What a Facebook redesign looks like IRL

YOU think the constant updates to Facebook's layout and settings are annoying, it could be worse, it could be real life.

A group of comedians in the US have envisioned exactly what that would be like.

What if your comfy two seater couch was replaced with a chair and your TV downgraded to make space for a bookshelf you don't need?

And what if when you open the door to your bedroom you find high-school friends you haven't seen in years rifling through your private stuff with people you've never met before.

And then there's that one creepy guy who just continually pokes you.

Pretty damn stressful, right?

The YouTube video highlights the reality of life on Facebook while at the same time throwing its importance into stark contrast.

It was uploaded less than a day ago and has already received almost 52,500 views.

We suppose the moral of the story is that Facebook's settings are pretty poor, but it could be worse.

View the original article here

Facebook street party turns violent

A street party posted on Facebook became unruly and police had to be called when crowds swelled to about 200. Source: AP

A STREET party posted on social media site Facebook drew a crowd of 200 and become violent.

Two teenagers may face charges over the street party on West Street at Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast that went out of control when the address was posted on Facebook, goldcoast.com.au reported.

HORSE OWNERS 'BULLIED' BY POLICE ON FACEBOOK

The party, which began at 7pm on Saturday, struck fear into residents of the street who called the police when crowd began to swell and become violent.

Many of the teens refused to move on, instead abusing police officers who responded to complaints from neighbours.

A police spokesman said the gathering was arranged through posts on social media.

JURY GETTING OFF THEIR FACEBOOKS

"Police were called to reports of a large disturbance in West St about 7pm," he said.

"Several liquor infringement notices were handed out on the spot to teenagers drinking underage and in public.

"A 15-year-old and a 16-year-old are assisting police with their inquiries. No charges have been laid at this time."

A West St resident, who would not be named, said the large group of young people was swearing, smashing bottles and fighting.

"People were scared to leave their houses. It is an issue police need to crack down on," she said.

"I have noticed groups of teens loitering around the streets and drinking in public a lot lately. Something needs to be done to deter them."

Locals say loitering youths is a growing problem in Burleigh and a prime reason the suburb needs a police beat presence.

Read the full story at goldcoast.com.au

View the original article here

Facebook girlfriend lured teen to bashing

A YOUNG man has been jailed while his co-accused walked free from court after luring a teenager to a Brisbane park and bashing him so severely a shoe imprint was left on the victim.

In the District Court in Brisbane on Tuesday, prosecutor Julie Aylward told the court Kyle Andrew Crans, 22, and Tyrone Robert Cecil Drew, 19, "set upon" the 17-year-old victim in an isolated park in Banyo on September 7 2012.

The court heard Drew set up a fake Facebook account named Krystal Smith which had 78 friends and added the victim as a friend, forming a relationship with him online.

Drew, pretending to be Krystal Smith, invited the victim to dinner at a restaurant but never showed up.

Ms Aylward said this was done to "humiliate" the teenager, who was then invited by 'Krystal' to an isolated park later that night.

When the victim arrived, after more then three hours on public transport, he was stomped on, kicked and punched so hard by Crans and Drew that he passed out.

An imprint of a shoe was left on the victim's left shoulder from the attack.

The court heard the victim woke screaming for help and had been kicked when he was on all fours, shielding his head and pleading for the men to stop.

Ms Aylward told the court the pair had been drinking with friends when they decided to lure the victim to the park.

She said Crans told police Drew asked if the others wanted to go "help him kick some fella's head in".

Ms Aylward told the court the "beating" was "sustained, vicious, premeditated".

The teen victim spent several days in hospital following the attack, and had cuts and bruises on his head and body.

Judge Kiernan Dorney, QC, sentenced Drew to 18-months imprisonment with immediate parole for one count of acts occasioning bodily harm whilst in company.

He was also sentenced to a three-month sentence for stealing the victim's phone, which is to be served concurrently.

Crans was sentenced to 18-months in jail, with parole set for August 7 2013, for one count of assault occasioning bodily harm whilst in company.

The court heard a third man, Tamati Roboni Raukawa,"took the lead in the assault" but he will be sentenced separately at a later date.

View the original article here

Facebook friends to help unlock accounts

Facebook members locked out of their accounts will need security codes from three friends to get back in. Picture: Paul Sakuma Source: AP

FACEBOOK on Thursday began letting people locked out of their profiles get back in with the help of "friends."

A new Trusted Contacts account recovery feature lets Facebook users set up lists of friends who can provide codes to unlock accounts.

"With trusted contacts, there's no need to worry about remembering the answer to your security question or filling out long web forms to prove who you are," Facebook said in a security blog post.

