Posts with tag facebook
Posted Oct 29th 2007 2:00PM by Brad Linder
Filed under: Internet, Web services, Google, Social Software
Sure, Orkut may be big in some nations. But in the US and Europe, Google is best known as a a search engine/e-mail provider. While the company lost out on its bid to
own a stake in Facebook, maybe Google doesn't really need Facebook.
After all, what is a social network but a way to connect to other users with similar interests and tastes? While Facebook is a social network with applications for playing games, sharing books and movies, and so on, Google already has applications. Google also has a ton of information about your interests from your search history, e-mail, RSS subscriptions, GTalk, and even Checkout buying habits.
TechCrunch reports that Google is indeed
working on a new social network that will combine features from a number of Google services. The social network reportedly bears the code-name Maka Maka, although that could change by launch. The platform would be open, meaning third parties could develop applications for Maka Maka. But the coolest part of the new service will likely be the fact that it could launch with access to a bunch of fully polished applications.
Posted Oct 26th 2007 11:00AM by Chris Gilmer
Filed under: Business, Internet, E-mail, Office, Web services, Social Software
Now you can stay in touch with friends using
Facebook for Blackberry, a standalone application. Sure Facebook can be accessed normally through the likes of mobile browsers like Opera, but this new application provides more streamlined and optimized mobile access for Facebook.
After installing the application, users can send and view messages, photos, pokes, and wall posts. They will also be able to take a picture and directly send it to their profiles complete with tags if their Berry's have cameras. Although this is good for long commutes and waiting for meals to be served, it could be encouraging a new level of unproductiveness in the workplace!
There have been reports of Facebook for Blackberry not working with older handsets and on some mobile networks.
You can download the installer from
Blackberry or
Facebook.
Posted Oct 24th 2007 7:30PM by Brad Linder
Filed under: Internet, Google, Microsoft, Social Software
It looks like Microsoft has beat out Google in the
bidding war over a stake in Facebook. But while we had been hearing that Microsoft had been looking for a 5-10% stake in the $300-$500 million range, the company is instead
spending $240 million on a 1.6% stake in Facebook.
The deal gives Facebook a valuation of $15 billion, even though the company only made about $150 million in revenue this year.
OK, enough with the numbers. What does the deal mean? Microsoft will sell advertisements that show up on Facebook outside of the US. The two companies will share the revenue from those ads. Microsoft is already selling ad space for Facebook in the US.
And what does Facebook get out of the deal? A boatload of cash. Oh, and the ability to hire new workers, expand in more countries, and
work on their own advertising system.
Posted Oct 24th 2007 10:00AM by Brad Linder
Filed under: Business, Internet, Web services, Google, Microsoft, Social Software
About a month ago we heard that Microsoft and Google were fighting over who got to take Facebook to the prom. Or to put it more precisely, the companies were in a bidding war to
buy a 5-10% stake in the social networking site.
Now the New York Post reports that
a deal could be announced within the next day or two. Last month Microsoft offered to pay $300 to $500 million for a 5 percent stake, which would value Facebook at $10 billion. The Post claims that Google has been driving the price up closer to the $750 million Facebook has been seeking.
Now here's where things get a bit more interesting. The only reason either company cares about Facebook is because the site has a huge user base and valuable demographic data. In other words, it's a potentially rich source of advertising revenue. The Post says Google would probably try to kill Facebook's ad deal with Microsoft, while Microsoft would expand its partnership.
But Facebook is also
preparing to launch its own advertising network next month. Would a partnership with Microsoft or Google kill that? Or is the reason they're willing to spend so much money on a 5-10% stake because they've already seen the new ad platform and plan to integrate it with their own?
Posted Oct 24th 2007 9:30AM by Brad Linder
Filed under: Business, Web services, Social Software
Facebook is preparing to announce a new advertising system on November 6th. AdAge reports that the company, which has filed to trademark the term "SocialAds" will unveil a system for using demographic information to
target users on and off Facebook.
