These window decals give the company’s Facebook fan page URL, as well as instructions for “liking” the business instantly via SMS. Included with the customised sticker is a letter offering a few tips for having a successful Facebook fan page, as well as a coupon code good for $25 worth of Facebook advertising.

This is a pretty smart and inexpensive way for Facebook to – amongst other things – grow their user base even further by getting other businesses to do their advertising for them, ensure that businesses use Facebook consistently to communicate with their customers, and introduce small businesses to the Facebook advertising platform.

So how will Facebook combat this? – through a more connected, open platform. First off, they are killing Facebook connect. Facebook connect is that irritating little confirmations you have to go through everytime another web app wants to communicate with Facebook. Instead, Facebook is implementing “Open Graph” which looks remarkably similiar when described, but uses a single sign on process which will integrate more tightly into third party apps. For example, saying you “like” a certain song in Pandora (a music streaming service on the web and on your phone) will automatically add that song to your favourite music section in yout profile. Of course, not everyone can go and make these alterations to your profile, so Facebook has elected about 30 partners with which they will work at first. Big news is that Microsoft will offer Office 2010 editable documents in Facebook. So we guess that Microsoft purchase of a portion of Facebook is giving them a few advatantages… Lets see how they will implement this.

As Kerry-Anne mentioned, Facebook will also be making available the “like” button to any third party user, and its as simple as a few lines of HTML code. This will work similiar to the “Digg This” or “tweet this” buttons we see on sites these days. This is perhaps the best way in which Facebook will try to defend themselves against Twitter’s information rich features.

Perhaps more interesting is that Facebook will start using its own official currency called Facebook Credits, which can be used in all Facebook related sites. If you are a Farmville addict, expect that you will be pestered with offers to buy upgrades soon enough, in the Facebook Credits currency. Now if they can only make an offer so that I cannot get any mention of Farmville, anywhere, ever. Now that is a upgrade I will get.

Facebook is also releasing a “social bar” which is a floating bar that can be integrated into any site – lets say on the bottom of the screen. This bar can then be used as a way to build a community around your site, and naturally, spread its news quickly to your friends on Facebook.

Dissappointingly, Facebook did not mention anything regarding location based services (you can call it “LBS” if you want to be trendy). This is one area where services like Loopt, Twitter and Foursquare still have an advantage. Mark Zuckerberg did however confirm that it is being worked on… So in future you should become more careful of who you friend on Facebook…

1. The new “Like” button, which will be implemented on external sites across the web, including, for now, NYTimes.com, IMDb, CNN.com, TIME.com, LIFE.com, Fandango, NHL.com, USA Networks, Levis.com, Univision and ABC.com. When the user “likes” a product or article on one of these sites, that action will be shared with their friends on Facebook, and their friends will be able to comment on it there. In some cases, such as with IMDb, an item that is “liked” will be added to the user’s profile page under their interests. The item – in this case a movie – will then be able to send the user updates through their News Feed on Facebook.

2. Working alongside the new Like button, the Activity Feed surfaces the actions a user’s friends are taking on a website. If a user is logged into Facebook and then visits a site with this feature implemented, they will be able to see the articles and topics on the site that their friends are sharing, recommending and commenting on.

3. The Recommendations feature will highlight the content on the external site that is most popular with Facebook users, based on the number of “likes” each item receives.

By utilising the Grid’s location-aware technology, South Africans are not only able to see on their cellphones which HIV support service is closest to them, but they can also obtain the centre’s contact details and get directions to it.

This initiative sees the Grid partnering with the HIV-911 programme – a comprehensive guide of HIV and AIDS related support services in South Africa. The main objective of the programme is to ensure that information about HIV support services are accessible to all South Africans. HIV-911 is funded by United States Agency for International Development / President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through the Foundation for Professional Development.

Says Shameel Joosub, Managing Director, Vodacom South Africa: “By utilising the broad reach of cellphones in South Africa and tapping into the large user base on the Grid, we are able to make crucial HIV and AIDS support information readily available to all South Africans. This is a great initiative to communicate the value of getting tested to a younger target audience in a social networking environment. It’s just another example of how mobile technology can help create a better life for ordinary South Africans.”

All the HIV-911 information is available in the Grid’s latest application release to coincide with this year’s World Aids Day. To access the Grid SMS ‘GRID’ to 33313 (50c/SMS) or visit http://onthegrid.mobi/

Some great features have been added to the application and that includes the all new News Feed that imitates the web based version, very well. There’s also the Like feature in full swing, but for it, Facebook is expected to fix the notification system so that a user doesn’t get bombarded with notifications after ‘liking’ something. Other than these there’s access to events, too. They include the ability to RSVP but there is still no access to the event’s wall.