"You can recover your account with help from your friends."

People can manage lists of trusted contacts using Facebook security settings. Members of the social network locked out of their accounts will need security codes from three friends to get back in, according to Facebook.

"Once you've set up your trusted contacts, if you ever have trouble logging in, you'll have your trusted contacts as an option to help," Facebook said.

"You just need to call your trusted contacts and let them know you need their help to regain access to your account."
 

View the original article here

Facebook friends to help unlock accounts

Facebook members locked out of their accounts will need security codes from three friends to get back in. Picture: Paul Sakuma Source: AP

FACEBOOK on Thursday began letting people locked out of their profiles get back in with the help of "friends."

A new Trusted Contacts account recovery feature lets Facebook users set up lists of friends who can provide codes to unlock accounts.

"With trusted contacts, there's no need to worry about remembering the answer to your security question or filling out long web forms to prove who you are," Facebook said in a security blog post.

"You can recover your account with help from your friends."

People can manage lists of trusted contacts using Facebook security settings. Members of the social network locked out of their accounts will need security codes from three friends to get back in, according to Facebook.

"Once you've set up your trusted contacts, if you ever have trouble logging in, you'll have your trusted contacts as an option to help," Facebook said.

"You just need to call your trusted contacts and let them know you need their help to regain access to your account."
 

View the original article here

Facebook friends to help unlock accounts

Facebook members locked out of their accounts will need security codes from three friends to get back in. Picture: Paul Sakuma Source: AP

FACEBOOK on Thursday began letting people locked out of their profiles get back in with the help of "friends."

A new Trusted Contacts account recovery feature lets Facebook users set up lists of friends who can provide codes to unlock accounts.

"With trusted contacts, there's no need to worry about remembering the answer to your security question or filling out long web forms to prove who you are," Facebook said in a security blog post.

"You can recover your account with help from your friends."

People can manage lists of trusted contacts using Facebook security settings. Members of the social network locked out of their accounts will need security codes from three friends to get back in, according to Facebook.

"Once you've set up your trusted contacts, if you ever have trouble logging in, you'll have your trusted contacts as an option to help," Facebook said.

"You just need to call your trusted contacts and let them know you need their help to regain access to your account."
 

View the original article here

Let's face it, we're over Facebook

Users with less time, coupled with an influx of advertising on Facebook has led to thousands of Australians abandoning the site, say experts. Source: AFP

• Facebook user numbers appear to drop
• Fatigue has set in, say social media experts
• 'Too many ads' on Facebook a turn-off

AUSTRALIANS are beginning to suffer from "Facebook fatigue" as new data shows almost 400,000 users have drifted away from the social network since December.

Figures collated from Facebook's publicly accessible ad tools, used by marketers and developers to determine audience reach, show the network's monthly active Australian users fell from about 11.8 million in December to just over 11.5 million in the past week.

The data collected by social media monitoring firm Social Bakers shows about 115,000 less people are logging on to Facebook each month since the new year, with the network losing about 390,000 active users overall.

A spokesperson for Facebook Australia  disputed the figures but refused to give any official user numbers, saying only that the network had 12 million monthly active Australian users at the end of 2012.

The spokesperson said numbers provided by Facebook's own ad tools system - which earlier this week cited its Australian user base as just over 11.5 million - were only an "estimate".

Social media marketing expert at the Queensland University of Technology Business School, Professor Larry Neale, said there had also been a decline in Facebook users in North America and Europe, as "Facebook fatigue" sweeps the globe.

"When Facebook was starting up they got a lot of people on and it was very novel, but the novelty has worn off a little bit, so now people are scaling back use," he said.

"How long people spend on there now has plateaued. There is that element of fatigue."

Prof Neale said the decline could also be attributed to Facebook members of three or more years drifting away from the network as they discover they no longer have time for it.

"Maybe when they started on Facebook they were in university but now they're in the workforce and they don't have the time to spend on it anymore, or they don't think it's the right way to be spending that time," he said.

Adelaide social media consultant Michelle Prak said while more than half the population now owns a Facebook account, the network's ban on members under 13 coupled with older people's general lack of interest in it means it may have reached a stalemate in Australia, with no real potential to grow user numbers any further.

Ms Prak said boredom, a desire to try new technologies and frustration with Facebook's ever increasing use of advertising were helping to drive users away from the network.

"'It may indeed be that some Australians are over Facebook and looking for more adventurous tools to use like Foursquare and Reddit and

"The increasing use of advertising can't be helping. Facebook is on dangerous ground there, when we want to quickly see what our friends are doing but we're served up an ad for online gaming instead, it's extremely frustrating."