In other words, like Google, Facebook will take all of that data you type into the computer and let advertisers use it to try to sell you stuff. But it's not like we didn't see this coming.
Facebook already has limited advertising on its site. And while many people might not think of search information as valuable demographic data (even though it is), can there be any doubt that you're giving up valuable information when you enter your name, birthdate, occupation, school, professional affiliation and so on? Honestly, we would have been surprised if Facebook didn't try to use that data to make money. After all, the site has seen huge growth in the past year, and could currently be valued at $10-$15 billion. But it's probably not bringing in the kind of money to justify that valuation. Yet.
Posted Oct 15th 2007 4:00PM by Chris Gilmer
Filed under: Business, Design, Developer, Text, Video, Blogging, Web services, Search, web 2.0
DivShare, which we have covered before, is not just another online storage site. It lets users
upload and download unlimited files, and also well as offers a Facebook application and a power uploading tool. They have now released a no download web document viewer.
Even though we love downloads at Download Squad, keeping things online sure does have its remotely accessible benefits, and that's just what DivShare is doing with their flash based web document viewer. The new tool allows for viewing all types of documents from videos, photos and audio material anywhere. These documents can either be kept private, or embedded in websites, blogs or social networks.
Also released into the
DivShare stables is a new iPhone app that allows for searching, downloading and emailing DivShare files straight from Apple's device. There will also be a few other specialty items getting released this week, including a Facebook collaboration tool, developer API and private label video players. If you haven't checked out what DivShare can offer your unlimited file storage needs, now could be the time.
Posted Oct 8th 2007 2:00PM by Ted Wallingford
Filed under: Social Software, web 2.0
"Funwalls." Free Conference Calls. "Gifts" in the form of bitmaps of red roses. Today's Facebook applications are heavy on the social and light on the networking, and techy thought-pioneer Tim O'Reilly says in a new report that today's Facebook apps
aren't exactly making their developers wealthy. So it makes us wonder, are more promising applications around the next turn, or is social networking really the gimmick its detractors claim? Is the Facebook "platform" just a mechanism to drive more traffic into the web site when better, more obvious, pre-existing solutions exist outside the Facebook ecosphere?
While we think certain applications offer a compelling case, like
eBay's offering, we're constantly amazed at how folks will try to pass off something that wouldn't make the cut for the O'Reilly Hacks Series as a legitimate add-on, like this so-called
Skype-Facebook Mashup. With so many Facebook add-ons rolling around the bottom of the bit-barrel and receiving little to no attention, it begs the question, will anybody glean as much Facebook mindshare as
iLike, or is Ken Camp correct when he refers to most Facebook apps as not "
genuinely useful"?
Posted Oct 5th 2007 7:00PM by Brad Linder
Filed under: Audio, Internet, Social Software
All Facebook is reporting that
Facebook is looking to launch a music download service. We suggest taking this with a grain of salt, since it comes from an anonymous source, even if AF's Nick O'Neill describes that source as "extremely reliable."
While we're a bit incredulous that a social networking site would stray far enough afield to launch a music store, we've kind of gotten used to web-based companies surprising us. A few years ago who would have thought that search engine company Google would be launching an e-mail service, or an online office suite?
And it might be interesting to see a music store come from a social networking site rather than watch existing stores try to add social features. There could be a lot of opportunities for friends to share favorite artists, songs, and other information with one another. It builds a sense of community and spurs downloads.
According to O'Neill, Facebook has been looking for a CEO to head up the music subdivision and has been seeking agreements with record labels. Or the whole thing may be
Posted Oct 1st 2007 4:48PM by Grant Robertson
Filed under: Internet, Social Software
Users of Facebook in the United Arab Emirates have been left wondering if their access to the site will continue after major telco Etisalat appeared to have blocked the site today. Many Web sites are actively blocked in the Persian Gulf country which is home to a large expatriate community from India, the US, Europe and other countries in the Middle East.
