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Facebook's ProjectTitan A Full Featured Webmail Product. Facebook is completely rewriting their messaging product and is preparing to launch a fully featured webmail product in its place, according to a source with knowledge of the product.

Internally it’s known as Project Titan. Or, unofficially and perhaps over-enthusiastically, the Gmail killer. Facebook messaging has been the bane of users’ existence for years. My first public gripe was in 2008, when I said that urgent changes were needed. The biggest problem is simply deleting old emails.

Welcome to Facebook! Powering mobile audio content. Mobcast. Mobcast Brings Geo To Facebook And Your iPhone. If the $8.4 million raised yesterday by geo-social network Gowalla tells us anything it is that geo is red hot right right now.

The trickle of geo apps is already turning into a flood. The latest example is Mobcast, an iPhone app (iTunes link) which adds lets you broadcast your location to your existing Facebook friends. Mobcast is like a combination of Foursquare and Google Latitude. Except you use your Facebook ID to sign in and there are no check-ins. You simply select which friends you want to “mobcast” to, and then they see your updates on a map. But Mobcast does have its flaws. Facebook Poised to Dominate Geo. Over the last six months just about all of my tech friends have started using Foursquare, a geolocation-based game that was built by the creators of Google-acquired Dodgeball.

Some of them will literally pull out their phones as soon as they enter any restaurant, event or even TechCrunch HQ and check in just so they can be named ‘mayor’ of that establishment (whoever checks into any particular location the most times becomes mayor of that location). It’s fascinating and a bit bizarre to watch, and it clearly shows that Foursquare has tapped into something powerful. But all this time I’ve had a nagging feeling that Foursquare, at least in its current form, is not going to be the next Twitter, as some people have concluded.

Microsoft+ Facebook Team Up for Adver. PALO ALTO, Calif., and REDMOND, Wash. — Aug. 22, 2006 — Facebook and Microsoft Corp. today announced a strategic alliance in which the two companies will collaborate to bring relevant advertising to the more than 9 million registered users of Facebook, the Internet’s leading social directory.

Microsoft’s advanced advertising technology and Facebook’s unique social network make possible the multiyear collaboration grounded in the two companies’ commitment to technological innovation. As part of the relationship, Microsoft will be the exclusive provider of banner advertising and sponsored links on Facebook using Microsoft’s digital advertising solutions and the Microsoft® adCenter platform. Microsoft Launches Outlook Facebook Integration [Exclusive] Microsoft has integrated Facebook and Windows Live Messenger into Outlook, bringing the newsfeeds of millions of Facebook users into inboxes across the world.

Last year, Microsoft launched Outlook Social Connector, a plugin that syncs social networking feeds with your Outlook contacts, giving you immediate data on what they are doing and thinking. It started last year with LinkedIn integration, followed by promises that MySpace and Facebook were coming. Today, Outlook completes the cycle with not only Facebook integration, but support for Windows Live Messenger as well. The company is releasing the plugin for Outlook 2003 and 2007 users as well, bringing Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Windows Live Messenger to millions of business and personal inboxes worldwide.

Facebook Will Allow Users to Share Location - Bits Blog - NYTime. Starting next month, the more than 400 million Facebook users could begin seeing a new kind of status update flow through their news feed: the current locations of their friends.

Facebook plans to take the wraps off a new location-based feature in late April at f8, the company’s yearly developer conference, according to several people briefed on the project, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss unannounced services. In preparation for the introduction, Facebook updated its privacy policy last November. The new policy states: “When you share your location with others or add a location to something you post, we treat that like any other content you post.” At that time, the company also offered some foreshadowing of the new feature: “If we offer a service that supports this type of location sharing we will present you with an opt-in choice of whether you want to participate.” Facebook’s Geo Problem. Facebook has a lot of things going for them as they prepare to enter the geosocial fray.

They have a half a billion users. They have a strong mobile presence, and a wonderful iPhone app. Facebook Closing In On Acquiring Check-In Service Hot Potato. We’re hearing from sources close to the deal that Facebook is in late stage negotiations to buy Hot Potato, the social activity service.

The deal is not yet finalized from what we’re hearing, but could be at any moment. Terms of the deal are likely still be negotiated, but it’s believed that this would largely be a talent acquisition for Facebook. Yes, another one. Hot Potato raised a small $1.42 million Series A round late last year, so it should not be too expensive for Facebook to buy such a company. It would undoubtedly be much less than the supposed $50 million in cash and stock they paid for FriendFeed last year, for example.

Hot Potato. Facebook's Foursquare competitor is imminent. The long-rumored geolocation "check-in" feature at Facebook is slated to debut within weeks, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNET.

It's going to take the form of an application programming interface (API) for third-party companies on the Facebook developer platform, integrating existing "check-in" start-ups more deeply into the massive social-networking service and in turn permitting location-aware data to become a part of existing platform applications. Facebook declined to provide much detail. "We are working on location features and product integrations, which we'll be launching in the coming months, and we'll share more details when appropriate," spokesman Larry Yu told CNET. Among developers, too, Facebook is still being tight-lipped regarding the exact nature of the service; the API work has not yet been finalized, though one source in the developer community said that engineers at Facebook "are building it out hard-core" at the moment. Is Facebook about to become one big MyTown? Facebook tiptoes closer to launching geolocation.

