BlackBerry is listing off apps leading the charge on its new platform, with Skype, Whatsapp, Angry Birds, Twitter, and others all on board. The company said there will be 70,000 launch apps—a pretty impressive launch figure, showing that developers are committed to ushering BlackBerry onto the same plane as iOS and Android as far as selection goes.
[Source: TechnoBuffalo]
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stage on Tuesday during a Facebook press event and unveiled, among other things, a new beta feature called “Graph Search.” Basically, it allows users to search the website using queries. You can, for example, find friends in New York who are interested in Wine, or cheese or even politics. That way, if you want to throw a small get together, you can make sure you’re only inviting people with similar interests (if that’s the kind of person you are). As Engadget notes, you can also filter by a friend’s name, where they attended school and more. It seems like you can dive super deep into the filters.
Graph Search also allows you to search for points of interest. As Zuckerberg demoed during his presentation, you can look for a restaurant in a specific city or region and see ratings for the restaurant, among other information. We’ll update this post as we learn more, such as when the feature will go live, but it’s clear Facebook has interest in combining search with people and points of interest… which almost sounds like it wants to move into Maps. Maybe I’m crazy.
[Source: TechnoBuffalo]
Facebook is hosting a special event on Tuesday, Jan. 15 during which the company is expected to make several announcements. One of those announcements may just be Facebook Messenger for tablets.
TechCrunch got a hold of the above image recently, which is clearly a screen shot of Facebook Messenger running on an iPad. The site said we can expect all of the Messenger features that are already available for mobile devices, just in a bigger format, plus a new option that allows users to record messages using their voice. That seems relatively minor, since most pundits are expecting a long event that spans a few hours.
TechCrunch also believe Apple will unveil some sort of product that’s being dubbed a “big deal.” Maybe it’s a Facebook phone? Unless the company has kept the hardware under tight wraps, we’re guessing it’s going to be something entirely different. Maybe we’ll finally seeInstagram for iPad.
[Source: TechnoBuffalo]
Would you pay to guarantee that your Facebook messages end up in recipients’ inboxes, even if they’re not connected to you? The company seems to think so, having launched a new — and utterly ridiculous — test program.
Sure, plenty of people and businesses would be interested in guaranteed delivery to recipients outside of their networks. And many would even be willing to spend a little dough to ensure messages don’t end up in the “Other” folder, that wasteland of junk mail and Facebook group notifications. But here’s where the ridiculous part comes in: Some users have noticed pop-ups asking for a whopping $100 for the feature.
Just, wow. For that much money, you could just hire a bike courier to deliver your note in person, no?
While that price may seem indiscriminately excessive, it’s actually by design. When the program began last month, along with handy filters like that new Other folder, the test fee was just a mere $1. Now it’s $100. Clearly, the company is playing around with price points to gauge how much people are willing to pay. And who knows? Maybe some folks would consider a C-note to be a bargain to reach the likes of Mark Zuckerberg.
[Source: TechnoBuffalo]
It's pretty tough to "Poke" someone -- digitally, anyway -- with a straight face. But toss a sophisticated smartphone into that equation, and... well, it's still just as tough. For those who'd like to make awkward family gatherings even more awkward way less awkward this holiday season, hit up the source links to get the (free) Facebook Poke app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. With the Poke app, you can poke or send a message, photo, or video to Facebook friends "to share what you're up to in a lightweight way," with each message expiring after 1, 3, 5 or 10 seconds. If you ever see something you're uncomfortable with, you can click the gear menu and report it. Not that you have any friends that would weird you out or anything.
[Source: Engadget]
Get ready to have your preconceived notions of email destroyed. In a Facebook blog post today, the company has gone to great lengths to bury the lede -- which, essentially, says that it's experimenting with the idea of letting non-connected users pay in order to have a message routed to one's inbox instead of that ill-fated "Other" folder. According to the company, it's being dubbed a "small experiment" to "test the usefulness of economic signals to determine relevance." As an excuse, Facebook has evidently consulted with "several commentators and researchers," which "have noted that imposing a financial cost on the sender may be the most effective way to discourage unwanted messages and facilitate delivery of messages that are relevant and useful."
