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Wednesday 26 September 2012

Facebook: Users’ Private Messages Never Leaked to Timeline


As Facebook users continue to come forward and say private messages sent between 2007 and 2008 have popped up publicly on their Timeline pages, the social network is standing by its claims that no messages have been leaked.
“We have reviewed reports from all over the world and have yet to find one instance where this has been true,” Fred Wolens of Facebook Policy Communications told Mashable. “Moreover, it would be incredibly difficult from a technical perspective for this even to be possible because of the systems’ architecture with two separate systems running on two separate languages.”
Earlier this week, Facebook users panicked over rumors that private messages were showing up publicly on Timeline. Mashable received a flurry of emails and tweets from users who thought messages they never wrote publicly have surfaced on their Timelines. Even some of our staffers said the same thing.
But Facebook debunked those claims, saying these messages are actually just older wall posts.



“A small number of users raised concerns after what they mistakenly believed to be private messages appeared on their Timeline,” Wolens said. “Our engineers investigated these reports and found that the messages were older wall posts that had always been visible on the users’ profile pages. Facebook is satisfied that there has been no breach of user privacy.”
Wolens said the discrepancy comes from a wider rollout of the newer Timeline layout on a global scale. He noted that if a user can comment or Like that activity, it is a wall post and not a private message. In the past, users weren’t able to comment on and Like posts, so Facebook believes members new to Timeline are confusing old posts for private messages.
“We’re happy to review reports, but we have finished our internal investigation and are satisfied that no private messages have been leaked,” Wolens said.

Friday 21 September 2012

Twitter Blocks Animated GIFs in Profile Pics


Some Twitter users are expressing major disbelief — after discovering the social network no longer allows them to upload animated GIFs as their personal avatars.
Previously, users had been forced to use workarounds to post animated avatars because of Twitter’s profile photo policy. Those tactics appear to have stopped working.
Illustrator Chris Torres, who introduced Nyan Cat to the masses in 2011 and now has a Twitter account with an animated avatar of the meme (see below), experimented unsuccessfully Thursday after hearing the news.
“Oh wow, I just tried to upload an animated avatar on an unused alt account and it didn’t animate,” Torres told Mashable. “That’s scary! But it’s also cool knowing we’re part of an exclusive animated GIF club.”
People with existing animated avatars won’t be affected by the GIF freeze-out, according to Twitter’s Help Center, which details the company’s policy against animated avatars:



We asked Twitter whether the policy became stricter on Thursday or if that’s just when people began to take notice, and we’re still waiting for a response.
“I’ve never really seen the big deal on why people look down on those who have animated avatars,” says Torres, who thinks Twitter clamped down on GIFs because people were uploading GIFs several megabytes large (Twitter requires avatar photos, 700 KB or smaller in size).

Wednesday 19 September 2012

Twitter CEO: Apple is our Mentor, Facebook our Opponent

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, fresh from a day of smartphone Twitter app releases, said Tuesday night that his company saw Apple as a “mentor” to Twitter.

“Apple is in many ways a mentor company for us,” Costolo told PBS interviewer Charlie Rose. He said the companies had “a great relationship.” Facebook, by contrast, got this chilly description: “We’re very different companies.”

Facebook was pursuing symmetric networks, Costolo said, but Twitter saw the world as asymmetric. They were fundamentally opposed, and competed for ad dollars.

He also spoke of Twitter needing to have control over its own user experience. This was on the day that Twitter unified its experience across iPhone, iPad and the website (and produced an Android app that seemed to us more of an afterthought).

“We’ll see how it evolves,” was Costolo’s judgment of Android. (He also said Twitter saw itself primarily as a mobile company — taken together, an implicit endorsement of the iOS platform.)

This year has seen Twitter abruptly shut off API access to an increasing number of companies. It has also seen Twitter deeply integrate into Apple’s Mountain Lion and iOS6 systems — ahead of Facebook integration.

The interview gave us a lot of context on how Twitter sees itself, and what developers who depend on the company can expect. Costolo clearly stated he wanted a large ecosystem (just as Apple has), but hinted at one that was very strictly and centrally controlled (much like Apple’s).

