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Inside Facebook

Inside Facebook


Facebook Page Redesign 2011: All You Need to Know

Posted: 10 Feb 2011 12:00 PM PST

Today Facebook launches a major redesign and expansion of functionality of its Pages for businesses, brands, media, and public figures. The Page layout will now match the December user profile redesign, with a left-hand navigation panel replacing the tabs above the wall. Page admins will also be able to login as their Page, giving them access to Facebook and email notifications about activity on their Page, and other options.

Page admins will begin seeing a preview and tour of the new features today, and will have the choice to voluntarily upgrade until March 1st when all Pages will be automatically migrated to the redesign.

New Layout

Users now navigate between a Page’s wall, info, and third-party tab applications using a panel of links on the left side of the Page beneath the profile picture. The panel permits longer tab names, though it still only shows six tabs above the fold. As tabs are no longer front-and-center, the redesign could reduce the frequency with which users visits tabs other than the default landing tab.

Similar to the redesigned user profile, Pages have a Photostrip above the wall that displays the latest photos the Page has tagged itself in. The profile picture is slightly reduced in size from 200 x 600 pixels to 180 x 540. The About blurb has moved from the wall tab to the info tab.

Users will see a mutual friends and interests panel on the top right displaying the friends who also Like the Page, and the Likes the user and the Page have in common. Pages will have the option to Like other Pages, not just favorite them, and feature “Page Owners”. Links and profile pics of these Likes and admins can be made visible below the navigation panel and reordered through the new “Featured” section of the Edit Page admin interface.

When Pages update, their default landing tab will be reset. Admins should be sure to reselect the tab they want visitors who haven’t Liked their Page to see first.

Relevant Posts Wall Filter

Page admins can select between an “Everyone” and a Page posts only default tab for the wall. Instead of showing a reverse chronological stream of posts, the Everyone tab showa users posts Facebook thinks will be the most relevant. Recent posts by friends, posts by other users in same language or country, and posts that have received a lot of Likes and comments will bubble to the top.

There is currently no way for redesigned Pages to use the old, unfiltered reverse-chronological stream of wall posts. Some admins are requesting it because it simplifies monitoring and moderation.

Admins Can “Use Facebook as Page”

Page admins can choose to “Use Facebook as Page” from the Account drop-down menu in the top right corner of Facebook. Admins will then see a special version of the site chrome where they can post and comment around the site under their Page’s alias. Since Pages can now Like other Pages, admins see a news feed of updates from Liked Pages.

The notifications drop-down in the top navigation bar shows the latest user posts and comments to the Page the admin is using. The friend request drop-down shows how many Likes their Page has received since the admin last used the site as their Page.

In response to frequent requests, Facebook admins can now turn on email notifications to alert them to activity on their Page through the “Your Settings” tab of the Edit Page admin interface. These emails could be overwhelming for popular Pages that receive thousands of posts and comments a day, but will certainly help smaller Pages stay attentive to their fan community.

Developers: No API Changes, but Tab Apps Can Now Use Iframes

The Page redesign does not affect the Page APIs, so developers don’t need to worry about their applications breaking. The expanded tab name space in the new navigation panel means developers can try using longer, more descriptive titles for when their application is installed as tab.

However, the Facebook Developers Blog has just announced that Pages can finally feature iFrame tab applications. Facebook announced the option in August as being slated for Q4 2010, but today says it has postponed the implementation until March 11, 2011. We’ll have more details in a forthcoming post.

Some Pages and Places are experiencing a bug that causes the width of their tab applications to be smaller than it should be, cutting off the right edge of the app. Facebook is currently working to fix this.

An Upgrade, Not Just a Redesign

As users have grown familiar with the new profile over the last two months, it should be easy for them to acclimate to this redesign, which was accidentally pushed live for a few minutes in December. As well as creating a more consistent browsing experience, Facebook has granted many requests from the Page admin community. The only potential downside is that the less prominent placement of links to tabs could reduce their use.

Of all the beneficial changes, the Everyone wall filter in particular will make sure users see high quality content each time they visit a Page. This will bolster confidence in brands and businesses that users directed to their Page will have an enjoyable, engaging experience. This will in turn lead them to spend more on Facebook ads that drive traffic to their Pages, generating more revenue for Facebook.

Page admins looking for updated best practices for the redesign should see the Facebook Marketing Bible, Inside Network’s comprehensive guide to brand marketing on Facebook.

Facebook Adds Keyword Moderation and Profanity Blocklists to Pages

Posted: 10 Feb 2011 09:36 AM PST

Facebook now allows Page admins to set up a keyword moderation blocklist and enable a profanity blocklist that filters wall posts and comments by users into the Page wall’s spam tab. Admins can configure the list from the Manage Permissions tab of the Page admin interface.

The addition will reduce the need for automated and human-powered third-party moderation systems, and could therefore slow the growth of the Page management and moderation industries.

A Help Center article linked to from the moderation blocklist says that posts and comments including the blocked words will be hidden from public view. The profanity filter explains that “Facebook will block the most commonly reported words and phrases marked as offensive by the broader community.” Admins can set the profanity filter to strong, medium, or none, though Facebook does not provide a list of exactly what words will be filtered under each setting.

If admins want to make an exception, they can click the ‘x’ next to the post or comment in their Page’s spam tab and click “Unmark as Spam” to return it to public view.

Facebook has been aggressively improving its spam identification and prevention systems recently. It implemented the Spam tab on Page walls in October. Then last week it began making spam comments on Page posts appear gray to admins for easy removal, and hiding them from other users.

Many of these features are commonly included in Page management and moderation software by companies we’ve profiled including Parature, Buddy Media,Context Optional and more. Some brands even pay for around-the-clock human Page moderation during PR crisises.

