Facebook privacy overhaul grants better controls for permissions, apps, photos and more

Voting for changes may never be the same on Facebook, but it sure seems as if the company is taking your privacy more seriously than perhaps it has in the past. In a move that signals bold changes on behalf of the user, Facebook has published two posts today outlining a litany of both user and developer tweaks that enable greater control over content. Today's updates include Privacy Shortcuts, an easier-to-use Activity Log, and a new Request and Removal tool for managing multiple photos you're tagged in; it's also adding "new in-product education that makes key concepts around controlling your sharing clearer, such as in-context reminders about how stuff you hide from timeline may still appear in news feed, search, and other places."

[Source: Engadget]

The year on Twitter: from the ocean floor to Mars, tragedy to triumph

At the end of every year, Twitter loves to compile highlights from the previous 12 months. Its army of engineers and analysts look at the trends, the most popular retweets and new tweeters with an impact. Then all that info is packaged up in an easy to navigate standalone site that presents the world through a hashtag-tinted lens. 2012 had plenty of interesting moments, punctuated by status updates from the bottom of the sea and the surface of the red planet. We were given an unprecedented birds-eye view of a tragic storm and an intimate glimpse at a president celebrating the successful conclusion of a hard-fought election with his wife.

[Source: Engadget]

Facebook Messenger allows sign-ups with just a name and phone number on Android devices

Facebook Messenger might as well be as ubiquitous as SMS text messaging for some, but there's a catch to getting everyone to agree: despite there being over a billion Facebook users, not everyone is able (or willing) to fire up a social networking profile to get started. Some of the Android users among us won't have to go through that trouble as of today. An imminent update to the Facebook Messenger app will let anyone sign up using just their name and a phone number; any initial friends will come directly from the newcomer's own mobile contact list. The rollout is currently focusing on Australia, India, Indonesia, South Africa and Venezuela, but should spread to the rest of the world in short order. iOS users are also in line to get the update, although the timetable is less definite. Whatever the platform, Facebook is clearly eager to give those seemingly few holdouts from its service an easy way to test the waters -- and possibly save on their messaging rates in the process.

[Source: Engadget]

Skype announces new 'In the Workplace' platform for small businesses

Skype has made itself present in many different areas around the globe, but the Microsoft-owned service is now looking to enter (and hopefully be a part of) a more business-oriented field. With the launch of its newfangled, adequately-named In the Workplace platform, Skype says it's hoping to keep small businesses connected and help them grow by giving them a free platform where they can easily communicate with potential customers, partners and even suppliers. According to Skype, this novel service has been tested in beta form for nearly six months now, and today it's officially opening its virtual doors to all business owners that are interested in giving it a go -- the link to sign up can be found down below.

[Source: Engadget]

New Features for Samsung ChatON

Mobile Instant Messaging has come a long way since it first swept the globe with Blackberry Messenger. iPhone offerings advanced the communication options, but Android, the fastest growing operating system today, is leading the way with the ChatON app from Samsung.
Leading the future of IM interaction, the ChatON app takes IM to the next level with animated messages for more creative freedom, calendar interaction to manage your busy schedule, group chat and chat rooms, and an interactive profile page. The “Trunk” feature allows you to store contents in a sharing box, and post comments to other sites including Facebook. 

Samsung ChatON app features:
Enhanced Group Chat, where broadcast messages can be sent to several buddies at once
“Trunk” - a ChatON Contents Sharing Box, where users can leave comments and share contents to other sites including Facebook
Animation Message, users can create their own animated messages with original drawings, texts, audio content and changing background images
Anicon (Animated Emoticon), users can download various animated emoticons from chaton.com
Buddies say, users can post comments directly to buddies’ profile at any time
Interaction Rank, users can check how often then chat with their buddies on the progress bar
Micro SNS Community (Social Network Service)

Now available in 120 countries in 66 languages, Samsung’s ChatON is usable across iOS, BlackBerry and Android devices. Download ChatON for free at https://web.samsungchaton.com

Google+ expands custom URLs to 'thousands more' pages and profiles

If you're lacking the mental perspicacity to memorize that bizarre string that constitutes your Google+profile (or business page) we've got some good news -- Google's continuing its roll-out of custom URLs to its most popular social network pages. You'll have to make sure that you stake a claim to your pre-approved URL when the box appears on your page -- fortunately it's pretty hard to miss, sticking out along the top of your well-known profile / page. Lesser known brands and 'personalities' will have to wait a little longer, but Product Manager Saurabh Sharma says that the custom URLs will continue to trickle down the system "in the future."