What does this mean for the future of Twitter? Will Apple become ever more integrated, and vice-versa? Give us your predictions in the comments.

Monday 17 September 2012

Apple: More Than 2 Million iPhone 5s Pre-Ordered in 24 Hours



iPhone 5 pre-orders topped 2 million in the first 24 hours of availability, Apple has announced. This figure more than doubles the previous record of one million devices pre-ordered, held by iPhone 4S.

“iPhone 5 pre-orders have shattered the previous record held by iPhone 4S and the customer response to iPhone 5 has been phenomenal,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

The overwhelming demand for the iPhone 5 has exceeded supply. Apple claims the “majority” of pre-orders will be delivered to customers on Sept. 21, but “many” are scheduled to be delivered in October.

Earlier today, AT&T announced the iPhone 5 is the best-selling iPhone the company has ever had.

For comparison, Samsung recently announced it took a little less than three months to sell 20 million of its flagship Android smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S III, with 200,000 units moved daily.

Friday 14 September 2012

Apple Stock Hits New Record Following iPhone 5 Announcement

Apple’s stock hit a new intraday trading high of $685.50 a share on Thursday, inching closer to becoming a member of the elite $700 stock club.

The company’s stock closed up 1.4% on Wednesday and has continued to rise following the buzz from the iPhone 5 event on Wednesday. Several analysts have upped their price targets for the company’s stock, driven in part by Apple’s plans to launch the latest iPhone in dozens of countries before the end of the September quarter. One analyst from FBN Securities raised the price target to $1,000 from $800 a share.

It’s unusual to see Apple’s stock spike following an iPhone announcement. In the past few years, the stock typically rises in the week leading up to the announcement, but then drops in the days after.

Apple stock closed the day at $683.09, beating their previous all-time closing high of $680.44 on Sept. 7. Apple’s market cap is now more than $640 billion.

AAPL Chart

Wednesday 12 September 2012

5 Things Top Brands on Facebook are Doing

Being in charge of a brand’s social media image can be a big task. Many times people in this position are responsible for creating the content, understanding the community, and curating material that will enhance the social experience of your fans. But it doesn’t stop there, there’s strategy and the big picture to consider as well as a keen sense of knowing what is happening around you, right now. Since social media is a relatively new means of communication and has recently developed into part of many brands’ marketing strategy, it’s no wonder there’s still a lot of questions surrounding the topic. What yields the best results, who are the leaders in the field, and how does one produce an effective social media presence?

In order to learn from the best and most experienced, it’s interesting to review whatImage other brands in the space are including in their social media plans. Thanks to this recent post on the most popular brands on Facebook, I started investigating some of these brand’s Facebook Pages and Timelines. I gathered that there must be some similarities between these five brands’ strategy as there is only so many different options you have on Facebook. For my research, I took a look at the Facebook Pages of Converse, Coca-Cola, Disney, Red Bull, and MTV.

After a detailed look at these Pages, it was apparent that there were some definite consistencies between them. These consistencies are likely what help them retain an active and enthusiastic community without bordering on too overwhelming or boring.

1. Photos - The most commonly shared piece of information on these brands’ Facebook Pages were photos. Across all five pages, photos were the top choice for content. Most times photos were accompanied by text describing the image or in Disney and MTV’s case, sharing a famous quote from one of their movies or television shows.

2. “Highlight” - Many of the brands are using the “highlight” option to call attention to certain posts on their Timeline. The highlight feature was rolled out at the time of the timeline transition and didn’t see much attention. However these brands, especially Coca Cola, are taking full advantage and highlighting anything from events to photos or on-going campaigns. While the highlight feature doesn’t add much value to the post itself, it does drastically change the look of a brand’s Timeline and can make it look more interesting when scrolling through.

3. Timing - If you work in social media, you’re probably aware of the posting “sweet spot.” Depending on your community, there is a number of posts per day that will garner the most engagement without receiving negative feedback. This negative feedback refers to unlikes, hiding posts, unsubscribing from the page, etc. According to Facebook’s Edgerank, that number is typically between one and four posts a day. These brands realize this and typically post on average twice a day with the exception of MTV who averages four posts a day.

