Hasta La Gadget!

After landing itself in hot water with the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) and Hamburg’s Data Protection Authority (DPA), Facebook has deleted all of its European photo tagging facial recognition data. After reviewing the company’s source code and deletion process, DPC spokesperson Ciara O’Sullivan confirmed today that the regulatory agency was satisfied with the social network’s compliance. Additional removal confirmation came from Hamburg’s DPC’s technical department, which also reviewed the firm’s software to ensure that its standards were met. In a recent comment to CFO World, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed that the data had been deleted and that the social network has no plans to reinstate facial recognition software in Europe anytime soon. No word on whether Facebook will now purchase sadface.com for… oh, $80 million or so.

Filed under: Software, Facebook

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Source: CFO World

If Google+ wants any chance of beating the social media juggernaut that is Facebook — especially after the latter’s latest efforts in the search arena — it needs to reach a far wider audience than it does now. The Mountain View company has just made a small but significant step in that direction with the availability of its G+ iOS app to 48 more countries and territories, according to a G+ post by engineer Frank Petterson. The countries listed — Bermuda, Cambodia, Malawi and Nepal, just to name a few — aren’t necessarily known for their large populations, but we’re sure Google will accept anything that’ll help Larry Page make his case against Zuckerberg and crew. To find out which new areas will let you download that G+ app from the App Store, check out the source below.

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Source: Google+

Facebook this morning announced “Graph Search,” a way to search all of Facebook’s content for queries tailored to your profile. CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained the search by saying, “Graph Search is meant to answer very specific questions like ‘Who are my friends in San Francisco?” In a video released by Facebook just after the announcement, project lead Lars Rasmussen (formerly of Google Maps / Waves fame) related a story about needing a dentist in a town he’d just moved to, and being able to search through which dentists his friends used for a tailored result. Worry not, privacy protectors: we’re told Graph Search is “privacy aware;” Facebook’s even dedicated 10 percent of its computing power just to the goal of ensuring privacy. And no, none of your privacy settings will automatically change as a result of signing up or using Graph Search.

It’s being touted as a return to Facebook’s roots, when the company’s main goal was forging connections between people (rather than, say, a gaming portal, or a means for companies to advertise). Graph Search is essentially a relaunch of Facebook’s internal search engine, allowing its already existing users to forge new relationships with folks they may not otherwise meet, and to find content that’s hyper-specific. The beta — albeit in a limited, English-only capacity — kicks off today. During that period only a “subset of content” is available through search, with four primary areas of focus: people, photos, places, and interests. Facebooks says Graph Search will expand, “over the coming months,” with additions like searchable wall posts and song listens (only if your privacy settings allow those things to be searchable, that is).

You can head right here to get whitelisted for the beta, which is apparently rolling out “very slowly.” Or you could head past the break right now for the full PR from Facebook and a walkthrough video, as well as a slew of updates from our liveblog.

Continue reading Facebook launching ‘Graph Search’ personalized social search engine, beta starts today (video)

Filed under: Internet, Software, Facebook

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We’ve all heard stories about people losing jobs over their Facebook activity, but the Social Jobs Partnership is an initiative aimed at achieving the reverse. The project sees the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), the DirectEmployers Association and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies working with Facebook to launch the Social Jobs Application today. The app helps recruiters reach Facebook’s considerable audience, while also introducing a professional stream to the site. Prospective employers can list vacancies by industry, location, and skill, and there’s already a bunch of recruitment sites on board, including BranchOut, DirectEmployers Association, Work4Labs, Jobvite and Monster.com. At launch, there are 1.7 million jobs up for grabs. A NACE survey recently highlighted that many recruiters are already leveraging the social platform to find staff, so a partnership to further facilitate the process seemed a natural progression. Missing the daily challenge of a 9-to-5, or just fancy a different one? Head down to the source, and update that resumé (but be sure to check your photo privacy settings first).

Filed under: Internet, Facebook

Social Jobs Partnership launches Facebook app, 1.7 million positions to be filled originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Nov 2012 13:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While you might use Firefox to access your social media of choice already, preliminary support for a new API has been introduced that could integrate key features into the browser itself. The aptly named Social API, will allow developers to embed services into the browser directly, letting you interact with friends and stay updated without having to open new windows, or keep hopping into different tabs. There’s no solid info just yet on how this will manifest itself, or how issues such as security and privacy might be addressed, but with testing beginning soon, we’re expecting the curtain to lift on the finer details soon. Interested developers can head to the source, for the other billion, you’ll just have to wait.

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile

Firefox introduces preliminary support for Social API, brings your networks into the browser originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 10:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Mozilla (Blog), Mozilla (Dev Blog)  | Email this | Comments