Updated Facebook for Windows Phone app released

Today, an updated version of the Facebook for Windows Phone app was released to the Marketplace (link to download), featuring improved performance, a refreshed design, and new features. The app sports a new "panorama design," a new profile design, improved navigation, and the ability to view Pages, Groups, and "Likes."

The update is available in the Windows Phone Marketplace now.

Focus areas for the v2.3 release:

• News feed performance improvements
• New panorama design.
• New profile design.
• Banner Images.
• Improved navigation.
• Pages
• Groups
• View “likes”.
• Feed filters.
• Posting privacy.
• Bug fixing

Angry Birds soar onto Facebook – popular game can now be played on world’s largest social network

Today, February 14, 2012, Angry Birds, the incredibly popular and multi-platform game, launched on Facebook for the first time. The game is similar to what you've seen on other platforms - namely iOS, Android, and PC - but also integrates special social features, Facebook-exclusive levels, and new power-ups.

Angry Birds can be played on Facebook by clicking here.

The trailer for Angry Birds on Facebook is embedded below:

Facebook testing new interface for Photos

Well, look at what we have here. It appears Facebook has either begun testing or begun rolling out a new interface for pictures on the social network, one that puts a heavy focus on "Sponsored" advertisements and comments. The new UI will place the photo behind a dark background and hovering over the left side of the window will fade in the "Like" button and other tools if you're the owner of the picture. 

Are you seeing anything similar on your Facebook? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!

More Facebook IPO details: Mark Zuckerberg spent $700,000 on private plan trips in 2011, salary to drop to $1 in 2013

Following Facebook's initial public offering filing with the SEC earlier today, the media is now getting a chance to read through the entire document the company filed, with all the extra tidbits and information. The IPO has already revealed that Facebook currently has 845 million users and that the company made $3.71 billion in 2011. 

New details from the document reveal that Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg had a salary of $483,333 in 2011, with the addition of a $220,500 bonus and $783,529 of other "compensations." In addition, the 27-year old billionaire apparently spent $700,000 for private plane use "chartered in connection with his comprehensive security program and on which family and friends flew during 2011."

The IPO documents also reveal that Zuckerberg plans to bring down his yearly salary to $1 beginning January 1, 2013 (just as many other CEOs do, namely the late Steve Jobs). Using the valuation Facebook provided in the filing ($29.73 per share), Zuckerberg will have $16 billion worth of Facebook stock when the company begins trading sometime in May of this year. This number, however, may increase if Facebook's valuation increases, which it likely will in the near future. 

Facebook’s IPO documents reveal 845 million users; $3.71 billion generated in 2011

Earlier today, Facebook filed for a $5 billion initial public offering with the SEC and the media is now getting a chance to dig through the fairly large document to find any information the social network has revealed. 

First, Facebook revealed that it now has 845 million users, which means the world's largest social network gained about 95 million users since it last reported the number in June of 2011. In addition, Facebook revealed that its total revenues for 2011 were at $3.71 billion, a majority of which came from advertising throughout the social network. 

Facebook says that its partnership with Zynga, a social network game developer, accounts for about 12% of its total revenue, which is equivalent to about $500 million in 2011. 

Finally, Facebook describes that it also makes revenue from third-party companies paying to make sure that their locations, information, etc. appears before others on the social network. The example Facebook describes in the document filing is with Starbucks - Starbucks has the option to pay Facebook to make sure that their locations appear higher up on the "check-in" list when using Facebook Places. 

Facebook files for $5 billion IPO

Just as reports over the past week have claimed, Facebook has officially filed its initial public offering (IPO) documents with the SEC this afternoon, worth $5 billion. The company was initially expected to file an IPO closer to $10 billion, but has elected to start small and move up, meaning it still has the change to be one of the largest tech IPOs in history. 

Morgan Stanley will be the lead underwriter on the IPO, while Goldman Sachs and Bank of America will help out. Shares are expected to begin being traded sometime in May of this year. 

Developing...

Report: Facebook filing for lower than expected $5 billion IPO tomorrow morning

According to a report from International Financing Review, Facebook will be filing for a $5 billion initial public offering (a.k.a. "IPO") tomorrow morning, February 1, 2012. The IPO, however, is significantly less than what was previously projected ($10 billion) for the world's largest social network in a report from last week. With that being said, the report notes that Facebook has elected to "start with a conservative base before deciding whether to increase."

The company will begin trading shares sometime in May of this year, pending approval from the U.S. government. Morgan Stanley will be the front-runner for the IPO, but Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital and JP Morgan are all said to be involved as well.