QUT social media researcher Dr Christine Satchell said the proliferation of more "open" social media channels, such as link sharing site Reddit, were contributing to users' migration away from Facebook.

"One of the problems with Facebook is you can get very homogenised opinions and views being expressed because you only like certain things and talk to the same people, so you get a very closed view," she said.

"I think now we're seeing new forms of social media emerge which are not as closed off, they're more open to a whole new range of ideas and the discovery of new concepts ... and with that will probably come less use of Facebook."

Communications manager Anika Johnstone, 34, of  Adelaide was an avid user of Facebook for six years until "Facebook fatigue" drove her away from the network in late 2012.

She now rarely logs in, only using it to keep in touch with friends and family overseas, and is considering deleting her account altogether.

"I've gone from using it maybe a couple of times a day to maybe checking in once every 10 days," she said.

"All the advertising just turned me away from it, it felt like spam. The interactions with people became boring, it was always the same old stuff - pictures of babies and pictures of food - that got a bit old."

Facebook fatigue isn't a new phenomenon. In 2011, millions of users in the US and Europe began deactivating their accounts and there were predictions the same would happen in Australia.

View the original article here

4500 'like' race hate Facebook page

Facebook race hate page against Africans gets 4500 "likes" Picture: Facebook Source: Facebook

• Facebook race hate page attracts 4,500 likes 
• Focuses hatred on African and Indigenous people 
• Local Reverend says he tells Sudanese to stand proud

A FACEBOOK site which vilifies the African community in a western Sydney suburb has been liked by more than 4500 people.

Called "Had a dream I was in Africa, woke up, still in Blacktown" the page features racist comments about Sudanese and Indigenous people.

It has been used to advertise a meeting of the far right wing Australia First Party, to "end the refugee invasion of Australia".

The page's main picture shows Blacktown Railway Station, where a number of the local Sudanese population are on staff, with the caption: "all the black people live in Blacktown, hence the name. Lots of lols provided".

The page appears to have inspired spin-off sites, including a site entitled "Had a dream, i had sheet on my head, woke up still a Muslim".

Posts include "the africans are everywhere you look" and claims about Sudanese people being unemployed.

NSW Community Relations Commission CEO, Stepan Kerkyasharian, said he was aware of the page, but "unfortunately I can do nothing about it".

"The difficulty with internet issues of race discrimination is jurisdiction," he said.

"It depends on whose server the material is sitting on, and Facebook does not recognise the jurisdiction of the Anti-Discrimination Board.

"Unless there has been a criminal act that would bring in the police, we are unable to stop this form of race attack."

The Reverend Michael Michael Robinson, whose Blacktown Anglican Church has a significant Sudanese membership and a Sudanese co-pastor, said he counselled members of his congregation when they came under attack.

"I say to them  there are people in Australia who do not like foreigners and you stand out because of your skin colour," the Rev Robinson said.

"I tell them to stand tall and proud, because they are Australians too."

The Rev Robinson said the Sudanese families at his church had come from a country rife with conflict and civil war and had settled well into Australia, where they had found work and a place in the community.

"They've all got jobs, in fact many have two jobs and they manage to fit in together despite the fact they come from different backgrounds.

"We have twelve different Sudanese tribes represented in our congregation and they manage to work together harmoniously.

"It's a shame some Australians can't manage to do the same."

View the original article here

4500 'like' race hate Facebook page

Facebook race hate page against Africans gets 4500 "likes" Picture: Facebook Source: Facebook

• Facebook race hate page attracts 4,500 likes 
• Focuses hatred on African and Indigenous people 
• Local Reverend says he tells Sudanese to stand proud

A FACEBOOK site which vilifies the African community in a western Sydney suburb has been liked by more than 4500 people.

Called "Had a dream I was in Africa, woke up, still in Blacktown" the page features racist comments about Sudanese and Indigenous people.

It has been used to advertise a meeting of the far right wing Australia First Party, to "end the refugee invasion of Australia".

The page's main picture shows Blacktown Railway Station, where a number of the local Sudanese population are on staff, with the caption: "all the black people live in Blacktown, hence the name. Lots of lols provided".

The page appears to have inspired spin-off sites, including a site entitled "Had a dream, i had sheet on my head, woke up still a Muslim".

Posts include "the africans are everywhere you look" and claims about Sudanese people being unemployed.

NSW Community Relations Commission CEO, Stepan Kerkyasharian, said he was aware of the page, but "unfortunately I can do nothing about it".

"The difficulty with internet issues of race discrimination is jurisdiction," he said.

"It depends on whose server the material is sitting on, and Facebook does not recognise the jurisdiction of the Anti-Discrimination Board.

