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Facebook's Live Video is rolling out internationally
While Facebook Live Video has been around for a couple of months now, access has been reserved for celebrities, verified profiles, and users in the US. International users won't have long to wait, however, because the social network has confirmed it's begun rolling out the feature globally. The in-app update was released yesterday and we've already had reports of people using Live Video in the UK, Germany, Brazil and South Africa.
Facebook continues to make most of its money from mobile
Facebook's bet on mobile continues to pay off in absolute spades. The first quarterly earnings report of the year from Zuckerberg and crew lay testament to that, showing that a whopping 73 percent of its $3.32 billion in ad revenue now comes from mobile alone (Total revenue for the quarter was $3.54 billion). Its number of mobile users is also on the rise -- out of Facebook's 1.44 billion monthly active users,1.25 billion are on mobile, which is up 24 percent from this time last year. Perhaps more impressive is that the number of daily users -- ie. its most engaged audience -- has gone up as well; 936 million people visit Facebook everyday, with 798 million of them logging in from their phones.
Zynga's website removes Facebook login requirement
Zynga has redesigned its website, no longer requiring gamers to log into the site using the Facebook credentials.Once upon a time, Facebook and Zynga were the best of pals, with Zynga's titles driving engagement on the big blue social network and Facebook providing a steady stream of new users to play Zynga's offerings. Last year, however, Facebook and Zynga decided to start parting ways, and that's led us to this current situation, where Zynga is pushing its platform beyond the walls of the Facebook system.Not completely outside, however: Zynga players can still log into Facebook on Zynga.com if they like, and as you can see on the site, the Facebook logo and login box are still prominently displayed. But players are no longer forced to use that process to partake in Zynga's library of games.
Facebook finishes 2012 on a high note: Q4 revenue $1.585 billion, $64 million in net income
Facebook's Q3 earnings left something to be desired, as the social network posted a net loss. Zuckerberg and company have ended 2012 on a financial high note, however, as Facebook raked in $1.585 billion in revenue -- an increase of 40 percent year-over-year -- and net income of $64 million. The number of folks on Facebook also continues to grow, with its monthly active user count burgeoning to 1.06 billion as of December 31, 2012. Of particular interest is the breakdown of daily mobile vs. web users -- more folks used Facebook on phones and tablets than on the web for the first time in the company's history. Revenue generated from mobile isn't commensurate with the usage stats, however. Mobile advertising accounted for just 23 percent of the 'book's total ad revenue, though that is an increase from 14 percent in Q3, so that imbalance may not remain much longer. We'll be listening in on the earnings call and updating things here as more details are revealed, so stay tuned.
Facebook's Director of Engineering explains how you're part of the dev team
Ever wondered why those crazy fools at Facebook think it's a good idea to meddle with the timeline, or how you chat? Well you can blame yourself. Probably. The social network's Director of Engineering, Andrew "Boz" Bosworth, reveals all in a recent blog post. By first explaining that the site evolves in a two-step process, "technology pushes people to move forward and then people move past technology and it has to catch up," we can start to understand why constant user testing of new, often multiple, solutions is required. Boz goes on to explain that by using select groups, or even nations, the efficacy new features can not only be quickly, and solidly determined, it can actually supplant the need for weeks of boardroom debate. He goes on to say that the odds are that everyone on Facebook has been part of a test at some point. Curious to know more about the process, or just feeling a little bit used? Head over to the source link for the full post / comment thread.