The iPhone users can edit notes but cannot tag people in notes. They can now create new albums and upload photos to them, zoom in photos and can even have an album of profile pictures. You can quickly text friends directly from the friends page and all the messages you type will be restored in case there is an interruption to your connection.

To top it all there is a new homescreen that ensures easy access to all your stuff, search and notifications.

We think we’ll give it a try in here and let you know!

For more info check out AppAdvice

There’s a catch though! This development, which stresses the website’s high ranking among the giants in the technology and media sector, follows Digital Sky Technologies, of Russia, agreeing to pay $14.77 a share for Facebook common stock. Now, the Russian company’s stake in Facebook will be 3.5%.

The deal shows that Facebook has a higher market value than many other established media and technology companies that make considerably more money. While CBS Corporation, which earned $13.95 billion in revenues in 2008, has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, Salesforce.com has a market cap of $4.72 billion.

According to Mark Andreessen, board member, Facebook is expected to exceed $500 million in sales in 2009.

As of today Facebook has reached 250 million active users on its social network – up from 100 million nearly a year ago – thus ranking higher than the rival social networking website MySpace.

So how about, would you like to own stock in Facebook?

Image courtesy of LaughingSquid

Making a statement in this regard, Zuckerberg stated how he dreamed of creating an opportunity for people to share information, news and views in a richer and faster way when he founded Facebook back in 2004. And the fact that it has been embraced so quickly only shows how millions across the world (3%) are still searching for a medium to voice their concerns.

Zuckerberg also remarks that Facebook has played an instrumental role in campaigns of both U.S. President Barack Obama and French President Nicholas Sarkozy, and believes that more such social revolutions will be born from this platform.

What is interesting to note though is how he tries to plug-in the “Gift Shop” on Facebook and makes sure to state that the money is going all for charity and that they won’t keep absolutely nothing from it. Let’s just hope Mark has a solid plan when it comes to taking Facebook on the next financial level and make it as much of a success on that front as well. [via Facebook]

Image courtesy of pshabBut that little investment by Microsoft seems to be more a gesture of commitment and goodwill towards a hopeful future partnership rather than an accurate estimation of the Facebook stock.

In a recent goof up, the social networking giants themselves revealed that they value their stock at $8.88 per share, putting the company at a market value of just around $3.7 billion!

The startling new revelation came up when the Associated Press was able to retrieve some details from the transcript of a June court hearing held over a legal settlement between Facebook and ConnectU, which had blacked-out segments in them. While it is hard to imagine how Facebook would make such a naive mistake, it does substantiate the growing opinion that the company is not worth as much as the $15 billion.

The fact that Facebook rates itself almost 3 times less, is an indicator that sometimes hype can easily conceal facts!

However, we’re lucky. An over-enthusiastic ad given out by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, the law firm that represented ConnectU founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss in legal battle has spilled the beans on that out. Claiming pompously that it is their opponents who need a bailout, the ad talks about how Facebook had to pay ConnectU a whooping $65 million for an amicable settlement.

The legal hassle started when ConnectU claimed that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg stole their intellectual property and code to build his social networking site and while Facebook says that dishing out the money was not an admission of guilt, there are many who feel otherwise.

While the jury is still out on Zuckerberg’s guilt or lack of any, the astonishing fact is that both parties had tried very hard to keep the deal secret. While the details of the deal in regards to whether the sum was paid in cash or a mixture of cash and Facebook stock is still not known, the zealous ad could mean trouble for the law firm.

Seems like the fire has been rekindled! Isn’t it?

[via TechCrunch]
Image by LaughingSquid

The new feature enables you to browse through different sites using Facebook identity allowing you to move across the net with complete freedom. This most importantly means that you will not have to re-enter all your identification details on sites that have integrated themselves with the Connect feature.

And sites like Discovery Channel, The San Francisco Chronicle, Digg, Geni and Hulu are ready for it.

This not only makes browsing more convenient and will actually increase traffic to those websites that implemented it, as Facebook users will feel at home progressively in these sites which they might otherwise have not taken time to visit. The feature not just offers a way to generate revenue for both parties in the future, but could create a larger community in the virtual world.

For now though Facebook is threading early waters with plenty of care.