Users most likely to unfriend high school friends on Facebook: Survey

The most likely type of person to be unfriended on Facebook is a high school friend, a new study has found.

Scientists have found new insight into the most common kind of 'friend' who is unfriended on Facebook, as well as the unfriended person's emotional response to such a situation.

Researchers from the University of Colorado, Denver, found that the top five kinds of people respondents unfriended were: high school friends, other, friend of a friend, work friends and common interest friend.

"The most common reason for unfriending someone from high school is that the person posted polarising comments often about religion or politics," said Christopher Sibona, a doctoral student in the Computer Science and Information Systems programme at the CU Denver Business School.

"The other big reason for unfriending was frequent, uninteresting posts," said Sibona.

Sibona's first study examined 'context collapse and unfriending behaviours' on Facebook and his second looked at 'the emotional response to being unfriended.'

Both studies were based on a survey of 1,077 people conducted on Twitter.

"We found that people often unfriend co-workers for their actions in the real world rather than anything they post on Facebook," Sibona said.

One reason he believes high school friends are top targets for unfriending is that their political and religious beliefs may not have been as strong when they were younger.

And if those beliefs have grown more strident over time, it becomes easier to offend others.

"Your high school friends may not know your current political or religious beliefs and you may be quite vocal about them," Sibona said.

"And one thing about social media is that online disagreements escalate much more quickly," Sibona said.

The second study looked at the emotional impact of being unfriended.

Sibona found a range of emotions connected to unfriending, from being bothered to being amused. The most common responses to being unfriended were: 'I was surprised', 'It bothered me', 'I was amused' and 'I felt sad'.

"The strongest predictor is how close you were at the peak of your friendship when the unfriending happened," said Sibona.

Facebook leading women to eating disorders: Survey

Are you hooked all the time to Facebook in anticipation of another 'like'? Stop this habit as increased time on Facebook could lead women to negative body images - and possibly eating disorders later.

In a first study to link time spent on Facebook to poor body image, researchers found that more time on Facebook could lead to more negative feelings and more comparisons to bodies of friends.

Health professionals who work in the area of eating disorders and their prevention now have clear evidence of how social media relates to college women's body image and eating disorders.

"While time spent on Facebook had no relation to eating disorders, it did predict worse body image among participants," said Petya Eckler from Glasgow-based University of Strathclyde.

To understand this, the researchers surveyed 881 college women about their Facebook use, eating and exercise habits and body image.

They were able to predict how often women felt negatively about their own bodies after looking at someone else's photos or posts, and how often women compared their own bodies to those of their friends.

"The findings also showed that more time spent on Facebook was associated with more negative feelings and more comparisons to the bodies of friends," co-author Yusuf Kalyango Jr from Ohio University added.

They also found that for women who want to lose weight, more time on Facebook led to more attention being paid to physical appearance.

This included attention to one's body and clothing.

Poor body image can gradually lead to developing an unhealthy relationship with food.

The attention to physical attributes may be even more dangerous on social media than on traditional media because participants in social media are people we know, researchers cautioned.

The team is scheduled to present its findings at the 64th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association in Seattle, Washington

Facebook hits 100 million India users, largest after US

Facebook has hit more than 100 million users in India, making it only the second country after the United States to achieve the milestone, the social network company has said.

The mobile phone market was driving growth in India along with better Internet coverage across the country of 1.2 billion people, said Kevin D'Souza, Facebook India's head of growth and mobile partnerships.

"Today, we have more than 100 million people who access Facebook actively in India each month," D'Souza was quoted in local media on Wednesday as saying.

"Now, we look forward to one billion in India that's a different focus and challenge," Javier Olivan, who looks after global growth in Facebook, told the Economic Times newspaper.

India is expected later this year to overtake the United States as the country with the most Facebook users, with the figure forecast to pass 150 million, analysts have said.

(Also see: Facebook reports 82 million monthly active users in India, 62 million via mobile)

Facebook, with more than 1.23 billion users globally, is turning to emerging markets including those in Asia to drive expansion after growth in the West tapers off.

It leads social network services in all but six countries notably Russia, where local rivals are preferred, and China, where it has been largely banned since 2009.

