidelines. However, anyone with a quiet life might want to duck and cover for the next few days while more sentimental friends push all their sugary updates to the top.
Connected To The Case to use Facebook for crowd-sourced crime solving
Ready the spandex and decide on a name for your alter ego, because come October 16th, you’ll have the chance to fight crime from the comfort of your computer. On that date, the “Connected To The Case” website goes live with the aim of crowd-sourcing tips from its users to help the cops solve active investigations. You’ll use your Facebook login for access, as the service pulls data from your profile to prioritize cases with which you might have a connection. Morgan Wright, CEO and Chief Crime Fighter of Crowd Sourced Investigations, told us its system looks at five key areas when digging for pertinent triggers: “date, location, time, relation and demographics.” It then uses that data to tailor notifications of unsolved crimes based on — for example — proximity to your school, or where you used to work. Rest assured that you control the privacy settings, and if you’ve got useful info to share, you can do so anonymously.
Law enforcement agencies can register to include their cases from today, with the initial roll-out targeting the US. The plan is to expand first to other English-speaking countries, with foreign language support in the future to build a global network of internet do-gooders. Including data from other social networks is also in the pipeline, starting with Twitter and later, Foursquare and Pinterest. A smartphone app is also on the agenda, so get your detective devices ready — we can be heroes, if just for one click.
Facebook revamps Messenger for Android with friendlier chats, teases core app update soon (update 2: iOS refresh as well)
Facebook has already been making its mea culpas for the state of its main Android app, and it’s showing further atonement through an Android-first update to its Facebook Messenger companion release. The new app is imbued with a “more conversational” (if fairly familiar-looking) bubble-driven layout for chats. Likewise, it’s easier to see if a conversation is needed in the first place: a friend status list is always available with a swipe, while fresh support for texting directly from Messenger can keep the discussion flowing when SMS comes into play. Android users can get the Messenger upgrade today, with promise of an iOS equivalent soon. The regular Android app is getting an update as well, although we wouldn’t cry with joy just yet: it’s more of a parallel to the Messenger update than the speed-up that some of us crave.
Update: The company’s Christian Legnitto has posted a lengthy explanation that the Messenger rework and the core Facebook update (already available) are part of a new strategy that brings Android and iOS updates at regular intervals, rather than waiting solely for major features. If all goes well, the social network can provide speed upgrades and bug fixes at a much quicker pace.
Update 2: And the hits just keep on coming — although today is mostly about Android, Facebook has tweaked its main app’s iOS version (App Store) for iPhone 5 and iOS 6 support.
Twitter revamps its iPad app for expanded content, adds header photos and image streams
Twitter’s iPad app is sometimes the neglected stepchild of its mobile app family: newer features usually come to the Android and iPhone versions first and are handed down to the iPad later, if they come at all. The company is making amends for that in style with a major update to the iPad version as of today. Whether you like them or not, expanded tweets are now baked in and will optionally show some photos, videos and web links within the timeline rather than disrupting the entire experience. The Connect, Discover and Me sections we’ve seen elsewhere also come to the tablet-tuned app, albeit at the expense of more quickly finding direct messages and lists.
You’ll soon notice a much more visual spin on people’s profiles, regardless of whether or not Apple’s slate factors into the daily routine. Both the Twitter site as well as the official Android and iOS apps now show a header photo behind the bio to provide a little more color than avatars and background pictures can manage. If you’re on one of the mobile platforms, you’ll also see a photo stream in the profile that will help relive memories without hunting down individual tweets. The phone and tablet makeovers require an update to shine, so hit the relevant source link if you’re ready for a prettier (if not always more functional) social experience.
Facebook SDK 3.0 for iOS arrives in finished form, mobile ads tag along in beta
Rapid turnaround just may be the name of Facebook’s game. Just a few weeks after its SDK 3.0 for iOS reached beta, the new developer tool has surfaced in a polished version. As it’s shipping, the SDK continues to emphasize a more iOS-native experience, better API support and slicker session management. Any iOS 6 integration will still have to wait until Apple finishes its software update; Facebook is keeping a separate beta track active to serve forward-thinking developers. The social network’s regular members aren’t quite getting the same reward, however. The expanded app support is being followed just as quickly by a mobile ad beta. While Facebook is still sparing us from a full-bore marketing assault, it’s letting developers pitch their Android and iOS apps from Facebook’s mobile portals, with a quick hop to the relevant app store if the title isn’t already loaded. While there’s no estimated completion date, we have a feeling that this is one Facebook beta where most customers won’t mind a delay or two… or ten.