"Unless there has been a criminal act that would bring in the police, we are unable to stop this form of race attack."

The Reverend Michael Michael Robinson, whose Blacktown Anglican Church has a significant Sudanese membership and a Sudanese co-pastor, said he counselled members of his congregation when they came under attack.

"I say to them  there are people in Australia who do not like foreigners and you stand out because of your skin colour," the Rev Robinson said.

"I tell them to stand tall and proud, because they are Australians too."

The Rev Robinson said the Sudanese families at his church had come from a country rife with conflict and civil war and had settled well into Australia, where they had found work and a place in the community.

"They've all got jobs, in fact many have two jobs and they manage to fit in together despite the fact they come from different backgrounds.

"We have twelve different Sudanese tribes represented in our congregation and they manage to work together harmoniously.

"It's a shame some Australians can't manage to do the same."

View the original article here

Facebook to charge for messages?

Facebook is charging some users in the US and UK for sending high priority, private messages. Source: AAP

FACEBOOK has extended an experiment with paid-for messaging in the UK, raising the possibility that Australian users could face similar charges to contact celebrities or strangers in the future.

Facebook quietly began charging some UK users in late March, with fees of up to STG10 ($14.89) to send a private, high-priority message to popular celebrities like Olympic diver Tom Daley or rapper Snoop Lion.

It's part of a trial, first launched in the US in late 2012, which Facebook says should reduce spam.

The prices have reportedly been set on a sliding scale, with lesser fees to send messages to minor celebrities and a flat rate of 71 pence ($1.05) to send messages to ordinary people who aren't friends.

At the moment, private messages sent between strangers on Facebook generally land in the recipients' 'other' inbox - a folder some users are either unaware of or rarely check.

But in the trial, a limited number of paid-for messages are being channelled directly to the recipient's main inbox, making them more likely to be read.

Contact between friends and close associates on the site remains free under the UK and US trials.

A Facebook spokesman did not say if the fees will be trialled in Australia, where according to a November report by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) there are 11.36 million users.

"We are testing an option that allows people to pay to have their messages routed to someone's Inbox instead of their Other folder, even if they're not connected to them on Facebook," the spokesman told AAP on Monday.

"We are testing a number of price points in the UK and other countries to establish the optimal fee that signals importance."

Facebook has previously dismissed rumours about blanket fees to use the website and boasts on its homepage: "It's free and always will be".

But after listing on the US stock market in May 2012, experts say the company is under pressure to exploit revenue streams.

Laura Demasi, from marketing firm IPSOS Australia, says users will be cynical about the fees.

"I think that this one will be met with a fair amount cynicism and eye-rolling from everyday users, who are already well aware of the fact that Facebook is looking for ways to make money out of them," she said.

"They also need to be careful about just how rapidly they roll out these things.

"Consumers in our research often complain about not being able to keep up with the constant updates and changes to Facebook.

"One week it's a new addition to privacy settings, the next it's a weird fee like this one."

View the original article here

Facebook makes itself at Home

The new Facebook Home screen is both the locked and unlocked screen, letting users quickly check for updates on their smartphone, with other apps hidden behind this home screen. Source: Supplied

FACEBOOK is killing the app.

It's new mobile phone system unveiled this morning has turned Facebook into a home screen, meaning you are never separated from the social network.

Facebook has taken Android's open source operating system and tailored it to make it a "people first" operating system that brings Facebook out of the app and onto your phone.

It's name is "Home".

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that phones today are designed around apps and not people.

"We want to flip that around," he said.

Facebook takes the home screen of your phone and turns it into a visually rich scrolling newsfeed that shows your friends photos, status updates all the time. You no longer have to tap into the Facebook app to respond. You can simply tap your home screen to like a post, or to reply.

The ChatHeads function will incorporate texting and Facebook messages.

Facebook will organise the most important updates to appear on your screen, no matter where you are. Users can hide them by simply swiping left or right, or get rid all the latest posts by holding down their finger on the screen and swiping downwards.

Apps can still be accessed through a launcher that users can access by swiping upwards.

Mr Zuckerberg showed off a new feature called "Chatheads" which is a new messaging systems that allows users to manage conversations.

A small pop-up head will appear in the right hand margin, to notify users that they have a new Facebook or text message. That way, the notification does not interrupt what you were doing on your phone before someone tried to contact you. To reply you can simply swipe left and a conversation box will appear on top of previous screen, send it and go straight back to what you were doing.

"By putting people first this is one of the many small but meaningful changes to our relationship with tech over time," Mr Zuckerberg said.

