Facebook Headquarters is just coming out of a 60-day lock down as they have prepared for us a new way to use our favorite social networking platform. Today an event was held from Facebook’s new in-house video stream that was launched in August to announce innovations that will be unfolding to Facebook users in the coming days as they roll out.
As Zuckerberg approached the stage he fist bumps a member in the audience as he is passed a microphone and as usual he is dressed down for the occasion. After saying “Hey” he glares down at the media and asks, “Can I get at least 2-feet” prior to beginning the announcements. The audience says “woah” as Zuckerberg awkwardly chuckles and viola, we’re off to another typical start of a Facebook Event.
With barely any breath in-between, Zuckerberg dives into summarizing the most recent changes that have occurred this past summer on Facebook, beginning with last week’s most recent augmentation to our intermingling eminence on Facebook, and working his way back to Facebook Places and Questions that were launched in early summer.
Brief Summary:
Photo Enhancements
Photos are now in hi-resolution and eight times bigger than before. Facebook has added light box in-line viewing, making tagging photos easier with clustering and a new uploader
Zuckerberg states that Facebook photos are; “Not only the most used on the web but the highest quality on the web.”
Facebook Chat Improvements
With Facebook chat being the third largest chat feature in the world, they have increased staff – since there were only 2-3 people working on this explosion of a feature – and will continue enriching the chat feature in the coming months. Thus far, Facebook has cut down their Facebook Chat complaints by 60%.
Spamming Friends
Facebook has cut down 50% of being able to spam friends, especially with the game application. They have improved this feature by only allowing those who take part in playing games to see who else is playing as well, instead of every friend being bombarded with games, even if they didn’t play.
Checking Names
Facebook went through all the names on their data base to ensure that real people are using their profiles correctly, if they came across a name that didn’t seem authentic they asked for proof of identification. The intention of this is to not only improve your social interactions, but your account. This way as more businesses integrate with Facebook, they will know that there are real people “liking” their sites.
Facebook Places
Of course many of us are aware of Facebook’s location based service “Places”, which has now become the number one in location-based services, even though it is only available via web based and the iPhone. Currently it is more popular on the iPhone than on the web – saying a lot since it has only been rolled out to a few countries thus far. Yes, Places has in fact become more popular than Foursquare.
After the summarization of recent Facebook transformations, Zuckerberg spoke of what their intentions are with these modifications and the ones announced today. Facebook is looking to create a “social platform” not a “social application”; instead, they want the platform to be where you share your applications. They are looking to give users more control, by giving you the ability to share what you want with whom you want. The same goes for any other application you find interesting – Facebook wants to further connect you with like-minded people. This way it clears up your newsfeed for what truly interests you, instead of having to comb through it.
They want their users to have more control over their information with Facebook Connect, so you can be able to take it with you where you go as well as, have the ability to change information, to stop information and so on. Since over 1 million sites are currently integrated with Facebook.
Here are the Three Facebook Innovations announced today:
1. Download Your Information
An application that has been built on top of the Graph API, all you have to do is go to the page and request your information. Facebook will then allow you to download your information into a .zip file.
Yes, that’s right! Now you will be able to see all of your information in one place. This includes videos, wall posts, photos etc. Once it is completed you will be e-mailed a .zip file containing all of your information and once you download it, it will open as a web browser. This has been calculated for the average user and not intended for developers. Included will be data of your friend’s lists and any Events that you’ve RSVP’ed. You can access this by going to your “Account Settings” and click the “Download” button,according to Product Manager, David Recordon – who took the stage to further explain this latest feature.
Recordon says; “So, there are two things I specifically want totalk about how this works. One is we’re combining all of this information into a single .zip file, so you really do have a copy of ALL of your information in one place that you can go and download. The second is you should really understand that this is all of your personal information, you should take security seriously here.”
Facebook will be asking for password verification to ensure that it is in fact YOU that is requesting a download of this file.
2. A Dashboard of your Apps
Currently, you must allow other sites to access your information but you are not able to audit what they are doing with your information, Facebook has changed that with this dashboard. Now, you will be able to view all applications that you have added to your Facebook account in one location. It will allow the user to see when the last time your information was updated and to manage permissions you have granted to other sites, yes, this includes revoking access.
