Happy Valentine's Day

Social Networking Americans’ Valentine’s Day Plans [INFOGRAPHIC]

Social Media and the end of Gender

Ten principles that contribute to a Google user experience

1. Focus on people their lives, their work, their dreams.


The Google User Experience team works to discover people‘s actual needs, including needs they can‘t always articulate. Armed with that information, Google can create products that solve real-world problems and spark the creativity of all kinds of people. Improving people‘s lives, not just easing step-by-step tasks, is our goal.

Above all, a well-designed Google product is useful in daily life. It doesn‘t try to impress users with its whizbang technology or visual style – though it might have both. It doesn‘t strong-arm people to use features they don‘t want – but it does provide a natural growth path for those who are interested. It doesn‘t intrude on people‘s lives – but it does open doors for users who want to explore the world‘s information, work more quickly and creatively, and share ideas with their friends or the world.



2. Every millisecond counts.


Nothing is more valuable than people‘s time. Google pages load quickly, thanks to slim code and carefully selected image files. The most essential features and text are placed in the easiest-to-find locations. Unnecessary clicks, typing, steps, and other actions are eliminated. Google products ask for information only once and include smart defaults. Tasks are streamlined.

Speed is a boon to users. It is also a competitive advantage that Google doesn‘t sacrifice without good reason.


3. Simplicity is powerful.


Simplicity fuels many elements of good design, including ease of use, speed, visual appeal, and accessibility. But simplicity starts with the design of a product‘s fundamental functions. Google doesn‘t set out to create feature-rich products; our best designs include only the features that people need to accomplish their goals. Ideally, even products that require large feature sets and complex visual designs appear to be simple as well as powerful.

Google teams think twice before sacrificing simplicity in pursuit of a less important feature. Our hope is to evolve products in new directions instead of just adding more features.


4. Engage beginners and attract experts.


Designing for many people doesn‘t mean designing for the lowest common denominator. The best Google designs appear quite simple on the surface but include powerful features that are easily accessible to those users who want them. Our intent is to invite beginners with a great initial experience while also attracting power users whose excitement and expertise will draw others to the product.

A well-designed Google product lets new users jump in, offers help when necessary, and ensures that users can make simple and intuitive use of the product‘s most valuable features. Progressive disclosure of advanced features encourages people to expand their usage of the product. Whenever appropriate, Google offers smart features that entice people with complex online lives – for instance, people who share data across several devices and computers, work online and off, and crave storage space.


5. Dare to innovate.


Design consistency builds a trusted foundation for Google products, makes users comfortable, and speeds their work. But it is the element of imagination that transforms designs from ho-hum to delightful.

Google encourages innovative, risk-taking designs whenever they serve the needs of users. Our teams encourage new ideas to come out and play. Instead of just matching the features of existing products, Google wants to change the game.


6. Design for the world.


The World Wide Web has opened all the resources of the Internet to people everywhere. For example, many users are exploring Google products while strolling with a mobile device, not sitting at a desk with a personal computer. Our goal is to design products that are contextually relevant and available through the medium and methods that make sense to users. Google supports slower connections and older browsers when possible, and Google allows people to choose how they view information (screen size, font size) and how they enter information (smart query parsing). The User Experience team researches the fundamental differences in user experiences throughout the world and works to design the right products for each audience, device, and culture. Simple translation, or “graceful degradation” of a feature set, isn‘t sufficient to meet people‘s needs.

Google is also committed to improving the accessibility of its products. Our desire for simple and inclusive products, and Google‘s mission to make the world‘s information universally accessible, demand products that support assistive technologies and provide a useful and enjoyable experience for everyone, including those with physical and cognitive limitations.


7. Plan for today‘s and tomorrow‘s business.


Those Google products that make money strive to do so in a way that is helpful to users. To reach that lofty goal, designers work with product teams to ensure that business considerations integrate seamlessly with the goals of users. Teams work to make sure ads are relevant, useful, and clearly identifiable as ads. Google also takes care to protect the interests of advertisers and others who depend on Google for their livelihood.

Google never tries to increase revenue from a product if it would mean reducing the number of Google users in the future. If a profitable design doesn‘t please users, it‘s time to go back to the drawing board. Not every product has to make money, and none should be bad for business.


8. Delight the eye without distracting the mind.


If people looked at a Google product and said ”Wow, that‘s beautiful!” the User Experience team would cheer. A positive first impression makes users comfortable, assures them that the product is reliable and professional, and encourages people to make the product their own.