Facebook Home can be downloaded to any Android phone from Google's app store, Google Play and will be available from April 12, at least in the US. No word on when it will roll out to Australia.

A screengrab of the new Facebook Home. Users can double click on an image or update to "like" it, or move Home down to view their other apps.

Also any new HTC One, HTC One X, Galaxy SIII and Galaxy S4 phones will come pre-loaded with the new Facebook software for Android.

Facebook Home is a bold step for the social network and it's one that was made with the future of technology in mind.

Mr Zuckerberg said that in five to 10 years, people who are currently using feature phones will have switched to smartphones and that we are soon "going to be living in a world where people will never see in their lives what we call a computer".

"Just stop and think about that for a second," Mr Zuckerberg said.

"The definition of what a computer is and should be has not been set for the majority of the world."

"I think that is definitely going to be about people."

More and more we're starting to see a push for ubiquitous operating systems that do everything within the one environment. Google's new Chromebooks are an example whereby it has taken the best features of its Chrome internet browser and integrated it into the computing experience, blurring the line between desktop and browser.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg launches Facebook Home. Smartphone users look at their phone more than 100 times a day, and Home will help them instantly stay up-to-date with what their friends are up to, Mr Zuckerberg said. Picture: AP

Likewise Facebook home steps away from the app experience with keeps content siloed within the paramaters of an application, and makes it central to the mobile computing experience.

While Facebook isn't killing the app altogether, it is definitely taking a confident step away from it, demonstrating that we might already be making moves to a post-app experience.

"Home" is both the lock screen and the unlocked screen - so when a user glances at their phone, they see a feed of their Facebook friends' photos and comments.

Mr Zuckerberg gave an example of standing in line at a store and looking down at the phone to see photos of friends and family. It'll be possible to flip through the items. If there's something you like, just double tap on it to "like" it. You can also add comments from the home screen.

With this, Facebook doesn't believe you'll need to go to the Facebook app any more.

Mr  Zuckerberg said the company is not building a phone or an operating system. Rather, Facebook is introducing something that's a lot deeper than an app.

Facebook Home will be automatically installed on new AT&T and HTC phones in the US, Mr Zuckerberg said. Picture: AP

"Why do we need to go into all the apps in the first place to see what is going on with the people we care about?" he said.

Better, he says, is to have that experience come right to the home screen, so you're always knowing what is going on around you.

The move coincides with rapid growth among the number of users who access the social network from smartphones and tablet computers and Facebook's aim to evolve from its Web-based roots into a "mobile-first" company.

"What Facebook wants is to put itself at the front of the Android user experience for as many Facebook users as possible and make Facebook more elemental to their customers' experience," said Forrester analyst Charles Golvin.

The move could help to attract more mobile advertisers. Though mobile ads were a big concern for Facebook's investors even before the company's initial public offering last May, some of the worry has subsided as the company muscles its way into the market.

Last year, Facebook began showing ads to its mobile audience by shoehorning corporate-sponsored content into users' news feeds, which also include updates from friends and brands they follow. Facebook now faces the challenge of showing people mobile ads without annoying or alienating them.

The mobile advertising market is growing quickly, thanks in large part to Facebook and Twitter, which also entered the space in 2012. Research firm eMarketer expects US mobile ad spending to grow 77 per cent this year to $US7.29 billion ($6.96 billion), from $US4.11 billion last year.

EMarketer said on Wednesday that it expects Facebook to reap $US965 million in US mobile ad revenue in 2013. That's about 2.5 times the $US391 million in 2012, the first year that Facebook started showing mobile ads.

Clark Fredricksen, vice president at eMarketer, says "there are some clear reasons why a deeper integration with mobile operating systems and handsets make sense for Facebook. At the end of the day, the more deeply Facebook can engage consumers, no matter what device or operating system or handset," the better.

Facebook's announcement of Home came less than a day after an image of what appears to be the long-awaited Facebook phone has surfaced online.

Earlier, tech blogger @evleaks posted an image on Twitter, with the words "HTC first, 2013".

The image showed an HTC phone with the words "HTC first" emblazoned across the front. The phone contains only three buttons below the screen.

The image came just days after tech blog Android Police published a leaked version of Facebook's rumoured mobile operating system, which showed that the Facebook phone is actually a new home screen which would let users change the phone's settings like wi-fi within the Facebook operating system.

View the original article here

No phone as Facebook unveils new Home

Watch the launch video for Facebook Home, an app that makes Facebook the landing page for Andriod phones.

FACEBOOK is killing the app.

Its new mobile phone system unveiled this morning has turned Facebook into a home screen, meaning you are never separated from the social network.

