Facebook Changes…No Not Again!

Facebook’s notorious reputation of making sudden changes is slowly dissipating. Facebook has just updated the iOS SDK, which is now available as version 3.1 with native UI. And this time, everyone seems prepared, for a change.

When author Andreas Ramos wrote a post about Facebook’s changes, his advice at the end of it was in fact a warning to ‘not rely on Facebook’ because it was ‘run by kids’ who do as they please and ‘won’t even notify’ when they make changes to their site.

Remarks such as these may have contributed to spur CEO Mark Zuckerberg to action, perhaps to prove people such as Andreas wrong? More concerning is how quickly the pendulum swung to the other side, with Facebook’s fast paced changes. Their two main goals are to move to mobile platform ASAP and to monetize.

Instead they now send an advance notice on their website to Facebook developers to prepare for any new change in the layout or feature are all put up to read on their website. Highly recommended is the Developer Roadmap page.

But the main issue is how well Facebook developers and users are adapting to the changes. Or are they not? Perhaps everyone became too comfortable and lazy coding during Facebook’s pre-mobile era. Even users felt disoriented. And by now the second and third parties should accept that such pace in development will continue because of Facebook’s very dynamic outlook.

While most of the changes are not too visible on the UI, their main pages and features have undergone a major upheaval. Such as Facebook’s Fan Pages, where in June this year, HBML was completely deleted and replaced by iFrame apps. On the exterior, as Facebook Timeline layout was enforced, so did Facebook Fan Page layout converge to become more interactive through the new ‘Message’ feature and provided better user control over posts and feedback.

Advertising and marketing also took on a new look, with features such as ‘Sponsored Stories’ and ‘Reach Generator’ to expand the fan base, thereby removing PPC (pay per click) advertisements.

The ones who are managing well are those who are reading up. It must be more than annoying because not only is it time consuming, it is also extra workload. However, it’s worth the trouble, especially for developers, because creating Facebook applications are a whole lot different.

It is always wiser to maintain a positive attitude, this goes for developers and users alike. Embrace change, and everyday will feel like new, better than a dull routine. Make the best use of their features and you can’t go wrong. Easier said than done…but with complete commercialization on the horizon, Facebook is certainly balancing it all pretty well so far.

Seemi Munir Originally Found this Post on Avenuesocial

Seemi Munir was born as a Leader,inspires others to work to their highest potential.She is an Expert in Business Development, Financial Strategic Planning, and Profit Growth.

 

7 Tips For Effective Social Photos For Your Business

Today, anyone can be a celebrity. Thanks to social media that has silenced the perpetual and often boring debate of picture versus the written word, to an agreement that one complements the other. Facebook’s Timeline may seem to have sparked the discussions again, with their demand for large photos to be posted on the profile. But even article writers will have to admit that the 399 wide pixels cover image has replaced a thousand words. But unlike other social media that are either too photo-oriented or too text-oriented, Facebook is well-balanced, retaining the apps functionalities, links and text that make for a complete ‘story,’ a word that is now commonly associated with the site.

It is inspiring to see what individuals and companies have done with this Timeline. But don’t feel overwhelmed by brands. As long as you have made yours look unique and conveyed what your company serves through the image, consider the job well done, no matter what size or how new your business.

To handle the medium, Facebook has sage advice: “Covers must not be false, deceptive or misleading, and must not infringe on third parties’ intellectual property.” This and more do’s and don’ts on the Facebook website must be appreciated for providing quality and standards to marketing that had become increasingly lagging in the business world.

But there is a downside of putting pictorial content on social websites, which is that they are open to criticism. To avoid embarrassment of your picture categorized under ‘top 20 weird photos’, it is a good idea to take the opinions of trustworthy sources prior to posting the photo. While at it, here are useful tips to ensure your pictures are as good as your business, or even better:

• If you lack imagination, just put up your company’s logo and slogan. Play around with their placement, the fonts and colors.
• To be able to elicit positive emotions through images is very effective, taking into consideration to not cross the limits of professional boundaries. These may be in the form of an amusing picture to humor, or scenic visuals to enchant.
• Bring the photo to life by making a colorful collage.
• Utilize features from within the site. Facebook has also been generous in providing photo apps. One distinct app that includes the voice functionality is the Fotobabble.
• Use the flexibility provided by the medium. Change as often as you like, and edit as much as you wish.

Assess the photos before posting, immediately after posting, and continue to monitor its popularity through feedback.

This post originally appeared on  Avenuesocial.

Facebook Strengthens Bond With The Mobile Web, Increases Room for App Development

The main reason why Facebook is so obviously keen to focus on the mobile is its fast rate in increase of users, that is, four times more on the mobile in just half the time, when compared with PC users. Several reviewers have commented that mobile would have been Mark Zuckerberg’s first choice as platform instead of the desktop, had it been available eight years ago. Now that has happened, but Facebook has been challenged for its capacity to accommodate over 2,500 types of mobile devices.

That is why Facebook has countered to resolve some major issues that were recently discussed at the ongoing Mobile World Congress in Spain, which will provide opportunities for app developers to create Facebook apps on the mobile platform.

• Mobile browser fragmentation: Each device requires specifications that may not be compatible with another device. To test compatibility of an app with a mobile web browser, a standard form of measurement is used. Ringmark is a ‘mobile browser test suite’ checks for compatibility issues in apps and helps identify and correct issues. The sizes of the rings determine the extent of the app’s compatibility.
• Mobile payment for apps and games: The main problem that users faced when using Facebook mobile is its tedious process of payment. By the end of it, the user is already frustrated to return to use the app. Facebook has integrated ‘Pay Dialog’ which is a requisite mode of payment on Facebook. They also intend reducing the number of steps involved in making an online purchase on the mobile through the ‘operator billing’ system, which will collaborate with over 30 mobile manufacturing companies to ease the payment process.
• App discovery: A Facebook Application that is difficult to identify, can be ‘discovered’ by linking the traffic to the apps through the Open Graph. Facebook recommends that app developers use the Open Graph on the mobile. In addition, other social channels will interconnect with Facebook. Other options for users to avail include ‘Bookmarks’, ‘Request Dialog,’ Feed Dialog’ and ‘Authenticated Referrals.’

   This post originally appeared on  Avenuesocial.