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NEWS ABOUT: Beacon

Facebook Turning Your Status Updates Into Ads

Whether you like it or not

(Newser) - Are you ready to become an unpaid spokesman for all your favorite things? Facebook sure hopes so. The company has just rolled out a new advertising product called “sponsored stories” that will turn your posts into ads for companies you post about. In the example video, a user “... More »

After Beacon 'Screw Up' Facebook Ups Privacy

Online chat coming too

(Newser) - Facebook is launching a series of new privacy features today, allowing users to better pinpoint who can see which parts of their information, PC World reports. Privacy has been a watchword at Facebook ever since the PR disaster that was the Beacon advertising platform, which tracked users online. “With... More »

Facebook to Users: Sell Stuff, Get Paid

If their friends buy recommended products, they get a commission

(Newser) - Facebook has rolled out a new service that encourages users to recommend products to their friends and make a little money in the process, AP reports. Called Market Lodge, the program allows users to set up personal stores on their Facebook pages and hawk a variety of products from a... More »

Facebook Fixes Problems With Its 'Delete' Button

After complaints, networking site figures out how to eliminate ex-users' information

(Newser) - Making a profile on Facebook is easy, but before this weekend, deleting one wasn't: Not even Facebook could do it, the New York Times reports. Frustrated users filled out a form intended to delete their profiles but found bits of info still accessible on the site. Facebook says it has... More »

This Way Out? Not Really

Website won't delete personal info, would-be ex-members grouse

(Newser) - Just when you think you're out, Facebook pulls you back in, say wannabe ex-users who have tried in vain to delete their profiles. The site keeps archives of all profiles, unless they're manually deleted piece by piece, fanning privacy concerns already stoked by the Beacon fiasco. “It’s like... More »

Cell Phone Ads Slowed by Privacy Worries

Carriers love targeted marketing, but are afraid to tick you off

(Newser) - With the mobile Internet and GPS location-based services expanding, marketers and mobile phone companies are anxious to tap into a new level of targeted advertising. But, the AP reports, carriers are proceeding with caution in implementing the ads because they don’t want the perception of a privacy invasion to... More »

Facebook CEO Apologizes for Ad System

Users can disable service after wave of privacy complaints

(Newser) - Facebook CEO's apologized today for the company's new advertising system and told users they can disable it, the Wall Street Journal reports. The system, which tracks users' web activities, raised a firestorm of complaints over privacy concerns. "We've made a lot of mistakes building this feature, but we've made... More »

Beacon Does Track Users Who Log Off: Facebook

Admission contradicts earlier denials

(Newser) - Facebook has admitted that its Beacon ad system is tracking users even when they've logged off the site, PC World reports. Even those who opt out of the system that broadcasts activities to friends are being monitored. The company's email announcement reverses earlier denials and will likely stoke criticisms of... More »

$$$ Thrown at Buzz Drive Facebook's Beacon Plans

But it's proving difficult to get right on social networking sites

(Newser) - Facebook's efforts to fix its Beacon system show that talk isn't cheap, as marketers increasingly are finding it’s a great way to spread the word about their product. Word-of-mouth advertising has taken off, with nearly $981 million being spent on campaigns last year, a 36% increase from 2005, reports... More »

Facebook Backs Off Beacon

Switches ad platform to 'opt-in' format after users decry involuntary 'sharing'

(Newser) - Facebook has watered down its unpopular Beacon ad platform, which "shared" information about users' online shopping habits with everyone in their Facebook network—without their permission. Now, instead of making users opt out every time they make a purchase if they don't want it to be broadcast, Facebook will... More »

Backlash Forces Facebook to Retool Beacon

Users feel 'creeped out' by advertiser info-sharing platform

(Newser) - Facebook execs are pondering changes to the unpopular Beacon advertising platform after massively negative feedback, reports Business Week, and an announcement on "evolving" it could come as soon as today. Users are threatening mutiny over the tool, less than a month old, that tells their friends all about their... More »

Facebook Fights Anti-Privacy Charges

Battle with MoveOn hinges on the meaning of 'private'

(Newser) - Facebook jumped to the defense of its new social advertising program yesterday, under attack by a MoveOn campaign. MoveOn calls the program a “massive privacy breach,” but Facebook says that misrepresents Beacon, which does not make information "public." "Information is shared with a small selection... More »

Facebook is Grinch Stealing X-mas: MoveOn

Group vows battle, saying ads violate user privacy

(Newser) - MoveOn.org plans to campaign against Facebook's "Beacon" ads, and do it on the social networking site's own turf, News.com reports. MoveOn promises an ad drive, a protest group, and an online petition over the advertisements—which post information about users' purchases on friends' news feeds. MoveOn calls... More »

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