A minimalist aesthetic makes sense for most Google products because a clean, clutter-free design loads quickly and doesn‘t distract users from their goals. Visually appealing images, color, and fonts are balanced against the needs for speed, scannable text, and easy navigation. Still, ”simple elegance” is not the best fit for every product. Audience and cultural context matter. A Google product‘s visual design should please its users and improve usability for them.


9. Be worthy of people‘s trust.


Good design can go a long way to earn the trust of the people who use Google products. Establishing Google‘s reliability starts with the basics – for example, making sure the interface is efficient and professional, actions are easily reversed, ads are clearly identified, terminology is consistent, and users are never unhappily surprised. In addition, Google products open themselves to the world by including links to competitors and encouraging user contributions such as community maps or iGoogle gadgets.

A greater challenge is to make sure that Google demonstrates respect for users‘ right to control their own data. Google is transparent about how it uses information and how that information is shared with others (if at all), so that users can make informed choices. Our products warn users about such dangers as insecure connections, actions that may make users vulnerable to spam, or the possibility that data shared outside Google may be stored elsewhere. The larger Google becomes, the more essential it is to live up to our “Don‘t be evil” motto.


10. Add a human touch.


Google includes a wide range of personalities, and our designs have personality, too. Text and design elements are friendly, quirky, and smart – and not boring, close-minded, or arrogant. Google text talks directly to people and offers the same practical, informal assistance that anyone would offer to a neighbor who asked a question. And Google doesn‘t let fun or personality interfere with other elements of a design, especially when people‘s livelihood, or their ability to find vital information, is at stake.

Google doesn‘t know everything, and no design is perfect. Our products ask for feedback, and Google acts on that feedback. When practicing these design principles, the Google User Experience team seeks the best possible balance in the time available for each product. Then the cycle of iteration, innovation, and improvement continues.

Google y Bing ‘pelean’ por un algoritmo

Muy interesante este pequeño artículo publicado por CNN sobre la rivalidad de los Search...

Google reveló a través de un periodista estadounidense que su competencia Bing de Microsoft ha copiado el algoritmo con el cual refina sus búsquedas, al menos en los últimos seis meses.
El buscador con mayor participación de mercado en Internet indicó que se percataron de esta copia, luego de que implantaran 100 palabras sin ningún significado en sus tablas de búsqueda y su competencia hizo lo mismo.

Al ingresar las letras como "hiybbprqag" o "mbzrxpgjys" en el buscador de Google, lanzaba el mismo resultado en Bing, aún cuando no tuvieran ningún significado real.

"He pasado mi carrera persiguiendo realizar un buen motor de búsqueda. No tengo ningún problema con un competidor desarrollando su propio algoritmo. Pero copiar no es innovar", dice Amit Singhal, ingeniero de Google, a través del blog SearchEngineLand.

Bing respondió este martes a través de su blog oficial que utilizan más de 1,000 formas para mostrar sus resultados y que durante los dos últimos años se han dedicado a tratar de dar a sus consumidores la mejor experiencia posible.

"Lo que vemos aquí es una historia novelesca con tintes de espía para generar contoversia. Fue una táctica bastante creativa por parte de nuestro competidor y lo tomamos incluso como un halago", dijo Harry Sum, vicepresidente corporativo de Bing.

Ana Paula Blanco, jefa de comunicaciones para el norte de América Latina de Google, comentó que no se planea ninguna acción legal por el momento y que el equipo de ingenieros de la tecnológica está comprometido en hacer cada día mejor su trabajo.

Google se mantiene en el primer lugar dentro del mercado de buscadores de Internet, con 66.2%, seguido por Yahoo, con 16.4% y Bing, que ocupa la tercera posición con 11.8%, de acuerdo con las más recientes cifras de comScore.

Twitter y Facebook nuevamente utilizadas para propagación de códigos maliciosos

Durante enero, la popular red social de microblogging, Twitter, fue utilizada una vez más para propagar malware. Por su parte Facebook sufrió un ataque multi-stage, confirmando la tendencia a utilizar las redes sociales como plataforma de ataque. Asimismo, se descubrió un nuevo troyano para la plataforma de dispositivos móviles Android que convierte al equipo infectado en parte de una botnet, según informa la compañía de seguridad informática ESET.

