Facebook’s New App Center: Everything You Need to Know

Facebook’s upcoming App Center may look a lot like the Apple App Store and Google Play, but it’s not exactly their competitor.
Instead of selling apps that integrate with Facebook, the new App Center will refer users to other app stores where they can buy them.
Confused? You’re not the only one. After Facebook announced the new feature on Wednesday, “I don’t get it” was a common response.
We’ve answered below some of the most common questions about how the App Center will work, what apps it will contain and why Facebook built it. Let us know if you have another question we missed.

So Facebook is going to have an app store now?
Yes, but not in the same sense that Google and Apple have app stores. What Facebook has announced is more of an app showcase. In addition to apps built on Facebook, it includes apps that use Facebook Login, regardless of whether they’re iOS, Android or web apps.
Does that mean I can buy iOS and Android apps on Facebook?
No. Though you will find iOS and Android apps in the App Center, you will be directed to Apple’s App Store or Google Play to actually download the apps.
Facebook announced on Wednesday that it will allow developers to charge for “apps built on Facebook” for the first time, but is not clear whether users will purchase apps directly from the App Center.
What are “apps built on Facebook,” and how are they different than iOS and Android apps that integrate with Facebook?
Apps built on Facebook are web apps viewed and used within the Facebook site. They get a special page within Facebook where they load. On the other hand, apps with Facebook integrations such as Draw Something and Pinterest are built on external platforms, but they interface with Facebook for login and other social features.
Couldn’t I spend money on apps built on Facebook before?
Yes. Previously, Facebook has allowed in-app purchases within these apps, but it has not allowed developers to charge for apps themselves.
Social game maker Zynga, for example, has previously been able to charge for items like blueberries or game advantages within Farmville. Now it will have the option to charge for Farmville itself.
How will I access Facebook’s App Center?
Facebook’s App Center will launch on the web as well as within the iOS and Android Facebook apps.
What will the App Center Look Like?
It will look a lot like Google Play or the Apple App Store. Each app will have a detail page, which includes a five-star user-rating system. A screenshot of the prototype that Facebook engineer Aaron Brady included in a blog post about the center includes sections for recommended apps, friends’ apps, top apps, trending apps and top-grossing apps.
“We use a variety of signals, such as user ratings and engagement, to determine if an app is listed in the App Center,” Brady wrote.
Hasn’t Facebook launched something like this before?
Sort of. When Facebook first launched Facebook apps in 2007, there was a dedicated applications area where users could browse apps from third-party developers. Users currently locate Facebook apps through the same search bar they use to find people, groups and events.
Why would Facebook launch something like this?
As Brady put it in his blog post, “The App Center is designed to grow mobile apps that use Facebook — whether they’re on iOS, Android or the mobile web.”
Facebook wants developers to build mobile apps that integrate it. Reaching Facebook’s 900 million users through the App Center is another incentive for them to do so.
The showcase also encourages makes it easier to discover apps built on Facebook, many of which integrate Facebook’s payment system Credits. All games built on Facebook are required to use Facebook Credits to accept payments (except when they’re running on iOS), and Facebook takes a takes a 30% cut of all purchases made with Facebook Credits. That’s why as of February Zynga accounted for 12% of the social network’s revenue.
Facebook will also presumably take a 30% cut of the purchase price for upcoming paid apps built on Facebook.

12:12 by Robert dawne · 1

5 Tips for Great Content Curation

You’ve heard the buzz word — curation — being thrown around like it’s a gadget we all know how to work. In reality, good content curation isn’t as simple as pushing a share button. It’s actually a combination of finding great content and following some simple best practices on how to successfully share that content.
If you’re a curator looking for some boundaries in what feels like the Wild West, here are five best practices to consider.

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1. Be Part of the Content Ecosystem

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Be part of the content ecosystem, not just a re-packager of it. Often, people think of themselves as either creators or curators as if these two things are mutually exclusive. What a curator really should do is embrace content as both a maker and an organizer. The most successful curators include sites like The Huffington Post, that embrace the three-legged-stool philosophy of creating some content, inviting visitors to contribute some content, and gathering links and articles from the web. Created, contributed, and collected — the three ‘c’s is a strong content mix that has a measurable impact. Why? Because your visitors don’t want to hunt around the web for related material. Once they find a quality, curated collection, they’ll stay for related offerings.

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2. Follow a Schedule

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Audiences expect some regularity, and they’ll reward you for it. It doesn’t need to be a schedule that you can’t keep up with. If you want to curate three new links a day, and write one big post a week, that’s a schedule. Make sure to post at the same time each week. This is so readers know when to expect new material from you. Consistency and regularity will also bring you new users, and help you grow a loyal base of members who appreciate your work. A good example of someone who gets why a schedule makes a difference is Jason Hirschhorn via his MediaReDEF newsletter. He never misses a publish date.

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3. Embrace Multiple Platforms

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It used to be that your audience came to you. Not anymore. Today content consumers get their information on the platform of their choosing. That means you should consider posting short bursts on Tumblr, images on Pinterest, video on YouTube, and community conversations on Facebook. And don’t leave out established sites and publishers. If your audience hangs out on a blog, you may want to offer that publication some guest posts or even a regular column. Essentially, you have to bring your content contributions to wherever your readers may be.

