Hasta La Gadget!

Ever wondered why those crazy fools at Facebook think it’s a good idea to meddle with the timeline, or how you chat? Well you can blame yourself. Probably. The social network’s Director of Engineering, Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, reveals all in a recent blog post. By first explaining that the site evolves in a two-step process, “technology pushes people to move forward and then people move past technology and it has to catch up,” we can start to understand why constant user testing of new, often multiple, solutions is required. Boz goes on to explain that by using select groups, or even nations, the efficacy new features can not only be quickly, and solidly determined, it can actually supplant the need for weeks of boardroom debate. He goes on to say that the odds are that everyone on Facebook has been part of a test at some point. Curious to know more about the process, or just feeling a little bit used? Head over to the source link for the full post / comment thread.

Filed under: Internet

Facebook’s Director of Engineering explains how you’re part of the dev team originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 08:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  Facebook’s Engineering Blog  | Email this | Comments

Klout is a system that measures the amount of influence you have online by measuring data from social media websites and other metrics. It comes with benefits and rewards because the higher your Klout score, the better are your chances to score bigger perks and sponsorships.

In an effort to get more people to join the Klout side, the start-up decided to run this campaign in San Francisco where party goers with high Klout scores got special treatment at the Playhouse Nightclub.

Clubbers who came with a Klout score of 50 and above (where you’re deemed as “being a thought leader in your specific business” were treated as the real VIPs at the club.

If you’re a geek with a high Klout score, then this is your time to shine at the club.

[via Pop Up City]

Google announced today that it has purchased Wildfire, a social media marketing startup. Wildfire is only four years old, and since its inception its been helping businesses keep track of their presence across various social networking sites, including Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. Neither company is talking about how much Google paid for Wildfire, but AllThingsD says that sources close to the deal reckon the amount is somewhere around $250 million.

Both companies are also being a little unclear about what Wildfire will be doing at Google, but it isn’t hard to guess. Google will want to incorporate Wildfire into its social marketing efforts, and Wildfire will likely become an invaluable tool for Google when it comes to expanding those efforts. That being said, Wildfire users can rest assured that the company will continue to offer its current services, as Wildfire says “there will be no changes to our service and support for our customers.”

On the Official Google Blog, Product Management Director Jason Miller said that this team up between the search giant and Wildfire will result in more businesses getting involved with their customers. “The ultimate goal is better and fresher content, and more meaningful interactions,” Miller wrote. “People today can make their voices heard in ways that were previously impossible, and Wildfire helps businesses uphold their end of the conversation (or spark a new one).”

We can probably expect Wildfire to help Google with the ongoing development of Google Plus at first, but really, the exact plan is only known by those at Wildfire and Google. This isn’t the first time Google has attempted to buy a company that focuses on social marketing, however, so you can bet that Google has a plan for Wildfire already formed and ready to be carried out. Stay tuned, because this could turn out to be a major win for the big G.

Google announces Wildfire acquisition is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If Google’s angle is that it actually works really well, Bing’s is that it’s a “social search engine.” And the latter’s new Friend Tagging feature lives up to that promise, tapping the social network you actually use to aide your search results. More »

Things just went from bad to worse for some of the folks at Zynga. Earlier this week the company delivered a less-than-stellar quarterly financial report, and now Ars Technica is reporting that some executives and shareholders are under investigation for dumping over $500 million in stock before the bad news hit and Zynga’s stock price took a dive. In other words, a few Zynga higher-ups could be in a whole lot of trouble.

The word “could” is key here, as you naturally can’t get in trouble for just selling off your shares. What five law firms want to find out, however, is whether or not these people sold off their stock with the knowledge that a bad quarterly report was on the way. The sell-off evidently occurred back in April, when Zynga’s stock was selling at $12 per share. These days, thanks in part to that underwhelming report for Q2, it’s selling at only $3 per share, so you can see why law firms are interested in the circumstances surrounding the sell-off.

Some of Zynga’s biggest players are being investigated, including CEO Mark Pincus, COO John Schappert, and CFO Dave Wehner. Strange as it may seem, Google is also included in this investigation, along with a number of venture capital firms. Zynga has yet to be hit with a lawsuit, but Ars points out that with so many law firms conducting the investigation, it may not belong before the company finds itself dealing with a class-action lawsuit from investors. If that happens, it’ll be nothing but bad news for the social games maker, so stay tuned.

Zynga hit with investigation over questionable stock sell-off is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.