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Inside Facebook

Facebook introduces new security features for protecting accounts through mobile devices

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 05:27 PM PDT

Facebook today announced new security features for mobile devices, allowing users to confirm logins made from new devices, report unwanted content from their mobile feed, and more easily recover compromised accounts.

The social network updated its login approvals process to make it easier for Android users to authorize logins that are made on new devices. With the new "Code Generator," users will be able to receive login approval codes from their Facebook app rather than having to wait for a text message. This is an improvement over the previous system, which didn't work if a user did not have cellular or Internet access. Android users can turn on Code Generator here. Facebook says it is working to bring this functionality to other devices.

Users of Facebook's touch-enabled mobile site will now be able to hide or report content from News Feed. This is done by tapping the feedback icon beneath a story and tapping the icon in the upper right hand corner. Facebook says it is working to bring this feature to native mobile apps as well.

The social network has also brought its account recovery tool, which was previously only available on desktop, to mobile devices. Users can review unauthorized logins, reset their password, and take other actions to regain control of their accounts from their phones. See Facebook's note here for more details.

Facebook launches App Center with 600+ apps; new charts and categories improve discovery

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 04:58 PM PDT

Facebook today launches its App Center, a personalized dashboard that aims to improve app discovery across the web and mobile devices by sorting Facebook-connected apps by category and user ratings.

More than 600 social apps — including Nike+ GPS, Ubisoft Ghost Recon Commander, Stitcher Radio, Draw Something and Pinterest — have been accepted into the App Center, which is available from Facebook.com, mobile web and Facebook's iOS and Android apps. Facebook also shared the following statistics about its platform:

·         More than 230 million people play games on Facebook every month

·         More than 130 games on Facebook have more than 1 million monthly active users.

·         More than 4,500 timeline apps have launched since f8 in September 2011.

·         Facebook drove people to the Apple App Store 83 million times in May.

·         Facebook drove people to iOS apps 134 million times in May (someone who already has the app and is directed back to it from Facebook.)

·         As of May, seven of the top 10 grossing iOS apps and six of the top 10 Android apps have integrated with Facebook.

App Center replaces the Apps and Games Dashboard, introducing more visuals and an improved permissions authorization flow. From an app's detail page, users can see an app's star rating, top in-app purchases, screenshots and what permissions the app needs, among other information. By eliminating the separate auth dialog, Facebook has reduced the friction associated with adding an app. Although mobile apps may require a download, users can otherwise immediately begin using an app after clicking over from the mobile App Center. If users discover a mobile app from the desktop App Center, they can choose “send to phone,” which will send a push notification that includes a link to Apple’s App Store or Google Play.

In order for an app to appear in App Center, developers must follow a set of submission guidelines and wait for review from Facebook. The company says uses a variety of signals — including user feedback and engagement within apps — to determine whether or not an app will be listed in App Center.

Details about how to submit an app to be listed are available here.

Yahoo, bubble games, photo apps and Open Graph integrations on this week’s top 20 growing Facebook apps by DAU

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:12 PM PDT

Yahoo’s web integration gained the most daily active users this week on our list of top growing Facebook apps by DAU. Yahoo’s Open Graph news reader application was another top gainer at No. 12.

The titles below grew between 330,000 and 2.7 million DAU, based on AppData, our data tracking service covering growth for apps on Facebook.

Top Gainers This Week

Name DAU Gain Gain,%
1.  Yahoo! 4,000,000 +2,700,000   + 208%
2.  Bubble Safari 2,800,000 +1,880,000   + 204%
3.  Spotify 6,400,000 +1,100,000   + 21%
4.  Bing 4,000,000 +1,100,000   + 38%
5.  Socialcam 9,500,000 +800,000   + 9%
6.  Microsoft Live 13,500,000 +800,000   + 6%
7.  Lost Bubble 1,500,000 +610,000   + 69%
8.  60photos 890,000 +560,000   + 170%
9.  Klout 1,300,000 +540,000   + 71%
10.  Photo Love 900,000 +530,000   + 143%
11.  Candy Crush Saga      . 3,200,000 +500,000   + 19%
12.  Yahoo! Social Bar 4,500,000 +500,000   + 13%
13.  Pinterest 3,000,000 +500,000   + 20%
14.  Daily Horoscope 5,500,000 +500,000   + 10%
15.  TripAdvisor™ 1,300,000 +460,000   + 55%
16.  Skype 2,700,000 +400,000   + 17%
17.  Pandora 1,500,000 +400,000   + 36%
18.  Bubble Blitz 1,000,000 +370,000   + 59%
19.  Formspring 630,000 +350,000   + 125%
20.  Photo Roll 480,000 +330,000   + 220%

