Aside from the news about Steve Jobs last week, the industry blogs were chock full of news stories about Facebook. Possible UK bans, Facebook users arrested, new features in and old features out! Here are some of the top headlines.
Facebook Data Collection Under Fire Again
Facebook has been taking more flack over privacy issues again. In case any of you have missed my take on this type of privacy/ security stuff, here it is again: You have 2, and only 2, choices: 1. NEVER share anything on a social network that you don’t want the world to see. 2. Make sure you know everything there is to know about your privacy and sharing settings on every network you use, and keep them updated.
New Improved Forums for Facebook Developers.
Developers can now enjoy a new, more fully featured forum system on Stack Overflow which will replace Facebook’s current frugly forums. Interesting twist for them to turn to a third party to provide better functionality. I smell a takeover/merger/acquisition in the future.
Free Facebook Credits Scam Warning
So you clicked on that link thinking that you would be rewarded with free Facebook credits? Really? Didn’t your mother teach you anything? Nothing is life is free? No such thing as a free lunch? If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t? No, none sound familiar? Sigh. Clicking on a link when you don’t know a) who it’s from or b) where it is going to take you is like taking sweets from a stranger. If you lack the common sense to suss out a scam, read this article.
Facebook Failed to Acquire Instagram so Launches it’s own Photo Filters
Facebook is reminding me more and more of Pacman gobbling up popular small web businesses like pellets on it’s progression through levels. However, this is one example of where someone beat them at their own game. However, in typical Facebook fashion, after failing to acquire the popular Instagram app which allows users to apply cool filters to their photos before sharing amongst their network, they are now planning on releasing their own integrated photo filters feature. This could be why Facebook also announced new photo privacy options. It’s a neat feature that SHOULD be popular with the sites millions of photo-sharing users, but with so many Facebook features being launched prematurely, creating frustration and confusion, and then being dropped, I wonder how it will fare.
Facebook and Twitter Ban Suggested in UK
After the London Riots, the media was abuzz with stories about the role that social media had played in the inciting and organization of violence, looting and other criminal activities. There were rumours that the UK government was considering imposing a ban or censorship of social media access to prevent criminals sharing information on sites such as Facebook. This is a slippery slope, and freedom of speech as well as human rights laws would likely make any such censorship impossible. However the fact that it was talked about at all shows the power that social media has over our every day lives now.
Two Men Jailed for Inciting Riots on Facebook
In a groundbreaking case, two young men were sentenced to 4 years in jail after being arrested for posting updates to Facebook that were clearly designed to “bring people together to commit acts of criminality.” This was a powerful story, made all the more impactful by the fact that the young mens’ posts did not actually result in any criminal activity. Rather, they were jailed because their posts on Facebook were clearly intended to incite violence and riots. Could this be the start of more criminal charges being brought against users who post other violence-inciting updates such as racist comments or who engage in online bullying?
Facebook Changes their Location Based Strategy
No more places, no more check ins, but location-based features will still play a big part in Facebook’s evolution. This news sees Facebook’s places being ‘killed off’, and location sharing becoming more similar to ‘tagging’ in updates. Stay tuned for our take on what this means for local businesses.