Facebook has taken Android's open source operating system and tailored it to make it a "people first" operating system that brings Facebook out of the app and onto your phone.

Its name is "Home".

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that phones today are designed around apps and not people.

"We want to flip that around," he said.

Facebook takes the home screen of your phone and turns it into a visually rich scrolling newsfeed that shows your friends photos, status updates all the time. You no longer have to tap into the Facebook app to respond. You can simply tap your home screen to like a post, or to reply.

The new Facebook Home screen is both the locked and unlocked screen, letting users quickly check for updates on their smartphone, with other apps hidden behind this home screen.

Facebook will organise the most important updates to appear on your screen, no matter where you are. Users can hide them by simply swiping left or right, or get rid all the latest posts by holding down their finger on the screen and swiping downwards.

Apps can still be accessed through a launcher that users can access by swiping upwards.

Mr Zuckerberg showed off a new feature called "Chatheads" which is a new messaging systems that allows users to manage conversations.

A small pop-up head will appear in the right hand margin, to notify users that they have a new Facebook or text message. That way, the notification does not interrupt what you were doing on your phone before someone tried to contact you. To reply you can simply swipe left and a conversation box will appear on top of previous screen, send it and go straight back to what you were doing.

"By putting people first this is one of the many small but meaningful changes to our relationship with tech over time," Mr Zuckerberg said.

Facebook Home can be downloaded to any Android phone from Google's app store, Google Play and will be available from April 12, at least in the US. No word on when it will roll out to Australia.

The ChatHeads function will incorporate texting and Facebook messages.

Also any new HTC One, HTC One X, Galaxy SIII and Galaxy S4 phones will come pre-loaded with the new Facebook software for Android.

Facebook Home is a bold step for the social network and it's one that was made with the future of technology in mind.

Mr Zuckerberg said that in five to 10 years, people who are currently using feature phones will have switched to smartphones and that we are soon "going to be living in a world where people will never see in their lives what we call a computer".

"Just stop and think about that for a second," Mr Zuckerberg said.

"The definition of what a computer is and should be has not been set for the majority of the world."

"I think that is definitely going to be about people."

More and more we're starting to see a push for ubiquitous operating systems that do everything within the one environment. Google's new Chromebooks are an example whereby it has taken the best features of its Chrome internet browser and integrated it into the computing experience, blurring the line between desktop and browser.

A screengrab of the new Facebook Home. Users can double click on an image or update to "like" it, or move Home down to view their other apps.

Likewise Facebook home steps away from the app experience with keeps content siloed within the paramaters of an application, and makes it central to the mobile computing experience.

While Facebook isn't killing the app altogether, it is definitely taking a confident step away from it, demonstrating that we might already be making moves to a post-app experience.

"Home" is both the lock screen and the unlocked screen - so when a user glances at their phone, they see a feed of their Facebook friends' photos and comments.

Mr Zuckerberg gave an example of standing in line at a store and looking down at the phone to see photos of friends and family. It'll be possible to flip through the items. If there's something you like, just double tap on it to "like" it. You can also add comments from the home screen.

With this, Facebook doesn't believe you'll need to go to the Facebook app any more.

Mr  Zuckerberg said the company is not building a phone or an operating system. Rather, Facebook is introducing something that's a lot deeper than an app.

Analysts hailed "Home" as "groundbreaking" and a "really big deal for Facebook", with some saying Apple should be worried people will want a "Facebook phone" instead of an iPhone. Picture: Getty

"Why do we need to go into all the apps in the first place to see what is going on with the people we care about?" he said.

Home comes at a time of rapid growth among the number of users who access the social network from smartphones and tablet computers and Facebook's aim to evolve from its Web-based roots into a "mobile-first" company.

Mr Zuckerberg demonstrated how a user would start with Facebook on the home screen and be able to navigate and switch back and forth between apps, and simultaneously send and receive messages through "chat heads" which are overlaid on the screen.

"I think this is a really big deal for Facebook," said Peter Corbett of the research firm iStrategyLabs.

"We've actually seen Facebook call themselves a mobile company recently and if you look at their analytics, more than half of their users are accessing Facebook through mobile. Now that they have what will essentially be a native branch of the Android operating system that they control and build upon, this is the future of Facebook."

Mr Corbett added that "Apple should be worried to a certain extent" because Facebook will "put this in front of millions and millions of the world's youth who may decide 'I want a Facebook phone instead of an iPhone.'"

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg launches Facebook Home. Smartphone users look at their phone more than 100 times a day, and Home will help them instantly stay up-to-date with what their friends are up to, Mr Zuckerberg said. Picture: AP

Analyst Trip Chowdhry said the new software is a potentially "groundbreaking experience" which could help Facebook compete with Google in the market for mobile advertising.