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4. Engage and Participate

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Having a voice as a curator means more than creating and curating your own work. Make sure you’re giving back by reading others and commenting on their posts. A re-tweet is one of the easiest ways to help build relationships with fellow bloggers and curators. And your followers will appreciate that you’ve pointed them to good content. One word here, I never hit an RT without clicking through to read what I’m recommending. You can also lose followers if you don’t put in the effort to recommend material that you really think merits their attention.

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5. Share. Don’t Steal.

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Take the time to give attribution, link backs, and credit. The sharing economy works because we’re each sharing our audiences, and providing the value of our endorsements. If you pick up someone’s work and put it on your blog, or mention a fact without crediting the source, you’re not building shared credibility. You’re just abusing someone else’s effort. The important thing to realize is that we’re increasingly living in a world of information overload. So when people choose to listen to you it’s because you’re able to separate signal from noise. You provide a clear, contextually relevant voice within the topic or topics that you create and curate.

10:16 by Robert dawne · 0

Top 10 Free Google Chrome Plugins for Small Businesses, to Increase Productivity

Since Google launched its Chrome Web store in December,
extensions have sprung up to speed up to simplify the messy
world of Internet browsing. If you're a member of the club that
spends more time looking at screens than people, some simple
browser add-ons can streamline many of your daily processes
on the job.
We brought you a list of great Google Chrome apps for small businesses shortly after the store's opening. Here are 10 new
ones that are sure to increase your web productivity while at work.




1. StayFocusd

We understand it's a bit much to ask you to go completely cold turkey from Angry Birds. Fortunately for the Internet-browsing addicts out there, StayFocusd puts a cap on a list of sites you choose to limit. Whether you're wasting time on social networks, blogs, shopping or gaming, you can customize your list of restricted sites. Then, set your limit to the amount of time you will allow yourself to waste.
2. Large Document


Say goodbye to e-mail bounce-back notifications for documents over 10 megabytes. The Large Document app lets you transfer what e-mail won't, and it's simpler than an external sharing site like YouSendIt or Dropbox. The Chrome extension converts your file into a URL you can share. An added bonus? No log-in information is required.
3. Docs PDF/PowerPoint Viewer

Docs PDF/PowerPoint Viewer ends the frustrating restriction of needing to download Doc and PowerPoint files to view them. Rather than wait to read several pages sent in e-mail, open Docs, PowerPoints and PDFs directly in your Chrome browser.
4. Yast

Whether you're timing your hours billed to clients or how long your lunch meeting lasted, Yast makes timing your work easy. The app generates time sheets you can comment on and color codes so you can organize all your time-related needs.
5. TabCloud

Sure, tabbed browsing makes everyone's life easier. That is, until your tabbing gets to be a disorganized mess. TabCloud lets you save browsing sessions for a later date. If you're researching a project, just save the set of tabs and return to the bunch at a later time. And, because they're stored in the cloud, you can access your tabs from any computer.
6. Screen Capture

Using Screen Capture, you can easily grab stills from your browser. More transferable than copy and paste and faster than taking notes, screen shots will speed up your work online.
Fun fact: This is the very app that took the photos for this gallery!
7. Popchrom

Expedite your typing by turning your commonly used phrases into abbreviated shortcuts. Let's say you add "lmk" as a shortcut for "let me know if you have any questions." Once you have the shortcut saved, all you need to do is place your mouse over the abbreviated shortcut—in our case, "lmk"—and press ctrl+space. The expanded text will replace your abbreviation.
8. HootSuite

HootSuite puts all your social networks in one simple dashboard, updated in real time. Track traffic to your site, monitor conversations and schedule messages using this handy app.
9. Read Later Fast

If you often find yourself distracted while reading every interesting story you stumble across during the work day, Read Later Fast can help you kick the habit. Rather than forgetting about all those interesting links, this app will store your stories in an easy to use inbox for reading at a later time.
10. Google Calendar Checker

Rather than navigating between your work and your schedule, this easy app counts down until your next engagement in the corner of your browser. Google Calendar Checker's simplicity keeps you focused on meeting your deadlines and preparing for engagements.
Let us know in the comments if you are using any of these apps. Which work for you? What did we miss?

11:42 by Robert dawne · 2

Bill Gates Recalls Final Talks With "Steve Jobs"

Bill Gates reflects on the death of his longtime friend and rival Steve Jobs in an upcoming interview with Nightline’s Bill Weir.
“You gotta pick important stuff because you only have a limited amount of time,” Gates says, reflecting on Jobs’ passing, mortality and his own philanthropic goals in a segment posted to Yahoo.
Walter Isaacson’s best-selling biography of Steve Jobs noted that Gates visited his house and the two would have in-depth conversations about their lives, work and families.
In Gate’s official statement after Jobs’ death, he said it was “an insanely great honor” to work with Jobs. Gates said the two were, “colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives.”
Jobs was well-known to have an obsessive, sometimes abrasive personality, which the world became privy to when Isaacson released the biography of Jobs shortly after the Apple co-founder’s death.
Jobs stepped down from Apple in August 2011 and died that October. His passing was marked by his family, friends and colleagues — as well as untold millions fascinated with Jobs’ work — who paid tribute to him through eulogies, books and shines.
The full Bill Gates interview is scheduled to air Tuesday at 8:35 p.m. PT on ABC.

07:17 by Robert dawne · 0