Facebook‘s founder Mark Zuckerberg has introduced Internet.org, a partnership that spans the globe with a goal of connecting the entire world to the Internet. The collective encompasses many big name members, among them being Samsung, Nokia, and Opera, all of whom will work together to connect the two-thirds of the world that don’t have access […]
Facebook and several other companies announced the Internet.org initiative tonight to bring connectivity to 5 billion people, but how are Zuckerberg and friends going to do it? As laid out in the Facebook founder’s “Is Connectivity A Human Right?” plan, part of the process includes making technological changes. A big part of that is delivering data more efficiently, and making sure apps use less of it. First on the chopping block is Facebook’s own app, which used an average of 12MB of data earlier this year but the company thinks it can cut to 1MB per day “simply by improving data usage.” Beyond that, more savings are possible if Facebook offers a variant with fewer photos in developing countries.
Other methods for using less data include caching and data compression, with the former already in use on its featurephone app, and the latter something partners like Opera have a lot of experience in. In the future, Zuckerberg speculates users could even download stories or photos from nearby friends using technology like WiFi Direct. All of this is done with the aim of reducing the bandwidth needed for basic internet services, thereby making access “affordable and available” to more people. Hit the source link for more details on the hows and whys, we’ll be expecting our more efficient social network any day now.
Filed under: Internet, Mobile, Facebook
Source: Is Connectivity A Human Right? (PDF), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook)
In either a selfless bid to change the world or an unsurprising play to get another billion users on Facebook, good ol’ Zuckerberg has announced a new initiative called Internet.org that teams up Facebook with Samsung, Nokia, Qualcomm and Ericsson to somehow make the Internet available to the entire world. There aren’t any balloons involved like Google’s Project Loon
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Google’s strategy for bringing internet access to underserved areas involves giant balloons, but Facebook’s leans more on collaboration. The social network has founded Internet.org along with Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Samsung and Qualcomm, and is setting the partnership’s sights on making sure the two-thirds of the world that doesn’t have internet access gets the proper hookup. Zuckerberg and friends aren’t ready for a complete show-and-tell of their plans just yet, but they’ve outlined some of their goals: making access affordable, using data more efficiently and lending businesses a hand so they can increase access.
When it comes to cost cutting, the group aims to develop and use tech that allows for cheaper connectivity, such as affordable high-quality smartphones. As for data efficiency, the team may investigate compression tools and caching systems to help ease the load on fledgling networks. In fact, Facebook is already working on reducing its Android app’s daily data usage from 12MB a day to just 1MB. Lastly, the organization intends to look into sustainable business models that sweeten the pot for everyone from developers to mobile operators to pitch in for the cause. Connecting roughly 5 billion people to the web is a tall order by any standard, but Facebook and Co. are drawing inspiration from their successful Open Compute Project to give themselves a fighting chance. Zuck’s scheduled to talk up the alliance on CNN tomorrow morning, but you can head past the break for a video from Internet.org that tugs at the heart strings.