El mismo día en que se dio a conocer la noticia de que Twitter había alcanzado las 200 millones de cuentas de usuario, se detectó la propagación de un gusano que utilizaba el acortador de direcciones URL de Google para su propagación en la popular red social de microblogging.

Mediante el envío de mensajes masivos por medio de Twitter, con textos breves y atractivos y un enlace con un acortador de URL, se invita al usuario a hacer clic. Cuando esto ocurre, el usuario es direccionado a diversos sitios web donde se lo alerta sobre una supuesta infección en sus equipos y se ofrece la descarga de la aplicación llamada Security Shield, que no es otra cosa que un rogue.

“El rogue es un software que, simulando ser una solución de seguridad, en realidad instala códigos maliciosos en el equipo de la víctima. Si bien los ataques en Twitter para propagar esta amenaza ya han sido bloqueados, es importante que el usuario tenga en cuenta los riesgos de hacer clic en enlaces de dudosa procedencias”, aseguró Federico Pacheco, Gerente de Educación e Investigación de ESET Latinoamérica.


Para saber cómo identificar un rogue o falso antivirus puede acceder al Blog de Laboratorio de ESET Latinoamérica: http://blogs.eset-la.com/laboratorio/2010/09/14/5-formas-de-identificar-un-rogue/


Por otro lado, durante los últimos días del mes de enero, Facebook fue protagonista de un ataque multi-stage. En este caso, se trató de una amenaza muy elaborada que por medio de la combinación de diversas técnicas de ataque recopila datos de la víctima, infecta su equipo y así propaga códigos maliciosos.

El ataque comienza con la infección del equipo del usuario utilizando técnicas de Ingeniería Social. Luego, la víctima es redirigida a una página falsa donde se le solicitan las credenciales de inicio de sesión de Facebook que serán robadas para continuar con la propagación de malware. A su vez, se hace uso de la vulnerabilidad CVE-2010-1885 de Internet Explorer, que fuerza la ejecución de un código malicioso y luego ejecuta la descarga de otro código malicioso.

“Este ataque resulta muy interesante ya que permite observar cómo un atacante combina diversas técnicas y herramientas con el fin de recopilar datos de la víctima e infectar el equipo para propagar su código malicioso”, concluye Sebastián Bortnik, Coordinador de Awareness & Research de ESET Latinoamérica. 

Además, durante este mes, se descubrió un nuevo troyano para la plataforma de dispositivos móviles Android, que recibió el nombre de Geimini. Entre las principales capacidades de este código malicioso se encuentra la posibilidad de recibir instrucciones desde un C&C (Centro de Comando y Control) haciendo que el dispositivo infectado pase a formar parte de una botnet y envíe información del teléfono a una serie de dominios externos posiblemente maliciosos. 

Una vez que el dispositivo ha sido comprometido, el malware envía cada un período aproximado de 5 minutos información tanto del usuario como del equipo. Además, Geinimi cuenta con la posibilidad de recibir comandos remotos y de esta manera puede ejecutar acciones tales como la descarga e instalación de aplicaciones, el envío y borrado de mensajes de texto, la realización de llamadas o el acceso a páginas web. Además, esta infección puede derivar en la instalación de otros códigos maliciosos o incluso la explotación de vulnerabilidades que pueden llevar al robo de información.

“La aparición de Geinimi pone en evidencia la complejidad que están adquiriendo actualmente los códigos maliciosos para plataformas móviles, incrementando notablemente el riesgo de infección de los usuarios. Por tal motivo resulta muy importante que los usuarios se encuentren bien informados, cuenten con la protección adecuada en sus equipos y conozcan las buenas prácticas para el uso de dispositivos móviles”, declaró Bortnik.

Con el fin de acompañar la tendencia del mercado global y frente al incremento de amenazas informáticas para dispositivos móviles, Richard Marko, CEO de ESET a nivel mundial comenta: “Durante este año desde ESET buscaremos enriquecer el portafolio de soluciones para dispositivos móviles extendiendo la protección de nuestro producto ESET Mobile Security a sistemas operativos Android. Además, estaremos siguiendo muy de cerca el desarrollo del mercado de las tablets que continúa creciendo de forma exponencial”.

Internet in 2010

About the 500 Million of Facebook

"Like" it or not, online ads are getting personal

Is the future of online advertising one of incredibly targeted advertising based on your interests, online activities and Facebook "likes," or is it one dictated by robust privacy controls that keep those details out of the hands of marketers?
Increasingly, it seems to depend on who you ask.

