It can't be explained as "a universal log-in," but Facebook's huge amount of announcements on Wednesday at the company's F8 developers conference reveal some of the social network's biggest moves yet.



Facebook has now built deeper, stronger pipes that will pull in more information from partner sites and push more social-media capabilities out to them in turn--Open Graph, which integrates third-party data into Facebook in a far more complex way than its Facebook Connect predecessor; Social Plugins, which add a smattering of social features to those publishers; and the revamped Graph API, which overhauls Facebook's platform code to make it simpler and more flexible.

One of the promotional materials for an additional F8 debut, the nascent RFID-based project called Facebook Presence, quoted the "Back to the Future" line "where we're going, we don't need roads." That's sort of ironic, because the truth is that Facebook knows the social Web is in need of roads, so as to speak, and it has anointed itself as the builder and operator of that infrastructure.



This will affect everyone from the developers who filled the San Francisco Design Center Concourse's halls for CEO Mark Zuckerberg's keynote address, to digital publishers and other social-media sites, to each of Facebook's 400 million-plus members. It's also likely going to mean some changes in direction at the other companies that have built or are building tools that also want to lay the groundwork for a lasting social Web--and by this, I mean Twitter and Google.

Indeed, many of the concepts that Facebook executives unveiled aren't totally new ideas. They borrow, at least in theory, from everything from Google Friend Connect to Meebo's chat bar to Digg's thumbs-up buttons. But Facebook, once again, is using its melange of marketing, engineering, and design expertise, which draws the occasional comparison to Apple's, to pitch a subtle message to the developers and publishers of the Web: they can do it, but we can do it better. And people are buying it.

cnet.com

Technology is getting insanely realistic

It seems like once a month I get asked to join some group of Facebook users that have decided they wont pay for Facebook. Some of these users seem bent out of shape because Facebook is now supposedly going to start changing their online users. After denying these ongoing requests I decide to look into it and assure just how false these ideas are. After looking through many sources such as allfacebook.com I found out what this is all about. This site states that Facebook has systematically shut down groups spreading this false information one at a time. Eventually there will be a filter keeping these groups from spreading false accusations in order to get thousands of users to join their group.This is an ongoing rumor which Facebook continues to deny, stating that their service is ad supported.

Is it just me or is internet, media, and such a hot topic for our comp 112 class?

Through my research I found a source that I found really interesting concerning twitter and Facebook. A couple from Europe was on their honeymoon when they got separated from their luggage delaying the trip and leaving them waiting in Frankfurt, Germany for their belongings to be returned. After a few status updates and some tweeting their travel company became notified and responded within 24 hours. The couple was refunded for their $2,000 trip, reimbursement for last-minute visas and other expenses in Frankfurt, plus a $3,000 credit for future travel all thanks to the power of Twitter and Facebook. This story is a true victory for social networking and shows how the media advancements of our world are really changing our every day lives.

While looking for a source I came across a site that gave some interesting numbers about today's thriving technologies. Ten years ago more than 60 percent of our nation had at least one PC in their household which makes a person wonder how those numbers have changed since then. This site goes on to ask "is technology bad on our society as a whole". Throughout this site is brings up key points about the drive that our country gets from computers and such. This source will defiantly help me see how vital technology is to the survival of our world.

Today, more people have cell phones than fixed telephone lines, both in the United States and internationally. There are more than one billion cell phone users worldwide. Compare that to 1985 when there were approximately 340,000 wireless subscribers in the United States, according to the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Associate (CTIA) By 1995, that number had increased to more than 33 million, and by 2003, more than 158 million people in the country had gone wireless. Americans spend, on average, about seven hours a month talking on their cell phones. In 1983, Motorola introduced DynaTAC, now considered the first truly mobile telephone, and from there who knew where it would lead.

I think its safe to say that the younger generation is addicted to their phones. The thought of a week or even a couple of days without a Mobile phone would blow a teenagers mind in today's time. So why is it that we are so attached to our electronic Swiss army knives? Is it the security they provide, their handiness, or the social convenience, etc?

thenewatlantis.com