By offering these features free of charge, Facebook may hurt moderation software sales and put human moderators out of a job. This is one of the dangers of working on a rapidly evolving platform. Companies providing products or services that are too close to the core of Facebook risk having their functionality replicated and offered for free.

Page admins — learn more about specific tools and advanced strategies to work with new features like keyword moderation at the Facebook Marketing Bible, Inside Facebook’s complete guide to marketing and advertising on Facebook.

[Thanks to Amit Lavi for the tip.]

Facebook Career Postings: Communications, Partner Engineers, Credits and More

Posted: 10 Feb 2011 08:46 AM PST

Facebook is seeking partner engineers and a new finance staffer to work with Credits this week, as per the new postings on the Facebook Careers Page.

Further evidence of Facebook's Credits push comes in the form of a job posted this week, Finance Operations Project Manager of Facebook Payments and Facebook Credits. This position will be based in Palo Alto, Calif. and the company is seeking an experienced person with a background in accounting, finance or business with at least eight years of experience. The candidate will be the "key liaison and coordination point" for all financial operations related to Facebook payments and Credits. It looks like this person will play a role in implementing all finance operations and systems related to payments and Credits.

A Partner Development Manager in Hamburg, Germany will work to help Facebook develop, manage and maintain strategic relationships with partners in Northern Europe. Specifically this includes media, gaming, e-commerce and mobile partners, with the goal being to build the  Facebook ecosystem in the region.

Facebook is seeking a Culture and Communications Lead/Manager to ensure that the company's corporate culture grows stronger via initiating company-wide conversations about "who we want to be." The candidate will partner closely with HR and according to the post work on "how our culture can grow and scale; and building and implementing company-wide programs that reflect those conversations." This will also include stewarding/developing the company's narrative and stories. There are no specific requirements as far as education and experience for this candidate, rather, a need to be be creative, proactive, communicative and understand Facebook culture.

The posts that were added this week on Facebook’s Page include:

For more Facebook-related jobs, check out the Inside Network Job Board.

Facebook Hires and Vacancies: Communications, Global Marketing, Mobile and Design

Posted: 10 Feb 2011 08:42 AM PST

Facebook has been adding and removing needs at some key positions in the past week.

Specifically, the company removed the Privacy Counsel position from its page, as well as the Global Product Marketing Manager of both Games and Platform, a Manager of Policy Communications gig and the Global Marketing Manager of the Facebook Platform position. We also hear that Alon Sobol, former VP Products at Mig33, was hired as Head of Mobile Partnerships based out of Facebook’s Singapore offices.

New hires per LinkedIn:

  • Andy Mitchell – Manager Strategic Media Partnership, formerly VP of Business Development of The Daily Beast.
  • Frankie Rae Callahan – Training Principal at Facebook, formerly Associate Principal at Google.
  • Eugene Zarakhovsky – Software Engineer, formerly a Senior Director of Technology in iLike at MySpace.
  • Cenk Medeni – Analyst, formerly of YoungGuns Agency.
  • Benjamin Joffe – Developer Intern of User Interface Engineering, formerly a Front End Developer at Yahoo.
  • Linda Teng – Market Strategist, was a Web and Mobile Developer at Xtreme Mobility, Inc.
  • Charlton Gholson – Agency Account Manager, formerly of Rubicon Project as a Yield Management Specialist.
  • Lindsay Turner – Technical Recruiter, formerly University Relations Manager at Apple.
  • Marisa Elizabeth Zuiderweg, Recruiter at Facebook, formerly Talent Manager at ReputationDefender.
  • Serden Eren – Platform Operations Analyst, previously a Sales Engineer at Medyasoft.
  • Kathleen Huber – Safety Ambassador, formerly a User Operations Intern.
  • Alison Purvis – Contractor in User Operations.
  • Maria Arriaza Relinque – Account Manager in Spain.

Other new hires:

  • Alon Sobol – Head of Mobile Partnerships for Facebook in Asia based in Singapore, formerly Vice President of Products for Mig33.
  • Keith Schact – Product Manager, formerly ran a Facebook games and apps company called Crafted Fun.
  • Tiffani Jones Brown – Facebook Content Strategy and Communication Design team, formerly of Things That Are Brown.
  • Matt Brown – Matt Brown, Facebook Content Strategy and Communication Design team, formerly of Second and Park.

Recent vacancies, per LinkedIn:

  • Katherine Nelson – formerly Engineering Recruiting at Facebook, now Recruiting at Mozilla.
  • Adam Caplan – formerly Business Process Analyst at Facebook, now Technical Project Manager at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Prior listings removed from the Facebook Careers Page:

  • Privacy Counsel
  • Global Product Marketing Manager, Games
  • Global Product Marketing Manager, Platform
  • Manager, Policy Communications
  • MBA Intern, Platform Operations
  • Global Marketing Manager, Facebook Platform
  • Associate Manager, Ad Operations (Dublin)
  • DSO Account Manager (Hong Kong)
  • DSO Account Manager, Japanese (Singapore)
  • Web Developer – Marketing
  • Automation Tools Engineer
  • Background Check Coordinator – Contractor
  • People Services Representative – Contractor
  • Recruiting Lead International Team
  • Decision Support Analyst
  • Network Engineer, 1101002
  • Developer Site/Support Engineer
  • Manager, Developer Site & Support
  • Partner Engineering, Mobile (SMS and Mobile Sites)
  • Partner Engineering Mobile
  • Measurement Researcher (Palo Alto)
  • Partner Innovation Specialist
  • Analyst, Internet Marketing
  • Sales Coordinator/Administrative Assistant

Who else is hiring? The Inside Network Job Board presents a survey of current openings at leading companies in the industry.