In the past week, both Google and Mozilla (the organization that makes the Firefox browser) have introduced ways to opt out of so-called behavioral advertising -- industry speak for ads that target users through the use of cookies that can track your internet browsing and shopping history, among other activities.

Google's solution is an extension for its Chrome web browser that lets users proactively block certain advertisers from serving them behavioral ads.

Mozilla's approach would bundle a "do not track" feature with its browser, but require websites and ad networks to agree to recognize such requests from Firefox users. Microsoft has previously announced its own plans for letting users opt out of such ads. These efforts come at a time when the Federal Trade Commission is considering a formal Do Not Track list that would work much in the same way in the online marketing realm as the Do Not Call list works in telemarketing.

They also come at a time when the social media world is moving in the direction of highly personalized ads based on your activities, relationships and profile information.

Facebook has just rolled out a feature called Sponsored Stories that lets marketers repurpose activities such as "liking" a fan page, checking into a retail store or interacting with a branded app as advertisements that users see when they log in to the social network.

And this happens automatically -- any time you interact with a brand on Facebook, your action could be used as an ad that entices your friends to do the same. For the moment, there's also no way to opt yourself out of being featured. Facebook's not alone in this type of targeting, however. Business-focused social networking site LinkedIn has added the ability to target ads based on job titles, company name and group level, features that the company says have resulted in three to four times more clicks than standard ads during initial testing.

Meanwhile, research firm eMarketer predicts that Twitter will bring in $150 million in revenue this year, driven largely by the Promoted Tweets and Promoted Trends ads that the company introduced last year. Much like Facebook's Supported Stories, these ads showcase users talking about a given brand, with advertisers paying upwards of $100,000 per day for the privilege.

The next logical step in all of this, it would seem, is for the likes of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to utilize this data outside the walls of their own sites and either create their own ad networks or license their data to third parties that want to enhance their personalization capabilities.

Of course, that's even further at odds with proponents of "do not track," who are already highly critical of ads that, among other things, "retarget" you based on shopping sites you have visited.

But it seems all but inevitable that personalization is here to stay and is only going to get more intimate. Sure, a small percentage of internet users may use tools that opt them out (if such options even become available in meaningful ways), but the vast majority will continue shopping, browsing and "liking" things on the Web without a second thought. Legislation could conceivably force advertisers to offer more in-your-face alerts about when you're sharing information that could be used in ads, but you can bet that user experience designers will be ready to create prompts that get users to click "continue," as has been the case with endless terms of service agreements and, in more recent times, Facebook applications.

Of course, that's only if it gets to that point -- most of the key players in this debate are all spending big in Washington to make sure any new regulations are as unrestrictive as possible.

Soon-to-be former Google CEO Eric Schmidt caught flak in December when he told CNBC that, "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place." While that might be a short-sighted way of looking at the current debate on online privacy, it does represent a reality of where things are headed, especially within the advertising realm. As users, the smartest path for now may simply be to heed Schmidt's advice.

Fuente: CNN tech / Adam Ostrow

Google Changes Algorithm To Penalize Site Scrapers

Google updated its search algorithm this week to help reduce webspam in its search results.

These changes were made in response to increased criticism of Google and its search engine results. The criticism has been partly inspired by the emergence of newer forms of webspam alongside traditional webspam (pages that consist of lots of keywords and phrases without context or meaning that “cheat” their way up to higher search ranks).

The latest webspam outbreaks commonly come from content farms and sites that syndicate content. Earlier this month, Stack Overflow‘s Jeff Atwood pointed out that in the last year, some content syndicators have routinely began outranking Stack Overflow on Google. In other words, the syndicates are outranking the originals.

In Stack Overflow‘s case, the problem was bad enough that a community member built a Google Chrome extension designed to redirect to Stack Overflow from spammier syndicates.

Matt Cutts, principle engineer at Google and head of the webspam team, responded to some of the criticism in a blog post and said Google would be “evaluating multiple changes that should help drive spam levels even lower, including one change that primarily affects sites that copy others’ content and sites with low levels of original content.” On his personal blog, Cutts confirmed that those changes have indeed gone into effect.

Cutts writes that this was a “pretty targeted launch” and that the “net effect is that searchers are more likely to see the sites that wrote the original content rather than a site that scraped or copied the original site’s content.”

7 internet sins that could make you go viral with your friends

When trapped within the confines of a particularly dreary workday, a carefully chosen GIF, cat video or gallery of terrible My Little Pony tattoos can act as a ray of luminous sunshine, breaking through the dark cloud structure of your mood and touching your black heart with the playful soul of levity.

