Hasta La Gadget!

Carnegie Mellon University performed a seven-year study on Facebook and its users. Researchers from Carnegie Mellon studied data from 5,076 Facebook users from 2005 to 2011 to analyze the correlation between changes in Facebook’s privacy features and user’s sharing their information. The study showed that every time Facebook improved its privacy features for users, users would actually share more information with their friends as well as 3rd party developers and advertisers.

According to the study, from 2005-2009, Facebook users were very picky about the information they shared on their news feed. At the end of 2009, Facebook had changed its settings, and users, who the study say were presumably confused by the new settings, ending up sharing more information on their news feed and their profiles. When timeline was introduced in 2011, people started sharing even more data due to the number of added information fields available, like milestones and history.

Jules Polonetsky, director/co-chair of the Future of Privacy Forum, stated, “I think the study shows Facebook users have reached a reasonable equilibrium now that there is far less data being shared publicly and much more interactions with your friends, which is a good thing.” In a separate study, researchers found that 222,000 posts by Facebook users made over a course of a month were able to reach 61% of the people on their friend’s list.

It shouldn’t be surprising that when Facebook implements more privacy options, users feel more safe to share their personal information. The privacy features allow people to freely share their thoughts and photos without the fear of there being a maniac out there stalking them. With the news feed being redesigned frequently, it also entices users to test out the new features and see how they like it, even if they initially hate it.

[via ABC News]

Facebook study shows users are engaging more with friends is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Whenever you’re out with friends and you want to check in on Foursquare, the process can actually take longer than you really want it to. After all, it takes precious time away from chatting with your friends. However, Foursquare knows the feeling and has updated its iOS app today with a new tap-and-hold check-in feature.

To make checking in faster, all you have to do is press the check-in button at the top-right to bring up a list of places that are nearby. When you see the place that you’re currently at, just tap and hold on it to complete the check-in process — simple and quick! This is also great if you just want to check in, rather than also adding a photo or a status. The old way of checking in will still work, though.

Foursquare also guesses the place that you’re at by lowering down a blue bar that you can tap to check in. You can also tap and hold on the bar to quickly check in, making it literally a one-tap process. Plus, Foursquare is usually good at guessing the place that you’re at based on your GPS location, so checking in should be a super quick process now.

This has been a much-needed feature for Foursquare power users, and while it doesn’t take a lot of time to check in the old-fashioned way, any new way that’s quicker than before is always welcomed. Foursquare has been updating its mobile apps quite frequently lately, and we should expect the same kind of attention from them in the future if they want to keep users happy.

Foursquare for iOS updates with new tap-and-hold check-in feature is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Google has been working hard to keep its Google+ social network going strong, and the company announced a few small updates today that make for some big changes, literally. Google+ now offers larger cover photos, which can be displayed at 16:9 when fully viewed, and the service supports up to a 2120 x 1192 resolution for cover photos.

Google’s Sara McKinley announced the news this morning, and said that the larger cover photos allow more images to be used as cover photos, and “there’s more room for your selection to shine.” On top of that update, there’s also a new “Local reviews” tab that will sit alongside your photos, +1′s and YouTube videos, and will also allow you to highlight your favorite local establishments. You can also hide the tab in settings if you don’t think you’ll use it.

Google also introduced a new an easier way to edit your info on your Google+ profile. The “About” tab now consists of “separate cards (like Story, Places, and Links).” Each card has its own edit link for easier and quicker editing, and as always, Google reminds you that you can still share specific fields with specific circles.

These changes and updates are rolling out gradually, so if you’re not seeing the updates now, you’ll have to wait a little bit in order to see them. Today’s updates are small changes, indeed, but the larger cover photos definitely make profiles more prominent, and the addition of the Local reviews tab means that you can share your favorite hot spots around town.

Google+ updates with larger cover photos, new “Local reviews” tab is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Facebook has no doubt been focusing more and more on mobile platforms. Granted, it took them a while to come around to the idea of a native iPad app, but the social network has apps on all the major mobile platforms now, and the company is constantly adding and updating mobile features. Where’s all this effort coming from, though? An intensive training program that started last year.

Speaking with Engadget, Facebook’s director of mobile engineering, Mike Shaver, explained how Facebook made the transition to focusing more on the mobile platform. The social network ended up starting an intensive training program in July of last year to inform and train employees on coding native apps for Android and iOS.

The training program consists of five straight days of training for eight hours per day — a typical work week — and anyone who completes the 40-hour training program can move onto actually start writing code for mobile apps. So far, 450 Facebook employees have completed the training, most of which are engineers, but designers, product managers, and other employees can take the training course as well.

Essentially, the training program is to get Facebook employees to develop a “mobile first” mentality, and it’s also the company’s plan to build “mobile empathy” among its employees. Facebook wants a majority of its employees with mobile app developing skills and experience, so while that may seem like a good thing to put on your resume, Facebook thinks its old hat.

[via Engadget]

Facebook’s focus on mobile comes from intensive training program is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It seems that Facebook is on its way out from the Teen community. Many teens are moving more towards social media platforms like Instagram (conveniently owned by Facebook) and SnapChat. It’s most likely because of Instagram/SnapChat’s appealing user-friendly mobile apps (Facebook for Android still needs work), and because of teenagers’ obsession with sharing photos. Some teenagers only use Facebook as a last resort when they get bored of their other social media apps.

Adam Ludwin, developer of a social photo album app entitled Albumatic, interviewed a group of people under the age of 25 about his app, and a majority of the people he asked stated that they disliked the apps reliance on Facebook. Ludwin stated, “They gave me the typical teenage response. We’re bored with Facebook.”

It also seems that Facebook is very aware of this problem. In Facebook’s annual 10-K report, it stated, “We believe that some of our users, particular our younger users, are aware of and are actively engaging with other products and services similar to, or as a substitute for, Facebook.” The statement continues on by saying that its business could be harmed due to its users lack of interest in its service.

It’s normal for teens to quickly move onto the next “it” thing. It’s very impressive that Facebook became so popular with teens for as long as it did. Perhaps Facebook will find a new way to bring back teens to its service. Otherwise, it’ll join the masses of other left-behind services, like AOL Instant Messenger, Xanga, and MySpace. While those services are still alive and still have a user-base, they just aren’t the way they used to be “back in the day”.

[via Business Insider]

Facebook no longer appealing to teens is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.