You can now message President Obama on Facebook
President Obama is no stranger to social media, and now the leader of the free world is making it even easier to reach him on the world’s largest social network. In a Facebook post today, the White House announced you can now send them a note via Messenger, exactly as you might send a message to friend.
Of course, since this is the president we’re talking about, there’s actually one or two extra steps you’ll need to take to make sure your message gets though. Users hoping to send the President a note will need to head to Facebook.com/WhiteHouse or find the White House on the Messenger app to start a thread with the President’s new chat bot. After a fun fact (“The President reads ten of these messages every night.”), you’ll be asked to enter your message, confirm the text and then add your contact information. If you’re lucky, your message will get make it into the President’s batch of ten must-reads, just don’t try hitting him up on BBM.
Facebook launches guided tours for 360-degree videos
When you explore 360-degree videos on Facebook like you’re supposed to, you could miss crucial moments happening outside your POV. The social network’s new “Guide” tool for Pages, however, can make sure you see the best, funniest and most compelling parts. Now, when publishers upload a 360-degree video, they can enable the feature and highlight points of interest simply by pausing and clicking “+ Add Point.” It will then be on by default, and the video will automatically swivel to show you those highlighted scenes. It’s like having a tour guide pointing out the most interesting sights to see to a bunch of overwhelmed tourists.
You’ll know that it’s active if you see the word “Auto” on the right side of the video — if you want to switch it off and be able to pan around on your own, you only have to tap that indicator. Facebook has begun rolling out the feature today, and you can expect to encounter more and more guided videos as it becomes available to all Pages these coming weeks.
Source: Facebook
Facebook finds a way around desktop ad blockers
Facebook has decided to fight back against ad blocking. In a blog post today, the company recognised that a growing number of users have installed desktop ad blockers to avoid advertising they consider annoying or irrelevant. But soon, that won’t be possible, as Facebook claims it’ll “begin showing ads on Facebook desktop for people who currently use ad blocking software.” How it’s managed such a feat isn’t clear. Facebook says it hasn’t paid ad blocking companies to be whitelisted — an approach taken by some of its rivals — because it’s “confusing to people” and reduces the funding available to journalists and other ad-centric businesses.
In addition, Facebook is debuting a new ad preferences tool that will make it easier to see how you’re being targeted. You’ll be able to specify your interests, opt out of those Facebook has incorrectly associated you with, and see which advertisers have your details on a customer list.
While you’re scrolling through the News Feed, you’ll also be able to tap on a drop down arrow next to each ad, revealing a few different options. You can give it a thumbs up (this ad is useful) or remove it (hide ad) or, if you’re wondering why you’ve been targeted in the first place, tap “Why am I seeing this?” You’ll then get a brief explanation and a shortcut to the ad preferences too. “These improvements are designed to give people even more control over how their data informs the ads they see,” Andrew Bosworth, VP for the Ads and Business Platform at Facebook says.
The decision is sure to rile some users. It’s a smart business move for Facebook, however, given it makes the bulk of its revenue from ads. The new ad preferences tool is effectively an olive branch — while you can’t opt out of Facebook’s ads entirely, you can have more sway over which ones are shown in your News Feed. Ultimately, that helps Facebook too, because more relevant ads mean you’re more likely to click through and actually buy something from the company that paid for the placement.
Source: Facebook
Facebook Begins Testing MSQRD Live Filters in Brazil and Canada
After acquiring live filter app MSQRD back in March, Facebook today has begun officially integrating its capabilities into the main Facebook mobile app, focusing first on a soft rollout in Brazil and Canada (via TechCrunch). The Olympics-themed launch will greet users with an open, front-facing camera window when first jumping into Facebook, letting them swipe between various filters that add animations and graphics onto their face, which they can then take a photo or video of and then post directly to their feed.
For now, Brazilian and Canadian users will only see filters inspired by the Rio Olympics — like Brazilian flags and a “Go Canada!” motto — that attach to the user’s face and move around with them, similar to Snapchat’s popular camera filters. Facebook is also introducing static banners in its rollout, with similar country and team-supported messages that attach to any picture or image.
