telegraph

Facebook ordered to increase privacy by Irish regulators

Facebook has received a full audit of its systems by Irish regulators and agreed to make more than a dozen privacy improvements within the next six months. The recommendations made by Irish Data Commissioner Billy Hawkes came after an investigation concerning the social network’s use of personal user data launched in October. Facebook houses all its user data and operations outside of the US and Canada in Ireland. Two months ago, regulators launched the investigation after a series of controversies surrounding Facebook user data surfaced, with claims of ‘shadow profiles’ being created for non-members. The regulators found this was not the case, and that Facebook only collects data about non-users for security purposes.

Read the original:
Facebook ordered to increase privacy by Irish regulators

telegraph

Sponsored Stories coming to News Feed near you

Facebook is all about ‘brand’ new features this week – with Sponsored Stories coming to a News Feed near you. The social network giant announced yesterday it will begin rolling out Sponsored Stories in users’ news feeds, coming on the heels of their recent introduction of private Page messaging between brands and consumers . The ads will roll out gradually starting in January, allowing brands to reach users whose friends have liked, commented on or interacted in other ways with the brand’s Facebook Page. “You will only see Sponsored Stories in your news feed about your friends or people you are connected to,” said Facebook spokesperson Annie Ta. “You will never [see] a post from a page you are not a fan of, or from people who are not your friends.” Of course, Facebook is not averse to making changes to its News Feed , whether they’re wanted or not. However, Ta added: “We want to be really thoughtful about this, so we’ll have a lot of rate limits in place. “We hope to show people no more than one Sponsored Story in their News Feed per day and we’ll clearly label the story. They’ll also be of the same size and treatment as other stories in News Feed.” Facebook has yet to determine pricing for the News Feed ads or if they will be purchased as marketplace ads, premium ads or both. Additionally, the company has not disclosed what brands will participate in the initial roll out.

Read the original post:
Sponsored Stories coming to News Feed near you

telegraph

Samsung overhauls Apple in smartphone sales stakes

Smartphone maker Samsung broke free from the pack, leaving rival Apple in its dust. Milton Keynes-based analysts Strategy Analytics estimate that Samsung shipped 27.8 million smartphones during the last quarter, accounting for almost 24 per cent of the smartphone market worldwide. Samsung’s success has been attributed to Google’s Android operating system, which is specifically designed for smartphones and tablets. Apple has been relegated to second place, shipping 17.1 million and taking up only 14.6 per cent of the market. The launch of the new iPhone 4S however, is expected to boost sales, so the race isn’t over yet

View post:
Samsung overhauls Apple in smartphone sales stakes

telegraph

Dr Dre joins up with HTC to launch new mobile phone

HTC just announced its new Sensation XL model, which uses Dre’s ‘Beats Audio’ technology in order to appeal to the increasing number of people who play music through their phone. The XL is the second phone to be produced since the partnership was announced in August. The Sensation XE was the first release using the technology. “Great audio is no longer an experience that consumers are willing to sacrifice when purchasing a phone,” Jimmy Lovine, the chairman of Beats by Dre, told the Telegraph . “The digital revolution has been great for everything but music,” he added, referring to the lack of sound quality on mobile phones, both for recordings and playback.

See the original post here:
Dr Dre joins up with HTC to launch new mobile phone

telegraph

Telegraph Joins with blinkx, for British News

A partnership with Telegraph Media Group (TMG), as one of the U.K.’s best known newspapers, along with online property, Telegraph.co.uk (TCUK), as the fastest growing U.K. newspaper web site, consecutively, has been forged with video search engine, blinkx.

Read the rest here: 
Telegraph Joins with blinkx, for British News

telegraph

MerchantCircle Partners with infoUSA

MerchantCircle has partnered with infoUSA, to provide local merchants with a viable and competitive online presence for customers.

Originally posted here:
MerchantCircle Partners with infoUSA