10 Cool new Facebook features
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10
Cool new Facebook features you may not have noticed:
Translation,
voice and in-app following
Well isn't Facebook a funny creature?
Sometimes it likes to shout about its shiny new looks, features and profiles
and other times it sneakily rolls out changes under the radar for us to either
completely ignore or get unnecessarily angry about months later.
Recently we've noticed a few new changes that
could have a big impact on the way we use the social network. Some of these
features have been well publicised, but others seem to have slipped through the
social media net.
So here are 10 cool new features that you may
or may not have noticed, including silly, subtle, handy and annoying tweaks.
1. Email changes
Earlier in the week the social network quietly
swapped the email addresses displayed on our timelines
with a new @facebook.com one. As you'd expect, users have been a bit angry
about the changes, especially as we already have work and personal email
addresses and ABSOLUTELY no need for another.
We weren't at all surprised that Facebook
made the changes without telling us, but according to a statement from a Facebook spokesperson published on All Facebook, we've been kept informed at all times:
"As we announced back in April, we've
been updating addresses on Facebook to make them consistent across our site.
"In addition to everyone receiving an
address, we're also rolling out a new setting that gives people the choice to
decide which addresses they want to show on their timelines.
"Ever since the launch of timeline,
people have had the ability to control what posts they want to show or hide on
their own timelines, and today we're extending that to other information they
post, starting with the Facebook address."
The @facebook.com email address basically
allows people who aren't on the site to message you, so you never EVER have to
leave in order to check your emails elsewhere. Sneaky yet clever, huh?
To get rid of your @facebook.com email
address from your profile go to your Timeline, click on About, scroll down to
Contact Info, click Edit and play around to choose what you'd like to display
yourself.
2. Translation tool
Apparently the translation feature has been
around on Facebook pages for months, but we've only just noticed that it's
rolled out to personal profiles too here at Shiny Media HQ.
The social network has teamed up with Bing in
order to provide you with a Translate link, which you'll see under any comment
or status that isn't in your first language. You simply click the link and a
translation will pop up in the place of the original update or comment. Genius.
According to Mashable when the feature first came to pages
bilingual users were able to add their own translations too:
"The feature lets bilingual users enter
a human (and often more accurate) translation in that pop-out window. If enough
other users vote positively on the accuracy of a human translation, it will
replace the one from Bing each time the Translate button is clicked. The human
translations can be managed by page administrators using a "manage
translations" link underneath posts on pages they manage."
3. Voice for admins
If you're an admin on a Facebook page, next
time you visit it you'll probably notice a new tab in the menu bar called
"Voice". This tab reminds you that you'll be liking, commenting and
interacting as the page and not yourself, it even gives you the option to
become you again too.
This is a pretty subtle change, but it's
presumably been added to stop users from getting confused about whether they're
engaging as themselves or a page. It sounds like even a monkey would be able to
do that, but if you're an admin on multiple pages and haven't had enough
coffee, it's an easy mistake to make.
4. In-app following
Yesterday a post was published on the Facebook
Developer Blog,
which explained that soon users will be able to follow actions within apps.
This means that you'll be able to follow a
certain person's activity from within an application (even if you're not
friends with them) and it'll show up in your news feed.
However, don't worry that every Tom, Dick and
Harry will be able to see your runs or stalk the films you watched today, you
still have complete control over who sees what you publish through the privacy
settings of the apps in question. For now anyway.
5. Edit comments
The long-awaited edit comments feature is slowly being rolled out to all users
right now, allowing you to make edits to anything you've written in the past
under an update or photo. Just be aware that anyone can see the history of what
you've amended.
6. Advertising icons
Facebook has added a teeny tiny megaphone symbol next to its Sponsored Ads sections,
which takes users to a page explaining why they see ads and best practice tips
for brand managers.
This may seem really insignificant and most
users probably won't even notice the new icon, but it's good to see the social
network being as open as possible about its use of advertising across the site.
7. Deeper Instagram
integration
Instagram rolled out its latest update this week and one of the biggest features is
much deeper Facebook integration.
By going to YOU within Instagram (we're not
sure why it's shouting at us either) and clicking Sharing Settings then
Facebook you can make likes visible on your timeline (this means photos you've
liked and those who've liked yours) and also change your default settings so
everything you snap is sent directly to Facebook without the hassle of ticking
that little box. Because we all know how hard that is.
8. Pages app
If you're an admin for any pages on Facebook
you'll want to download the Pages app, which gives you complete control over them while
you're on the move.
You can download the app for free from iTunes.
9. Facebook Camera or just
Camera (with a dot) app
Another Facebook app that's had everyone
talking over the past month or so is Facebook Camera, or just Camera, or Camera with a dot that we can't find
on the keyboard right now.
It's a slick application which allows you to
take, edit, add filters and share photos with your Facebook friends. Did we
mention filters?!
You can read our full review of the Facebook Camera app or download the app for free from iTunes.
10. Emoticons added to chat
And last but not least, you can now add silly
emoticons into your Facebook chats for pre-teen style flirting. Just what we
were after.
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