Thank the nondenominational higher power for the internet, right? Yeah, unless everyone's laughing at you.
Memes and viral videos are an increasingly integral part of our web culture -- hell, The Cheezburger Network (of LOLcats fame) just scored $30 million in funding and 4chan founder Christopher Poole (aka "moot") joined New York City seed fund Lerer Ventures as a venture adviser.

So, this week, in honor of the growing legitimacy/lunacy of this particular internet culture, we're asking you to take a closer look at the FAILs, Rage guys and videos of dudes getting hit in the junk that you so admire.
Now tell us, what's at the root of many of those stimulating shareables? Fumbles, travesties, the hot, red-faced soul of human folly. In short: Most of these people are being laughed at.

Not to suck the delicious marrow from the bones of these meaty morsels and leave you with a dry, dusty skeleton, but inherent in these memes and vids is an instructional manual on how not to act online -- if you're looking to avoid public humiliation, that is. So, next time your boss catches you surfing YouTube at work, just tell her you're trying to better yourself. We're sure she won't fire you for that. Without further ado, here are seven online sins that will make you go viral with your friends:

1). Poor spelling/grammar
Last week, a hilarious video titled "dotdotdot" featuring a gamer's enraged rant went viral -- after a voiceover actor and a designer brought the words to life, that is. Granted, the comment was likely penned by a 13-year-old, but a very important lesson can be gleaned from this vid: No one will take you seriously if you use nonwords like "beacuase."
Many a browser underlines spelling errors in bright, glaring red -- take heed, or everyone will (rightly) laugh at you.

2). Vanity
Yes, it's great to have self-esteem! We know because our school nurse had copious posters proclaiming as much.
Still, tweeting incessantly about how you're a "rock star" or posting to Facebook Photobooth picture after Photobooth picture of yourself looking seductively into the webcam will, ironically, result in your friends feeling the inverse about you. Heed the lesson we learned from many a prideful teen lifecaster: Attempt to be beautiful on the inside, or be prepared to face the trolls.

3). Irritating fanboyism
Remember that "Leave Britney Alone" kid? Yeah, that's what you look like when you get into vitriolic fights in the comments section about how your Droid Incredible is so much better than the iPhone 4.

4). Being stupid
Before being allowed to compose a status update, one should be forced to read Failbook in its entirety. Especially people who are friends with their parents on Facebook.

5). Being a sad sack
The Sad Keanu meme (pictures of Keanu Reeves holding various objects like sandwiches and cupcakes, looking sad) went so incredibly viral in part because Reeves' alleged melancholia seemed so ridiculous: Who could possibly look so unhappy while holding a cupcake?
So, before you respond to an e-mail detailing exciting weekend plans with an Eeyore-esque comment about how you have a pounding headache and you're not sure you can have fun at a concert when animal testing is still going strong, think of Keanu, and the wise words he uttered in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure": "Party on, dudes!"

6). Getting really, really ridiculously angry
It's pretty easy to use the web and various social media tools as an outlet for your overwhelming rage: "WHY IS THE SUBWAY SO CROWDED ON TUESDAY MORNINGS!!!!!!!!!! SOME CHICK'S HAIR WAS LODGED IN MY MOUTH THE WHOLE TIME! I HATE NYC!!!!!"
However, the question becomes -- in the wake of such a message -- does anyone really care about your (totally justified) ire?
Well, take a look at Rageguy -- a comic character that grew popular via 4chan -- who basically just screams "ffffuuu" when something goes awry. He may be funny on the internets, but we wouldn't want to hang with him in real life.

7). Being adorable
Wait, how did that get in there?
Awwww, we want to stare at it all day! (Claps hands!)
What were we saying again?

The Social Networking History

The Social Networking History... Visit: http://actimediadigital.com/social_media_history/

Twitter podría alcanzar en 2011 150 millones en ingresos publicitarios

El sitio de microblogs Twitter podría obtener ingresos publicitarios de 150 millones de dólares este año, tras los 45 millones que alcanzó en 2010, según un estudio publicado el lunes por la firma eMarketer.

Para el año 2012, los ingresos podrían alcanzar los 250 millones de dólares, de acuerdo con el estudio.

"Uno de los motivos para esta fuerte previsión al alza es el futuro lanzamiento de una plataforma publicitaria autogestionada", al estilo de las que ya existen en Google y Facebook, explica eMarketer.

