Top Click Media Staff Blog » Facebook

Intelligent Privacy Controls from Facebook

Jenny Sanderson — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:43:19 +0000

Facebook has begun testing a new update entitled publisher, amongst other things it gives users more control over the security of their accounts, allowing them to control access to their profiles in a granular fashion. The update comes in response to complaints from users that they had no control over who out of their friends saw their status updates and wall posts etc.

To anyone that doesn’t use Facebook this might seem like a small thing, but to the tens of millions who log on every day, this could prove to be a godsend. As all Facebook users know friends on the site do not all fall into the same category, some you night have known since play school, others you might have met once at a party and then forgotten you ever added. There are quite feasibly numerous things on Facebook that you’d be happy with your real, offline mates seeing that you might not be happy with almost strangers looking at, things like phone numbers, invitations to parties etc.

The new measures take on even more significance when you consider the possibility of excluding workmates and business contacts from seeing certain elements of your profile. It doesn’t take a business consultant to see that a status update like ‘Tara is sooo hung over this morning’ is not going to endear you to your boss.

The new system will also make phishing and other malware practices harder, simply by virtue of the fact that there will be less personal information out there to steal. It is however unlikely to do much about the employers’ growing concerns that workplace facebook use could compromise security. It will however make the quick background check performed by prospective boy/girlfriends and employers that little bit harder. Which is either good or bad, depending on your point of view.

Facebook wants even more Apps Social networking leader, Facebook, is preparing to unveil a raft...
Are the Facebook protests being taken seriously? (Part 2) However real the anger of Facebook users at the new...
The Facebook Success Story (Part 3) The next step for Facebook was to let people with...

Facebook Fund announces First Batch of Finalists

Mark Isle — Tue, 19 May 2009 10:07:03 +0000

Facebook has announced 25 of the 50 finalists for awards from the Facebook Fund, a scheme that aims to provide between £25,000 and £100,000 dollars worth of seed funding for companies that create, in the words of Facebook, ‘Great social experiences that make the world more open and social.’ Essentially what that means, is companies that build apps for new company project Facebook Connect.

The announced finalists are a pretty eclectic bunch and include a personal rap song service called ‘GreetBeatz,’ where users provide an independent rap artist with information about a friend and they create a personalised rap song as a gift for that friend. There are also more practical apps, such as ‘RentMineOnline,’ where people list apartments for rent and ‘RunThere,’ where runners and cyclists create routes and then share them with friends.

At first glance, the list seems potentially very useful to users though it’s worth remembering that out of the first 29 companies to be given assistance by the facebook fund last year, only seven currently enjoy more than 30,000 active users. We’ll see how these fare in comparison.

The Facebook Success Story (Part 3) The next step for Facebook was to let people with...
Facebook: The Google of Social Networking In many industries 7% growth might be seen as quite...
Google first to sign deal with Twitter Twitter announced on Monday that they will be integrating with...

Facebook courts controversy over Holocaust denial

James Oliver — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:11:55 +0000

Facebook is booking itself in for yet more negative press this year after refusing to take any action against users who have started or participated in groups that deny the holocaust, unless their country of origin has a specific law against holocaust denial.

Barry Schnitt, Facebook spokesman justified this controversial stance thus, “We want Facebook to be a place where ideas, even controversial ideas, can be discussed.”

Now, with my blogger hat on I have to say that this is a fairly courageous thing for Facebook to have done, if I really wanted to wax lyrical, I might even say it’s a full throated defence of free speech, liberty, etc. The only problem is that it doesn’t quite fit in with facebook’s previous M.O…

Cast your mind back a few months to the breastfeeding mothers scandal where several mums of newborn babies who chose to proudly put pictures of themselves breastfeeding their new child as their profile pictures were threatened with ejection from the site for uploading obscene content. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe there is a law against breastfeeding anywhere in the developed world. But still, it appears that facebook had no problem wading into the debate in that case.

If you ask me, Facebook needs to figure out its position and stick to it. Either get involved or don’t.

‘Prudish’ Facebook censorship sparks Protests amongst Mothers Facebook has landed itself in trouble with mothers of newborn...
Are the Facebook protests being taken seriously? (Part 2) However real the anger of Facebook users at the new...
Terms of Service U-Turn from Facebook Facebook have reversed a hugely controversial change to their terms...

Facebook = Bad Grades

Matt Thomas — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:17:08 +0000

A few weeks ago on this blog I wrote a post called something like ‘Facebook Makes you Stupid,’ in response to research from the US that Facebook use lowers attention span. Now, it appears that research has been backed up.