Zynga’s Bubble Safari led games on the list at No. 2 overall, though competitors Lost Bubble and Bubble Blitz picked up a few hundred thousand DAU as well.

Streaming service Spotify gained 1.1 million DAU this week following a dip near the end of May. Bing is growing again since its latest redesign, which includes further Facebook integration. Microsoft also had its Microsoft Live and Skype apps make the list this week.

Socialcam came in at No. 5, with the video sharing app reaching more than 10 million DAU for the first time on Wednesday. Photo sharing applications 60photos, Photo Love and Photo Roll all more than doubled their DAU this week.

Pinterest rebounded after a slight drop in DAU at the end of May. Social Q&A site Formspring is also back up, though still not reaching as many DAU as its peak of 860,000 in April.

All data in this post comes from our traffic tracking service, AppData. Stay tuned for our look at the top emerging apps on Friday.

Inside Network Launches PageData Pro Service, Tracking Millions of Facebook Pages

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:00 PM PDT

We're excited to officially announce the launch of PageData Pro & Enterprise. Similar to our AppData active user tracking service for Facebook apps, PageData tracks likes and People Talking About This for millions of Facebook Pages.

Our PageData Pro service allows you to see historical views of Facebook Page growth and engagement from as early as 2009. Additionally, PageData can track post virality and engagement such as likes, comments and shares for a select group of pages.

PageData Pro provides a way to benchmark against competitors in terms of likes, engagement and virality in order for marketers to make successful strategic decisions on engaging their base. For analysts tracking the performance of brands and companies, PageData Pro provides actionable insights into these companies' efforts to engage and reach Facebook users.

Subscribe to PageData Pro here. Or if you'd like a custom enterprise solution, contact Kieran Barr, our VP of Sales and Social Media Research, at Kieran.barr [at] insidenetwork [dot] com.

To kick things off, we’d like to invite you to celebrate the launch of PageData at Mars Bar in San Francisco, next Wednesday June 13th. RSVP here. We hope to see you there!

Facebook platform companies Shoutlet, Unified, Identified raise combined $50M

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 11:06 AM PDT

Social marketing platforms Shoutlet and Unified, as well as Facebook-based career site Identified, announced new funding rounds this week totaling $50 million.

Although Facebook's own stock has performed weaker than expected following an initial public offering, there seems to be confidence for other companies building on the platform. These new investments and recent acquisitions of Buddy Media and Vitrue suggest the Facebook ecosystem is thriving despite the social network’s own battering on Wall Street.

Social media management software provider Shoutlet raised $15 million in a Series C. Shoutlet's platform helps marketers make posts, launch applications and maintain customer profiles across networks like Facebook. The latest round from FTV Capital brings Shoutlet’s total funding to $24.2 million in outside investment. The company says it plans to use the funding to further build its product, strategic partner network and internal team.

Social ad platform Unified picked up $14 million — $10 million in a Series A round from Advance Publications and a $4 million debt facility from Silicon Valley Bank. The company's Social Operating Platform helps brands and agencies manage paid media campaigns across Facebook and other networks. Operating in stealth mode since April 2011, Unified launched publicly in January.

Identified, a professional networking site that users connect with their Facebook profiles, raised $21 million in a Series B round of financing. Identified seeks to gamify career development and job searching. VantagePoint Capital Partners and Capricorn Investment Group co-led the round with participation from previous investors including Tim Draper, Bill Draper and Innovation Endeavors. Identified has raised a total of $22.5 million since it was founded in 2010.

fredag den 8. juni 2012 at 07.54