Social Self-Sabotage

TIME Magazine’s Heartland reports that scientists from two German universities concluded that after studying 600 Facebook users, “one in three felt worse after visiting the site — especially if they viewed vacation photos.” Researchers discovered that users who didn’t post their own content were also more likely to feel discontent. It seems to be like emotional self-sabotage when people have negative experiences by logging onto Facebook, yet continue to do so.

In addition to feelings of social exclusion, you may subconsciously make comparisons to yourself with other people as you are subjected to posts and photos. Drawing comparisons can cause insecurities and make you question yourself. Feelings of loneliness and self-pity can surface just by seeing a simple Facebook status that changes from “single” to “into a relationship.” Perhaps you read a status about an old friend getting a job promotion, and suddenly you’re comparing your professional worth to someone whom you probably haven’t talked to in years. Commonly, young people also internally respond to engagements, wedding photos and pregnancy announcements with negative feelings and virtual, societal pressure to move on to that next step in life. Just as unhealthily, Facebook serves as a tool for many to be passive aggressive and indirectly spiteful. To be on the receiving end of a message meant to hurtfully get your attention can feel like a dagger in the chest.

Facebook is Subjective

According to Reuters, Institute Information Systems at Berlin’s Humboldt University research expert, Hanna Krasnova, said based on observations on negative social networking experiences, “people will then leave Facebook or at least reduce their use of the site.”

People experience anger, resentment, stress and jealousy over all types of Facebook timeline activities such as:

• Vacation photos
• Number of birthday wishes
• Number of “likes” and comments on postings
• Family happiness
• Physical attractiveness
• Work accomplishments

If Facebook feels like a toxic digital environment that personally affects you, eliminate those negative feelings by taking control of your own behavior. Deactivate your account, visit the site less often or make an effort to not internalize specific types of content that creates unhealthy emotions. Users who use Facebook as a platform for self-promotion are most likely to share content on Facebook that will “portray themselves in a better light.” In that case, photos and posts can be like judging a book by its cover. Things aren’t always as they seem.

Remember that hot chick you met at the hotel party who makes pottery and lives in Manhattan? Now with Facebook’s coveted Graph Search, users can search for Friday night dates, music recommendations or job opportunities from personal network(s). Some say Google should be worried. Others aren’t as impressed with these search functions. The tool is still in beta, but there’s no shortage of opinions on how this social search can be used and whether it will catch on.

How Does It Work?

Facebook’s search tool is based on two parts. The first is a natural-language processor and the second is an internal-retrieval tool. And, according to Graph Search developer Lars Rasmussen, one of the key components to launching Graph Search out of beta will be the ability to index all of the posts and comments people have shared on Facebook.

So while Google uses every piece of information it can find to return the best results for any search topic, Facebook’s project uses every piece of information it has about you to provide the best search results for you. A Google search for credit card processing providers, for example, may return “Capital Processing Network” because its the most generally desired response, while a Facebook Graph search of the same keywords may return friends who have expressed an opinion on credit card processors.

Depending on your intentions, either result could be considered superior.

What it Means for Google?

Google has been thought of as the most comprehensive solutions in web search, but in using personal information, Facebook’s Graph Search represents a tool that Google can’t match. Google struggles with chronology. Newer things are easy to find. Older stuff can be impossible. By connecting our friends, status, Likes, photos and updates, Graph Search could pinpoint a moment in time, according to Facebook experts.

However, in a report by BusinessInsider.com, Graph Search isn’t exactly a direct competitor to Google. Analysts believe that Graph Search won’t challenge Google for search dominance either. 

“Overall, Graph Search offer users a unique view to information not available on Google, but does not replace Google,” according to BusinessInsider.com.

If Google continues to invest in Google+, its answer to Facebook, the search giant could conceivably collect enough personal information to compete with Graph Search.

Other Implications

Facebook’s new search capabilities may not challenge Google, but that doesn’t mean it won’t effect the online world. According to Forbes.com, Graph Search has a better chance of tapping into recruiting, dating and entertainment search markets dominated by sites like LinkedIn, eHarmony and Yelp, respectively.