The Muslim nation blocks many sites on the basis that they are against the moral or religious values of the UAE, however the selection of sites in the past has often been arbitrary and includes a ban on VOIP, which appears to be more focused on maintaining profits at the two main telcos than concerns over moral values. Earlier this year the
social networking site Orkut fell afoul of UAE's blocking policies which also prevent access to dating sites.
The move may not be permanent as Facebook users are currently just experiencing a 'Page Not Found' error instead of the 'UAE Screen of Death' (as pictured) so the authorities may just be testing the waters. UAE Facebook users have been concerned about this possibility for some time and have set up
an online petition.
Posted Sep 30th 2007 5:00PM by Brad Linder
Filed under: Internet, Web services, Social Software, web 2.0
Social networking sites like Friendster, MySpace, and Facebook are great for keeping in touch with your friends. But not everyone you add as a "friend" is really someone you would share your innermost thoughts with in real life. That's why it's important for social networking sites to let you differentiate between different types of friends -- something you haven't been able to do so far on Facebook, one of the most popular social sites on the internet.
Well, it looks like
that's about to change. Facebook is working on an update that will let you organize your friends into different groups. Say you don't want your work colleagues to see the same level of detail that your best friends from high school can see. Not a problem. Don't want your mom to read everything you're writing about your new girlfriend? Should be doable. Well, we think so anyway. To be honest, we don't know much about the new feature other than the fact that it's coming soon.
Facebook has also announced you'll be able to receive your Facebook notification e-mails in digest form. If you currently get thousands of e-mails a day, this feature could come as a godsend. If you only have two or three friends, then please disregard this post in its entirety.
[via
Mashable]
Posted Sep 29th 2007 2:00PM by Brad Linder
Filed under: Weekend Review
It's been a busy week here at Download Squad headquarters. And we assume you've had a busy week too. So if you've fallen behind on your tech news, here are a few things you might have missed during the week ending September 29th, 2007.
Download Squad interviews Evan Jones of 360desktop - VideoEver get the feeling that there's just not enough space for all the shortcuts, temporary files, and widgets you need to live a contended life?
360desktop lets you use a panoramic photo as a desktop background. Since panoramic photos don't fit too well on a 1024 x 768 pixel monitor, 360desktop creates more virtual desktop space by letting you scroll beyond the edge of your monitor.
Is the Nokia N800 really an iPhone killer? - VideoDownload Squad's Ted Wallingford has been spending some quality time with his
Nokia N800, and he has the video to prove it. Sure, the N800 isn't technically a phone like the iPhone, but put that puppy near a Wi-Fi hot spot, fire up the VoIP and anything's possible.
Dear Facebook: May I have my life back please? - DLS commentaryDownload Squad's Gordon Finlayson has a few questions about Facebook developers. So he sent e-mails to a handful of said developers. And he was labeled a spammer, his account was banned, and Facebook lawyers told him the immortal soul of his firstborn child was now theres. OK, we made the last part up. But Finlayson does have some interesting thoughts on Facebook's over-aggressive anti-spam policy.
Dev Chair: Keep sharp, stay valuableResident developer Alex Hung offers up some valuable advice for honing your skills even when your current job is far too easy for you. Only the strong survive, and one day you're going to be looking for another job. So why not contribute to open source projects, take evening classes, or actually show your bosses that there might be a better way of doing things.
ZoneAlarm ForceField protects your browsing session - DLS interviewMost of the threats to our computers come from the web. So while firewalls, anti-virus, and anti-spyware applications are great, sometimes what you really need is a way to protect your browsing session. At least, that's the premise behind ZoneAlarm's latest security offering.
Preview of Nero 8 - DLS interviewNero is set to release the latest version of its popular CD/DVD burning suite next week. We got a chance to ask Nero technical director Craig Campbell a few questions about what sets Nero 8 apart from Nero 7. In a nutshell: a few performance enhancements and a whole bunch of visual tweaks.
