The latest report from comScore makes for eye popping reading — Google’s video sites, of which YouTube is the most important, received 20,933,113,000 views in October. To put that into some context, that’s roughly three videos watched by every person alive on the planet. According to the statistics, YouTubers spent an average of seven hours watching the month’s hottest videos (such as Community’s Beetlejuice easter egg and Naughty Fenton). Surprisingly, Facebook came second, but viewers spent an measly average of 18 minutes watching last night’s karaoke. In other news, Hulu came top for online advertising and Vevo was the most watched partner site, you guys obviously love your Lady Gaga.
Facebook’s privacy record has been shaky at best. But that’s about to change, thanks to today’s settlement with the FTC. From now on, all privacy changes have to be opt-in for users, instead of Facebook changing it for you. About time.
Facebook CEO Mark Zukerberg and the FTC have both issued statements about the settlement, which forces the social network giant to make significant changes to how it deals with the privacy of its users. The biggest change is that Facebook must give, consumers “clear and prominent notice and obtaining consumers’ express consent before their information is shared beyond the privacy settings they have established.” This is a direct result of Facebook’s 2009 privacy change that caused certain information that was supposed to be private being made public. Apperantly, the word “private” meant “private until we make a few changes and make sure the whole world see your vacation photos” to Facebook.
The FTC also singled out Facebook’s Verified App program since it didn’t actually verify the security of the apps it verified. Facebook also shared personal user information with advertisers after it promised that it would not share that information. And on and on; seriously, Facebook has been playing fast and loose with your personal information, and the changes the FTC are enforcing are past due.
Here are the changes Facebook must make:
The proposed settlement bars Facebook from making any further deceptive privacy claims, requires that the company get consumers’ approval before it changes the way it shares their data, and requires that it obtain periodic assessments of its privacy practices by independent, third-party auditors for the next 20 years.
Specifically, under the proposed settlement, Facebook is:
barred from making misrepresentations about the privacy or security of consumers’ personal information;
required to obtain consumers’ affirmative express consent before enacting changes that override their privacy preferences;
required to prevent anyone from accessing a user’s material no more than 30 days after the user has deleted his or her account;
required to establish and maintain a comprehensive privacy program designed to address privacy risks associated with the development and management of new and existing products and services, and to protect the privacy and confidentiality of consumers’ information; and
required, within 180 days, and every two years after that for the next 20 years, to obtain independent, third-party audits certifying that it has a privacy program in place that meets or exceeds the requirements of the FTC order, and to ensure that the privacy of consumers’ information is protected.
To help achieve the goals put forth by the settlement, Facebook has created two new Chief Privacy Officers, Erin Egan and Micahel Richter. Zuck says he looks forward to working with the commission to implement the changes. Yeah, we look forward to it too buddy.
Facebook, it seems, has become the official spokesperson of the internet, or the symbol of the World Wide Web (at least for Americans, anyway). In the daily newspaper, the logo is seen printed with almost every ad. On television, they’re spotted on TV commercials along with a link to the advertiser’s Facebook page. A good number of websites require a Facebook login, and even chat clients like the recently upgraded AIM (which has thoroughly pissed off recent and long-time users) offers Facebook chat connectivity.
Skype is just as guilty. It integrated Facebook features into the Windows and Mac client some time ago adding items like news feeds, instant messaging and status updating. And back in July, actual Facebook video calling — powered by Skype — was launched on the social network. The feature isn’t exactly out in the open like all the other links lined up and down the Facebook page, but rather appears as a small video camera in the chat window of a Facebook friend when they’re online.
But web surfers who use both Facebook and Skype can now conduct Facebook to Facebook video chat right within the latest Skype beta client for Mac (5.4) and Windows PC (5.7). Users simply double-click on the Facebook user listed in Skype and select the new “Video Call” button within the pop-up IM window — the friend receives the video call request directly in Facebook. If video is not supported, then the Facebook friend’s window will only feature the typical “Call Phone” or “Call Mobile” number. Both video and normal Facebook calls can be placed directly from the news feed in the Skype Home window as well.
“This new feature lets you maintain social connections with your Facebook friends and compliments previously announced features such as being able to see when your Facebook friends are online, read their status updates and IM them all from Skype,” the company said in a blog.
