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According to a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted last week, two-thirds of Facebook users overall were unaware of the new features recently adopted at the social networking site. However, 87 percent of the respondents using Facebook on a daily basis said they were up to speed with the Web site’s latest update.

Consumer advocacy groups have raised concerns about the latest additions to Facebook and how they might be used by criminals. Nevertheless, just 26 percent of the new poll’s respondents who said they visit Facebook every day were “very concerned” about their online privacy, USA Today reported in an article published Tuesday.

A majority of Facebook users (56 percent) disapproved of the latest changes while only 36 percent said they liked them. Nevertheless, 30 percent indicated they visited the popular social networking site several times a day, and with 29 percent using Facebook on a daily basis.

“If there’s one thing Facebook is not afraid of, it’s change,” said Forrester Research Senior Analyst Sean Corcoran.

Laying Claim To Users’ Lives

For Facebook the goal is to radically change the online social networking game by laying claim to the entire life experience of each and every participant using its Web site, according to Corcoran.

For example, Facebook has been testing a new Timeline feature that “recaps in one fell swoop everything you’ve ever posted and lets you feature the highlights,” Corcoran wrote in a blog. There are also “new apps that let you discover and share real-time experiences like watching movies and listening to music.”

The principal benefit for Facebook is that the new features will deliver highly granular data on individual users that Facebook’s advertising clients can harness to more precisely target their marketing efforts at the social networking site. With the latest changes, for example, advertisers will be able to launch innovative… Read more

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The media buzz around Facebook’s new geolocation Places feature didn’t even die down before the social-networking giant fueled the fire. Facebook acquired a startup called Hot Potato last week that could add some beef to Places.

Launched last November, Hot Potato helped stir the social-networking world’s appetite for socializing around activities and live events. With some users complaining that Facebook’s Places feature is a boring takeoff on competitor Foursquare, Hot Potato may heat up a so-far bland service.

Places lets Facebook’s 500 million members share their locations by “checking in” to that place — whether it’s a movie theater, a restaurant, or a Starbucks — to let friends know where they are. They can also see if friends have been there recently or are nearby. But you can’t be the mayor like you can in Foursquare.

A Places Soft Launch?

“Facebook wanted to create a foundation upon which they could build, so it’s not surprising that they are acquiring this company that can add functions to Places,” said Brad Shimmin, an analyst at Current Analysis. “Facebook has learned from past mistakes that if they are too aggressive with the launch of a new product, they can run into opposition.”

As Shimmin sees it, Facebook’s Places launch was a tentative first step designed to get the geotagging service into users’ hands and give them an opportunity to get familiar with the concept without running into a major backlash from privacy advocates.

“Unfortunately, there are some aspects of how Facebook rolled out Places that could cause trouble,” Shimmin said. “Opting everyone in and not providing a really clear mechanism for opting out could be a problem, and they didn’t make it very easy to disallow people from checking you in.”

“At least they’ve allowed you to take yourself off the grid if you want to, but you… Details

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It’s not really a “Facebook panic button,” but it’s being described as such. In the U.K., Facebook is launching easy access to a mini-application for teens who believe they are being subjected to cyber-bullying. The button connects the user to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center (CEOP), a semi-governmental organization in the U.K.

At CEOP, users can report others who they believe are abusing them online, and there is advice and resources for dealing with threats made through the Internet.

Something That ‘Isn’t True, or Worse’

At its site, CEOP provides several questions to guide users trying to decide if they need help, such as “Do you sometimes struggle to find answer to things that worry you online?” and “Had a chat conversation that went sour?” Other questions ask if the user has had “bad wall posts from people you don’t know,” if the user has “seen something written about you that isn’t true, or worse,” and if the user’s account has ever been hacked.

The ClickCEOP app on Facebook has three parts: a Profile tab that provides steps for the user to protect him or herself, a “Protect your mates” virtual badge that can be sent to friends to let them know about the app, and a bookmark for easy access.

The CEOP addition to the U.K. version of Facebook comes after some resistance by the social-networking giant. The site had said that a single reporting button was not as effective as other measures it was taking, and would lead to overwork for police and other organizations. But a government official urged the adoption, and 44 police chiefs signed a petition following the murder of a 17-year-old, Ashleigh Hall, late last year.

A 32-year-old homeless man, previously identified as a serial rapist, has been charged with kidnapping and murder. According to news accounts, Hall… More info

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Microsoft has added Facebook and Windows Live Messenger to the Outlook Social Connector component built into Microsoft Office 2010, giving Outlook users the ability to connect the in-box with the two social networks. Additionally, the software giant unleashed Outlook Social Connector as a downloadable plug-in for the 2003 and 2007 editions of Microsoft Office.

Starting Tuesday, users will be able to stay connected with friends, family and colleagues by viewing their social-network activities within Outlook while perusing e-mail, noted Paco Contreras Herrera, group product manager for Microsoft Office.

“We have partnerships with Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Windows Live Messenger, and we expect that there will be more partnerships with other social providers coming down the pike,” Herrera said during an in-house video interview. “Working closely with key partners, including Facebook, our goal is to help you stay in touch with the people you care about and simplify your daily routine,” he added in a blog.

Boosting Convenience

LinkedIn and MySpace became available in Outlook Social Connector last winter. The addition of the Facebook and Messenger networks Tuesday reflects Microsoft’s commitment to evolve Outlook so it supports the way many people get things done today, Herrera wrote.

“According to the Nielsen ratings, 67 percent of the global online population now goes online to visit social networks and blogs to stay connected, make decisions, and get things done,” Herrera wrote. “The Outlook Social Connector doesn’t add another social network into the mix; rather, it offers busy people the convenience of accessing them in Outlook.”

To get started, Outlook users are invited to go to the Microsoft Download Center to access the available Outlook Social Connector, Facebook and Messenger downloads for the version of Office they currently use. Outlook 2010 users will automatically receive updates to the connector through the Microsoft Update service, Herrera observed.

Outlook Social… Read more

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NewsFactor – Google gave its online advertising clients a new tool Thursday that gives them the ability to restrict their online marketing campaigns to the world’s top 1,000 web domains from Facebook on down, based on unique visitor numbers. Google said it launched the new Ad Planner 1000 filter in response to feedback from a number of customers running branding campaigns. More info

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