The University of Ohio has become the first to research the relationship between membership of Facebook and academic performance and their findings will not make happy reading for Mark Zuckerberg. Apparently, the study found that users of Facebook averaged a grade point average of around 3.0 to 3.5 with non users managing GPAs that were about 0.5 better. The study also found that non users managed to spend almost twice the amount of time hitting the books as their Facebook-loving counterparts.

The University are the first to admit that their study is preliminary and limited in scope, plus there’s the fact that Facebook users tend, by definition, to be more social people, who of course have less time for work. However, when combined with other work that has come to similar conclusions the study adds to an interesting body of evidence that should be enough to have the Facebook PR department a little worried.

The Facebook Success Story (Part 1) Hugely popular social networking site, Facebook turned five on Wednesday....
Facebook try to heal their Reputation Over the last few months, the bad publicity, court cases...
Are the Facebook protests being taken seriously? (Part 1) Over the last few days we’ve reported extensively on the...

Are the Facebook protests being taken seriously? (Part 2)

Matt Thomas — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:02:06 +0000

However real the anger of Facebook users at the new layout, there is not much that they can actually do about it. So far the threats have, by and large, only extended to day long boycotts or petitions delivered to the California head office. Very few Facebook users have actually threatened to leave the site over the redesign.

So, are Facebook worried about this new level or anger from their users?

In the short term, probably not. Facebook are well aware of the strength of their product. It’s one of those that marketers dream of, whereby the more you use it, i.e., the more friends you have, the more events you plan, the more you need it to socialise with your friends and plan your life. Put simply, it’s so good a marketing prospect that the only other products I can think of that behave like it are illegal.

The long and short of it is this. Facebook know that their users can’t ditch Facebook without also ditching their entire network of friends, all their carefully crafted content, all their photos etc. or convincing their entire social group to switch to a rival like Bebo – a logistical nightmare.

Facebook users know this too, that’s why none of them have threatened to leave, this makes their protests little more than empty posturing.

Are the Facebook protests being taken seriously? (Part 1) Over the last few days we’ve reported extensively on the...
‘Prudish’ Facebook censorship sparks Protests amongst Mothers Facebook has landed itself in trouble with mothers of newborn...
The Facebook Success Story (Part 3) The next step for Facebook was to let people with...

Are the Facebook protests being taken seriously? (Part 1)

Mark Isle — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:01:56 +0000

Over the last few days we’ve reported extensively on the raft of changes being made to Facebook and, more specifically, on the largely negative reaction to them amongst Facebook users. Cynics might suggest that this reaction was predictable, that Facebook users are liable to complain no matter what the change but that would be somewhat missing the point.

Yes it’s true, Facebook users historically don’t like change. However, the anger caused by these latest changes appears to be exceeding the widespread annoyance at Facebook’s last redesign – arguably a bigger re-think on the part of the Facebook powers that be. So what’s going on?

Well, one theory is that the overall bad publicity Facebook has been experiencing over, amongst other things, its terms of use changes, its various court cases etc. has fuelled a general bad feeling that just needed an excuse to be vented. Another is that Facebook users are simply tired of being taken for granted like they have been recently, or that their perceived success in the terms of use battle has given them the stomach for a fight.

Either way, the anger is real, with more groups popping up every day denouncing the new layout and calling for the reinstatement.

Are the Facebook protests being taken seriously? (Part 2) However real the anger of Facebook users at the new...
‘Prudish’ Facebook censorship sparks Protests amongst Mothers Facebook has landed itself in trouble with mothers of newborn...
Terms of Service U-Turn from Facebook Facebook have reversed a hugely controversial change to their terms...

Facebook’s next Step

Jay Smith — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:20:50 +0000

In a new blog post Facebook founder and director, Mark Zuckerberg, has outlined new plans to improve the number one social network and to “Continue making the flow of information even faster and more customized.”

There are several innovations planned, however the ones taking affect today are new public profiles for organisations and public figures such as politicians or celebrities. These used to be called pages, now however, they will look and function like regular profiles. This is particularly good for brands as every time the page is updated users who are ‘friends’ with that brand will see the update in their daily news feed.

There are no doubt advertising creatives up and down the country thinking hard about how they can exploit this right now. However, it’s equally useful for anyone with an agenda to push, like a politician, celebrity or brand. There is even some cross-over marketing potential between the two. What, for instance, is stopping a publishing company paying David Beckham or someone like him to claim that they are reading a new book on Facebook, thereby promoting it to their followers.

Don’t be surprised if you start to see some cunning marketing ploys on the social network in the next few days.