Facebook gave an example of how recruiters could use Graph Search, explaining that it could find employees of NASA who are friends of Facebook employees. Users may or may not prefer Graph Search to dating services. Some may desire to date friends of friends, but others may prefer the distance of online dating services, Forbes also reports.

Time will tell how much users respond to this innovative search technology, but Facebook will almost certainly use its unprecedented amount of personal information in more creative ways.

• AdParlor
• AdRoll
• Criteo
• DataXu
• Kenshoo
• MediaMath
• Nanigans
• Optimal
• PerfectAudience
• RadiumOne
• RocketFuel
• TellApart
• TheTradeDesk
• Triggit
• Turn
• Xaxis
• X+1

Facebook Exchange simply means that users could see more ads for things they are actually interested in or want to buy, rather than just seeing the ads as annoying distractions.

Have you ever gotten immersed in a game on Facebook and then been left in the cold because the people you play with simply aren’t as committed to the game as you are? For this reason, among others, Facebook is working to improve the gaming experience for users.

Groups

The groups feature has been a part of the Facebook infrastructure for years. The decision to harness it and adapt it to improve gaming via Facebook was announced on the Facebook developer blog in mid-November. Developer Shireesh Asthana posted the update which let developers know that “apps and games can now create and manage Groups…to help people connect and share their experiences.” Previously, only users could create groups around their games.

Facebook creator Mark Zuckerburg was quoted by technology blog Techcrunch.com as saying “Gaming on Facebook isn’t doing as well as I’d like.” The article, published in late October, noted that the gaming portion of Facebook doesn’t translate well to the mobile platform. Feature and smartphone users have a tendency to play their online games via download, in a dedicated application rather than an extension of the Facebook application.

Gamers Demographic

Developers can use the Groups feature to improve overall user experience, to get feedback from users to improve the game or both. With such a wide range of game genres and titles on Facebook, it’s hard to predict just how developers will choose to use this new feature. Part of the dilemma for Facebook is that gamers are no longer a specific demographic. Facebook users playing games are just as diverse as the entire pool of Facebook users themselves. Games, to be successful, have to appeal to a huge audience, be easy to understand and use, and be able to hold the user’s interest beyond a trial period.

Inaccurate Game Ratings

Another challenge Facebook is facing with games, is artificial inflation of game ratings. In app marketplaces, like the android marketplace, developers have found ways to work the system to their benefit. Apps can achieve high popularity ratings through incentivized downloads. For example, if you have downloaded a game or app, a popup ad might appear encouraging you to download another product from that developer. The developer might offer you an upgrade for the game you’re currently playing to encourage you to download the product. They might also offer you a free download of an app that regularly costs money.

By driving up downloads of a product, the product appears higher in rankings. Higher rankings give more consumer confidence, leading to more sales or downloads. Sean Ryan, Facebook’s Director of Games Partnerships, told Techcrunch.com the Facebook rating system is something that’s not easily gamed and great indie games and great big games are finding an audience.

So, despite the reported disappointment in games income and performance, Facebook is still working on the interface. Only time will tell how these changes will affect user experience and user loyalty. You may never be a member of a “World of Warcraft” guild, but maybe one day you’ll be part of a “Farmville” cooperative.

Primary Features

The Documents To Go® Premium application is an ideal travel companion for the tech savvy businessperson. It allows users to save, retrieve, edit and build new document files quickly and efficiently. This feature is accessible through the Microsoft PowerPoint®, Microsoft Word® and Microsoft Excel® programs.

Another application worth mentioning is the BlackBerry Messenger 6 program. This unique tool enables the user to network your business and emphasize social connectivity amongst peers. Some of the program’s main highlights include the ability to integrate reinforced collaboration with numerous third-party applications and the sharing of such information as voice notes, files, location and more.

BlackBerry® Balance™ Technology is a new feature that will automatically distribute the management of personal information and work on your smartphone. With this application, you will be able to maintain and wipe corporate information while any personal data is kept separate. This easy-to-use tool safeguards both your personal and corporate details, making the BlackBerry a practical and convenient solution for IT managers.