4. Variety - While photos were the post of choice, most pages also shared links, videos, and polls. Having a variety of entertaining content is what helps these brands succeed. Disney posts images from their animated movies, scenes from their theme parks, video trailers of upcoming releases, and popular quotes from their films. For someone following Disney, each day is different and will strike a different chord.

5. Call for user generated content - To engage fans and continue to offer exciting new content these brands call for help from their fans. Converse does this incredibly well by asking fans to share photos of their Chuck Taylors. In their most recent campaign, Show Us Yours Summertime, fans self-submit photos of their shoes and a summertime activity. Converse chooses a selection of the submissions and posts the images to their Timeline. How cool would it be to be featured on your favorite brand’s Page?

If you are just now starting to plan out your social media strategy or are in full swing, take a minute to review your page. Do you follow these brands’ posting approach? Are you posting too often and worried about your negative feedback? If so, Viralheat Facebook Analytics can make understanding your negative feedback simple. If you aren’t using these techniques, maybe it’s time to try them out and see how your community reacts. Any way you look at it, social media is a learn by doing field and with constant changes, strategy and plans will need adapt in order to stay current.

Monday 10 September 2012

Facebook Has No Plans to Launch in China

Don’t hold your breath for Facebook to break into China’s market anytime soon.

Jayne Leung, Facebook’s North Asia director, revealed during the Social Media Matters event in Hong Kong on Friday that the social network still has no plans to launch in China, according to The Next Web.

There have been rumors floating around that Facebook would enter China ever since 2007 when the company first registered the domain name Facebook.cn. Earlier this year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited China on vacation, fueling these speculations even more.

For Facebook, China represents an opportunity to vastly expand its user base. The country currently has more than half a billion Internet users, while Facebook is closing in on the 1 billion user mark. However, any plans to launch in the country have been complicated by the fact that the Chinese government has blocked access to Facebook since 2008. While some in China have found ways to get around this restriction, most have turned to other local social networks like Sina Weibo, which play by China’s censorship rules.

Tiny Changes Mean Huge Results

Friday 7 September 2012

LinkedIn Revamps Brand Pages

LinkedIn is rolling out new brand pages to boost engagement between job hunters and companies on the social network, according to an announcement Thursday on LinkedIn’s website.

The revamped company pages are more visual and less flooded with widgets. There is a large cover photo at the top of the page, similar to Facebook, and company updates about product announcements and job opportunities are displayed more prominently.

Behind the scenes, LinkedIn has come up with an algorithm to make sure that each company’s update stream is customized for the person checking the page, ensuring that the user sees the most relevant posts first.

LinkedIn has introduced several new features in recent months to get users more engaged on the social network. Earlier this year, LinkedIn released a Follow Company button to make it easier for users to keep up with news from their favorite businesses and just this week, LinkedIn announced a new Facebook-style notification system to track updates on the social network better. The revamped brand pages are just the latest effort for LinkedIn to assert itself as a viable marketing platform for brands.

Several companies have already updated their pages, including Citi, Dell and Philips.

Monday 3 September 2012

Facebook Weeds Out Fake ‘Likes,’ Improves Brand Integrity

Facebook has stepped up its security on brand pages, working to remove fraudulent Likes caused by spambots, malware or fake account users.

Most likely only less than 1% of any given Page’s Likes will be removed, Facebook’s blog announced.Facebook had previous safeguards against automated Likes. But some companies did seek to violate Facebook’s terms of service to increase their reach on the social network by purchasing Likes in bulk.

Tightening Facebook’s security measures are designed to enhance brands’ connections with their customers, ensuring that the social network remains a genuine advertising platform. Brands will also be able to gage a more accurate measurement of demographics and fans, Facebook says.

“This improvement will allow Pages to produce ever more relevant and interesting content, and brands will see an increase in the true engagement around their content,” says Facebook.

The clean-up also means users won’t be bothered as much by viral spam that deceives users into liking brand content through fake videos or photos.