"Since Facebook is not imitating, they will carve a leadership position," he said, adding that "Google missed a huge opportunity in social mobile phones."

The announcement comes with Facebook trying to connect more with mobile users, and - importantly - deliver more ads in the fast-growing segment.

The research firm eMarketer said US mobile advertising spending grew 178 per cent last year to $US4.11 billion ($3.9 billion), a market that nearly tripled last year.

Google took more than half of those revenues, but Facebook's share in growing: eMarketer said the social network accounted for 9.5 per cent of mobile ad revenues in 2012 and is expected to take 13.2 per cent this year.

Last year, Facebook began showing ads to its mobile audience by shoehorning corporate-sponsored content into users' news feeds, which also include updates from friends and brands they follow. Facebook now faces the challenge of showing people mobile ads without annoying or alienating them.

Facebook Home will be automatically installed on new AT&T and HTC phones in the US, Mr Zuckerberg said. No word yet when it will be available in Australia. Picture: AP

Clark Fredricksen, vice president at eMarketer, says "there are some clear reasons why a deeper integration with mobile operating systems and handsets make sense for Facebook. At the end of the day, the more deeply Facebook can engage consumers, no matter what device or operating system or handset," the better.

Facebook's announcement of Home came less than a day after an image of what appears to be the long-awaited Facebook phone has surfaced online.

Earlier, tech blogger @evleaks posted an image on Twitter, with the words "HTC first, 2013". The image showed an HTC phone with the words "HTC first" emblazoned across the front. The phone contains only three buttons below the screen.

With AFP

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks about Home at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California. The new system comes as the company is trying to connect more with mobile users. Picture: AP

View the original article here

Is this the new Facebook smartphone?

Is this the new Facebook smartphone? And if it is, does this make you want to buy it? Source: Supplied

An image of what appears to be the long-awaited Facebook phone has surfaced online.

Tech blogger @evleaks posted an image on Twitter this morning, with the words "HTC first, 2013".

To be honest, the phone just looks a little generic.

The image shows an HTC phone with the words "HTC first" emblazoned across the front. The phone contains only three buttons below the screen.

The image comes just days after tech blog Android Police published a leaked version of Facebook's rumoured mobile operating system. The leaked specs, if true, show that the Facebook phone is actually a new home screen which would let users change the phone's settings like wi-fi within the Facebook operating system.

So basically, Facebook's operating system seems to work exactly how you would expect a mobile operating system to work.

The operating system is rumoured to run on a number of different phones, not just HTC devices.

The social network is expected to launch the phone on Thursday 10am at its Cupertino headquarters, (4am Friday AEST).

Journalists were invited by Facebook to "come see our new home on Android".

Only two more days to go. Stay tuned.

View the original article here

Will nagging make you post more on Facebook?

This says it all, really. Picture: Twitter Source: Supplied

FACEBOOK is about to become a hell of a lot more annoying.

The social network is testing a feature for iPhones that nags you to post a status update.

Bijan Sabet, general partner at venture capital firm Spark Capital was one of the first to notice it, tweeting a screenshot of his iphone homescreen with a Facebook reminder that read: "Bijan, tell friends what's on your mind. Post an update".

Sabet had just one thing to say about this: "Seriously?"

A Facebook spokesperson said the feature was a "small test we're running".

The new test comes about four years after it began annoying users by nagging people to connect with people they haven't communicated with in a while. Needless to say the first time Facebook tried this it went down like a tonne of bricks.

But it wasn't enough to dissuade them. Facebook has also been annoying Android users to download the latest update of its app.

Shut it down, immediately.
 

View the original article here

Will nagging make you post more on Facebook?

This says it all, really. Picture: Twitter Source: Supplied

FACEBOOK is about to become a hell of a lot more annoying.

The social network is testing a feature for iPhones that nags you to post a status update.

Bijan Sabet, general partner at venture capital firm Spark Capital was one of the first to notice it, tweeting a screenshot of his iphone homescreen with a Facebook reminder that read: "Bijan, tell friends what's on your mind. Post an update".

Sabet had just one thing to say about this: "Seriously?"

A Facebook spokesperson said the feature was a "small test we're running".

The new test comes about four years after it began annoying users by nagging people to connect with people they haven't communicated with in a while. Needless to say the first time Facebook tried this it went down like a tonne of bricks.

But it wasn't enough to dissuade them. Facebook has also been annoying Android users to download the latest update of its app.

Shut it down, immediately.
 

