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Google News Launches Facebook Application
NewsCloud writes "Eight days after Google CEO Eric Schmidt told Zeitgeist conference attendees that social networks account for an 'enormous proportion [of Internet usage]...it's a very real phenomenon,' Google News has launched its own Facebook application. Says Google News: 'This experimental application enables users to create custom sections or select from a set of pre-defined topics, then browse and share stories with their friends on Facebook. We are trying a couple things differently with this application, and it is still in beta, but we think that it adds value to the Facebook experience and to users' overall news experience.' Check out Google News on Facebook (requires registration) — or view screenshots."
What of Google's isn't in beta?
Search and advertising ;)
My UID is prime... is yours?
Can someone explain WTF is FaceBook and why such things are popular? Aren't they "Me and my dog" homepages like the millions already on the net?
Why on earth would anyone want a GOOGLE facebook app.
in all fairness, google news is wildly enough available for those who want it that those who dont would find it useless.
www.tdobson.net #### Dare to Dream #### blog.tdobson.net
Will this application be compatable with Orkut? Google's own social networking/Facebook site?
Boy, I am pissed. I have submitted Funwall as a Slashdot story FIVE times, and Vampires SIX times, and have been rejected every time. Who do you have to sleep with around here to get Facebook apps posted as stories??
Three Squirrels
But, isnt orkut also a social networking site owned by google ? is this googles way of accepting that facebook is better/has a wider base ? Because I know for a fact that orkut doesnt have a visible news section. I wonder if this is going to be googles version of Extend, Embrace and Assimilate ?
blog plug -> The Darker Side of Light
... following the path predicted by many, and nicely depicted in this short flash movie called "Epic 2015". We're indeed seeing the death of news as we know it. How does it feel to become a tiny part of the global consciousness?
it's in my head
[rant]
As a new Facebook user, I'm surprised by the mess and disorganization that applications on Facebook cause. Reading other peoples' profiles is like participating in psychological experiments with lots of graphics and widgets competing for your attention. And don't get me started on regurgitated content such as "Only great minds can read this This is weird, but interesting!", vampire fights, yes or no apps, etc.
Here's hoping that Google application implementation won't suck.
[/rant]
Google seriously needs to get some SEO help...
Help Me! I'm trapped in the tubes! Oh noes! Here comes a internet!
Back in 1995 AOL hit the net... it was an internally connected set of pages that covered everything you might want...with buddies, chat rooms, 'social networking', exclusive content (not public on the 'internet') and more.... I just don't see the difference between that experience and Facebook or MySpace or what have you. Their system is proprietary, your 'networks' only apply while on the site, logged in, consuming their advertising selection, logging your interests to their tracking systems and any content YOU create, actually belongs to them.
Tell me again why the public and the corporations didn't learn from the beast called AOL which has been dying a slow death for the last 10 years? Why aren't the press, the blogs and what have you calling them what they are... AOL 2.0 or Closed networks after AOL...
I don't get it. As far as I can tell it's just a big reservoir of virtual Kool Aid... it's not even real Kool Aid... just a big waste of time and energy that all goes to pay a few people mega salaries and a bunch of other people mediocre salaries. It also accomplishes nothing for the greater good, it's worse than a sitcom or American Idol.
A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
I'd rather find out what happened with Jotspot.....
does anyone here have a clue?? It just vanished.
Seriously, what application space isn't Google in? Although I do hope this is somewhat successful, only just because I'm rooting again Facebook and their $10B valuation. I think that Facebook isn't even worth $1 million much less $10 billion, so anything to promote them going down in flames is fine with me. I may actually go as far as to set up an profile on Googlebook or whatever they call it. I have so far avoided the whole MySpace/Facebook thing. I have consciously decided that I don't want to be virtually social, and I especially don't want to be social with MySpace/Facebook trolls/sex offenders/ho bags.
Badges!?! We don't need no stinking badges!
"but we think that it adds value to the Facebook experience and to users' overall news experience.'"
Something needs to add value. The S/N ratio on Facebook is pretty horrible. At least none of my friends, or groups I've joined, etc. are doing anything beyond tinkering with it.
If they want to get serious about being a useful TOOL rather than TOY, I'd say the first step would be to give every Facebook user an e-mail address that can be used to communicate with the outside world (both ways). While I might not be interested in using this as yet another e-mail address, if it had forwarding capabilities I could direct such messages as "someone has thrown a food item at you" to the appropriate bin, while at the same time get actual content containing messages from friends who are insisting on using it as a replacement for e-mail. I could also respond to such messages using my e-mail method of choice.
*whoosh*
This is really revolutionary. Employing all those PhDs is finally making sense.
Of course, Chinese students who get party approval to post will be outed by Google to the Chinese People Security Bureau, and their parents will have to pay for a 9mm bullet.
Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong fix.
There's a facebook app called fmail that let you access your gmail inside facebook - makes NO sense to me
... http://apps.facebook.com/mycliques
but its seems to have lots of users.
Can I toss in a plug for my facebook app
Automatically groups your friends.
Facebook used to be interesting because it was semi-useful. Then suddenly the option to add applications appeared and now whenever I look at someone's profile, I get bombarded with all manner of stupid crap ("Adopt a pet!" "Pirates vs. Ninjas!" "Superpoke!"). Facebook profiles aren't quite the eyesore that their Myspace equivalents are (yet), but they've become so filled with stupid garbage that I don't want to look at them. So yeah, thanks Google for doing your part to help destroy what was once a fairly good website.
When Yahoo! released a wiki-like facebook app (mash.yahoo.com), it wasn't listed here as story. It launched with all kinds of rss feed modules that can be drag and dropped around the profile.
By the way, there are 28 yahoo rss applications on facebook, including news, weather, messenger plugin, and music player. I know I'll be crucified for saying it, but I think that slashdot staff are google whores.
Free unix account: freeshell.org
I use Gmail constantly - via POP. I never see the web page or the "text jabber client" whatever that is supposed to mean. It's kind of difficult to generalize, since what everyone does is assume that whatever the 20 people they know well do must be what everyone does, since by their own reference that IS "everyone".
In Brazil, Orkut IS social networking. In the Philippines, Friendster remains popular, If it works well enough, the choice of software largely devolves to whatever the group norm is for individuals. At my company, the 'standard' is Yahoo IM, but because I disliked a particular manager who used it as his substitute for interacting with employees, I popularized the use of Skype for IM in my group. This was two years ago, and the division remains to this day.