Inside Facebook
Inside Facebook |
- Facebook open sources mobile browser test suite to promote HTML5 development
- Facebook serves Yahoo with counter-suit claiming infringement on 10 patents
- Involver adds visual tool for producing custom Facebook apps without code
- ‘The Simpsons,’ LMFAO, sports, BlueStacks, more on this week’s top 20 growing Facebook pages
| Facebook open sources mobile browser test suite to promote HTML5 development Posted: 03 Apr 2012 05:01 PM PDT Facebook has open sourced Ringmark, its browser test suite for building apps on the mobile web, according to a post on the company’s HTML5 blog today.
The social network has an interest in helping HTML5 become a more viable platform for developers to build upon since it cannot monetize native iOS or Android apps. Many developers see HTML5 as inferior to native mobile experiences, but as HTML5 improves, there is more likelihood that developers will adopt it and then Facebook can benefit from the use of Credits in these apps. Promoting HTML5 is also Facebook's way of supporting a potential new wave of mobile development. "For those that are building with the web today, it’s a major hurdle to learn native technologies like Objective-C and Java," Facebook engineer Matt Kelly wrote in the blog post announcing the news. "We hope that an improved mobile web can unlock a large contingency of developers that could, and will, be developing for mobile." When the company introduced Ringmark at Mobile World Congress in February, there were more than 400 tests available. Now that the project is open sourced, any developer can contribute tests and provide value for others in the community. The company hopes that over time this will help mobile browser vendors build browsers that better serve developer needs and bring better apps and games to consumers. "This is the beginning of a process, starting with open sourcing the tests," Kelly wrote. "As we continue to build, we’ll continue to open source even more of this work." Facebook also says it will soon contribute Ringmark tests to the Core Mobile Web Platform Community Group in the W3C. The group is an industry-wide consortium including manufacturers, carriers and developers that aim to push HTML5 forward with a single set of standards. Developers can view and contribute to the Ringmark code here and here. The test suite can be found here. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Facebook serves Yahoo with counter-suit claiming infringement on 10 patents Posted: 03 Apr 2012 12:07 PM PDT Facebook has responded to Yahoo's patent infringement suit with counterclaims that Yahoo infringes upon 10 of the social network's patents, according to All Things D. The company asks the court to dismiss Yahoo's case and instead find Yahoo guilty of infringing on Facebook's patents. Additionally, Facebook is requesting that Yahoo be prevented from further infringing on patents and that the Internet company pay damages and legal fees. This is a strong response to what many saw as a cheap shot by Yahoo. Yahoo took similar actions against Google before the search company's initial public offering in 2004, and collected 1 percent of Google stock worth about $230 million at Google's IPO price. However, the counter-suit could result in more costs and potentially delay the social network's IPO. "While we are asserting patent claims of our own, we do so in response to Yahoo's short-sighted decision to attack one of its partners and prioritize litigation over innovation," Facebook general counsel Ted Ullyot said in a statement. Facebook claims Yahoo infringes on the following patents it has been granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office:
Along with the counter-claims, Facebook denied allegations that it infringes upon 10 of Yahoo's patents related to advertising, privacy, customization, messaging and social networking. Yahoo filed its lawsuit in mid-March for Facebook to be permanently prevented from further infringing on Yahoo's patents and to pay damages and legal fees. [Update: Yahoo said in a statement, "We have only just received Facebook's answer and counterclaims, but on their face we believe they are without merit and nothing more than a cynical attempt to distract from the weakness of its defense."] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Involver adds visual tool for producing custom Facebook apps without code Posted: 03 Apr 2012 11:00 AM PDT Social marketing platform Involver today introduced a visual tool for building Facebook applications and other customizable experiences.
Using a technology platform like Involver could help large brands and agencies save time and money by making development more efficient. For example, Involver manages changes in the Facebook API, so when Facebook tweaks its code, Involver updates SML accordingly. Developers can maintain the same SML tags and avoid having to fix their existing applications. The cost of a yearly license, however, prevents the platform from being an option for small businesses or agencies that don’t regularly produce apps for their clients. Companies like Vitrue and Wildfire also offer drag-and-drop tools, but Roland Smart, Sr. Director of Product Marketing at Involver, says the difference with Involver's product is how designers and front-end switch between the visual tool and SML code. "[For brands and agencies] there are fundamental differences between the marketing side of the house and the development side of the house," Smart says. "Now they can both be in the same platform and work together." Smart says the platform is useful for large companies that might have front end developers on the corporate side, but not among the regional offices. Corporate can use the SML code and the regional marketers can use the visual tool. Interestingly, Facebook is a client of Involver's. The social network uses SML for some of its applications, including the Super Bowl Ad Meter it released in partnership with USA Today. That app, which let users rate Super Bowl commercials, integrated Open Graph and was accessible from multiple Facebook pages, USAToday.com and the mobile web.
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| ‘The Simpsons,’ LMFAO, sports, BlueStacks, more on this week’s top 20 growing Facebook pages Posted: 03 Apr 2012 09:57 AM PDT
"The Simpsons" topped our list of the fastest growing Facebook pages this week. There was also "Titanic," the band LMFAO, several sports stars, a few blog-related pages, Miracle-Gro and Android app player for Windows PC BlueStacks. Pages on our list this week grew from between 285,000 to 1.9 million Likes. We compile this list with our PageData tool, which tracks page growth across Facebook.
As mentioned, "The Simpsons" topped our list with almost 2 million new Likes. A few other movies made the list as a result of what appeared to be page consolidations, as the Likes spiked tremendously over a period of a few days. In the case of Nemo, an updated cover photo seemed to generate activity on the page. Then, "Titanic" was very popular; the page is ripe with all manner of promotions related to the upcoming 3D re-release of the film. The band LMFAO was second on the list; during the past week the page shared several popular events, including awards nominations, media appearances, a band anniversary and President Obama singing one of their songs. There were two athletes who rode their popularity to our list, Dwyane Wade and Jeremy Lin. There were some fun, unofficial pages that made the list, including I ♥ THE WEEKEND, Forever Alone and I dont care how o… These are often humorous and inspire high engagement by users.
BlueStacks, an Android app player for Windows PC, makes its first appearance on the PageData charts this week. The beta version of the app just went live this week. Miracle-Gro continued to be popular, probably due to its FarmVille integration, since there was no apparent reason for growth on the page alone.
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The effort is part of Facebook's push to promote HTML5 development. One of the major challenges with HTML5 development right now is fragmentation in mobile browser capabilities, but Ringmark lets developers see instantly whether their apps will be able to run on a given mobile browser.
The Visual SML is an addition to Involver's 
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