View the original article here

#uncool: Facebook 'to start using hashtags'

Facebook defends its stance on bullying

SOCIAL media giant Facebook says it's a company that won't tolerate cyber bullying.

Samsung unveils Galaxy S4 in bid to top Apple

SAMSUNG'S first iPhone-beating smartphone will track your eyes, fingertips, and lets you control it with the wave of a hand.

Journalist 'conspired with Anonymous'

A SOCIAL media editor for Reuters is charged with allegedly conspiring with Anonymous to hack into the Los Angeles Times website.

#uncool: Facebook 'to start using hashtags'

YOU know all those annoying people using hashtags on Facebook? Well there are soon to be more, if reports are to be believed. The social network is reportedly preparing to adopt Twitter's iconic symbol.

Inside Etsy's handcrafted headquarters

A GIANT paier-mache owl, lampshades hanging from tree props and nine dogs - all the things you'd expect to see inside the headquarters of Etsy.

Queen gets change for a fiver

GOT change for a fiver? These guys have a few changes in mind. Pop-culture references from every angle have found their way on to our $5 note and the face of the Queen.

Save Google Reader from being shutdown

GOOGLE has announced that it will shut down Google Reader on July 1, and the internet has decided it will not stand for it. Get on board, sign the petition to save the service.

Foxtel Play lets you watch TV online

FINALLY, you will no longer need a set top box to access Foxtel. Cable tv service announces service that lets you access shows via your gadget of choice.

View the original article here

Facebook defends its stance on bullying

A Facebook Like Button logo is seen at the entrance of the Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Source: AFP

SOCIAL media giant Facebook says it's a company that won't tolerate cyber bullying.

Facebook Australia's head of policy and communications, Mia Garlick, says the company is constantly taking responsibility for disturbing content on its site.

Users can report harassment and offensive pages on the site and more than 3000 Australians have already signed an online stop bullying pledge as part of Facebook's Be Bold Stop Bullying campaign, launched late last year.

"The safety of people that use our services is a top priority for us," Ms Garlick told the launch of the third National Day of Action against Bullying.

"(But) everybody has a responsibility - government has a role, industry has a role and the community has a role.

"In launching the campaign, we're trying to fulfil our part to create an environment that can lead to an anti-bullying culture."

Facebook's public stance on bullying comes after thousands of people have reported harassment and disturbing pages on social media sites.

Australian TV host Charlotte Dawson was hospitalised last year after she was attacked by Twitter "trolls" for naming and shaming a user who had told her to hang herself.

Also last year, 15-year-old Canadian teenager Amanda Todd took her own life after three years of cyber bullying, including on Facebook.

On Friday, federal Schools Education Minister Peter Garrett spoke with students about anti-bullying at Facebook's Sydney headquarters.

He said bullying was still a major problem at schools and the day was being marked by the launch of a new website, "Bullying, No Way!", a new iPad app for younger children and new curriculum material on bullying.

More than 600,000 Australian students from almost 1500 schools are expected to stand together on Friday to show they are committed to having schools free from bullying, harassment and violence.

View the original article here

Facebook defends its stance on bullying

A Facebook Like Button logo is seen at the entrance of the Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Source: AFP

SOCIAL media giant Facebook says it's a company that won't tolerate cyber bullying.

Facebook Australia's head of policy and communications, Mia Garlick, says the company is constantly taking responsibility for disturbing content on its site.

Users can report harassment and offensive pages on the site and more than 3000 Australians have already signed an online stop bullying pledge as part of Facebook's Be Bold Stop Bullying campaign, launched late last year.

"The safety of people that use our services is a top priority for us," Ms Garlick told the launch of the third National Day of Action against Bullying.

"(But) everybody has a responsibility - government has a role, industry has a role and the community has a role.

"In launching the campaign, we're trying to fulfil our part to create an environment that can lead to an anti-bullying culture."

Facebook's public stance on bullying comes after thousands of people have reported harassment and disturbing pages on social media sites.

Australian TV host Charlotte Dawson was hospitalised last year after she was attacked by Twitter "trolls" for naming and shaming a user who had told her to hang herself.

Also last year, 15-year-old Canadian teenager Amanda Todd took her own life after three years of cyber bullying, including on Facebook.

On Friday, federal Schools Education Minister Peter Garrett spoke with students about anti-bullying at Facebook's Sydney headquarters.

He said bullying was still a major problem at schools and the day was being marked by the launch of a new website, "Bullying, No Way!", a new iPad app for younger children and new curriculum material on bullying.

More than 600,000 Australian students from almost 1500 schools are expected to stand together on Friday to show they are committed to having schools free from bullying, harassment and violence.

View the original article here