Caffeine Explained: The rise of Social Media One of the main changes expected from the Caffeine update...
Value of Facebook closer to 3.7 Billion Microsoft’s 2007 investment in social networking leader Facebook valued the...
Facebook: The Google of Social Networking In many industries 7% growth might be seen as quite...

Facebook try to heal their Reputation

Matt Thomas — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:23:27 +0000

Over the last few months, the bad publicity, court cases and conspiracy theories surrounding Facebook have conspired to do some serious damage to its freewheeling, collegiate image. In addition to having to pay a cool $65 million dollars to one of its rivals, Facebook suffered the indignity of being forced to abandon controversial changes to its user conditions due to sheer weight of public disapproval and threats of legal action.

As a result the Facebook PR department has kicked into overdrive with a new public relations push aimed at repairing its image amongst its users. The idea is basically this, Facebook have posted two important documents in their own groups for all to see. The first is ‘The Facebook Principles,’ which basically defines a users rights when using Facebook and will, apparently, act as a framework for any new policies. The second is a ‘Statement of Rights and Responsibilities,’ which is essentially the terms of use by another name.

The documents have been placed in their own groups so that Facebook users can comment on them and vote yes or no. The hope is that Facebook users will weigh in with their feedback and start to feel like they’re part of the process

Are the Facebook protests being taken seriously? (Part 1) Over the last few days we’ve reported extensively on the...
Facebook wants even more Apps Social networking leader, Facebook, is preparing to unveil a raft...
Terms of Service U-Turn from Facebook Facebook have reversed a hugely controversial change to their terms...

Facebook: The Google of Social Networking

Jay Smith — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:41:53 +0000

In many industries 7% growth might be seen as quite respectable, good even, but not in the social networking industry, and not when your main competitor has grown by 107%. That’s the situation that MySpace find themselves in currently, after figures were released that revealed just how badly the social networking No.2 and Bebo (6% growth) are trailing Facebook in the social networking race.

Not only that but the users of Facebook are also becoming more dependent on their favourite social network – Facebook have revealed that the average amount of time spent on the site has risen to six hours per month, itself an increase of 128 percent on last year. This is the particularly impressive stat as it shows actual adoption of Facebook as opposed to joining the site then not using it.

With stats like that, and its competitors seemingly unable to come up with an answer, it’s no exaggeration to call Facebook the Google of the social networking world. Surely, we can’t be far from the day when Facebook find a way to turn this ridiculous traffic into mountains of cold hard cash.

Yahoo looking to launch social-networking applications for mobile phones Yahoo! is looking to launch a social-networking application for smart-phone users...
Power.com, the social networking bridge A new social networking site has been created. I know,...
The Facebook Success Story (Part 1) Hugely popular social networking site, Facebook turned five on Wednesday....

Does Facebook make you stupid

Matt Thomas — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 11:06:47 +0000

Whilst going about your business on or offline yesterday, you may have come across the Daily Mail’s giant front page banner headline that read something along the lines of ‘Facebook makes you stupid!’ The story behind that was that earlier in the month a scientist named Baroness Susan Greenfield had given testimony to the House of Lords stating that the impersonal communication and instant feedback that, in her opinion, characterises Facebook contact could be harmful to human minds.

“As a consequence, the mid-21st Century mind might almost be infantilized, characterized by short attention spans, sensationalism, inability to empathize and a shaky sense of identity.” – Greenfield.

Other scientists were quick to respond and worryingly many seemed to broadly back up Baroness Greenfield’s comments, albeit whilst keenly stressing that research is only beginning.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of her findings, a media storm has been created as papers, blogs and channels debate whether or not social networking is actually bad for you. A widespread scientific debate is also raging as to the effects and what, if anything, can be done about them.

However, even if it does turn out that Facebook is making us all stupid, I somehow doubt that many people will stop using it.

Facebook = Bad Grades A few weeks ago on this blog I wrote a...
Facebook try to heal their Reputation Over the last few months, the bad publicity, court cases...
Terms of Service U-Turn from Facebook Facebook have reversed a hugely controversial change to their terms...

Facebook Terms of Use change Explained

Matt Thomas — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 08:00:12 +0000

The statement made by the Facebook team about why they revised the controversial change to their terms of use on Wednesday seemed to strongly imply that it had been the result of pressure from Facebook users. However, that pressure had existed for weeks with Facebook simply maintaining their stance, stubbornly refusing to bend to the weight of public opinion. The day before founder, Mark Zuckerberg had even defended the changes on the company’s blog. So what changed?

Well, it appears that Facebook were given a bit of a convincer by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) in Washington. The consumer watchdog was preparing to file a suit with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It appears Facebook got wind of this and, apparently lacking the stomach for another lawsuit days after paying out $65 million dollars in settlements to Zuckerberg’s former classmates, decided to climb down rapidly and change the terms of use back to the original.

