Facebook is testing yet another alternate layout for timeline in New Zealand, the country that has become the social network’s unofficial proving ground and launch market, and this version features status updates and shared content on the right-hand side, and a refurbished “about” section on the left.
Lisa Raphael (left), the social media producer at Katie Couric's daytime talk show Katie, is one of our featured speakers in Mediabistro's upcoming Social Media Marketing Boot Camp, an online event and workshop starting June 6, 2013. Lisa will share a case study on how the hit show uses Twitter to build interest and buzz around upcoming segments. Learn more about our our twelve event speakers and register here. 
Ever since studies showed that the average Facebook page’s posts reach an average of 16 percent of fans, many marketers (as well as Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and actor George Takei) have been quite unhappy with the social network, feeling that they’re being pinched for advertising. But what if there was a way for Facebook to let pages reach most of their fans, yet still make money? A writer for The Next Web came up with some ideas that Facebook could use to gain some revenue while getting back into the good graces of those who manage pages.
The single-column timeline design discovered last month by social media expert Mari Smith and ABC News has surfaced in — where else — New Zealand, Facebook’s unofficial launching ground.
Facebook’s favorite launching ground for new features, New Zealand, maintained its hold on that title with Thursday’s launch of the social network’s recently announced changes to its privacy controls in the Pacific island nation.
If you’re the type who likes to use Facebook events, you may have noticed that the site is pushing notifications as your party or appointment draws closer. Facebook confirmed to The Next Web that it has been testing reminders for people who have RSVPed to events.
Facebook giveth, and Facebook taketh away: Just one week after pages’ like totals began dropping due to the social network’s purge of fake profiles and likes, reports surfaced of like totals increasing due to links sent in private messages, and not to users actually liking pages. Facebook responded that it was working to fix a bug in its social plugins, and that the totals being impacted were actually on counters that measure likes and shares.
Facebook hates fake profiles. The site has roughly 955 million users, and it wants to make sure that they’re all real people. Several outlets are reporting that the social network is asking users to report friends who may be hiding behind pseudonyms.
The birthday notification has been a mainstay of the top right corner of your Facebook page for years. Soon, another type of notification will join it — one for weddings and engagements. Facebook introduced this new feature Thursday, which allows you to write a quick “Congratulations!” on a newly wedded or engaged friend’s timeline, much like you would on their birthday.
A new application puts the relationship status of your Facebook friends on one screen. If you were ever curious and didn’t feel like clicking on each individual profile, RelationBook allows you to see who’s single, who’s in a relationship, and who describes their situation as “it’s complicated.”
Some brands and companies struggle to get likes. Yet in one day, a Facebook page announcing what turned out to be a hoax accumulated roughly 4,000 likes and some 30,000 views.
