Facebook Introduces Embedded Posts

Big news out of Facebook, they will soon be offering embedded posts. This means that when you post something on Facebook, you will be able to generate a code, which will allow you to embed that content elsewhere on the web. Just about every other social media platform already offers this ability, from YouTube to Instagram. At the moment, this function is only available to a couple big brands like CNN and Huffington Post, but expect this ability to roll out to the public any day now. This new feature may not seem like a big deal, everyone else is doing it, right? However, when you think about what this action is truly saying about Facebook, the enormity of Mark Zuckerberg's decision can be seen. Abstaining from embeds was Facebook's way of saying they are THE source on the internet. All other content should, and will be, embedded onto Facebook, not the other way around. Now that Facebook has given in, and will start offering embedded posts, they are admitting that they need to be out on the world wide web, more than the world wide web needs to be on Facebook.

This new feature will make it easier for users to discover content outside of their Facebook circle. Since your newsfeed consists primarily of content delivered by people and pages you have selected to follow, stumbling across that bit of news you were completely unaware of is much less likely.  Now when you are surfing the web and come across an interesting article with and embedded Facebook post, you can like, follow and comment directly on the article, causing users to see more diverse material on their native newsfeed going forward.

Although Facebook is still the pinnacle of social media platforms with 699 million users logging in everyday, it has become fairly obvious that they have been losing some steam. Is this offering of embedded posts an attempt to reclaim some of the market share Facebook has recently lost, or is it just a desire to stay as relevant and user friendly as possible? We suppose only Mark knows the answer to that. 

-Mike & Samantha

Likebook

[brightcove vid=2421244892001&exp3=1275216913001&surl=http://c.brightcove.com/services&pubid=1130468786001&pk=AQ~~,AAABBzUwv1E~,xP-xFHVUstjFMsS-3Kb8-iZB6sJ0hUm_&w=620&h=350] These days, it seems like Facebook does a better job of documenting your life than anything else, maybe even your own memory. While it is great to have this online database of past events, there are still plenty of people out there who would love a tactile version of these memories. Likebook is a new service that will take all of your Facebook activity, from pictures to updates, and create a physical book.

Check out the Likebook site here.

We think this could be a really cool gift for anyone who spends a majority of their free time on Facebook. Remember, father's day is coming up.

-Mike & Samantha

The Silencer

Do you have Facebook friends who are always spoiling the latest episode of Game of Thrones or the newest blockbuster flick? Do you have friends who you would rather not see activity for anymore, but don't want to go through the trouble of explaining why you unfriended them? If you do, the Google Chrome Silencer plug-in may be for you. This plug-in allows you to add terms, phrases, names, or hashtags that you want silenced in your Facebook or Twitter feed. Not only do you have the option to manually create the silenced criteria, they also offer Mute Packs. These allow you to silence dozens of terms from popular shows like Mad Men or Game of Thrones with one click. The description of this plug-in according to Google is: Silencer lets you mute and filter any content you want out of your Twitter stream or Facebook News Feed.

Avoid TV show or sports spoilers. Block people that you can’t unfollow but aren’t really interested in anymore. Take back the Internet on your terms!

Introducing Mute Packs! Mute dozens of terms from “Game of Thrones,” “Mad Men,” or “Arrested Development” instantly with one click!

Mute terms, phrases, people or hashtags quickly and easily.

If you are not using Google Chrome as your browser yet, you should seriously consider it. They offer tons of helpful plug-ins and the Silencer seems like one we could all get a lot of use out of.

-Mike

What Does Your Facebook Profile Look Like to Other People?

We have said it before and we will say it again, be very careful of what you make visible on your Facebook profile. Many may not be aware of this, but Facebook actually allows you to see what your profile looks like from the view of other people. It is as simple as going to your profile, and clicking the settings icon in the lower right corner of your cover photo. This will allow you to toggle through a few "view as" options, including the public or even a specific person. Now you can actually see what a total stranger sees when they come across your profile online. This feature can also be handy in discovering what your Mom sees when she logs onto Facebook. Take a second and check out your profile through someone else's view, you might be surprised and what you find.

-Mike

Facebook Introduces Verified Accounts

Starting next week, Facebook will be introducing verified pages. Much like Twitter, verified pages will display a small blue check mark besides the owner's name. This check will also populate anywhere else the verified user's name shows up on Facebook.

The verification process will also be similar to Twitter and will not be offered to everyone. Verified accounts will be reserved for public figures like celebrities, government officials and popular brands. We think it is great that Facebook is now offering this verification. With increasing ambiguity online, anything that can help identify real, official accounts, is welcomed.

-Mike

Facebook to the Rescue

When you take a step back and look at social media, it can seem like a pretty trivial thing. When most of you time is spent striving to get the most likes on your new status updates or shares of your latest vacation picture, it is easy to forget the potential philanthropic uses of Facebook.

As you are most likely aware, Oklahoma was just hit by a massive tornado that killed 51 people, while leaving many more homeless. In the aftermath, amongst other destruction, it has been realized that victim's personal belongings have been blown many miles in all directions. To help gather some of these belongings and return them to their rightful owners, a Facebook group has been started, where members can post pictures of the property they have found. Victims can then go onto this group and see if any of the items are theirs and connect with the people who had found it.

We think this is a fantastic use of Facebook, helping people who have just gone through an unimaginable tragedy. If you live in the area and have found such debris, or think you can help in any other way, please join the Facebook group here.

-Mike

Facebook Bings It

Building off the social sidebar that Bing introduced last year, as of last friday, you can comment on Facebook posts straight from Bing. Based on what you search, Bing will display relevant information from Facebook on your sidebar. From that sidebar, you can directly like or comment on a friend's post. In addition to viewing these posts, Bing will also allow you to add your own, straight from the search page. As you can see below, when searching a term like "Shake Shack NYC", Bing displays relevant posts from social media platforms.

For truly customized results, one must log in to Facebook through Bing, then all of your friend's opinions on your searched topic will show up. This seems like it could be quite convenient if you were doing something like researching a new restaurant. Not only will you get the standard information a search engine provides, you will also see what your friends think of the place. If you were looking for someone to go to this new restaurant with, it may also make it much easier to find that someone if you already know who likes that specific restaurant, plus you can ask them via Facebook right from the search screen.

Is this new social service going to help Bing reach the mammoth that is Google? Probably not, but we think this will certainly add value to Bing's service and will help drive more traffic their way.

-Mike