In addition to the Facebook video calling feature, the new Skype beta includes video rendering for a smoother video experience for Mac users, and group screen sharing for Windows users with a Premium subscription — this latter feature is already available for Mac users. Those who are chatting it up one-on-one will also be able to screen share with live video streaming. Unfortunately, Skype still has problems maintaining a constant connection to Facebook’s chat server, leaving users staring at the circling “connecting” symbol.
Skype is just one client of many that will connect with Facebook and allow users to chat with their Facebook friends without the need for logging onto the social network in the browser. Has Facebook become the America Online of the new millennium?
Pro tip: choosing “password” as your online password is not a good idea. In fact, unless you’re hoping to be an easy target for hackers, it’s the worst password you can possibly choose.
“Password” ranks first on password management application provider SplashData’s annual list of worst internet passwords, which are ordered by how common they are. (“Passw0rd,” with a numeral zero, isn’t much smarter, ranking 18th on the list.)
The list is somewhat predictable: Sequences of adjacent numbers or letters on the keyboard, such as “qwerty” and “123456,” and popular names, such as “ashley” and “michael,” all are common choices. Other common choices, such as “monkey” and “shadow,” are harder to explain.
As some websites have begun to require passwords to include both numbers and letters, it makes sense varied choices, such as “abc123″ and “trustno1,” are popular choices. Read more…
Has offensive material appeared in your Facebook news feed over the last twenty-four hours? If so, you’re not alone, as security firm Sophos has confirmed the sudden-yet-offensive problem.
According to reports made by Facebook users, news feed content and personal messages now include explicit hardcore porn images, Photoshopped photos of celebrities in sexual situations, pictures of extreme violence and a photograph of an abused dog. That said, workers may need to get their Facebook fill at home rather than on the job until the porn flood has been contained… unless you work within the porn industry, that is.
Some people would have no problem trusting their spouse with the passwords for their various different online accounts, perhaps even their banking pin codes. After all, they’re the person you trust most in the world, and it’s nice to know that if you forget your password, someone else can remind you. However, it’s doubtful many people would trust their ex-husband or ex-wife with the same information. Even if it is just for a social network.
A Connecticut judge recently ordered a divorcing couple to swap the log in details for their Facebook and dating website accounts. According to Forbes, Judge Kenneth Shluger handed down the ruling in late September after a dispute arose between a husband and wife’s divorce lawyers. Stephen Gallion told his lawyer that he had seen incriminating things on his wife’s Facebook account (via their shared computer at home) that could help him in a custody battle. Mr. Gallion’s lawyer asked Mrs. Courtney Gallion the password to her Facebook, as well as EHarmony and Match.com accounts she had created, during a deposition. Courtney initially declined but relented after receiving advice from her own lawyer.
Courtney is said to have then texted a friend, instructing them to change her password and delete some of her messages. It was at this point that her husband’s lawyer, Gary Traystman, stepped in and asked the judge to issue an injunction that would prevent her from deleting any of her messages. Judge Shluger ordered both parties to exchange passwords so that their lawyers could conduct discovery. Traystman says that he has looked over Stephen’s Facebook account and feels his side has nothing to worry about. In anticipation that either party might abuse this new-found power, the judge’s ruling included a stipulation that no party log in and post messages purporting to be from the account’s owner.
Though we can see the reasoning behind the injunction, it’s disturbing to know that we may one day be asked to hand over passwords for entire accounts so the opposition can search for evidence. As Forbes’ Kashmir Hill points out, as part of a normal ‘discovery,’ a litigant is asked to turn over “responsive material” but not the keys to access that material and likely much more. It’s a perfect example of how the change in the way we communicate and our online behavior is impacting legal proceedings.
Is that 2GB of free storage from Dropbox just not enough to house all of your mobile music habits? Don’t fret, as Pogoplug Cloud now offers 5GB of secure space for all your storage, sharing and streaming needs. The service offers Dropbox-esque folder sharing and automatic uploads for all those vacation pictures without time lost to manual syncing. If that’s not enough extra space for your coveted Jericho episodes (and the Season 3 comics), you can spring from the 50GB and 100GB paid plans at $9.95 and $19.95 per month. You’ll also be able to post your cloud activity, should you so desire, to Facebook, Twitter or Google+ via native smartphone apps. All of the aforementioned services are available now via the coverage link below — after you install the free Android or iOS app, of course.