Twitter brings search autocomplete to the web, helps find Biebs tweets in record time
Twitter had been hinting at a big search update today, and that’s just what it delivered. Instead of the (quite frankly clunky) search results page, a search box at top now provides autocompleting search results that split into keywords and people. The system is smart enough to check for spelling gaffes and related searches, and results can drill down just to followed users rather than the entire social network. Autocompleting has been a mainstay of the Android and iOS apps for some time, but we’re glad to hear that web users can now track down their favorite recently graduated teen pop stars faster than ever.
Apple integrates Facebook into iOS 6, App Store, Macs
The string of iOS 6 updates has brought one of the more heavily requested social networking features: Facebook integration. You can share from core apps like Maps, Photos and Safari, but it’s woven even more deeply than Twitter was in iOS 5: you can use Siri to make your commands, and there’s now a public API for Facebook so that other apps can do the same. The App Store gets its own share of integration, with app recommendations based on what friends are using, and contact syncing now makes sure your social network is all lined up. Best of all, the Facebook integration is coming to Macs as well — so you’ll have a consistent experience no matter what device you’re on.
Bing gets big remake with Snapshot, social sidebar, dig at Google (video)
Microsoft’s determination to ratchet up the search engine wars just got clearer with a major rethink of Bing that includes a few potshots at Google. While the search results themselves are still prominent, there’s now a Snapshot area in the middle that aggregates the common tasks linked to your search, such as booking a hotel room. Bing hasn’t avoided the siren’s call of putting social networking into search results, putting in both search hits as well as the option of asking friends, but has tucked the results into a social sidebar at the far right. Not surprisingly, Microsoft has already declared it a far better alternative to Google+ in-line results, which it sees “cluttering your results with social updates.” You’ll currently have to use a desktop web browser to see all the new Bingness, although Microsoft is promising a mobile-friendly update within weeks.
Editorial: Facebook’s my digital scrapbook first, social network second
I never wanted to join Facebook. I never wanted to join anything online, really. I was coerced into creating a Xanga at some point, and eventually — when Facebook opened up to NC State email addresses — I begrudgingly created an account there, too. I had a “thing” about opening my life up to the internet. I knew already that prospective employers would inevitably go digging through shots of me celebrating at an NCSU basketball game and spike my resume in the trash can beside his or her UNC degree. More than anything, though, I just didn’t care what anyone else was doing. I kept a handful of comrades close to my chest, and everyone else was a mere acquaintance. At the time, I blamed it on the 21 hours of courses I was taking entirely on Tuesdays and Thursdays — who has time for online networking when you’re in an educational torture chamber? — but now I realize the truth: I never wanted Facebook to be a social network.
Twitter tries to debunk hacker claims
Hackers posted five pages worth of usernames and passwords for claimed Twitter accounts to Pastebin this week. The hackers claim to be affiliated with Anonymous and to have stolen the username and password combinations from Twitter servers. Twitter is trying to debunk those claims.
The debunking won’t make most of us feel better though, twitter claims that most of the hacked accounts were deactivated spammer accounts. The fact that hackers were able to access Twitter servers and steal usernames and passwords at all should be enough to make twitter users nervous no matter the status of the accounts.
Hackers claimed that some celebrity accounts were among those compromised. However the list of user accounts and passwords contains more than 20,000 duplicate items according to twitter making it tech less effective than it seems.
via Mashable
States See Organ Donor Registry Spike after Facebook Tool Launches
On Monday, Facebook launched its new tool that allowed users to share the fact that they were organ donors. The Facebook tool also allows people that weren’t organ donors to sign up with their state organ donor registry directly from Facebook. I bet there are many people out there who wondered if the Facebook tool was going to make a difference.
According to organ donor registries in 10 different states, the number of registrants in the first day the tool was available for more than a normally see in a month. California alone reportedly had 700% more volunteers than on any other typical day.
100,000 Facebook users shared the fact on their profile that they were organ donors, and 10,000 of those users have linked through Facebook to sign up with their states organ donation registry. It sounds like Facebook’s tool may indeed make a big difference for people on organ transplant lists.
via ABC News
Friendster reborn as a gaming site, wishes Facebook cared
Friendster’s as good as dead to the western world (it hasn’t really crossed our radar since 2005), but Forbes reports that the site is still huge in Southeast Asia — though not for the reasons you might think. It was the original social network when in launched in 2002, but its acquisition by e-payment provider MOL Global in 2009 led to its reincarnation as a top online gaming destination for countries such as India, Indonesia and Malaysia. The new Friendster just officially emerged from beta as a game-centric site, and the remaining vestiges of its social networking past — you can still add friends, after all — are gamified with reward points. Moreover, owner MOL Global has added e-payments to the mix, letting users buy Friendster Coins to purchase virtual goods. Given predictions that the Asian gaming community will exceed 1 billion by 2016, the site’s future is looking rosier than ever. That might lessen the sting of being plum blown out of the social networking game by the big dogs.