Facebook announced in February a takeover of free mobile messaging service WhatsApp for $19 billion in a deal that marries its social network users with Whatsapp's 450 million users.

Facebook has seen a meteoric rise in India since setting up its first office in the southern city of Hyderabad four years ago, when the country had about eight million users.

India has 164.81 million Internet subscribers, with more than half logging in from their mobile phones, the telecoms regulator said last year.

Aircel unveils 'Facebook for All' free access offer in select circles

Aircel on Wednesday announced a new offer under which the network carrier would let its new and existing customers access the Facebook app, Messenger app and the mobile version of Facebook for free. Notably, the free access 'Facebook for All' offer is limited by both time and data.

While the offer for new customers entails free 50MB of data per month of Facebook access for 60 days after activation, the existing Aircel users will get the same amount of data for 30 days for Facebook access. Post the free 50MB of usage, the carrier will charge users 2p/10kb.

Aircel customers will also have the option can also opt for special tariff packs for Facebook that will cost them as little as 50p/day or Rs.14 for 28 days (100MB data plan) and Rs. 5 for 5 days (25MB data plan) to be precise.

The service is currently available for Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Maharashtra circles. The service will be rolled-out in other regions later.

"Aircel has positioned itself well as a data leader by constantly innovating products and services aimed at redefining user experience, especially the youth. Over 75 million people access Facebook through their mobile phones in India and more than 60 percent of Aircel customers who have data enabled handsets consume internet on their phones," stated Anupam Vasudev, Chief Marketing Officer, Aircel.

"India is truly a Mobile first country where millions of people are discovering the internet by connecting with people on Facebook through their mobile phones. 'Facebook for All' by Aircel is a great initiative that will make the Internet affordable and we are excited to partner in connecting the world on Facebook," added Kevin D'souza, Head of Growth and Mobile Partnerships, Facebook India

Facebook v8.0 app for iOS brings improved private photo sharing, and more

Facebook, on Tuesday, released the updated version of its Facebook app for iOS. The new update is a renewed effort by the social-networking giant to improve on the niche segment of private sharing. The version released-v8.0 allows users to select specific people who will be able to see the users' photo albums in their feed.

Facebook had already rolled out the feature for individual statuses and photos over the last few months. The new version extends the same feature to entire photo albums as well - Facebook calls it a "A simple way to see and choose a photo album's audience." The option to select the photo albums, according to reports, has a lot of similarities to Snapchat.

The sharing of the photos is set to 'Friends' by default. A tap to the same will reveal a pre-made friends list, or options to create a new custom list. Essentially, every time users wants to share photos, they will have to either use the pre-made list or create a new one. Facebook has been trying to push private sharing, which it calls 'micro sharing' since 2007. It has ever since then met with mixed success on the same. It might also be possible that like Facebook's other endeavours, like Groups and Smart Lists, this feature might take time to be accepted by users or might fly under the radar (like its predecessors) completely.

And Facebook is not the only one to try private sharing as a feature. Path tried using it by letting a user share with their closest friends but that backfired. Snapchat allowed users to select specific people that a user wanted to share information with, and met with success. On the other handInstagram Direct, which is a photo messaging feature didn't take off, and Snapchat's Stories didn't make much headway with the mainstream audiences either.

In addition to the photo-sharing feature, Facebook on the iTunes page says the updated design "makes it easier to post and share on iPad", and also touts other "improvements for reliability and speed." The app doesn't come with any major changes as users may have expected with a major version number change, save the private photo sharing option. It will be interesting to see how it is accepted by users in the future.

Facebook starts rolling out video ads in News Feeds

Facebook on Thursday began weaving video ads into people's news feeds at the leading online social network in a move to grab revenue from the lucrative television market.

Premium Video Ads that Facebook began testing at the end of last year are being gradually integrated into accounts of its more than 1.2 billion members, product marketing manager Susan Buckner said in an online post.

"Brands now have another way of engaging people on Facebook with compelling video experiences," Buckner said.

"We'll roll out Premium Video Ads slowly and monitor how people interact with them."

