Facebook rules with millennials

[JakeStarkey]

They put almost 25.7 hours a month on it compared to 7 hours for instagram.

 

[waltky]

Why would they want to track a non-user?...

Facebook told by Belgian court to stop tracking non-users
9 November 2015 - A court has given Facebook 48 hours to stop tracking people in Belgium who are not members of its social network.

Facebook says it will appeal against the decision and that the order relates to a cookie it has used for five years. The cookie is installed when an internet user visits a Facebook page even if they are not members. However, the Belgian court said that the company was obliged to obtain consent to collect the information being gathered. "The judge ruled that this is personal data, which Facebook can only use if the internet user expressly gives their consent, as Belgian privacy law dictates," it said in a statement.

The company said the cookie the ruling relates to is safe​

If Facebook fails to comply, it could face a fine of up to 250,000 euros (£180,000) per day. The fine would go to the Belgian Privacy Commission, which brought the case, the court added. Cookies are simple files that track whether a user has visited a website before and notify the site itself.

They can track a number of user activities, such as how long they stayed, what they clicked and any preferences selected. "We've used the Datr cookie for more than five years to keep Facebook secure for 1.5 billion people around the world," said a Facebook spokesperson. "We will appeal this decision and are working to minimise any disruption to people's access to Facebook in Belgium."

Facebook told by Belgian court to stop tracking non-users - BBC News

See also:

Facebook to appeal Belgian ruling ordering it to stop tracking non-users
9 Nov.`15 - Facebook said on Monday it would appeal a court ruling ordering it to stop tracking the online activities of non-Facebook users in Belgium who visit Facebook pages, or face a 250,000 euro ($269,000) daily fine.0

Belgium's data protection regulator took the U.S. company to court in June, accusing it of trampling on EU privacy law by tracking people without a Facebook account without their consent. At stake is the so-called 'datr' cookie, which Facebook places on people's browsers when they visit a Facebook.com site or click a Facebook 'Like' button on other websites, allowing it to track the online activities of that browser. "We've used the 'datr' cookie for more than five years to keep Facebook secure for 1.5 billion people around the world," a spokeswoman said. "We will appeal this decision and are working to minimise any disruption to people's access to Facebook in Belgium."

Computer screens display the Facebook sign-in screen in this photo illustration​

The Brussels court ordered Facebook to stop tracking non-Facebook users in Belgium within 48 hours or pay a daily fine of 250,000 euros to the Belgian privacy regulator, said Margot Neyskens, spokeswoman for Bart Tommelein, Belgian secretary of state for the protection of privacy. "Facebook can not follow people on the internet who are not members of Facebook which is very logical because they can not have given permission to follow them," Tommelein said in an emailed statement.

Facebook says the cookie only identifies browsers, not people and helps it to distinguish legitimate visits from those by attackers. The company has also argued that since it has its European headquarters in Ireland it should be regulated solely by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner. That argument was rejected by the Belgian privacy regulator. Tommelein said the fact that the Brussels court had ruled meant it had jurisdiction over the company.

Facebook to appeal Belgian ruling ordering it to stop tracking non-users

 

[waltky]

The fastest-growing app of 2015...

Facebook Messenger App Passes 800 Million Users
January 07, 2016 — Facebook Inc's Messenger app surpassed 800 million users, the company said on Thursday, making it the fastest-growing app of 2015 according to research firm Nielsen.

That means Messenger, which Facebook created as a standalone app in 2014, has more active monthly users than rivals Snapchat and Viber, but still lags the 900 million using WhatsApp, also owned by Facebook. WhatsApp was one of the first apps to let people send and receive free text messages on smartphones, bypassing network charges. Messenger users can also exchange messages, but the app also offers free video calling and some business services. "One of the things we have to work on this year is this perception or mindset that Messenger is only to speak with your Facebook friends," said Messenger head David Marcus in a phone interview on Wednesday.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg talks about the Messenger app during a Facebook developer conference​

Facebook plans to make money from ads on Messenger, but has not said when it will do so. The world's biggest online social network, which has 1.55 billion users, makes money selling ads that appear on people's timelines. Messenger has added features over the past few months,
enabling users to sign up without a Facebook account, make payments, video calls and communicate directly with businesses.

It worked with ride-hailing app maker Uber Technologies Inc in December so users could request a ride through Messenger. Facebook has also begun testing a digital assistant, called M, that operates through Messenger and can make restaurant reservations and airline bookings and other tasks. The service is available to only 10,000 people in the San Francisco Bay area, but Marcus said Facebook hopes to offer it to more users later this year.

Facebook Messenger App Passes 800 Million Users

See also:

Twitter Contemplates Lifting 140-Character Limit
January 06, 2016 - News that Twitter is contemplating lifting the 140-character limit on tweets and expanding to 10,000 has been met with mixed reaction in its estimated user base of 300 million.

The story was first posted on the website Re/code. The site reported that the project, which is internally called “Beyond 140,” would start at the end of March. The goal of any revamping would be to increase Twitter’s audience and generate revenue, something that has eluded the company. The move to extend the character limit is viewed as a way to make Twitter more approachable, like Facebook. Twitter has yet to turn a profit.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey defended the idea on Twitter, saying, “We’ve spent a lot of time observing what people are doing on Twitter, and we see them taking screenshots of text and tweeting it. Instead, what if that text … was actually text? Text that could be searched. Text that could be highlighted. That’s more utility and power.” Dorsey, who was named CEO in October after being ousted in 2008, also founded payment system Square. Dorsey launched Twitter in 2006 with a strict 140-character limit so that it could be used via text messages, which had a 160-character limit at the time. Some Twitter users oppose the idea of a longer character limit, saying the tweets would become too long.

A portrait of the Twitter logo in Ventura, California.​

Analysts say Dorsey will have to walk a thin line between Twitter purists who love the 140-character limit and shareholders who are seeking advertising revenue. Twitter can’t afford “to become stagnant, they need to get bigger if they want to build a more relevant advertising platform,” Topeka Capital Markets analyst Blake Harper told the Associated Press. Analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities said increasing the limit on tweets could be a “good, baby step” toward attracting more users. “Twitter is an afterthought in social media right now,” Pachter told AP. “They need to do something to drive more usage of the service. If people start using the service more frequently, other users will come join in, too.”

Twitter’s stock lost over 2 percent over the news. The stock was down a further 1 percent Wednesday. The company has been attempting to innovate in many ways of late. Last year, it started a new tab called “Moments,” which is curated content aimed at making finding information easier. The company also changed the star-shaped “Favorite” button to a heart-shaped “Like” button.

Twitter Contemplates Lifting 140-Character Limit

 

[strollingbones]

fakebook? it is funny to know people in real life and then what they post on fakebook.....omg...the differences are huge