Bitterness aside, there is some value in being able to directly ping a stranger you heard speak at an event, or you want to really show your interest in a job opportunity, but it still destroys the level playing field that we've all come to know and respect as it relates to digital communication. This message routing feature is only for personal messages between individuals in the United States, and if there's a silver lining to be found, we're told that the number of messages a person can have routed from their Other folder to their Inbox will be limited to a maximum of one per week. It's unclear how the service will evolve once the testing ends, but perhaps it depends on how much blowback occurs compared to the whole Instagate thing.
[Source: Engadget]
Anyone who's returned from an event with a virtual armful of photos may have been frustrated with Facebook's upload interface, which until now has involved a less-than-intuitive file browser. The company is quietly solving that problem: an update pushing out to individual users lets them drag-and-drop photos into a new post, like we've seen on other social networks, and to a newly streamlined Messages format that's rolling out at the same time. A much smaller circle is seeing a second update. Facebook has confirmed to ABC News that it's conducting limited trials of an updated Timeline that moves the news feed to a single column, replaces the thumbnail navigation with simpler-looking tabs and makes all profile page information available through scrolling. A spokesperson wouldn't say if or when the new Timeline would reach the wider public, but history points to "when" being more likely. They did however mention that the new privacy shortcuts, activity log and untagging tool would be going live for all users starting tonight, and we've already seen them pop up on some of our accounts.
[Source: Engadget]
Facebook and Instagram will be able to get a bit cozier under that new shared roof beginning early next year. On January 16th, the photo sharing site's new Terms of Service will go into effect, enabling the network to share information, content and usage stats with "businesses that are legally part of the same group of companies that Instagram is part of, or that become part of the same group." In a blog post, Instagram reps outlined the benefits of the revision, explaining that the site will be able to "fight spam more effectively, detect system and reliability problems more quickly, and build better features for everyone by understanding how Instagram is used."
Additionally, in the full ToS, the second item under Rights states "you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you." In short, Instagram has the right to share content that's already public with advertisers in order to generate revenue. If you're an Instagram user and you care about your rights while using the service, you'll be best served by making your way over to our source links below.
[Source: Engadget]
You've probably managed to track down another app or two that accomplishes the same, or maybe you have no interest in a ratings-driven discovery platform at all -- either way, Facebook's decided to tap your smartphone's GPS yet again, offering up recommended venues through an updated Nearby. The new section lets you identify local establishments that your e-buds have checked into or liked. Businesses are sorted by category, so you can find a cozy coffee shop on a rainy day with ease, or stumble upon a neighborhood dog park that a special friend happens to frequent with her pooch. Perhaps most intriguing, however, is the suggestion that Facebook may "add places info from third party services in the near future," perhaps making the app a one-stop shop for all your cafe/club/shop/hotel-searching needs. You may already have a "Nearby" tab in your Android or iOS app -- Facebook has confirmed that the new tool will rollout beginning today.
[Source: Engadget]
Facebook users running Android have been clamoring for speed updates, and it looks like they'll at least get some of what they desire today. A version 2.0 revamp moves partly to native code and is purportedly twice as fast at loading the Timeline and photos, on top of simply being faster to start. The upgrade also lets us quickly flip through photos without having to shift attention away from the news feed. Google Play isn't yet carrying Facebook 2.0 as of this writing, but it's promised within hours -- check the source link at the right time and you may get a speed kick that many have been craving for months.
[Source: Engadget]
Right on the heels of an Android update, Facebook's also gave its iOS iteration a similar refresh. According to the short iTunes listing, version 5.3 gives a speed boost to your news feed, with the primary social news page now loading updates quicker. We just updated the app on the iPhone 5 and there's certainly an improvement on news refresh speeds and when scrolling down to grab older updates. The new app also lets you designate which album photos are uploaded to -- a convenient addition if you haven't already automated that whole upload-to-Facebook thing.
[Source: Engadget]
Voting for changes may never be the same on Facebook, but it sure seems as if the company is taking your privacy more seriously than perhaps it has in the past. In a move that signals bold changes on behalf of the user, Facebook has published two posts today outlining a litany of both user and developer tweaks that enable greater control over content. Today's updates include Privacy Shortcuts, an easier-to-use Activity Log, and a new Request and Removal tool for managing multiple photos you're tagged in; it's also adding "new in-product education that makes key concepts around controlling your sharing clearer, such as in-context reminders about how stuff you hide from timeline may still appear in news feed, search, and other places."
[Source: Engadget]