Facebook now has almost 1.2 billion users according to Wikipedia, and we all know that Wikipedia is right about everything. With so many users it’s likely that we've all added people over the years that we probably don't know anymore, or have likely fallen out with for some crazy reason that we probably can't even remember. Regardless, just because someone's our friend on Facebook today, it doesn't mean they will be tomorrow.
We’ve been hearing a lot of news recently that Facebook might just introduce a ‘dislike’ button, or a ‘sympathize’ button as some are calling it, so that users have a medium of conveying their negative feelings for a post.
For as long as Facebook has been using its famous 'Like' button, people have wondered when they would be able to click on something a little less jovial when the need arises. We've all been forced to 'Like' a friend's status update on Facebook when the situation really demands something quite the opposite. With people posting about things ranging from bad days at the office and pets being ill to marriage breakups and loved ones dying, hitting that 'Like' button as a form of acknowledgement feels crass at best, and downright cruel at its worst. And it seems someone at Facebook would agree.
Facebook's Messenger app has come along in leaps and bounds over the past twelve months, and today, the Menlo Park-based social company has announced a substantial update to the Android version of the app, with the iOS version being in the pipeline for an update as well. As well as affording the IM app a few aesthetic touch-ups, it would seem as though Mark Zuckerberg's team is seeking to further differentiate it from the standard Facebook app by placing more emphasis on messaging itself.
Any Twitter user will be more than aware that the San Francisco based company isn’t shy when it comes to making changes. Historical amendments around their developer focused API caused more than its fair share of controversy when introduced earlier this year. The many millions of registered Twitter users have also been subjected to various changes over the company's lifespan with the introduction of sponsored tweets showing up in timelines. After a period of public inactivity, the changes are happening again, but this time involving a relatively minor tweak on how direct messages currently work.
Facebook may have once been a small hiding place where people who knew each other could chat in private, and share photos that they could feel fairly sure wouldn't be found on the greater web. That's been steadily changing over the last few years as Facebook tries desperately to reinvent itself in the face of stiff competition from Twitter, and in some ways from Google+.
Facebook may have been around for what feels like forever, but the social network is still missing one or two features that some of us have been crying out for. One of those features is something that seems rather simple on the face of it, and today Facebook announced that we will soon be able to edit our own posts on the social network.
The official Twitter app has taken a fair bit of stick over the years, especially with the likes of Tweetbot hanging around, but it's fair to say that in recent times, things have improved dramatically. Today, Twitter for Android and iOS have both been given rudimentary updates, with the main alteration being that conversations between tweeters are now clearer, rather than showing up as individual tweets.
Facebook Messenger for iOS and Android have long since supported the use of Stickers, and as of today, those using the Web version of the integrated instant messaging system should have no problem accentuating their text with one of those annoying, yet also rather endearing little faces. Although Stickers aren't something everybody is going to use, they do offer a little bit of fun and harmless immaturity, and having been successfully trialed on the two major mobile operating systems, Zuck and his team has rolled the feature out across the board.
As you're probably aware by now, this week was big for the Facebook-owned social network Instagram. After months of speculation, following the release of Twitter's Vine video sharing app / service, Instagram finally introduced their competitor to the short six second video network taking the world by storm. What makes this a nice addition, is that it's a new built-in feature to already existing Instagram app. No new icon needed.
