Facebook will soon launch the App Center, a new hub for users where they can find games and other apps, both free and paid. It is also a good opportunity for developers to create and grow their social apps. The App Center is the social giant’s effort to find a new way of making money.
Some news we want to share with our friend on Facebook are tragic—natural disasters, crimes, social inequality, horrible deeds, etc.—so ‘liking’ isn’t an appropriate thing to do with it. DDB Worldwide has come up with a great solution, the ‘I Care’ Button, which is already beta-tested on the new MTV Voices hub along with traditional buttons. The idea is the same: once you find some resonating information about social problems that are really worth sharing, click the ‘I Care’ button with a heart near the piece and the text, video or image appears on the user’s wall. The new button is created to “give people a way to show support for a wide variety of things such as: causes, social issues, charities, even government.”
Fast Company, the journal covering the latest news in the technology, ethonomics (ethical economics) and design fields, has unveiled its annual ranking The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies. Apple, Facebook, Google and Amazon are taking the lead (they are No. 1, 2, 3, and 4 correspondingly). Traditionally, the biggest intrigue here is not who will occupy the top lines (these several leaders are featured on most of ‘the best, the most successful, etc.’ ranks), but in which order they will do it (though, there are some newcomers as well). The most unpredictable thing here is what companies will take the rest of the positions and rule in their industries.
First people, then brands—Facebook is going to make the Timeline format, which was launched for individuals on the social network in 2011, available for companies. The new option for creating a picture-heavy and collage-like impressive profile was first launched in September for users from select countries and soon rolled out worldwide, but not for brands (as we remember, Google+ opened only for people in the beginning too, and invited brands only after several month following the official launch of the network).
After a long speculation and just a couple of days before its 8th birthday, Facebook unveiled it goes public with $5 billion IPO. It is expected to be Silicon Valley’s largest ever initial public offering, worth up to $100 billion when it goes public. However, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO will keep almost complete control over the social network.