Steals Foursquare's location crown. Facebook's new Places feature will overshadow services such as Foursquare and Gowalla, Pete Cashmore says.

Facebook Places allows users to "check in" to hotspots and share their location with friends Foursquare and Gowalla will have to accept they are no longer the biggest game in town Now that social networkers can check in through Facebook, why would they go elsewhere? Editor's note: Pete Cashmore is founder and CEO of Mashable, a popular blog about social media. He is writing a weekly column about social networking and tech for CNN.com. (CNN) -- Facebook this week launched "Places," a service that allows any user to "check in" to restaurants, stores and other local businesses -- thereby sharing their location with friends.

The new feature is virtually identical to the much-hyped location startups Foursquare and Gowalla, leading to the obvious question: Are these upstarts now doomed? Facebook Places. Video Up Of Facebook’s Places Announcement. Facebook Places Launch on Facebook Innovations. Facebook Places Makes Location a Commodity. (Or So Says Former Places Engineer) What Will Become of Foursquare, Gowalla & Others? There's a very interesting question over on Q&A site Quora.com regarding last night's announcement of Facebook's geo-location effort, Facebook Places.

Someone asked the question: "Are Foursquare and Gowalla going to survive now that Facebook Places has launched? " This question was on the forefront of our minds, too, as we watched the somewhat-reluctant partners trotted out in support of Places during Facebook's press briefing last night. While some (Yelp, Booyah) appeared excited about the ability to integrate with Facebook's new service, others - most notably Foursquare, the startup whose geo-location service has been the media darling as of late - seemed a little unsure of themselves.

Facebook Places Vs. The Location-Based World. Facebook Wants Advertisers To Help Build Out Its Directory of Places. As we heard tonight, Facebook has officially launched Places, the social network’s location-based platform. We know what Places will mean for Facebook users. Users will be able to check-in to Places (created by both people and businesses) via the web or through mobile apps. And the feature has an API so partners like Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp and Booyah can allow their users to check-in to Facebook’s places. But what does this mean for businesses? Interestingly, Facebook seems to actively be targeting advertisers on the network. Facebook Has Been Working On This Location Feature For 8 Months. Today at an event at their headquarters in Palo Alto, CA, Facebook unveiled their new Places product — their location/check-in solution.

Obviously, their entry in this space has been rumored for a long time — a very long time. But during the Q&A session, someone asked how long Facebook has actually been working on this Places product. Since December, one of the engineers in charge of the product replied. But he also revealed that there have been other “skunkworks” projects internally at Facebook surrounding location long before that. The past 8 months have just been specifically focused on what is now called Places. Zuckerberg specifically called out the tagging aspect of the product as being unique.

Facebook Partnering With Gowalla And Foursquare For Places. Today at an event in Palo Alto, CA, Facebook unveiled its new Places product — essentially their check-in utility. Obviously, there has been a lot of talk about what this means for the current players like Foursquare and Gowalla. Well, Facebook is partnering with both of those guys. We hinted at this possibility a couple days ago. Facebook’s Awesome Dark Knight-Esque Live Check-In Display. The Paranoid Can Relax, Facebook Dials Up Privacy With Places.

Updated: After careful consideration, I’m retracting my B and replacing it with a C-, penalizing Facebook for superfluous complexity and a lack of transparency. I wrote the original article on Wednesday evening, after attending the press event, carefully reading the company’s blog post, comparing notes and talking to several Facebook representatives. The Confusing Stages Of Opting Into Facebook Places. Earlier today we had a bit of a fire-drill at TechCrunch Headquarters. Stalkers. Creeps. Weirdos. Terror. Welcome To Location, Facebook. The countdown is officially on for the big Facebook location backlash. A Field Guide to Using Facebook Places.

Privacy Group Voices Concerns About Facebook Places. Earlier this evening, Facebook formally announced its geolocation component, Facebook Places, and it has already sparked concerns from a major privacy advocate. A Closer Look at the Privacy Features of Facebook Places [PICS] Facebook and “radical transparency” (a rant) At SXSW, I decided to talk about privacy because I thought that it would be the most important issue of the year.

I was more accurate than my wildest dreams. For the last month, I’ve watched as conversations about privacy went from being the topic of the tech elite to a conversation that’s pervasive. The press coverage is overwhelming – filled with infographics and a concerted effort by journalists to make sense of and communicate what seems to be a moving target. How To Use Facebook Places For Your Business. Facebook acquires Hot Potato, Places could be about to get REALLY interesting. Hot Potato. Facebook Acquires Social Checkin Service HotPotato. Blog of Rights: Official Blog of the American Civil Liberties Union » ACLU Response to Facebook on Places. Facebook Places is Radical, Innovative, and Disruptive.

Facebook versterkt Places al met overname. Vidéos publiées par Facebook : The Facts about Tagging and Places [HD] Nieuwe app Facebook: laten weten waar je bent. SCVNGR Launches Support For Facebook Places.