Instagram Just Got Creepy

Instagram

CNET posted an article yesterday stating that effective on January 16, 2013, “Instagram … has the perpetual right to sell users’ photographs without payment or notification…”

Not cool, Instagram. Under the ownership of Facebook, the parent company is claiming rights to license all public Instagram posts to other companies and organizations. That includes advertisers. And those that belong to Instagram, whose photos are getting used, get nothing. Facebook collects any income from selling that property.

I’ve always been a little uneasy about what Facebook could possibly do with my information. But now using Instagram as a means to profit off of pictures that I share is unjustified. I enjoy using Instagram. But this is no way to treat the millions of users that made the company worth a billion dollars. I’m sure there will be a mass deletion of accounts over the next few weeks. Possibly including mine.

This could be the beginning of the end for social networking as we know it as trust between those companies and their users dwindles.

This is actually a cool idea. gizmodocom: Facebook Is Testing a Router That Gives You Wi-Fi For Checking In By Mario Aguilar Facebook is testing a Wi-Fi router that grants users Internet access after they check in to a business. In other words, when you’re at the coffee shop, the router will let you online once you’ve checked in. The limited test was first discovered by developer Tom Waddington who noticed code for a Wi-Fi feature in the Facebook API. The company later confirmed the test. Hurray for no more awkwardly asking a barista for the Internet password. As always, though, you have to worry that Facebook’s going to use the service to be all up in your data. [Tom Waddington via CNET via The Verge]
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This is actually a cool idea.

gizmodocom:

Facebook Is Testing a Router That Gives You Wi-Fi For Checking In

By Mario Aguilar

Facebook is testing a Wi-Fi router that grants users Internet access after they check in to a business. In other words, when you’re at the coffee shop, the router will let you online once you’ve checked in. The limited test was first discovered by developer Tom Waddington who noticed code for a Wi-Fi feature in the Facebook API. The company later confirmed the test. Hurray for no more awkwardly asking a barista for the Internet password. As always, though, you have to worry that Facebook’s going to use the service to be all up in your data. [Tom Waddington via CNET via The Verge]

Smashing Magazine - The Role Of Design In The Kingdom Of Content by Jason Gross

This is an extremely well written article about the marriage of content and design for web development. Ultimately, the content is what a visitor is trying to get to on a web page. But the user experience, or UX, of getting to the information of a site is an incredibly important consideration for designers and developers. Emotional connections have to be made quickly and maintained throughout a users visit to a site.

This article really breaks down the experience into basic stages and makes valid points about key areas of focus for designers. There are many factors that make a site successful or a failure. But knowing that a strong, equal combination of form and function will allow the content to shine and punch through the barrage of information that currently resides on the web.

Now as much as ever, companies are recognizing the value that good design and a solid user experience can bring to them. UX design is about developing a road map for the user, encouraging certain actions, and developing a user base that wants to engage with your content.

The key to driving this engagement is to ensure that we value design in the right way, not simply as a template, theme or color scheme but as a support system for key content. We can use design to make a website unique and more memorable. We do this by laying the foundation of a good impression, enabling smooth and meaningful consumption, and encouraging engagement with the content. All three of these areas are opportunities to drive a user experience that is in harmony with our content.

Jason Gross

RICK SANCHEZ: Move over Twitter... Make room for Tumblr

ricksancheztv:

Social media has changed the way we receive news. It’s also changed how it’s reported.

When the “Arab Spring” hit Egypt, I began tweeting. A lot. We were witnessing history and I was riveted to my television and my computer. I tweeted out information and updates for no other reason than…

Facebook Is Finally Set To Release An Official iPad App (And More...)

Facebook is supposedly about to release an official iPad app. The app may have been in existence for some time but Facebook had been reluctant to release it.

I once read that Zuckerberg never felt that the iPad was a mobile device and that it didn’t warrant it’s own app. But according to this article from TechCrunch.com there might be more in store for Facebook besides apps.

HIGHLIGHTED LIFE: SOCIAL MEDIA IS DEAD!

jamesnord:

If you read any marketing blogs you see this headline every month or so. Another big brand tried social media only to have it blow up in the their face. Things became more interesting recently when it was annonced that Pepsi has fallen into third amongst soft drinks (behind Diet Coke). This coming…

App Review - Instagram (iPhone)

Today’s App Review is a simple and quick one. Instagram is a photo application for the iPhone with built-in filters that take your digital images and makes them look like nostalgic, damaged retro photos. It even formats them to a square shape, just like classic Polaroids. You can then share your photos with the Instagram social community or share across a number of other standard networks like Facebook, Twitter, and my favorite, Tumblr. Additionally, it geo-tags your images and connects to your Foursquare account. There’s a lot packed into this little free app. And after all this, it’s just plain fun.

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