Someone lost his bicycle. It happens to many people. But this Matt O’Rourkelost his bicycle, and some 18 months later got his bicycle back. Now how to fuck did that happened? Well, we have the internet to thank to. Here’s the story straight from Matt.
About a year and a half ago, some dickstache stole my bike, and in an effort to get it back I posted the notice below to Craigslist.
I opened cans of peanuts at Safeway, farted in them, and then put the lids back on as fast as I could.
I adopted an abandoned cat, and then abandoned it.
Those were the darkest of days.
And then, one day, a few months ago, my phone rang, and some complete random on the other end of the line (who really, really didn’t want me to use his name here) said he’d been stopped by a woman while riding across the Williamsburg Bridge when she recognized the bike from the Craigslist post. He told her he’d bought it off the Assmaster in Tompkins Square Park for a couple hundred dollars, not knowing it was stolen, and now he wanted to give it back.
Long story short, he did, the Bologna is back in the stable, and I’m a whole man again. But there’s just one problem; he who doesn’t want to be named, never told me how to reach him.
So as much as @copyrider and I would like to give him the bountiful rewards for which he is due, we can’t.
If you’re reading this, and you’re the random, by all means, present yourself.
Finally, this needs saying:
It worked.
You shared it, and a lot of people saw it.
And because you did, I got my bike back.
Thank you internet, that was very nice of you.
(Also, the $1000 dollar offer for the thief’s nads on a stick still stands.)
This story originally appeared on CopyMatt’s Tumblr on November 11, 2011
Belgian police tracked down this speeder after he posted a video online of a 182mph joyride in a $257,000 Aston Martin. Thanks to the car’s rarity, police easily identified his license plate from other Facebook videos. Now he faces losing his license and the car.
Those gleaming, proud numbers on the speedometer could cost him not just his license and $4,774 in fines, but also his car, valued at around $257,000. The police were able to identify the driver’s license plate number by checking through other videos of the special edition Aston Martin V12 Vantage Carbon Black the speeder had posted on Facebook. It’s as if the damning evidence was just being streamed straight from the passenger seat to police computers.
These days, it’s not just public roads that are too small for supercars; the whole internet is getting too small for their speed. He might have enjoyed 15 anonymous minutes of fame and then faded away like any other viral street racer, were it not for his idiocy in posting other videos of himself online. Next time don’t try to post too many details of yourself on the internet.
Mini me? Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg talks with Charlie Rose of PBS about Google+, Steve Jobs, game development and more in a 54-minute interview.
Unlike Amazon and Apple who are considered respected partners, Facebook founder and CEO Marl Zuckerberg recently acknowledged in an interview that Google is indeed a rival, labeling the new Google+ social network as the search engine giant’s “own little version of Facebook.” He made this comment while talking with Charlie Rose in an exclusive interview which aired Monday night on PBS.
“People like to talk about war,” he said. “There are a lot of ways in which the companies work together. There are real competitions in there, but I don’t think this is going to be the type of situation where there’s one company that wins all the stuff. Google in some ways is more competitive. When I look at Amazon and Apple, I see companies that are extremely aligned with us. We have a lot of conversations with people at both companies trying to figure out ways in which we can do more together.”
“We’re focused on doing one thing incredibly well,” added COO Sheryl Sandberg who also took part in the interview. “If you look at other companies, all of these companies are doing a lot of different things but we’re still, as we grow, doing exactly one thing.”
As if proving Zuckerberg right in regards to his “own little version of Facebook” comment, Google announced on Monday that it added Google+ Pages to its social networking site, allowing companies and other entities to set up shop just like they do on Facebook.
“For you and me, this means we can now hang out live with the local bike shop, or discuss our wardrobe with a favorite clothing line, or follow a band on tour. Google+ pages give life to everything we find in the real world,” said Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President of Engineering. “And by adding them to circles, we can create lasting bonds with the pages (and people) that matter most.”
As for the PBS interview, the Facebook founder/CEO, COO and Charlie Rose cover 54 minutes worth of topics spanning Zuckerberg’s experience with Apple’s Steve Jobs, going public with Facebook, the Chinese government’s block of the social website, and even why Facebook will never be a games developer. To watch the full interview, head here.
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