Twitter recibió el mes pasado unos 200 millones de dólares de financiamiento adicional por parte de fondos de inversión que deberían ayudar a gestionar su crecimiento. Según información de prensa, esta toma de participación valoriza el sitio web en 3.700 millones de dólares.

La TV quedó relegada por internet en los EEUU, Europa y China

El consumo de contenidos web desbancó a la televisión y demás medios convencionales por primera vez en dichos territorios. Visitar redes sociales, la actividad más realizada. El estudio sobre consumo digital fue realizado entre cerca de 50.000 usuarios, de 16 a 60 años de edad, en 46 países.

La televisión sigue siendo el medio preferente en Latinoamérica, Asia, Oriente Medio y África, mientras en la India sigue siendo el clásico periódico de papel el más utilizado, por delante de la televisión, la radio e internet.

Del total de consumidores entrevistados, el 61% señaló que accede a diario a internet, el 54% consume televisión todos los días, el 36% escucha la radio, y el 32% lee periódicos a diario.

Según Jordi Ferrer, responsable del estudio Digital Life presentado en Madrid, la explicación sobre la preferencia de internet en los países más desarrollados, se debe a que "el medio digital responde a más necesidades que cualquier otro medio".

El informe analiza las actividades e intereses de los consumidores en internet, y revela que se dedica mas tiempo a las redes sociales -4,6 horas a la semana- que al correo electrónico, -4,4 horas- y a las páginas web, con 3,9 horas semanales o la lectura de noticias, 2,7 horas.

Respecto a las redes sociales, el estudio muestra que la media de amigos por usuario es de 120, aunque en Latinoamérica se llega hasta los 200, siendo los brasileños los que más amigos adjuntan a su cuenta, con 231.

En el caso de productos comerciales, el estudio concluye que en las redes sociales hay un promedio de cuatro marcas incluidas como amigos, y su presencia es considerada intrusiva.

En este sentido, cuatro de cada diez internautas consulta en la red antes de comprar, pero el 74% de ellos hace sus adquisiciones por la vía tradicional.

Digital Life completa el retrato del consumidor digital con seis perfiles diferentes: el influyente, el funcional, el buscador de conocimiento, los conectados a redes, los comunicadores y los aspirantes.

Un 23% se reconoce como "influyente", aquellos que participan y actúan en redes sociales, escriben en blogs y consideran que internet es una parte integral de su vida.

Ferrer aseguró que este perfil se concentra en los países "recién llegados a internet" como India o los países de Oriente Medio y norte de África.

Dos de cada diez dicen ser "comunicadores", usuarios activos en las redes sociales; un 17% siente que pertenece al perfil de "buscador de conocimiento", aquel usa internet para informarse y un 15% es "aspirante", ya que desea tener un espacio propio en internet.

Por último, un 13% dicen ser "funcionales", aquel internauta que usa internet como herramienta útil, y un 12% se encuadran en "conectados a redes", que consideran que internet ayuda a crear y mantener relaciones.

Fuente: EFE

Facebook será ahora accesible desde los celulares básicos

La red social lanzó una aplicación para quienes no tienen un smartphone, como iPhone o Blackberry, que funcionará en más de 2.500 teléfonos de 14 países. Los usuarios de dispositivos de Nokia, Sony Ericsson o LG podrán acceder a una versión simplificada de la red social, y tendrán una descarga gratuita de datos durante los primeros 90 días.

"Queremos que la gente tenga una gran experiencia móvil, tenga el celular que tenga. Los teléfonos inteligentes ofrecen mejores características para compartir con amigos, pero no son los que usa la mayoría de la gente de todo el mundo", dijo en el blog de la compañía Mark Heynen, director de productos móviles de facebook.

La aplicación incluye una pantalla de inicio "de fácil navegación", una opción para sincronizar los contactos y otra para "desplazarse rápidamente" por las fotos y las actualizaciones de amigos.

Por ahora, está disponible en la República Dominicana, con el operador Viva, en Sri Lanka (Dialog), en Ucrania (Life), en Polonia (Play), en Singapur (StarHub), en Arabia Saudí (STC), en Hong Kong (Three), Túnez (Tunisiana) y Rumania (Vodafone).

Además, llegará "próximamente" a México (Telcel), Brasil (TIM), Canadá (Mobilicity), India (Reliance) y Bulgaria (Vivacom).