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Nip/Tuck Facebook app tells you how ugly you are (with math)

Normally I steer clear of writing about Facebook apps that have been created for promotional purposes, but this one is too good to pass up. It comes from FX UK, which has put together a very strange experience that tells you how "perfect" your face is in order to promote the plastic surgery drama Nip/Tuck.

Users can pick any photos they've uploaded to Facebook and simply map out points on their face for the app to run its algorithm. The end result is a 1 percent to 100 percent scoring scale, with 100 being absolute perfection. … Read more

Fake Steve Jobs lights up Web 2.0 Expo

SAN FRANCISCO--If there's one person in the world of Web 2.0 technology--or tech in general--who hasn't yet been skewered by the infamous blogger Fake Steve Jobs, get ready: He's coming for you.

In a frenetic keynote address Friday morning at the Web 2.0 Expo here, Fake Steve--otherwise known as Forbes writer Dan Lyons--gave his unique take on the world of technology, the people who drive it, and the future of media.

Fake Steve began his talk with a discussion about the issues related to surviving backlash from audience members at conferences. I was rather pleased … Read more

Get Facebook chat minus Facebook

So you've been having fun with Facebook's somewhat half-baked chat service for the last day now, but are you growing tired of having to first log-in, then pop-out the chat window? For those of you who want to chat without this two-step process, there's a nice little tweak discovered by Mozilla Links that lets you set Facebook chat to pop out in Firefox's side bar.

I'm not really a fan of sidebar driven applications (gDocsBar not included), but this implementation works out pretty well. It will load up your buddy list and work just like … Read more

Few answers, debates at a very civil Web 2.0 panel

SAN FRANCISCO--Inside Facebook blogger Justin Smith had quite an opportunity on his hands. He was moderating a panel called "Comparing Social Platforms," featuring five representatives of some of the biggest players on the social Web: Dave Morin of Facebook, Allen Hurff of MySpace, Jessica Alter of Bebo, Patrick Chanezon of Google, and David Recordon of Six Apart. Smith had the chance to be a digital devil's advocate and get a lively debate going.

Why won't Facebook sign on to the OpenSocial standard that Google kick-started? Why hasn't MySpace's developer platform caught on as … Read more

Facebook Chat finally live to all users

Facebook announced Wednesday morning that its in-browser Facebook Chat feature is now live to all members, over two weeks after it first debuted to a limited number of users.

It was clear that Facebook was concerned with the stability of the chat application, first debuting it on a Sunday when many members--not to mention tech bloggers eager to report any flaw or bug--might not be at their computers.

The social network then rolled out Facebook Chat incrementally, with different "networks" on the site--geographic regions, colleges, companies--gaining access to it before others so that the new feature could stay … Read more

Webware 100 winner: Facebook

Facebook is a popular social networking service. Originally offered to college students, it later opened up its doors to anyone with an e-mail address. Facebook gives users a place to make and explore personal profiles and interact with friends. While offerings were initially limited to a comment board called "The Wall" and a personal picture, the site now has several in-house services like user chat, photo hosting, interest groups, status messages, link sharing, and the news feed.

Facebook's biggest move, however, was introducing a development platform that lets developers make their own "application" for Facebook. … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 706: 'U can't haz Internet,' sez AT&T

AT&T threatens that the Internet is going to run out by 2010, and apparently, it's because everyone's watching Gossip Girl online. Luckily, The CW has caught on to the danger and is pulling Gossip Girl offline so the hordes won't keep watching it on their Web site. Because that would be just plain dangerous. Also, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony are all number one! Just ask them! Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 706

PayPal plans to ban unsafe browsers http://www.eweek.com/index2.php?option=content&task=view& amp;id=47667&pop=1&hide_ads=1&page=0&hide_js=1… Read more

Skeletons in the crimson closet: Facebook's latest Harvard scuffle

This post was updated at 6:17 PM PT to correct the title of Aaron Greenspan's book.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg never finished his stint as an undergraduate at Harvard, opting instead to move to Palo Alto and eventually become the world's youngest billionaire. But his days in Cambridge, Mass. continue to resurface, as allegations and accusations about Facebook's earliest days grow into ivy-covered drama.

The latest: Whether Facebook can really claim it owns the term "facebook." A former classmate of Zuckerberg's, having run into problems promoting a self-published book that uses the company … Read more

Blockbuster sued over role in Facebook's Beacon ad program

As if troubled movie rental company Blockbuster didn't have enough to deal with already: an angry Facebook user has taken issue with its participation in the social network's controversial Beacon advertising program, and is pursuing legal action.

Cathryn Elaine Harris, a Texas resident, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for eastern Texas on April 9, claiming that it's a violation of a federal statute for Blockbuster to participate in Beacon, which shares rental history on Facebook members' "news feeds" unless they manually opt out. She is seeking class-action status, hoping to eventually … Read more

Facebook expands Mini-Feed to include Digg

Adding to Tuesday's release, Facebook has added an additional service for Mini-Feed importing, Digg.

This is a big win for Digg. Over the last six months, I have seen a significant increase in the usage of Digg by college students, and this inclusion in the Facebook Mini-Feed will only improve its reach in that demographic.

Of course, Facebook has expanded greatly beyond its initial college market, and the inclusion of Digg may alert a lot of users to the service for the first time.

A concern that I have with the integration is that your Mini-Feed will probably become … Read more