Do you find yourself constantly rushing to read through all of your work documents while on the go? Do you have a whiteboard up on the office wall? If so, try taking a high-resolution picture of it after strategy sessions instead of just rushing to jot notes down. The Liquid Graphics™ Technology application is both fun and practical for situations just like these, and, best of all, its high resolution photos eliminate the need for squinting eyes! Its crystal-clear picture quality will be sure to dazzle even the most picky BlackBerry readers.

The BlackBerry 7′s Voice-Enabled Universal Search feature is extremely useful. It gives users the power to conduct web-based searches on song titles, contact names and e-mail messages through search engines and other third-party applications. It is one of the most convenient features to be found on the new BlackBerry OS 7, and ideally, this tool is best used in conjunction with a headset or Bluetooth® earpiece.

The BlackBerry Legacy

The BlackBerry has been a leading figure in the advent of cellular technologies over this past decade. The fact of the matter is that BlackBerry smartphones are a revolutionary product. These phones have forever changed the face of communication in the modern world, and with the newest assemblage of BlackBerry 7 smartphones, users will be able to enjoy even greater accessibility to the lives of their co-workers, friends and loved ones. Thanks to BlackBerry, getting connected has never been so easy.

UPDATE: Budget Direct have also released their new app for both blackberry and iPhone for Travel Insurance

Facebook Timeline is the latest addition and one of the most awaited features in the history of Facebook. It is still in beta and available to developers, but will soon be rolled out to all users.

Facebook Timeline is a new way to show your profile and as the name suggest it changes your profile in a time driven series. Basically, it is a story of your life that is visible to both you and your friends. It changes the default profile from a list of your most recent updates to a complete summary of your entire life since birth. The default Facebook profile page newsfeeds have evolved to be a stream of your entire life.  Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Facebook Timeline is that it can tell a detailed story of your life on a single page. Imagine the possibilities and history if facebook is still around in 20 years!

There are two main parts of Facebook Timeline replacing the old default Facebook profile page that present updates in a chronological order. The upper portion of the Facebook Timeline is called the cover and contains your personal information along with your friends, photos, pages you have liked, statuses, and recent activities.  Below the Cover is the Heart of the Timeline. It is divided into two main columns and it has a line in the middle representing the passage of time.   By using Facebook Timeline on your profile page, your friends can now choose a specific year and month and quickly access all your activities and content for that specific time. As you scroll through the page, you are presented with updates that are relevant and important. The more wide you make the timeline, the finer the filtration gets so that only the most important stories of your life will be displayed. You can even add more information about yourself to make your timeline more informative, meaning the new timeline can be as detailed or as vague as you like

Or so we thought.

I’ll start by prefacing this with two recent developments. The first is that Facebook is now one of Americas most trusted companies, and the second that around 65 million users are now accessing Facebook from mobile devices. It’s these two factors that make the following so concerning.

Have a look at the privacy settings below:

These settings allow friends to see wall posts with the exception of the “Employees” group. This group has specifically been removed rights to see wall posts. Or so the setting says…

This setting is does not work correctly and does NOT work at hiding any wall posts made from Facebook mobile (including the Facebook iPhone app). This bug is a massive privacy concern.

A friend of the above account in the “Employees” group could not only see wall posts from mobile devices, but also post to the wall, clearly against the privacy settings that were in effect. Wall posts from non-mobile devices were not visible.

The following screenshot shows a wall viewed from an account which has been added to the ‘Employees’ group with the privacy settings as above.

We have no way of proving we haven’t ‘shopped the screenshots above but feel free to try the settings with a friend to prove it to yourself. We also hope the previous hole we uncovered should give some credibility to our claims.

So there you have it. If you have your boss hidden from seeing wall posts, you’d better stop your friends posting on your wall from their phones…

On a side note, the privacy setting does work for status updates made from mobile devices. For concerns about your social networking posts showing up on search engine results, you may want to look into a service like Reputation.com which can help clean up your personal image

You can use this emoticon with the following combination: <(“)

We’re unsure of the reason for penguin love at Facebook, but they also had an unbranded free penguin gift back in July.

