Facebook tells users they can’t hide from searches

31

October

2013

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Facebook has announced new changes to its privacy settings that mean users can no longer choose to hide their profile form searches on the site. The “Who can look up your Timeline by name?” setting had previously allowed individuals to stop strangers from finding them in searches, giving them the option to let their profile appear only to friends or friends of friends.

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The option to restrict these searches was removed last year but this latest update means that even those who had told Facebook that they did not want to appear in searches will no longer have the ability to do so. Facebook has defended the changes by claiming that only a “small percentage” of people ever used the setting and that the best way to stay private on the site was to restrict who could see “the individual things you share”. These changes to privacy settings have been implemented to increase the reach of Graph Search: a ‘semantic search engine’ that allows users to find based on factors such as location and interests. Facebook has described the new search function as a way to increase the connectivity of the site: “Want to start a book club or find a gym buddy? Connect with friends who like the same activities—and meet new people, too.”

Source:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/facebook-tells-users-they-cant-hide-from-searches-8874562.html

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Twitter timeline includes images and videos

31

October

2013

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Twitter updated the timeline and let to show the photos and videos from Vine application. This action has made Twitter timeline similar to a Facebook page, because now it is not a platform which just shows text-based messages. The company wrote in a blogpost: “Starting today, timelines on Twitter will be more visual and more engaging: previews of Twitter photos and videos from Vine will be front and center in Tweets. To see more of the photo or play the video, just tap.”Image

 

“We’ve also made it easier for you to reply, retweet or favorite a Tweet without leaving your timeline; you can tap to do that right inside the Tweets you see in your timeline.” Now with this change, twitter users could interact with others without having to expand Tweets, and the buttons will be more clearly visible. The website has been heavily text-focused since its 2006 launch but the updates make it more visual. Twitter users only need to update apps on their Android or iOS platforms to receive the new updates.

Source:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/10413928/Twitter-fills-feed-with-images-in-visual-makeover.html

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Homework assignment- social commerce

31

October

2013

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E-commerce provides benefits to customers and companies such as online customers could reach large amounts of products and information. Online shoppers discover new products on websites and they post recommendations in order to give an idea to other customers. On the other hand, the impact of the social media on e-commerce cannot be always positive. For example, the “keeping up with the joneses” attitude can supply higher sales and increase revenue by 5%, however seeking distinctiveness can have negative impact on sales by 14%. Also, the other trend “minimalism” has attracted many people in these years by aiming to minimize purchase as a result of economic breakdown. Thus, social media sometimes affect people not to purchase

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Social media will have a wide impact on the entire retail environment. The rise of social commerce and social marketplaces will increase the online community aspect of shopping. Social media will become more integrated place and companies will provide to their customers to share with their social connections. Thus, these developments would enable companies to give their messages beyond their own website, reaching a much wider audience. Beyond the online shopping, social media will also play a role in the physical world of retail, with some companies incorporating social media into their stores. For these reasons, they would interact with their customers and their social connections effectively. Besides all these advantages and disadvantges of using social commerce, I believe that by using the right tools in the right way, companies can increase their profit with social commerce and decrease their costs. Companies should choose right strategies in order to benefit from in social commerce and shopping, because it is decision making step. Different strategies should be applied according to different products and target group of people. In the perspective of customers, people who do not have enough information about a product or service are eager to learn from other customers. Human psychology claims that people are interested to own what their friends have, whether they need it or not. Customers need to view the products and hear about them. I believe that social commerce is beneficary especially to inform other customers. Recommendations can encourage or discourage people easly to buy. Companies should be aware of this fact and encourage people to interact more for providing products and comments on the social media. Right social commerce strategies are vital for managers and future of the company.

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