The Product Manager of the new Facebook Dashboard, Carl Sjogreen said that this dashboard; “Helps provide much greater degree of visibility and control over the applications you use on the Facebook Platform. The first thing we did was combine what were two previously separate screens for managing applications and platform privacy settings to a single screen that is accessible from our main privacy controls.”
Once you click on the chosen application you are able to view and change any access and able to see what information they pulled from you. This is a HUGE step in giving us control over where our information is going. You will also be able to see a log of what has been used by applications – this includes websites you have given access to you.
3. Groups: Algorithm & Social Solutions
Zuckerberg explained that currently their “list” feature is only being used at 5% which means that its purpose is not productive. Facebook has realized this and wants users to be able to connect with the appropriate networks they are a part of without annoying other networks they have on Facebook. With that said, the Facebook “List” feature will remain on Facebook since they value the time and effort that 25 million people who have used it took to create them.
Here are the three goals:
Map all real world groups
Everyone participates
Useful in lots of contexts
Social Solution
Best Group Communication Tool
Easy for Friends to Setup
Groups
Shared Space
Group Chat
E-mail Lists
Certain icons will now contain various groups of people that fit within that specific group using both an algorithmic and social solution. This will give the user more control of who, what, and how they are sharing information. This grouping will allow you to have private group conversations within the comforts of people who share the same type of interest on the subject at hand.
This feature will work much like photo tagging, where you can create a group and other people can add to the group by tagging them. If a person comes across a group that share the same interests as them and want to join they can request the group to allow them to join. If you have been added and want to leave you can do so, if you don’t want to take part in any groups you can turn this off under your notifications settings. These groups will be viewable in the left navigation bar on your home page so you can stay informed of what is happening within your most used groups. This is also going to be added by popular demand to Facebook’s chat feature, so now you are able to have Group chats. The added bonus is that the groups you are a part of become just like mailing lists so you are able to send and receive e-mail from any particular group you are a part of even when you’re not on Facebook to keep up-to-date with what is going on and continue to communicate via e-mail.
Facebook is also releasing m.facebook.com the mobile interface for groups, as well as docs – which is a wiki like feature that will allow anyone within a group to edit a document that you are using to collaborate. This sounds like a brilliant business tool that could be used to join forces on projects as well as using it for school group projects and a gazillion other uses. Facebook is also releasing today a Graph’s API for groups which will allow third party developers to build on top of groups and leverage people to use applications and possibly extend the UI as well. Simply create a group, add your friends, and start sharing to take part in this newest Facebook feature.
The Product Manager, Justin Shaffer says; “So as Mark explained, Groups are how we’re really living our lives today, our family, our friends – from different times and places, our co-workers. All of these are the people that matter the most to us and that we spend our time with. Today on Facebook, it’s very, very easy to share with all of these friends or a select few of them but the simple case of sharing with an explicated group of friends isn’t something that exists. So we’re introducing new groups, we’re enabling a closer connection in how we organize and communicate in person and how we do this online and we really think that this is going to change how you fundamentally use Facebook today.”
After the two product managers and Zuckerberg spoke about the three latest features rolling out on Facebook, the VP of Product, Chris Cox took to the stage. He briefly spoke about Social Design and how translating human language into computer language so we can continue to stay connected.
Cox said; “Social design is a new way of approaching old problems” he continued later with saying “So when we approach the problem of organizing the graph, we’re focused on the same colonel truth, which is that the work that one person does can influence the experience and can organize the experience of the people around them.”
Facebook wants to use how the “real world” works and apply it to its group platform. They are using the type of audience within your group and its social norm of how you would act in that group and instead of filtering it in your newsfeed; they are creating a space for it. This way you can be more at ease talking as you would in an offline setting.
Today was a big day for Facebook and more importantly its users, for it may be a day that changes the way we interact on Facebook and with people as whole yet again. It is impressive information and inspiring to see the continuous dedication to see how our abiding role within the ongoing innovations that are shaping our history and our forms of communication. This is a major step forward for Facebook who have received backlash for its privacy issues, now it seems as though they have listened and will be giving the control back to its users.
Remember as with any changes to your Social Networks to please review your Account Settings to see the changes that have occurred and to make any changes to suit what level of socializing and information you are comfortable with sharing.
Here is the video of today’s Facebook Event:
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