For more, check out our full guide of Facebook Chat features.

FBHive have noticed two mysterious new features on Facebook Product Designer Alexandre Roche’s profile. The first is a News Feed filter with a lab beaker icon labelled “Outside World”. The second is a plus (+) icon and number next to the Comment and Like numbers for a video in the Highlights section.

Screenshot and our thoughts after the jump.

So what could these mean?

Our guess is that “Outside World” is referring to the world outside of Facebook (a.k.a. the rest of the web) and that the filter itself would show you all the non-Facebook content you’ve subscribed to. Yes, subscribed to. We believe it’s highly possible that Facebook will introduce the ability to import RSS feeds into your News Feed and group them just like friends and Pages. This would be a very powerful feature and could prove to be a significant competitor against other web-based feed readers like Google Reader. But don’t just think blogs: every Twitter user has an RSS feed you can subscribe to. Imagine being able to check recent posts from blogs, Twitter users and of course, Facebook friends, all from the one website. Facebook would (potentially) become your one-stop hub for recent news and information.

While there is a chance this could just be a third-party application filter the user has installed, given its highly preferential position in the filter list and the fact that there are no other third party applications, we feel this is unlikely. More significantly, the beaker icon itself appears in a Facebook sprite image, and it most likely indicates the feature is still experimental and has not had an official icon designed yet.

Now, on to the second feature. In the profile’s Highlights section there’s a video, posted by Helen Minn (who also happens be a Facebook employee), that has 9 Likes, 11 Comments, and 5 “Pluses”. Hmm, that green plus icon looks familiar… Hang on, isn’t that the Facebook Credits icon? Yes, it is! See for yourself in the Facebook Help Center, next to “Credits”.

We suspect that Facebook has a feature in the works that allows users to give Credits to content. If opened up to the public, this feature could prove to have some incredibly powerful microeconomics. Directors and musicians could be tipped for their videos and songs that they post on their Facebook Pages. 3,000 users giving just 50 cents (5 Credits) to an artist once a week would be enough for someone to live off. With Facebook’s users numbering a quarter of a billion, this is no pipe dream.

So, what do you think? Do you agree with our speculation? Let us know in the comments or twitter us @FBHive.

Update: TechCrunch picked up our article and contacted Facebook about it. Facebook have since responded and explained that the “+” is indeed Credits given to a video and is a feature Facebook has been testing since April that allows users to give credits to each other for content they share. “Outside World” has a less exciting explanation: apparently it’s a feature for Facebook employees that allows them to filter out the streams of other Facebook employees and see only the streams of their non-Facebook friends. Mystery solved, gang.

At present, Facebook Pages fall under two categories:

1. Pages for legitimate businesses, celebrities, artists, organisations and products
2. Pages for activities and objects people are “fans” of

The first is the reason Pages were created, and allows groups and organizations to keep in contact with their fans through publishing events, news, notes and interacting through their fans with comments.

The second is proving more popular to Facebook users as they wish to display their love of activities like “walking on the beach” and “steamy sex” as well as generic products like “chocolate”. These activities and generic products have no legitimate need to contact their fans, leading to the underbelly of spam and advertising we discussing in our previous post.

This leads us to an area of Facebook profiles that seems to be receiving little attention from Facebook these days: the Info tab. The Info tab contains an area for “Activities” and “Interests” – what a fantastic coincidence! This provides users of the site with a way to display these activities and interests without receiving the spam.

We think Facebook should take a simple two step approach to fixing the problem.

1. Ban outright generic products and activities from pages
2. Increase the publicity of “Interests” and “Activities” on Facebook profiles with a ‘Me Too’ function

The ‘Me Too’ function would allow users to easily add activities and interests to the Info tab of their profile.

At the end of the day, this would increase the quality and exposure of legitimate Pages for businesses and other interest groups, as well as better exposing users’ interests on their profiles.