Here are a few more of our most popular articles from the week:
Posted Sep 28th 2007 3:00PM by Chris Gilmer
Filed under: Business, Internet, Web services, Microsoft, web 2.0
Is Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in Seattle to talk with Bill Gates about becoming a billionaire, or are they merely talking about the large rumored investment that could be coming down the pipes?
Zuckerberg has been spotted around Microsoft's hometown possibly chatting about a reported $500 million, 5% stake in the famous social network, making its valuation hit $10 billion. With many stating that there is no chance that Facebook could be close to that amount, the data of its 43 million users might think otherwise.
It's a highly effective tool for staying in touch while creating an internet identity, and with its individualized profile information it could become an advertising giant. But could that possibly be the price tag?
Posted Sep 26th 2007 10:30AM by Chris Gilmer
Filed under: Business, Design, Developer, Internet, E-mail, Web services, P2P, Social Software, Beta
Get ready for a whole new Facebook. Instant Messaging is getting set to find a home in the ever expanding, bulging at the seams social network.
Just when you thought that all that news about Facebook's valuation, the developer grants, and the possible
Microsoft investment was enough to raise the roof on their worth, we hear news that the site is launching an IM client.. A new Facebook IM is set to go into Beta this Friday and will take on the likes of MSN, AIM, Google Talk, and Yahoo. We would imagine that this could not be used as a standalone application, and would work inline with Facebook profiles.
Sam Sethi has received an early look at the beta, and enjoys the fact that there is no download or install necessary. But will it replace your standard IM?
With Yahoo! and MSN being somewhat locked down in their protocols, we are sure that things will change as the Facebook IM becomes the new in "instant messaging application". But for now, it looks like only chatting between Facebook friends is possible.
UPDATE: The Facebook IM application FriendVox, is rumored to be in development by a third party called
Techlightenment, who specialize in Facebook application development.
Posted Sep 25th 2007 1:30PM by Chris Gilmer
Filed under: Business, Design, Internet, E-mail, Office, Productivity, Web services, Social Software, Beta, web 2.0
Checking multiple accounts is just a fact of life for many users. Log into a Yahoo account, then switch over to Gmail, then off to Facebook. Fuser aims to make things a little easier.
With
Fuser, users can check multiple email accounts and social networks from one place and with one interface. Emails can be pulled in, read and replied to from popular email apps like Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail and SquirrelMail as well as POP and IMAP emails and such social networks as MySpace and Facebook with a single login.
There is no limit to the number of email and social network accounts you tie into Fuser. All emails can be sent to one inbox, or the application can be set up so that incoming mail can be better organized through folders. As for security, Fuser does not store any of your emails. It simply views them. So if you delete an email from your regular email account, it is deleted in Fuser. All information is stored in encrypted databases, including passwords, usernames and any information that is transmitted.
Fuser is a great way to streamline emails, and a real timesaver if you find yourself switching between a number of locations.
[via
TechCrunch]
Posted Sep 25th 2007 11:30AM by Brad Linder
Filed under: Internet, Google, Microsoft, Social Software
The internet is starting to look like a
Highlander movie. In the end, there can be only one company. And that company will have untold power over all the web.
Today's big news is that
Microsoft and Google are reportedly in a bidding war for a minority stake in Facebook. Sure, neither is planning on buying the site outright, but the move could help Microsoft bolster its online business or help Google expand its social network offerings.
Apparently Microsoft is willing to pay $300 to $500 million for a 5% stake in Facebook. That would give Facebook a $10 billion valuation, which is a bit silly if you ask us. Sure, the site is the hottest thing since we burned our hands on the oven the other day, but Facebook is just starting to turn out revenue. And the social networking space if fickle. We remember a time not so long ago when people couldn't stop talking about how cool Friendster was.
Google is also interested in buying a stake in Facebook, although it seems nobody's leaked exactly how much money Google is willing to spend. Oh yeah, and Facebook is getting greedy. Part of the reason we're still talking about negotiations and not a deal is because Facebook is holding out for a higher valuation, possibly as high as $15 billion, which if our math is correct would mean Microsoft or Google would have to pay $750 million for a 5% stake.
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