“The way that people share has changed a lot” Facebook Product Manager Sachin Monga tells me. “12 years ago, most of what was shared was text” so Facebook’s status composer with a big white text box. “Now, mobile changed things a little bit, but we didn’t really change our tools. If you look at what people are sharing, now it’s mostly photos, and soon it will be mostly videos. Our strategy is really simple. We want to make it really easy to share photos and videos” Monga explains.
Facebook has long been pushing its video content, whether created by media companies or everyday users, as a main focus of the social network in the future. Although the company didn’t confirm a wider launch for the new MSQRD features, it seems like the new live filter abilities would be a logical next step for the company to make in the video space. In a different vein, but still edging closer to the popularity of Snapchat, Instagram recently debuted a “Stories” feature with posts that disappear after a day.
Users on iOS and Android within Canada, and iOS in Brazil, will start seeing the new update rolling out to the Facebook mobile app today, and it will “run through the end of the Olympics.” Facebook is available to download from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Tag: Facebook
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Google tag-teams with Facebook on eco-friendly servers
Google recently friended arch-rival Facebook’s Open Compute Project (OCP) to help it with power-sucking data centers, and that relationship is already paying off. Google revealed its first contribution to the project, Open Rack 2.0, a design for shallow, 48V racks that fit into data centers with limited space. Google has used a similar spec since 2010, and “saved millions of dollars and kilowatt hours” compared to 12V systems, it said.
The spec includes details for the 48V power shelves, tool-less service access, “vanity-free” cases, recycled components, battery backups and high-efficiency rectifiers that convert AC to DC power. The entire system, Google says, has been perfected over the years in cooperation with its partners. (Though not part of the Open Rack proposal, the search giant builds its own computing hardware using off-the-shelf parts from Qualcomm and others, rather than leaning on standalone switches from the likes of Cisco.)
Google says its Open Rack 2.0 is “ready-to-use” for companies that want to transition to more efficient servers. It’s pitching the project to the OCP community at a conference next week, and industry players including Microsoft, Intel, Facebook and IBM will vote to accept it. If that goes as planned, Open Rack 2.0 will form part of the OCP spec and others manufacturers will be urged to adopt it.
Via: Business Insider
Source: Google
Facebook Begins Testing MSQRD Live Filters in Brazil and Canada
After acquiring live filter app MSQRD back in March, Facebook today has begun officially integrating its capabilities into the main Facebook mobile app, focusing first on a soft rollout in Brazil and Canada (via TechCrunch). The Olympics-themed launch will greet users with an open, front-facing camera window when first jumping into Facebook, letting them swipe between various filters that add animations and graphics onto their face, which they can then take a photo or video of and then post directly to their feed.
For now, Brazilian and Canadian users will only see filters inspired by the Rio Olympics — like Brazilian flags and a “Go Canada!” motto — that attach to the user’s face and move around with them, similar to Snapchat’s popular camera filters. Facebook is also introducing static banners in its rollout, with similar country and team-supported messages that attach to any picture or image.
“The way that people share has changed a lot” Facebook Product Manager Sachin Monga tells me. “12 years ago, most of what was shared was text” so Facebook’s status composer with a big white text box. “Now, mobile changed things a little bit, but we didn’t really change our tools. If you look at what people are sharing, now it’s mostly photos, and soon it will be mostly videos. Our strategy is really simple. We want to make it really easy to share photos and videos” Monga explains.
Facebook has long been pushing its video content, whether created by media companies or everyday users, as a main focus of the social network in the future. Although the company didn’t confirm a wider launch for the new MSQRD features, it seems like the new live filter abilities would be a logical next step for the company to make in the video space. In a different vein, but still edging closer to the popularity of Snapchat, Instagram recently debuted a “Stories” feature with posts that disappear after a day.
Users on iOS and Android within Canada, and iOS in Brazil, will start seeing the new update rolling out to the Facebook mobile app today, and it will “run through the end of the Olympics.” Facebook is available to download from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Tag: Facebook
Discuss this article in our forums
Facebook is ramping up its fight against clickbait
Two years ago, Facebook began its fight against clickbait in its news feed. It down ranked articles based on how quickly you gave up on them after you clicked through, and also prioritized pieces with a preview link so you can see what the story is about. However, the problem is still pretty rampant, so Facebook is scaling up its efforts. Now, the company is implementing a system that actually examines the words used in these headlines, automatically detecting and demoting the ones that it deems as clickbait.