Foursquare Passes 20 Million Users
Foursquare the location-based social networking service for smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices has today officially announced its passed 20 million users and processed 2 billion checkins.
Just coming up to a year ago, back in May 2011, Foursquare enjoyed around 9.3 million users and processed around 600 million checkins total, averaging 3 million per day from its 10 million users.
Foursquare fans have declared April 16th as 4sqDay which was a perfect time to announce the news to the world, that it had now doubled its users base compared to this time last year.
“In 2010, foursquare fans declared April 16 4sqDay (4/4^2 – nerds after our own heart!). Two years and two billion check-ins later, you’re still why we get out of bed each day. Thanks to all 20 million of you for making us part of your lives. Happy 4sqDay!”
Source: foursquare
Facebook revealing the personal data it collects, won’t spare your drunk-poking blushes
Facebook’s massively expanding its Download Your Information service into an all-encompassing archive of the data Mr. Zuckerberg collects about your daily dose of people-stalking. DYL was introduced in 2010 and allowed you to pull down all the photos, posts, messages, friend lists and chat conversations in the archives — but now will also offer stored IP addresses, previous names you’ve used, friend requests you’ve made, with further categories due in the future. It’ll have to sate the concerns of privacy organizations worldwide, since it’s rumored to collect 84 different categories of information about you (85 if you count all those Instagramphotos it just bought). It’ll be gradually rolled out to all 845 million users in the coming weeks and is available from your general account settings.
Springpad 3.0 Arrives With New User Interface And More
Springpad a similar styled service to Evernote for note taking and personal content management, has this week launched a new update to their mobile applications with the launch of Springpad 3.0.
As in previous versions of Springpad you are still able to bookmark Internet content, to document and read later from your other devices running Springpad. But now Springpad 3.0 includes some great new features for social networking allowing Springpad users to collaborate on notebooks with you.
Another great feature added to this version is the ability to add something to your “Things to buy” notebook within Springpad. Which is then regonisied by Springpad as a product and will notify you if the price of the product drops. Springpad explains a little more about the new features in Springpad 3.0.
“The real-time web is an amazing resource for news and serendipitous discovery, but there’s so much more useful information in what gets shared beyond the immediate.
Springpad 3.0 moves beyond real-time sharing to give users control over when they discover information, who they get information from and how they choose to filter it. The persistent nature of Springpad’s organized notebooks and powerful filtering capabilities helps users access that information when they’re ready for it, not just when it’s shared with them.”
Jump over to the Springpad website for more information of to join or download the Springpad application from either iTunes link or Google Play
Source: IntoMobile
Google+ gets a major update, simpler UI and heavier focus on Hangouts (video)
Google isn’t quite calling it version 2.0, but today’s update to its flagship social product is just that. As with most Mountain View projects, the new Google+ will rollout gradually, but as it does it may just lure back some of those who jumped ship early on. The UI has been greatly streamlined with a customizable ribbon of shortcuts on the left and your buddy list moved to the right. The main interface has been tidied up quite a bit and a new focus has been placed on one of the universally beloved features of the beleaguered social network — Hangouts. The video chat party lines will be getting their own dedicated home page too, allowing you to quickly peruse any Hangouts that are available to you. Even profiles are getting a dramatic facelift with larger photos and Sparks have officially been retired in favor of an Explore tab. Perhaps most welcome though is the enhanced multimedia sharing. To see all the fancy new features in action check out the videos after the break. And, of course, let us know if you’re seeing the shiny new layout on your end — we’re still waiting on Google to flip the switch for us.
Facebook Messenger for Windows app now officially official
The fact that Facebook had a dedicated messaging app up its sleeve for Windows will go down as one of the worst kept secrets in the history of techdom. In fact, after the client leaked back in December, Zuck and Co. unceremoniously dumped the executableon the web, opened up the help page and did so without an ounce of fanfare. Now the program is getting a proper launch, complete with a landing page and a press release (which you’ll find at the source). There’s not much here to shock or surprise — Messenger for Windows allows you to chat with your Facebook friends in a simple tabbed interface, check your news feed and delivers notifications to your desktop. Hit up the source link to download it now.
