Dartmouth-based SimplyCast, which specializes in multi-channel marketing platform-as-a-service solutions, has released a Facebook app generator. The generator streamlines the process for any business to create, publish, and promote marketing campaigns on Facebook, the Canadian company says.
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Facebook now has more than 900 million monthly active users and more than 500 million mobile users, according to an update to its IPO filing. More than half of those active users come back every single day.
The social networking giant also revealed it generated just over $1 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2012, up 45% from one year ago but down 6.5% from the previous quarter. Advertising made up 82% of Facebook's revenue in the first quarter.
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People complain that Facebook isn't private enough, how it mishandles one's personal information. But it seems that another privacy breach is also rampant: your own family. Indeed, over half of Canadian parents secretly access their teenagers' Facebook accounts, according to a survey conducted by security firm AVG. This is well above the global average of 44%. ("Global," in this instance, is 11 countries.)
However, Canadian parents weren't the world's snoopiest. Than went to our neighbours to the south: 61% of American parents snoop their teenagers' accounts.
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Facebook today announced the combination of the Preferred Developed Consultant and Marketing API programs and the subsequent launch of the newly minted Preferred Marketing Developer program. There are now 232 of these developers spanning 35 countires. One of those countries is, of course, Canada.
So who are the Canadian preferred developers? The most notable PMD is Invoke Media, which was created by Vancouver entrepreneur Ryan Holmes—now the CEO of HootSuite, a $200-million, Canadian Startup Awards finalist—several years ago. Invoke, which is hiring, is a full-service digital agency specializing in social media, web, and mobile. Its most recent project is Foodee.
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Sheryl Sandberg is Facebook's chief operating officer. With the social networking giant slated for a $100-billion IPO next month, she's one of the world's most prominent female executives.
But she very recently came out with some bizarre, sweeping generalizations about men versus women that has left many people scratching their heads. Sheryl, who is likely a role model for many aspiring female execs, said in a Makers video that if a woman can marry a woman, "that's better" than marrying a man—even the "right" man.
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Social networking giant Facebook has acquired mobile photo sharing app Instragam for approximately $1 billion in cash and stock.
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A BC woman is launching a class action lawsuit against Facebook. The Canadian entrepreneur, who owns Video4Web Productions, has filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on behalf of all BC residents who are Facebook users and whose name or photograph has been used by the social networking giant in its recently added "sponsored story" feature without consent.
Sponsored stories, which are triggered when a user clicks Facebook's famous "like" button on brand pages, should be illegal, Deborah Douez says. The way they function now—using a Facebook member's name or photo to endorse third-party products to that member's friends without consent—should not be allowed, her suit argues.
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The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has come forth to say that Facebook shows "improvement in some areas" but that the social networking giant "should be more proactive on privacy when introducing new features."
Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart announced the findings of three complaint investigations involving Facebook and revealed that Facebook "has shown greater awareness of users' privacy rights." However, she affirms that the company "still needs to do a better job of considering privacy issues before rolling out new features."
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This morning Tiger Woods and his foundation launched a fundraising campaign on Facebook to raise money for 10 underserved students to attend college and he chose Vancouver's FundRazr to power it.
The fundraising campaign will be conducted on Tiger’s personal Facebook page via the streamlined FundRazr application. Participants from around the world can contribute as little as $1 to the scholarship program. Every dollar raised will be personally matched by Woods with all proceeds going directly to the Earl Woods Scholars. The six-week campaign, beginning today, will conclude on May 14.
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1. Rogers Social Media Campaign Backfires by Knowlton Thomas
When Rogers paid to promote the hashtag #rogers1number, they intended to promote their new service, Rogers One Number. Instead, consumers used the national stage Rogers created to voice their displeasure with the company. It was one of the biggest social media gaffes of the year.
2. HootSuite Massive Funding Rumour by Rob Lewis
When our Editor-in-Chief sleuthed out a possible "massive financing round" HootSuite was on the verge of closing, the local startup and investment community was buzzing. He suggested a "nine digit valuation" and he was bang on—the Vancouver startup raised $20 million from Omers for a valuation of $200 million. We were on the story days before anyone else. Now Ryan Holmes is one-fifth of the way to his billion-dollar goal.
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