As the recent tragedy in Boston showed, Facebook can be a valuable resource for journalists looking to spread the news, as well as to connect with readers and sources. Facebook recently published a thorough guide outlining the best practices for reporters on the social network.
Windows Phone users who want to get a jump on the next version of the Facebook application for that platform can install a beta version of the new app, Microsoft announced in a post on the Windows Phone Blog.
Facebook updated its Facebook Brand Resources page with more specific guidelines about how to use its logos and screenshots in print, film, broadcast, and online, and how to treat the social network’s brand.
Facebook is expanding its options on mobile with regard to letting users post about media they want to experience — but the site recently told AllFacebook that a recent discovery is a bug. Previously, a user could click on a book that a friend posted about through a sponsored story and say that they’ve read or want to read. Sister site Inside Facebook discovered that now, iOS users (we haven’t seen this for Android yet) can tap sponsored stories about a show or movie to indicate that they have watched or want to watch. Facebook said that this is a bug and that advertisers would not be charged for clicks.
Facebook has been pushing users to share more of what they love, especially through structured status updates. Users can now post visual stories that say they’re watching “Game of Thrones,” or “The Big Bang Theory,” and those preferences will be added to users’ Timelines under favorite shows. But does liking a show’s Facebook page necessarily correlate to watching it? In a recent study, CitizenNet discovered that a 3 percent increase in likes for a show’s page usually translates into a 1 percent bump in viewership.
UPDATED: The trademark lawsuit against Facebook by Timelines.com over the social network’s use of the term “timeline” as the name of its profile design was set to kick off Monday in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, but Bloomberg reported Monday afternoon that proceedings would be delayed until Tuesday afternoon, or postponed until May 7 for a status conference. U.S. District Judge John W. Darrah offered no explanation for the delay, according to Bloomberg.
Facebook has added yet another module to the refreshed Timeline design: Groups. Starting today, users will see a place on their Timeline showing open groups they’ve joined. Facebook says this is another way to show off their interests with others who visit their profile.
Facebook is taking steps to make it easier for users with its new Timeline to add movies, TV shows, and celebrities they like to their profiles, reaching an agreement with Rovi to use data from its Rovi Video database.
Facebook users who have ever started to type status updates or comments and then had second thoughts: You are not alone. According to a study by Carnegie Mellon University PhD Student Sauvik Das and Facebook Data Scientist Adam Kramer, 71 percent of the 3.9 million Facebook users profiled self-censored at least one post or comment over a 17-day period.
Not everyone is a fan of Facebook’s post-sorting algorithm, which determines News Feed placement based on with whom users would be most likely to engage. But if you’re trying to see more of your best friend’s Facebook posts, or fewer from a habitual oversharer, there is a way to set these preferences.