What qualifies as clickbait? Well, Facebook is looking specifically for headlines that appear to either withhold information or are misleading. So examples could be “This one weird trick will help you find an Articuno in Pokemon Go” or “Driving is the worst thing you can do.” Facebook’s system identifies these phrases much in the same way as email spam filters. Once it figures them out, those stories or Pages will automatically appear lower in your News Feed. The system has just started to roll out and Facebook says it’ll improve and tweak the algorithm over time.
“We’ve heard from people that they specifically want to see fewer stories with clickbait headlines or link titles,” said Facebook in a blog post. “With this update, people will see fewer clickbait stories and more of the stories they want to see higher up in their feeds.”
Facebook opens a giant hardware lab to build its future
Hardware will play a big role in Facebook’s future between Oculus’ VR headsets, internet drones and open source networking gear, and the social network wants to give that technology the best start possible. It just opened Area 404 (yes, a play on “site not found”), a massive 22,000 square foot facility at its Menlo Park headquarters that will handle the brunt of Facebook’s hardware “modeling, prototyping and failure analysis.” Unlike some labs, it’s not segmented into product-specific divisions — instead, there are only electrical engineering and prototyping workshop sections. It’s designed to encourage cross-team collaboration that could lead to discoveries that might not happen in an isolated group.
The prototyping half includes some heavy-duty equipment that you’d be more likely to see in a factory than an internet veteran’s campus. It touts lathes, milling machines, water jets and other devices that can cut or shape everything from metal to stone. There’s also a CT scanner and an electron microscope to detect miniscule flaws.
A lab like this was really just a matter of time, since Facebook only has so much room to develop hardware in its existing facilities without looking for outside help. Still, it’s a telltale sign of how much the company has changed. The days of Facebook focusing strictly on social services are long gone — this is a general tech company where physical products are equally important to its future.
Source: Facebook Code
Facebook to stream first live match between Premier League teams
With more and more people heading to Facebook and Twitter to keep up with live events, the social networks are increasingly turning to sport to retain users. Twitter has already streamed Wimbledon coverage and signed a number of deals that will see it host NFL and college sports, but Facebook will mark a first tonight when it streams the first ever meeting of two Premier League football teams. Manchester United will play Everton tonight for Wayne Rooney’s testimonial match.
Granted, the Premier League season doesn’t kick off for another couple of weeks, but tonight’s stream will potentially be available to 1.7 billion Facebook users. It may also provide viewers with their first look at Manchester United’s new signings, which include Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly.
Money raised from the match will be shared between Rooney’s four chosen charities, one of which includes the Wayne Rooney foundation. Coverage begins at 7:15pm BST (2:15pm ET) and and it’ll be shown on both Rooney’s and Manchester United’s Facebook pages.
Via: BBC Sport
Source: Wayne Rooney (Facebook)
Instagram’s ‘Stories’ feature looks a lot like Snapchat’s
How do you fight an immensely popular social app like Snapchat? For Instagram, it’s by copying one of Snapchat’s most popular features: stories. “Instagram Stories” lets you post as many photos and videos as you’d like in a slideshow format. And you won’t have to worry about them hurting your meticulously curated Instagram feed, as the stories will disappear in 24 hours (that sure does sound familiar!).
You’ll find stories from friends and popular accounts in a navigation bar at the top of your Instagram feed. Once you tap into one, you can move back and forth through the slideshow at your own pace. You won’t be able to leave public comments or like anything you see in a story, but you can still send a private message to the author. The latter change is a sign that this endeavor doesn’t quite fit into Instagram’s existing feature set.
Naturally, stories will follow whatever privacy settings you’ve chosen for Instagram. You’ll also be able to hide them from specific followers. I haven’t had a chance to test out the feature yet, but judging from the screenshots and videos, it also looks like there are plenty of editing options for making your stories “fun.”
While a bit shameless, it makes sense for Instagram to adopt one of Snapchat’s defining features. Since its inception, Instagram has been focused on curated feeds. Those still have a place today, but the company also needs a more relaxed form of posting to compete with Snapchat’s breezier style, where you don’t have to worry about framing the perfect shot for posterity. Instagram will be rolling out the stories feature on iOS and Android over the next few weeks.
Source: Instagram
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