Facebook filing for IPO as early as this Wednesday

According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Facebook may be filing for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) as early as this Wednesday, February 1, 2012. The social network's IPO has been long-awaited and could possibly be the largest ever for a tech company, valued at $10 billion. For comparison, Google filed for an IPO back in 2000 for less than $2 billion.

If the IPO is valued at about $10 billion, Facebook as a company would be valued at around $100 billion. The offer will be managed mainly by Morgan Stanley, with Goldman Sachs as a "significant" secondary.   

Facebook to force all users over to new Timeline design “over the next few weeks”

Facebook announced earlier today via an updated blog post that, "over the next few weeks," it will begin forcing all users of the social network to switch over to the new Timeline profile design, which was first announced at the f8 developers conference in September of last year.

Users who receive Timeline will have seven (7) days to make sure that their profiles are in tip-top shape before publishing it to friends and family. 

Last year we introduced timeline, a new kind of profile that lets you highlight the photos, posts and life events that help you tell your story. Over the next few weeks, everyone will get timeline. When you get timeline, you'll have 7 days to preview what's there now. This gives you a chance to add or hide whatever you want before anyone else sees it. 

Facebook Timeline is an overhaul of the profile pages on the social network, placing information in a timeline view. It focuses on photos, life events, and social apps, a majority of which were just released last week. 

Facebook introduces new apps for Timeline

Yesterday, Facebook unveiled a series of new social apps that users of the social network can begin using on their Timeline. Social apps integrate with the new profile view of Facebook, and have the ability to display information on your Timeline to friends. 

A list of some of the new apps (60 in total) that are immediately available for use:

• Foodspotting
• Foodily
• Ticketmaster
• Pinterest
• Rotten Tomatoes 
• Pose
• Kobo
• Gogobot
• TripAdvisor

You can add new social apps to your Timeline here. 

Facebook to surpass one billion users sometime in August 2012

 According to data collected by iCrossing, Facebook will finally surpass the one billion user mark sometime in August of 2012, eleven months after the social network announced that it surpassed 800 million users. Using information available from 2008 to the last day of 2011, Gregory Lyons was able to pinpoint when the big one billion milestone would happen. 

Lyons also states that user growth in the United States and United Kingdom has slowed down significantly recently, but India and Brazil should be able to pick up the lost numbers. 

And we leave you with this...

Facebook launches “Listen With” feature allowing users to listen to music with friends

Earlier today, Facebook announced that it has begun rolling out a new feature dubbed "Listen With," which allows users of the social network to listen to songs with friends via the click of a button.

To use the new feature, look for a friend who has a music note next to their name in the chat sidebar and hover over their name. Then, click the "Listen with..." button and the track will begin playing using the service that your friend is using (example is Spotify). In addition, once you begin listening to a song with a friend, you can also chat with them and others listening to the same track through Facebook. 

The Listen With feature on Facebook will be rolling out to everyone over the next few weeks. 

Facebook Messenger for Windows officially released

Yesterday, Facebook released Facebook Messenger for Windows, an application that allows users of the social network to stay somewhat connected without visiting the web interface of the social network. Facebook is calling the app a "trial," meaning that things are still being worked out and modified. "We’re testing out a first version of the app with a small group of people. During this trial period, we plan on rolling out changes to the app and expect outages and periods of instability as we make improvements," the company says. 

The following can be done with Facebook Messenger for Windows:

• Chat and message with your friends on Facebook
• See the latest updates from your friends in ticker
• Get quick notifications about what’s going on

The design of the program is very similar to the sidebar on Facebook.com, with the ticker on top and chat window below it. 

The app requires Windows 7 to run and will automatically install updates during the trial period. 

• Download Facebook Messenger for Windows

Facebook adds ability to use profile pictures as emoticons in Chat

As noted by TechCrunch, Facebook has added the ability for its users to use profile pictures as emoticons in Facebook Chat. Profile pictures of any user on the social network, any Page, or any Event can all be used in Facebook Chat. The pictures appear only on the web interface of Facebook, but can be sent on the mobile side of things. Hovering over the image will bring up a tooltip with the username of whatever is shown. 

Due to the fact that profile pictures are public on Facebook, there is no way to block others from using specific images in Chat. 

Steps to use profile pictures as chat emoticons on Facebook are below:

1. Go to any profile, official Page, or event that you want to use as an emoticon.
2. Look at the URL. Find the username or profile ID at the end of the URL such as “VinDiesel” from http://www.facebook.com/VinDiesel, “JoshConstine”, “cocacola”, or “45197362282″
3. Place that name or number in double brackets like [[VinDiesel]]
4. Enter that into a Facebook Chat or Message field. When you send it, the bracketed number or letters will appear as that person, Page, or event’s current profile picture.