Filed under: Internet, Facebook
Via: The New York Times
Source: Facebook (1), (2), (3), Internet.org
Like many developers, Instagram defends itself against clone apps and other clear abuses of its image. However, the photo-focused social network is now cracking down on subtler variations of its branding. The company has updated its brand guidelines to forbid Instagram-compatible services from including “insta” or “gram” in their names; they also can’t use modifications of Instagram’s signature logo. These similar-looking offerings could be mistaken for officially endorsed products, according to Instagram. The firm isn’t taking any offenses lightly, either. In a notice to Luxogram that was obtained by TechCrunch, Instagram asked for a response to its concerns within 48 hours, and required both logo and name changes within a “reasonable period.” Given the abundance of third-party developers that lean on the Instagram name to lure customers, the tougher policy could spark some confusion as companies rebrand their services en masse.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Facebook
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Instagram
When Facebook launched Video on Instagram, some were quick to dig an early grave for Vine — Twitter’s video-only app was surely doomed, right? Wrong. Twitter just revealed that Vine now has over 40 million registered users, or more than triple the 13 million users it claimed before its Android app launch in early June. Twitter hasn’t said how many of the new members run Android, but it’s clear that Google’s platform contributed significantly to the increase. Whether or not Vine maintains its pace is another matter. While Instagram frequently reports active users, the Vine team isn’t as specific; there’s a chance that some of those 40 million account holders tried Vine and promptly abandoned it. Still, the much larger audience suggests that there’s room for more than one short-form mobile video service.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Facebook
Via: Marketing Land
Source: Vine (Twitter)
We reported a couple of days ago that a self-titled Palestinian “IT Expert” had discovered a bug in Facebook that allowed him to post on anybody’s wall. He had reported that bug to Facebook through the social network’s bug reporting tool, but he received a nonchalant response telling him that his discovery was not a bug. To prove a point this IT expert, Khalil Shreateh, went ahead and left a post on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s wall. Within minutes, he was contacted by a security engineer from Facebook and the bug was fixed. Facebook pays a bounty of at least $500 to researchers who report bugs, they denied him the bounty because according to them Shreateh had violated Facebook’s terms and conditions by posting on a user’s wall without their consent. The internet doesn’t seem to be happy about this, a $10,000 crowdfunding campaign has been launched for Shreateh. Within 24 hours, and as of this writing, the campaign has received $9,215 in donations.
The campaign was initiated by Marc Maiffret, the CTO at Beyond Trust, a security compliance company. He says that the campaign is a message to security researchers around the world that they “appreciate the efforts they make for the good of everyone.” Technically, Shreateh did violate the terms and conditions by posting on a user’s wall who didn’t have him in his friends’ list, thus no consent was given. Though the bug could have been sold online to hackers and spammers who might have used it to spread spam across Facebook. They could have created a lot of havoc. Should Facebook bend the rules this time and recognize as well as reward Shreateh for his discovery?
$10k Crowdfunding For Man Behind Facebook Vulnerability Discovery original content from Ubergizmo. 
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You might remember that Facebook delivered a major update to its iOS SDK in April that packed a ton of new features, including much stronger Open Graph integration. Now Android is finally being blessed with the same capabilities. The brand new Facebook for Android SDK brings not only simplified Open Graph integration, but native sharing tools, streamlined native logins and improved in-app event tools. The latter even enables devs to collect data about when events are triggered and how often, then use that information to help them better understand how their apps are being used. Facebook is also promising that new features will be added to its abilities to provide insight and targeting data to developers. If you’re not creating apps, but just using them, you won’t notice much change initially, except, perhaps, for the shiny new “Log In with Facebook” button.
Filed under: Software, Facebook
Source: Facebook
Bing today announced the launch of its Homepage App on Facebook. Bing has partnered up with Discovery to launch a new contest for photographers of all levels. Called Bing’s Hometown Homepage Photo Contest, those interested can make their submissions to the Bing Homepage app on Facebook between today and September 3rd. Images that highlight and capture the beauty of one’s hometown are being sought. Bing will then announce the top ten finalists on September 10th after which it will allow fans to vote for their favorites on Facebook.
The picture that gets the most votes will be named the winner. The picture itself will be showcased on Bing’s homepage on October 1st along with the photographer. That’s not all, the winner will also receive a new Nokia Lumia 1020 smartphone, a canvas of the winning photo and free membership of 500px. It doesn’t end here, on the same day Bing and The Nature Conservancy will celebrate the winner’s contribution by hosting a day of service in their hometown. So if you might have snapped a picture once that captures the beauty of your hometown or shows off a special landmark in all its beauty, its definitely worth making that submission. Who knows, maybe your picture might get selected to become Bing’s homepage on October 1st.
Bing Homepage App Launched On Facebook, Photo Contest Kicks Off original content from Ubergizmo. 
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A hacker who goes by the name of Khalil says he was forced to submit a bug report via Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook wall today after his attempts to submit through traditional means were ignored. The Palestinian information system expert says he found a vulnerability in Facebook’s security system that wall posts from non-friends. The security […]
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