The 15-second video ads play automatically when they pop-up in news feeds and are designed for advertisers who want to reach large audiences with sight, sound and motion, according to Facebook.

(Also see: Facebook begins testing auto-playing video ads on users' news feeds)

Facebook did not disclose rates, but online reports indicated daily spots aimed at wide numbers of members at prime times could cost as much as $2.5 million a day.

"Premium Video Ads are bought and measured in a way that's similar to how advertisers already buy and measure ads on TV," Buckner said.

Facebook has teamed with a company called Ace Metrix to measure such creative components of ads as watchability, meaningfulness and "emotional resonance."

Facebook said it is working with a small set of advertisers at the start to develop high-quality campaigns.

New video ads should begin appearing in Facebook members' news feeds on desktop computers and mobile devices over the course of the next few months, according to Buckner

WhatsApp for Android update adds option to hide 'last seen' status and more

WhatsApp on Monday began rolling out an update for its Android app, bringing new privacy settings to devices running Android v2.1 and higher.

The WhatsApp for Android update has brought the option to hide the 'last seen' notification, profile photo and status through privacy settings. In order use the feature, users need to install the latest WhatsApp (2.11.186) update from the Google Play Store. Once the application is updated, users will find the new privacy feature in settings menu under account settings. So far, users can hide all three pieces of information from people not on their contact list, from select people, or from everyone. The feature that was already present on iOS devices.

The updated WhatsApp app for Android has now added an option to share/save profile photo/group icon. Another interesting integration to WhatsApp for Android is the service payment feature, which lets users pay for their friends' WhatsApp service. Users need to go visit contacts, check the particular contact's info, and press the menu option, where they will find the option for making the payment.

The WhatsApp update for Android now adds an option to show unread messages on the home screen widget for devices running Android 3.0 and higher. Few other tweaks include a camera shortcut for quicker picture sending, large video thumbnails in chat, and an option to increase the message history a user can send.

The update also fixes few bugs for some devices. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 voice note recording volume bug has also been fixed with the update, while it also enabled Hindi language support for Sony Xperia phones running Android 4.1 and higher

Facebook-WhatsApp deal may be scrutinised by India's fair trade regulator CCI

Facebook's $19 billion deal (Rs 1,16,000 crore) to acquire WhatsApp may face a detailed scrutiny by the country's fair trade regulator CCI, especially since both players have significant presence in India.

The world's largest social networking site Facebook has around 1.2 billion members globally while WhatsApp - a platform that allows exchange of messages and files through mobile phones free of cost - is estimated to have 450 million users worldwide.

All merger and acquisition deals, involving companies having India presence, have to get approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) which has the mandate to keep a tab on unfair trade practices at the market place.

A senior official said the Commission is yet to receive an application seeking approval for the deal, but it would indeed face an elaborate scrutiny.

Both Facebook and WhatsApp have substantial number of customers in India and they may soon file a notice with CCI to seek its clearance for the deal.

While India has nearly 93 million Facebook users, the count of people using the popular WhatsApp service is around 40 million in the country.

Meanwhile, concerns are already being raised in certain quarters about privacy issues post deal. Privacy groups in the US have asked American fair trade regulator FTC to put the deal on hold and probe how the social media giant plans to use subscriber data.

US-based Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) have asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate WhatsApp and enjoin its "unfair and deceptive data collection practices" for any future changes to its privacy policy.

Announcing the deal to acquire WhatsApp last month, Facebook said it would help accelerate growth and user engagement across both companies.

As per the deal, Facebook would shell out USD 16 billion, including USD 4 billion in cash and approximately USD 12 billion worth of shares for WhatsApp acquisition.

Besides, the social networking major would provide additional USD 3 billion in restricted stock units to WhatsApp's founders and employees that would vest over four years subsequent to closing

Facebook in talks to buy drone company Titan Aerospace for $60 mn: Reports

Facebook Inc is in talks to buy drone maker Titan Aerospace for $60 million, according to media reports.

The high-flying drones would give Facebook, the world's No.1 Internet social network, the ability to beam wireless Internet access to consumers in undeveloped parts of the world, according to the technology blog TechCrunch. TechCrunch first reported the deal late on Monday, citing an anonymous source.