Facebook begins rolling out “Suggested Events”

According to a report from TechCrunch, Facebook has begun rolling out a new feature for the social network, dubbed "Suggested Events." The feature will determine what you like to do based on your previous check-ins, pages you "Like," events that friends are going to, etc. 

Facebook tells me it is testing the feature, though it has now been rolled out to the entire user base. A spokesperson also says suggestions can be based on the music you listen to through Open Graph apps, which can help improve recommendations for those who checkin via Foursquare or don't share their location at all.

We're not seeing Suggested Events on our Facebook accounts (yet), but that's probably because of Facebook's well-known slow rollout. 

Are you a fan of Suggested Events? 

Report: Facebook plans to begin placing “Sponsored Stories” in News Feed next year

According to a report from TechCrunch, Facebook plans to begin placing what it is calling "Sponsored Stories" into users' News Feeds in January 2012. The ads will appear once every day and clearly be labeled as "Sponsored" to inform people that the story is not from friends or another source. 

The ads will also be related to users' friends and/or pages that they "like" on the social network. There won't be a way to opt out of the Sponsored Stories, nor will the mobile version of Facebook be receiving the ads anytime soon, the article reports. 

Are you okay with seeing one-a-day advertisements in your News Feed on Facebook? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below. 

Facebook app for iOS updated with Timeline support, improved performance and refreshed interface

Earlier today, Facebook released version 4.1 of its mobile app for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad (App Store link), adding support for Mobile Timeline, among other things. The update also brings improved performance throughout the app, as well as a simplified interface for viewing photos. 

What's New in Version 4.1

• Access to Mobile Timeline on iPhone (if you already have a timeline). iPad support coming soon. Get your own timeline here: fb.me/tml 
• Access to friend lists, subscribers and subscriptions
• Faster, better performance
• Photos are easier to view, upload and comment on

The update is available for free from the App Store. 

The new Facebook Timeline – Yay or Nay?

Earlier this week, Facebook announced that its newest redesign, entitled "Timeline," is now available for every user of the world's most popular social network. People have the option of enabling Timeline now, or waiting until December 22 for friends and family to see it live on their profile page. 

Timeline is a complete redesign of the profile page. It overhauls the old Facebook style with a timeline, which shows all of a user's activity since they joined Facebook. The redesign is also focused heavily around integrating applications, such as Spotify or anything else that was built for Facebook. 

As with every major Facebook redesign (and even not major ones), users react differently. From browsing Twitter and Facebook's community support forums for a few minutes, it seems most people are actually not fans of the new Timeline, for one reason or another. Some believe that the design is just too cluttered and some believe that there is no reason for a redesign. In my opinion, those people are just not open to change, which is always happening at Facebook and the rest of the Internet. And then there are the people who probably have not used the new design yet, but are completely against it from the get go.

So, with that being said, the time has come to ask our readers. Do you like the new Facebook Timeline. Have you enabled it / published it to the public yet? What possible improvements do you think can be made? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Facebook rolls out Timeline to everyone

After several months of waiting, Facebook today announced that Timeline, the redesigned profile page for users of the social network, has been rolled out to everyone. Facebook says that users should be seeing a notification upon logging into the social network, and if they want to begin using it earlier, they can do so by visiting this webpage. 

Facebook is giving people a seven-day grace period upon turning on Timeline, allowing them to make changes and be sure everything looks perfect. At the end of the seven day period, Timeline will be automatically published to friends and family. If the user chooses, they can publish Timeline before the grace period is over. 

Timeline was initially announced at Facebook's f8 developer conference in September, but has been delayed due to numerous reasons, including a lawsuit over the name and reported speed issues. Timeline has also rolled out to Facebook's mobile interface and is available via an update for the social network's Android app.  

Facebook countersues Timelines.com

Just a couple of days after Facebook announced that it has begun rolling out the new Timeline feature to the masses, the social network today filed a counter lawsuit against Timelines.com, the company that sued Facebook shortly after the initial Timeline announcement.

Timelines.com claims that Facebook infringed upon one of its trademarks by calling the profile page redesign "Timeline." The company also claims that it would could confusion between users and make them believe that Timelines.com is affiliated with Facebook. 

In its counter lawsuit, Facebook claims that the word "timeline" is too generic. Helping Facebook's case is the fact that Twitter uses the word "timeline" throughout its website as well. 

Shortly after the initial suit was filed back in September, Facebook agreed to halt the rollout of Timeline to users until the issues are resolved. However, it appears that Zuckerberg and company are tired of waiting.