Facebook Roundup: 2010, Mplayit, Africa, Developer Roadmap, D.C. and Spammers get Sued

Facebook is Africa’s Most Popular Mobile Destination – Facebook is the most popular mobile web destination in Africa, according to a report from Norway-based mobile software developer Opera. Africa’s 400 million mobile subscribers often turn to mobile devices for Internet access because it’s more reliable than hardwired connections and, even as Twitter begins to gain ground there, Facebook was the top social networking site in six out of 10 countries surveyed by Opera. Mplayit Releases Most Shared Mobile Apps – Mplayit, an app that recommends new apps, released a list of the most shared apps on the iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Java devices. The list included a variety of apps for a variety of functions, ranging from CafeSolitaire to the Finger Physics game to ReaderScope RSS feed reader to Call Blocker Professional. Facebook Goes to Washington – Adam Conner is a 25 year-old Facebook lobbyist who’s been acting like tech support for much of Washington, D.C., fielding as many as 20 help requests a day, helping representatives and staff learn to use Facebook more effectively. His free services earn him $75,000 a year with equity from Facebook and he’s got more than 2,500 friends on his profile. Notes App Imports Images from Blogs – Facebook’s Notes app now includes images when blog feeds are automatically imported to the site. The changes were likely made in the past few weeks, previously images were lost when blog posts were automatically imported. It’s 20-10, not 2010 – A web site, in conjunction with a Facebook group and fan page, has set out to change the way we talk about the next decade — literally. The site, twentynot2000, is dedicated to the simple idea that speaking “two thousand and ten” is too long, whereas “twenty ten” is much shorter, “If we don’t fix this now, we’ll be stuck saying years the long way for the next 89 years,” the site pleads. The site’s fan page boasts over 20,000 fans so far and the group has over 1,400 members. Indonesian Woman Cleared after Facebook Snafu – A 32 year-old woman in Indonesia was cleared of defaming a hospital she claimed misdiagnosed her after an email she wrote about the ordeal was widely circulated on Facebook. An Indonesian court threw the case out on December 29 and Prita Mulyasari was cleared of criminal defamation under Indonesia’s 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions Law. In the message she wrote to friends, she said she had been misdiagnosed with dengue fever, when she actually had mumps. She was facing up to six years in jail. Free Snow Goggles for Skiers on Facebook – Stratton Mountain Ski Resort in Vermont launched a Facebook promotion encouraging skiers there to make a video promoting their new park in exchange for ski goggles valued at $129.99. The resort’s newest park, Lower Middlebrook, is the largest at the resort and in order to promote the latest offering Stratton is asking fans to friend them on Facebook, sign up to make a short video skiing in the new park, upload it to their Facebook page and vote for the winner of the video via the “Like” button. McAfee Labs: More Hacks on Facebook in 2010 – McAfee Labs published its 2010 threats predictions this week, noting an expected increase in threats to social networking sites like Facebook in particular. The report stated that spammers are likely to take advantage users trusting their friends on social networks and that this “friendly fire” will reach “new heights” in 2010. Facebook consumes 5.5% of Internet Time in U.S. – comScore reported in December that Facebook use accounts for 5.5% of the total amount of time U.S. users spent in 2009, up from 2.5% a year ago. Facebook Files New Lawsuit Against Spammers – Facebook filed its latest lawsuit in its crusade against spammers and phishers on December 14, accusing three men of phishing and spamming its users. The suit, filed in San Jose, California, alleges that Jeremi Fisher, Philip Porembski and Ryan Shimeall phished users’ accounts, gained access to them, and then sent spam to other users from the compromised accounts. Facebook accuses the defendants and their companies — Choko Systems, Harm, and iMedia Online Services — of launching at least four spam campaigns during the last few years and recently sending nearly three-fourths of all spam on the site. This latest suit follows two previous suits Facebook won against spammers and phishers: a $711 million judgment in October of 2009 and a $873 million judgment in November of 2008. [Conner photo via The Washington Post.]

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Facebook Roundup: 2010, Mplayit, Africa, Developer Roadmap, D.C. and Spammers get Sued

Sara Inés Calderón

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Sara Inés Calderón