The effort would help advance Facebook's Internet.org effort, aimed at connecting billions of people who do not currently have Internet access in places such as Africa and Asia.

Facebook declined to comment.

Titan Chief Executive Vern Raburn declined to comment on whether Facebook was buying the company or a large order of its planes.

"I can't comment one way or the other," Raburn said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

Titan is developing a variety of solar-powered "atmospheric satellites," according to the company's website, with initial commercial operations slated for 2015. The drones, which fly at an altitude of 65,000 feet (20 km) and can remain aloft for up to five years and have a 165-foot (50-metre) wingspan, slightly shorter than that of a Boeing 777.

"What we have is an airplane that's solar-powered, so it doesn't have any fuel and it can climb up to a very high altitude and just stay there. And at that altitude it can do a multiplicity of missions ranging from communications, data, optical, weather sensing," Raburn said.

"Think of it as a Tesla Model S, with wings," he said, referring to the electric car. Raburn, who was previously the CEO of Symantec Corp and the president of Microsoft Corp's consumer products division, said that Titan has flown a scaled-down prototype of the plane.

Facebook is interested in having Titan build 11,000 of its Solara 60 model drones for its Internet.org project, according to the TechCrunch report.

Facebook is not the only Internet company working on bringing wireless Internet access to developing countries. Last year, Google Inc announced Project Loon, which aims to use solar-powered air balloons to beam the Internet to remote regions.

Providing wireless access could help Facebook ensure that its online social network is among the basic services used by people in developing economies as they start to use Internet-connected mobile phones in coming years.

Facebook, which has 1.2 billion monthly users, has partnered with numerous wireless providers in recent years to offer free or discounted access to the social network. But some, such as Vodafone, have balked at waiving their wireless data rates for Facebook.

Yahoo to stop users logging into its services with Facebook, Google accounts

Yahoo will stop letting consumers access its various online services, including Fantasy Sports and photo-sharing site Flickr, by signing-in with their Facebook or Google credentials.

The change, which will be rolled out gradually according to a Yahoo spokeswoman, will require users to register for a Yahoo ID in order to use any of the Internet portal's services.

The move marks the latest change to Yahoo by Chief Executive Marissa Mayer, who is striving to spark fresh interest in the company's Web products and to revive its stagnant revenue.

"Yahoo is continually working on improving the user experience," the company said in a statement, noting that the new process "will allow us to offer the best personalised experience to everyone".

The first Yahoo service to require the new sign-in process is Yahoo Sports Tourney Pick'Em, a service focused on the NCAA college basketball tournament which begins later this month. News of the change to Yahoo's Tourney Pick'Em sign-in process was first reported by the technology blog Betanews.

Since Mayer took the reins in 2012, the company has rolled out new versions of many of its key products, including Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Finance. Last year, Yahoo announced a program to recycle inactive Yahoo user IDs, letting new users claim email addresses that have not been used for more than 12 months.

In eliminating the Facebook and Google sign-in features, Mayer, a former Google executive, is effectively reversing a strategy that Yahoo adopted in 2010 and 2011 under then CEO Carol Bartz.

The change to the Tourney Pick'Em sign-in process began on Monday, the Yahoo spokeswoman said, noting that users could still access other services with Google or Facebook IDs.

The sign-in buttons for Facebook and Google will eventually be removed from all Yahoo properties, the Yahoo spokeswoman, though she declined to provide a timeframe.

Voice calling coming soon to WhatsApp:

Barcelona: The world's biggest messaging service WhatsApp will add voice calls to its product in the second quarter of this year, its CEO Jan Koum said, days after its blockbuster $19 billion acquisition by Facebook.

"We are driven by the mission that people should be able to stay in touch anywhere and affordably. Our goal is to be on every mobile phone in the world," Koum said on Monday, speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Koum also announced a partnership with KPN's E-Plus under which it will launch a WhatsApp branded mobile service in Germany. "We are working with carriers in established markets to bring value to end users," he said.

WhatsApp will add voice calls to its product in the second quarter of this year, its CEO Jan Koum said, days after its blockbuster $19 billion acquisition by Facebook.