Facebook Increases Privacy Requirements for Applications

The Associated Press reported on Wednesday that Facebook is rolling out a new security feature to help give users more security that their private information will not be misused. The new feature requires outside applications and websites to tell users exactly what parts of their profile they need to access in order to work.

In the past, applications had to ask for permission before accessing private profile information but there were no requirements about stating exactly why they needed such information. This information can include photos, friends’ birthdays or e-mail addresses.

The rollout of the new security feature is being done in cooperation with Canada’s privacy commissioner, who was among the first and most vocal critics of Facebook’s recent privacy policy changes. The decision to change the privacy policy for applications was first announced in April.

Facebook Fans Valuable Consumers

Facebook consumers who are fans of a brand are more valuable to organizations than regular Facebook users, according to a new study from Syncapse Corp. The study revealed that on average fans spend an additional $71.84 on products for which they are fans compared to those who are not fans. In addition, the study found that fans are 28 percent more likely than non-fans to continue using the band, and 41 percent more likely than non-fans to recommend a fanned product to their Facebook friends.

According to Syncapse, the information suggests the importance of the audience on short-term and long-term marketing efforts of an organization.

“Facebook fans represent a significant opportunity to drive revenue enhancement, brand, and loyalty without incurring the considerable cost-per-person of conventional marketing. More importantly, such Facebook strategies allow for a discernable ROI that is not allowed by most other approaches,” Syncapse said.

Facebook Users Can Now “Like” Comments

Facebook has launched a new “Like” feature that allows users to express approval for comments on posts in the same way as they do on the post itself. According to the company blog post, the “Like” feature and the ability to comment on News Feed stories are the two most heavily-used features on the site. Facebook decided to combine these features.

“Whether it’s a witty remark, a great point in a discussion or a helpful answer to someone’s question, clicking the ‘Like’ button within comments now makes it simple to show your appreciation for all types of content on Facebook,” wrote Facebook’s Tom Whitnah.

Facebook will be rolling out the new feature gradually, reminding users that if they don’t see the button yet, they will soon.

Facebook Partners with National PTA to Promote Safe Internet Use

In an effort to promote responsible and safe Internet use to kids, parents and teachers, Facebook announced today a formal partnership with the National PTA. Both organizations plan to develop a special program to provide information, support and news “to encourage citizenship online, reduce cyberbullying and advance Internet safety and security.”

According to the announcement, the National PTA plans to use its website to reach out to the 24,000 local PTAs across the country while Facebook plans to raise awareness to its users through an in-kind commitment equivalent to $1 million.

“Nothing is more important to us than the safety and well being of the people, especially the many teenagers, who use Facebook,” said Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer at Facebook. “Only through the constant and concerted effort of parents, teachers, law enforcement and industry can we keep kids safe and help them develop into tomorrow’s leaders. We are proud to be working with National PTA toward that goal.”

Facebook Updates Analytics for Websites, Applications and Pages

Facebook has launched an improved Insights Dashboard, a free service designed to provide Facebook Page owners and Facebook Platform developers with metrics around their content. More data is now available for fully-integrated sites (and those that use social plug-ins), applications (including canvas, mobile, device, and desktop applications) and Facebook Pages.

According to Facebook, the new Insights Dashboard can help businesses understand what their “audience finds most interesting and capitalize on that content.” For example, a business can now view analytics around specific stories that were liked on a website, or how many users commented on posts made on a page.

Along with benefiting businesses, the new Insights Dashboard offers helpful features for domain administrators and application administrators including new visualization tools and the ability to view the full screen, print and save graphs. Domain administrators can use the platform to access sharing metrics and demographic information per domain and URL, making it easy to optimize content for sharing and customize it to a target audience.

Application administrators can use Insights to find “feedback for stream stories, referral traffic to an application, a breakdown of what user actions contribute to active user count, demographics on authorized users and active users, and the number of times permissions are prompted and granted.”

George W. Bush Facebook Page Gets 62,000 Fans on First Day

Even though he might have left the White House as one of the least popular presidents in recent history, apparently George W. Bush still has plenty of online friends. The Daily Mail reports that Bush attracted 62,000 fans for his Facebook page in the first day of its launch. So far, the page has been updated twice, both times in the third person - indicating that someone other than Bush has written the updates.

That still hasn’t stopped people from signing up to be the former president’s friend. The vast majority of the comments on Bush’s Facebook page have been very supportive, such as one that read “You are a great man we miss you very much.” However, others have not been so kind - some people are clearly becoming “fans” just to rip him. One comment from a person doing this read that “I miss him like I miss smallpox.”

Facebook Confirms Developer Accounts

Facebook is now requiring every developer to verify his or her Facebook account in order to create new applications. According to the Facebook Developer Blog, the company is taking this step to “preserve the integrity of Facebook Platform, ensuring that every application is associated with a valid and real Facebook account.”

In response to the new procedure, The Los Angeles Times reports that according to several security researchers, including experts at Sophos, Trend Micro and Kaspersky, the new program is not strong enough to “thwart the onslaught of rogue apps on Facebook.”

Still, as security evangelist t Ryan Naraine of Kaspersky told the LA Times, at least it is a “step in the right direction.”

“Quit Facebook” Campaign Fizzles Out

For all of the hubbub about the “Quit Facebook” campaign, Mashable reports that the actual impact was very minimal. According to the site, Monday was designated as “Quit Facebook Day” by people who are dissatisfied with Facebook’s recent changes to its privacy policy. However, only 34,000 people had actually vowed to leave Facebook permanently on Monday. This number does not show how many people said they would quit but didn’t or who signed up but never intended to quit.

As Mashable points out, the relative failure of the “Quit Facebook” campaign doesn’t mean that people aren’t concerned about potential privacy and safety issues with Facebook. It merely shows that Facebook has become an integrated part of people’s daily lives and something that most people are not willing to simply walk away from. While Facebook has sustained some PR damage from the dust-up over their privacy changes, it appears that it is a minor blip on the radar screen of the company’s move towards online ubiquity.

Facebook Announces New Privacy Controls

In response to the growing number of users who have expressed disapproval of Facebook’s current privacy laws, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced today that the company will be adding simpler privacy controls in the coming weeks. In a letter published in the Washington Post, Zuckerberg said that Facebook plans to roll out an easier way to turn off all third-party services.

According to Zuckerberg, the company has also received feedback that many users are concerned over how their personal information “is used and worry that it is shared in ways they don’t want.” In response to these concerns, Zuckerberg outlined Facebook’s principles:

• “You have control over how your information is shared.”
• “We do not share your personal information with people or services you don’t want.”
• “We do not give advertisers access to your personal information.”
• “We do not and never will sell any of your information to anyone.”

Are Facebook Plans to Revamp Privacy Policies Too Late?

PC Magazine reported on Friday that Facebook is planning to implement changes to its privacy policies that will make them easier to understand. However, the report also suggests that the changes might not be enough to satisfy the company’s growing number of critics.

Facebook released a statement which said that it had received a “pretty clear” message from users that they “appreciate having precise and comprehensive controls, but want them to be simpler and easier to use. They also like the new programs we have rolled out, but want simple and easy ways to opt out of sharing personal information with applications and Web sites through Facebook Platform.” The statement also said that Facebook would be implementing the feedback in changes to be announced “shortly.”

However, many critics are concerned that the changes won’t go far enough to alleviate concerns about Facebook’s sharing of user information. The announcement by Facebook comes on the heels of a poll by U.K.-based security firm Sophos which showed that 60 percent of almost 1,600 respondents are either “highly likely” or “probable” to quit Facebook over privacy concerns, while another 16 percent said that they already have.

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