[Source: Engadget]

TV Guide Mobile relaunches for iOS with a new look, links to streaming video and social networks

We've already seen many companion apps on mobile, but now TV Guide is diving in wholeheartedly with the next generation of its app for iOS devices. While the previous versions of TV Guide Mobile on iOS and Android let users create watchlists and get reminders, version 3.0 for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch is completely redesigned to make TV watching simpler with filtering for HD-only and favorite channels, links to streaming videos from sources like Hulu Plus, HBO Go, Crackle and iTunes -- Netflix and Amazon are not on the list, although additional video sources are promised in the coming weeks. Like any good companion app in 2012 it also brings social networking features with check-ins and Twitter / Facebook integration and a trending social hot list based on what other users search for.

The downside compared to many of the apps from cable providers like Comcast or Time Warner, hardware manufacturers like TiVo or even other third parties like Dijit is the inability to use it to directly change the channel, but perhaps that's in the next version. There's more details in the press release after the break, and screens in the gallery below, if you're willing to give another contender a shot at assisting your TV watching habits, the free app is available in iTunes at the source link.

[Source: Engadget]

Kno textbooks arrive on Android with the Galaxy Note 10.1, take on a social side

Kno's post-hardware textbook platform has called the iPad its only tablet home for more than a year; it's about to spread its wings. Starting with a bundled presence on the Galaxy Note 10.1, Kno is an option for K-12 and college students who'd rather go the Android route. While all the 3D, note-taking and navigation features remain the same, there's an obvious selling point in supporting the S Pen (and hopefully other pens) to more directly put thoughts to virtual paper -- or, let's admit it, doodle in the margins. All of us, Android and otherwise, get a new Social Sharing component that lets us crib each other's notes before the big exam. We're still waiting on Kno for other Android devices as well as the already-promised Windows 7 support, but it's hard not to appreciate at least a little more variety in our digital learning.

[Source: Engadget]

Glopho launches the world’s first social network for news photos

Today sees the launch of Glopho, a unique online photo-sharing service designed specifically to allow anyone to “make the news” with the pictures they take. Now the millions of people with a camera in their pocket, budding amateur photographers or seasoned professionals can all share the moments they capture and the crowd can decide what is news.
 
The riots, the Royal procession or the dog on a skateboard; any photo can be easily and immediately shared via the Glopho website and mobile apps and then onwards through Facebook, Twitter or other social channels. Glopho is completely free to use and takes ‘citizen photo-journalism’ to new levels by introducing unique crowd-sourcing and news curation elements to photo-sharing.
 
Glopho is complementary to existing social networks.  It allows everyone to easily share the pictures they take not just with their friends and family, but with the wider world.  Users can follow their favourite photographers and their friends to see all the news they share, every day.
 
The Glopho website shows photos in a rolling format in simple category windows - Reality, Locality and Celebrity – alongside the Users’ Choice, Editor’s Choice and Latest images.  Pictures carry the photographer’s own description to explain the ‘what, where and when’ and can be tagged to make them easy to find.  Users can personalise their homepage to show their own photos and those of their friends, as well as the other photographers they follow.
 
Glopho apps are available in both iPhone and Android versions to make it even easier for people to post their pictures and enjoy looking at Glopho while on the go. Those using digital cameras rather than smartphones can upload their pictures via their computer or laptop.
 
Founder and CEO of Glopho, Simon Walker, said:
 
“I have believed for some time that we are all now news photographers and just need an easy and effective way to share with the outside world the pictures we take each day. News is happening all around us and, more than ever, we are well-equipped to capture those moments digitally.  The explosion of social media has also given us, both as individuals and collectively, a bigger voice than ever.  Glopho harnesses these phenomena and provides the perfect space to share what we witness and decide together what we call news.”              
 
Glopho is the brainchild of award-winning photojournalist and picture editor Simon Walker, now founder and CEO of Glopho.  The idea and the business he has created has been developed over the last two years. Thorough Beta testing has allowed iterative development and the creation of the current proposition which is launched fully to the public today. Further developments including new features and improved app usability are scheduled to be released over the next 2 months, with releases planned for every 2-3 weeks.
 
Glopho’s revenue model will see it earning money in two ways.  Firstly, from advertisers paying to launch their own ‘premium galleries’, allowing them to get greater value from increasingly content-led social marketing strategies.  Secondly, Glopho will take a share of the fees earned by photographers when pictures are sold to news and other outlets wanting to use any images from the site.
 
In its recent first round of funding, Glopho closed an SEIS-eligible round of £150k, corner-stoned by a London Business Angels Network syndicate, and joined by a number of other experienced private investors.
 
Glopho is run by a top flight management team of experienced senior professionals including founder Simon Walker (CEO), Erik Wenngren (Chairman), James Serjeant (CFO), Richard Ireland (CMO) and Karl Knoflach (CTO).