Hasta La Gadget!

Worry not, BlackBerry folk. Facebook hasn’t completely forgotten about you. Earlier today, The Official BlackBerry Blog let it be known that Zuckerberg’s social network had pushed out version 3.2 of its friendly application on the platform. With the new features bundled in this release, the Facebook app should make it easier to keep up with your internet-based interactions, giving you the ability to finally sync birthday reminders (and other notifications) with the native BlackBerry calendar. That’s not it, however, events have also been improved and will now allow you to receive alerts, post messages and check out guest profiles — you know, in case you’re feeling extra creepy nosey. We’re not seeing Facebook’s refreshed goods show up in BlackBerry App World just yet, though it shouldn’t be too long before it makes an appearance and can be downloaded to your device.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

Facebook’s latest update to BlackBerry app brings improved notifications and reminders originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 23:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s common knowledge by now that Facebook‘s stock could be doing a whole lot better. Its stock price has been consistently falling ever since Facebook’s IPO in May, partly over investor concerns that the company wasn’t doing enough to make money from mobile users. Yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg got up on stage at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference, making his first appearance since Facebook went public. His discussion was filled with admissions of failure, but Zuckerberg also looked toward the future, talking about what Facebook is going to do to turn its fortunes in the mobile arena around.

Some of that is already underway, but for the most part, Zuckerberg‘s plans for the future of Facebook on mobile devices have yet to play out. Still, his optimism during his appearance yesterday seems to have inspired something in Facebook’s investors, as the company’s stock price actually climbed a bit today. Mercury News says that Facebook’s stock climbed $1.50 today, ending the day at $20.93. That means that Facebook’s stock has made gains two days in a row, as the company’s stock price also rose slightly on Tuesday in anticipation of Zuckerberg’s appearance.

That $1.50 gain resulted in Facebook’s market share growing by a whopping $4 billion in a single day, which is definitely a big win for the company. That gain is needed to, as Facebook’s stock has slipped quite far from its initial $38 price, falling to as low as $18 last week. It seems that investors like Zuckerberg’s plan for the future, so now all he needs to do is stick to it and things should begin looking up on a more regular basis.

That’s easier said than done, however, and Zuckerberg and the rest of the people at Facebook definitely have their work cut out for them. One thing is for sure though: Zuckerberg knows where Facebook went wrong in the mobile space, and now we’re seeing him get serious about turning it around. Stay tuned, because this could be a big turning point for the struggling social network.

Facebook stock rises after Zuckerberg’s comments on mobile is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The military has had a difficult time controlling accidental leaks of information and details by soldiers who use social networks and other online methods to communicate with friends and loved ones back home. A report has surfaced claiming that the Taliban has been using fake Facebook profiles of cute girls to try and the friend soldiers with the intent of gathering information about military operations. The military has warned soldiers in the past against the wanting any details that could identify their location on social networks.

At some points, soldiers have even been banned from accessing certain websites. The reports indicate that both Australian and coalition troops are being targeted by insurgents that pose as attractive woman on Facebook. The report also says the troops are being warned about the potential danger. One concern for the military is that Facebook’s geo-tagging of images uploaded from smartphones, tablets and other devices is a special concern.

Another concern raised by military leaders is that friends and families of soldiers could be inadvertently compromising mission by sharing confidential information online without realizing it. Something along the line of a simple post offering details on an area where a friend or loved one is operating could be just the sort of intel enemy forces are looking for.

[via Fox News]

Facebook’s Instagram acquisition has been completed, the $1bn deal that saw the huge social network snatch up the mobile photo service, and it comes as Instagram passes the 5bn photos mark. The deal, announced back in April, was mired in no small amount of regulatory attention, but has been finalized today, with both firms keen to point out that Instagram will retain a fair degree of independence.

“While our team is making the short move to the Facebook offices, Instagram isn’t going anywhere” the company said today. ”The Instagram app and its features will stay the same one you know and love, and we’ll keep working together to build a better Instagram for everyone.”

The message from Facebook, meanwhile, is similar. “As we said from the beginning, we are committed to building and growing Instagram independently” Facebook VP of Engineering Mike Schroepfer said in a statement today. ”Instagram will continue to serve its community, and we will help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook’s strong engineering team and infrastructure. We also can’t wait to work with the talented Instagram team to improve the mobile experience.”

That mobile experience could well see Instagram’s app knowledge better shape Facebook’s smartphone plans. The social site has long been rumored to be working on a smartphone of its own, modifying an Android core with a custom layer putting a focus on HTML5 apps as well as sharing.

Facebook’s $1bn Instagram deal finalized is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It only makes sense that Google Map Maker, a tool built around the internet community’s map data, would eventually make it easy to share with that community. As of a low-profile update, Map Maker fans who also have Google+ identities can directly spread their Google Maps changes and reviews among their circles. Naturally, Google sees it as an important collaboration tool: update a shop location or a street, and nearby friends can fill in any missing details. The process is very nearly a one-click affair, so get to spreading the word if the local map is lacking.

Filed under: Internet

Google Map Maker adds Google+ sharing, spurs on communal world building originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 00:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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