Monday, May 30, 2011

Facebook Roundup: Privacy, Europe, Mobile, Minors, Travel, Trading, Legal, Capital and Profanity

Facebook, Google Lose Mobile Patent Ruling – Wireless Ink Corp will be able to sue both Google and Facebook over alleged patent infringements related to the companies’ mobile-social services, according to a ruling in New York this week.
Facebook, Others Oppose Calif. Law – Facebook and other tech companies have been building momentum in their opposition to California’s SB 242 law that would affect consumer privacy online. In addition to Facebook signing the letter, Google, Twitter, Oodle, Identified, Zecco, and BranchOut have joined the fight against the bill.
Facebook Responds to NY Owner Claim – Facebook filed its formal legal response to New York’s Paul Ceglia, who claims he’s legally entitled to half of Facebook. In the response the company called Ceglia an “inveterate scam artist” who used “a doctored contract and fabricated evidence.”
Facebook “Not Focused” on Mobile Ads - Facebook’s EMEA Head of Mobile Partnerships Fergal Walker noted this week in London that“we are not focused on  advertising on mobile at all…Our minds are very focused on the social web.”
Industry Group Gets Into Privacy Game - Companies like Zynga, Facebook AT&T, Google, Intel and TrustE are investing money into a group, the Future of Privacy Forum, to provide developers with resources to create privacy policies in an educated way.

Zuckerberg Downplays Facebook’s Role in Middle East - Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg this week downplayed this social network’s role in the Middle East uprisings, saying the company’s platform was neither necessary nor sufficient for change there.
Zuckerberg Asks Europe to Relax About Privacy – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asked European leaders this week to tone down their regulation of the web, noting it could dampen innovation and governments should be investing in new technologies instead.

Zecco’s Wall Street App Allows Trading on Facebook – Zecco’s new app, Wall Street, allows users to see quotes, charts, discussions and more in real time, as well as make stock trades on the platform.
The Need for a Facebook Alternative – An interesting post on Altly notes that Facebook is not just a sterile medium, but rather, influences the way we communicate with people. This changes the way we communicate outside of Facebook too, and so, the need for a social web alternative to Facebook.
No Kids on Facebook - Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg assured European leaders this week that the website is not working towards opening up the platform for users under the age of 13.

Gtrot Uses Facebook for Travel - Gtrot is a new social network using Facebook data to help users navigate traveling by using their itinerary and Facebook profile to help them get advice from fellow travelers.
Facebook Helps Tornado Victims – Facebook Pages to help people in Joplin, Missouri locate missing loved ones have sprung up, attracting thousands of Likes.

Mixpanels Raises $1.25M - Mixpanel, which provides analytics solutions for companies, raised $1.25 million this week from Sequoia Capital and angel investors. The company is going to beef up its engineering team with the funding.
Milyoni Raises $3M – Milyoni, a Facebook commerce company, raised $3 million in Series A funding this week from ATA ventures and Thomvest Ventures, according to a release. The company is set to use the money to enhance social commerce products.
Half Facebook Profiles Contain Incriminating Evidence - Kaplan conducted a survey of third-year law students, finding that 49% of them reported seeing legally compromising material on others’ Facebook profiles.
About Half Profiles Contain Profanity – Reputation management company Reppler did a study, finding that about 47% of profiles contain some type of profanity.

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