How do we know this was the reason? Because, after hearing about the suit, Facebook executive’s called numerous privacy experts for advice and finally rang EPIC themselves to ask them outright whether they would drop the suit if they changed their terms back.

Sure, said EPIC chalking up a memorable victory over one of the giants of the Internet. EPIC one, Facebook nil, but I doubt the game’s over.

Terms of Service U-Turn from Facebook Facebook have reversed a hugely controversial change to their terms...
Value of Facebook closer to 3.7 Billion Microsoft’s 2007 investment in social networking leader Facebook valued the...
Are the Facebook protests being taken seriously? (Part 1) Over the last few days we’ve reported extensively on the...

Terms of Service U-Turn from Facebook

Jack Fox — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:00:01 +0000

Facebook have reversed a hugely controversial change to their terms of service that allowed them to retain personal data after a user has deleted his or her profile. In a blog post today Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, clarified that the social networking leader will be returning to the original terms of service, though this move is only a temporary step “While we resolve the issues that people raised.”

Mark is predictably downplaying the situation, what he really means by ‘issues people raised,’ is massive outpouring of anger from some Facebook users to what they viewed, with some justification, as an all-out assault on their civil liberties. Firstly because Facebook saw fit to change the terms of use of the site without any consultation at all and secondly, because the changes seemed to indicate that even if you actively remove yourself from Facebook the site still owns all your content.

The whole debate has raised the thorny question of who, if anyone, actually owns these pictures, blog posts and conversations?

It didn’t take long for privacy advocates and civil liberties groups to get involved. “Many Facebook users are young and it’s a disproportionate risk to their privacy for their details to be held in perpetuity.” Simon Davies from Privacy international went even further, stating “This is a huge breach of trust and a blatant example of them protecting their company’s liability at the expense of privacy.”

Facebook Terms of Use change Explained The statement made by the Facebook team about why they...
Are the Facebook protests being taken seriously? (Part 1) Over the last few days we’ve reported extensively on the...
The Facebook Success Story (Part 3) The next step for Facebook was to let people with...

The Dark Side of Social Networking

Jack Fox — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 11:17:19 +0000

As well as being an avenue for socialising and promoting good causes, the world of social networking unfortunately also has the potential to provide an outlet for the baser, less altruistic elements of human nature. A troubling example of this has emerged in Australia, where several groups have surfaced calling for the torture and grizzly murder of the man accused of lighting the deadly Victoria bush-fires that enveloped much of the region earlier in the month. One of the groups goes as far as to call for the man to be “burned at the stake.”

These groups violate the Facebook terms of use which forbid “Groups that attack a specific person or group of people,” however, more seriously, by naming the accused person and posting a picture of him on the group, they have breached a suppression order and potentially prejudiced the case.

This is a worrying case study for the solicitors and judges involved in high profile cases. The courts are simply not equipped to keep up with the internet’s lightning fast ability to scatter information across the planet and thus may never be able to react to things like this in time to maintain the necessary secrecy surrounding some court cases.

A new Front in the Social Networking War Over the weekend Facebook managed to engineer a lot of...
Facebook: The Google of Social Networking In many industries 7% growth might be seen as quite...
Using Social Media to enhance your Career The worst kept secret in the world of work is...

Value of Facebook closer to 3.7 Billion

Mark Isle — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 08:00:29 +0000

Microsoft’s 2007 investment in social networking leader Facebook valued the company at $15 billion dollars. Analysts were sceptical about this figure at the time and since then the valuation has become something of a standing joke.

The scepticism surrounding the figure appears to be well grounded after it emerged yesterday that a Facebook appraisal, used to decide the value of employee stock options, valued the social network at a mere $3.7 billion dollars. The valuation was discussed last summer in a closed court hearing relating to a lawsuit by some of Mark Zuckerberg’s former classmates who now run rival social network, Connect U.

This figure has only come to light thanks to Associated Press, who managed to crack the blacked out court documents revealing the figure to the world.

Strangely, this is the second leak from that case in as many days. On Wednesday the law firm representing Zuckerberg’s classmates included information about a settlement payment they received from Facebook, including the amount, in a company brochure. This violated an agreement between the parties that the particulars of the settlement would remain between them.

Facebook try to heal their Reputation Over the last few months, the bad publicity, court cases...
The Facebook Success Story (Part 1) Hugely popular social networking site, Facebook turned five on Wednesday....
Facebook Terms of Use change Explained The statement made by the Facebook team about why they...