Facebook debuts live chat pages, Ustream live video
Facebook’s new Live Stream Box is a cut-and-paste HTML widget that can be added to a website to let Facebook users chat alongside a live event. Updates to the stream post quickly and then wash off the screen, to maximize the live-event feel.
In the… Continue Reading
Data: Online, Iranians turning to Facebook during crisis
All the recent media coverage about Twitter’s central role in covering Iranian political news got me wondering — on Twitter, of course — how many people are actually using the service inside of Iran. I got a couple responses, in the form of anecdotal statistics… Continue Reading
Search: Another way for Facebook to steal Twitter’s thunder?
Facebook’s search feature, to date, has let you search for friends’ names, or use Microsoft’s search engine to search the web. Now, it’s beginning to test out ways of searching information from your friends, from Pages you’re a fan of, and from anyone who has… Continue Reading
Tour of Facebook’s new office building
Facebook gave a tour today of its new office in Palo Alto, which unites a large chunk of its employees at one site. Check out AllThingsD blogger Kara Swisher’s video of it below.
Against real-time: Facebook to sort of bring back the old site design
Facebook is backing away from its March site redesign, a source tells me. That’s the redesign that focused users’ homepages on a quickly updating “stream” of status updates — and was trying to take on microblogging service Twitter, as the source put it. A Facebook… Continue Reading
Facebook gives blue ribbons to top guinea-pig marketers
As someone who did 4-H as a kid, I can appreciate Facebook’s new “blue ribbon” award program for marketers. Awards spur healthy competition and winners become models for rivals.
Facebook’s still young-and-growing site is trying to make money in part from a suite of services… Continue Reading
Facebook bans scammy ad networks but problems persist
On Monday, Facebook banned SocialHour and SocialReach, two of the larger advertising networks on its developer platform. A main reason: These companies were running banner advertisements within applications that purported to show users things that their friends had done — but actually hadn’t. A common… Continue Reading
Facebook, MySpace still better than Twitter for connecting people to your site?
Major television events are continuing to see good results when they integrate social media, especially using services that let people take their social networking identities with them around the web. The latest example is media conglomerate Turner Networks, which recently told AdAge about its experiment… Continue Reading
Roundup: Verizon Pre not coming too soon, the fall of Vidoop, and more
Here’s the latest action:
Verizon won’t be offering the Palm Pre within half a year — Lots of coverage on Techmeme.
“The Fall of Vidoop” – A fascinating, in-depth look at issues inside the secure storage company, as told by former employee and web developer… Continue Reading
Roundup: Signs surface of new iPhones, Google releases Page Speed, and more
Here’s the latest action:
More signs of new iPhones coming this summer – European mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse has added spots for four new iPhone models to its inventory, according to AppleInsider’s sources.
Google introduces Page Speed – It’s a Firefox add-on that gives… Continue Reading
Could social gaming run afoul of gambling laws?
A variety of social network gaming applications are making lots of money from virtual goods. But could these services soon find themselves in trouble for allowing gambling — and get slapped with large fines or other punishment? The question matters like never before, and the… Continue Reading
Facebook drops “regions” concept in move to simplify site
Facebook is mostly getting rid of “regions,” a long-time feature that lets users grant and receive access to personal profiles, groups and events within a geographic area.
The company says these regions, which can range in size from a city like San Francisco to a… Continue Reading
Fine-tuning: Facebook makes Pages, Events ads more interactive
While Facebook has already displayed self-service advertising on events and public profile pages, now those ads are getting more interactive. You’ll be able to become a fan of an advertised public profile page by clicking on the “Become a fan” button without leaving whatever Event… Continue Reading
Universal virtual currency wars begin: Facebook payments system now testing live
Third party applications on Facebook are beginning to test out the social network’s new, in-house payment system, presaging what has been described as a wide-ranging war among many companies to offer a single, universal virtual currency. There’s been no formal announcement of a launch yet,… Continue Reading
Facebook opens public profile comments and likes to the public
Facebook made a seemingly minor change to how its public profiles work earlier this week. Previously, if you were logged out of Facebook you could still see public pages and the first names and thumbnail photos of fans but not any of the comments from… Continue Reading
The universal currency wars are coming
We’ve seen much speculation in the past month about Facebook’s impending virtual currency tests. Its initial forays will be, by all accounts, relatively simple and small. But it’s the potential of “what Facebook could do” that has everyone talking. Yes, it’s cool that in the… Continue Reading
‘Separating the men from the boys’ in Government 2.0
Updated
Everyone knows the internet is critical to getting elected nowadays, especially after it played a crucial role in President Obama’s success. But you need to do more than just throw up a Facebook page and a Twitter account, said Obama campaign advisor/Twitter investor Chris… Continue Reading
Interview with game developer Chris Taylor, supreme commander of imaginary wars
Chris Taylor is a goofy character in the game business. That’s why he was a fine emcee at our recent GamesBeat 09 conference. But he has a serious side as the founder of Gas Powered Games, a maker of real-time strategy games that has weathered… Continue Reading
FbFund: 18 companies and 2 nonprofits win, head to Palo Alto
FbFund is kicking off its new incubator-style program this summer by announcing 18 company and two nonprofit winners today. Each organization will receive a small amount of seed funding in exchange for mentorship and connections provided by Facebook, its investors and other experts.
The companies… Continue Reading
Wave: Google’s take on the future of communication
Finally unveiled after years of development under the codename “Walkabout,” Google Wave combines popular features from across the web — feeds, shared documents, photo galleries, etc. — to redefine online communication. At least that’s the goal. Its creators, Lars and Jens Rasmussen (the braintrust behind… Continue Reading