Facebook posts first earnings as a public company: $1.18 billion in revenue, 955 million users
Facebook revealed its Q1 earnings in an SEC filing leading up to its big IPO earlier this year, but it's now officially out with its first earnings report as a public company. For Q2 of 2012, it brought in $1.18 billion in revenue, up 32 percent year-over-year and slightly better than what analysts were expecting, while GAAP net income sat at a loss of $157 million (down from a profit of $240 million a year ago). Looking at things on a non-GAAP basis, though, net income is actually up from $285 million to $295 million. What's more, the company also confirmed that it has 955 million monthly active users (or what it calls MAUs) as of the end of June, up 29 percent year-over-year. As you can see in the chart after the break, those users are distributed fairly evenly across the world, including 186 million in the US and Canada, 246 million in Europe, 255 million in Asia, and 268 million elsewhere. Daily active users totaled 552 million for the same time period, up 32 percent year-over-year, while mobile users now stand at 543 million, up 67 percent from last year. Not surprisingly, a huge chunk -- 84 percent -- of the company's revenue comes from advertising, which brought in $992 million for the quarter, an increase of 28 percent from last year. That apparently wasn't enough to please investors, though, who have sent the company's stock to a new low of less than $25 (down over ten percent) in after hours trading. Update: Expectedly, the ever-recurring topic of a Facebook phone came up during the Q&A portion of the company's earnings call, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg didn't avoid the issue entirely. While not completely dismissing recent rumors of an HTC-built, Facebook-branded phone, Zuckerberg did say that building a whole phone "really wouldn't make much sense for us to do," which should put at least a bit of a damper on some of the hype.
ArcheAge seeks info on Western demographics with survey
For sandbox fans in the Western part of the globe, watching the development of ArcheAge is a bittersweet experience: sweet that a game with so many coveted features is being developed, but bitter that the game is only launching in the East for now. But XL Games has indicated that a Western launch is not so much an "if" as a "when." With that in mind, the fan site ArcheAge Source is seeking fan opinion and information on North American and European demographics through an unofficial survey posted on Facebook. (No Facebook account is needed to take the survey.) The information garnered from responses may be used to shape decisions concerning ArcheAge in the NA and EU markets, but it is mostly for the fan site "to have some statistics to show at Gamescom 2012 and whenever else we have need for them." [Thanks to Halldorr for the tip!]
Facebook brings bigger images and text to its news feed, because size does matter
Not long after hooking up its mobile site and apps with a minor facelift, Facebook's reportedly planning to bring a similar redesign to its full-sized website. According to our friends over at TechCrunch, the changes will be nearly identical to those we saw on the mobile front, meaning you'll be able see bigger photos (up to twice as large) and text pop up on your cherished news feed. The light, but plentiful revamp is expected to hit users over the next few days, so don't feel like the odd one out if you've yet to spot any tweaks. Now, if only you had that SimCity Social to help pass the time while you patiently wait...
Facebook to experiment with access for under-13s
Facebook is exploring options to connect kids to its social network, while ensuring it obeys federal laws. According to the Wall Street Journal, the social network is pushing for a more formalized structure for under-13s in an effort to curb users registering under a false age. Consumer Reports currently pegs the number of under-age users at around 7.5 million. Despite other privacy concerns, Facebook is reportedly looking to add buffers and parental controls to any kid-friendly version that might result from its current experiments. It could also tie parents' accounts to their little tykes' pages, allowing game purchases to be made through their bank details. Well, that new HQ isn't going to pay for itself.
HTC Status for AT&T finally gets its profile picture
Hello, meet the HTC Status. You may know it from such previous names as the ChaCha, ChaChaCha, or our personal favorite, "the Facebook phone that's not a Facebook phone." None of these titles made it through AT&T's gauntlet, however, and that's a-okay with us -- in fact, given its emphasis on social networking, the new name actually makes much more sense. The pictures above and below (the break) display the phone's AT&T branding, new Facebook button, and rearranged keyboard in the same fashion as the leaked press shot we saw earlier. If there was any doubt that you'll be seeing this device "in a relationship" with store shelves anytime soon, let this assuage your skepticism.
SOE teases The Penguin's appearance in DCUO Update 2
Now that the first monthly patch is live in DC Universe Online, it's a good time for the development team to take a moment to reflect on what was good and not so hot in this first update -- as well as let us know what's planned for the next step. Game Director Chris Cao and Art Director Mark Anderson sat down to talk with fans about just that through SOE's Stickam account earlier today and did just that. In next month's update, which is being called Update 2, players will have the chance to face off against The Penguin as the DC Universe Online team continues the gang war storyline that is currently in game. Along with The Penguin are a series of penguin henchmen players will battle, including robot penguins! Two-Face will also show up in game to take part in the ongoing gang war and to become a new Legends character for players to unlock. Knowing SOE, we'll likely see a reveal of more information on Update 2 and The Penguin sometime in the coming weeks. We'll be certain to keep an eye out for any umbrellagrams and bring you news as it develops!
