Facebook tests splitting its News Feed into two

SAN FRANCISCO - Facebook Inc said on Monday it was testing the idea of dividing its News Feed in two, separating commercial posts from personal news in a move that could lead some businesses to increase advertising.

The Facebook News Feed, the centerpiece of the world's largest social network service, is a streaming series of posts such as photos from friends, updates from family members, advertisements and material from celebrities or other pages that a user has liked.

The test, which is occurring in six smaller countries, now offers two user feeds, according to a statement from the company: one feed focused on friends and family and a second dedicated to the pages that the customer has liked.

The change could force those who run pages, everyone from news outlets to musicians to sports teams, to pay to run advertisements if they want to be seen in the feed that is for friends and family.

The test is taking place in Bolivia, Cambodia, Guatemala, Serbia, Slovakia and Sri Lanka, and it will likely go on for months, Adam Mosseri, the Facebook executive in charge of the News Feed, said in a blog post.

Mosseri said the company has no plans for a global test of the two separate feeds for its 2 billion users.

Facebook also does not currently plan to force commercial pages "to pay for all their distribution," he said.

Facebook, based in Menlo Park, California, frequently tests changes big and small as it tries to maximize the time people spend scrolling and browsing the network. Sometimes it makes changes permanent, and other times not.

Depending on how people respond, two news feeds could mean that they see fewer links to news stories. News has proved to be a tricky area for Facebook, as hoaxes and false news stories have sometimes spread easily on the network.

The test has already affected website traffic for smaller media outlets in recent days, Slovakian journalist Filip Struhárik wrote over the weekend in a post on Medium.

Publishers might need to buy more Facebook ads to be seen, he wrote: "If you want your Facebook page posts to be seen in old newsfeed, you have to pay." —Reuters

Google shows off its new logo, says it has 'evolved'

Google rolled out its new logo via its official blog and also on YouTube on Tuesday.

The logo redesign is the fifth such modification since the search engine giant started in 1998, the company said in a blog post.

The revamped logo, displayed as a Google Doodle on its homepage, spells 'Google' in a sans-serif typeface, similar to the one being used by Google's newly created holding company, Alphabet.

The compact version of the logo, used to identify most of its apps, bids farewell to the little blue "g" icon and replaces it with a uppercase "G" colored in blue, red, yellow and green to match the full logo.

The new brand identity "aims to make Google more accessible and useful to our users", the company said in a blog post explaining the logo.

The new logo comes three weeks after the company's surprise move to create a holding company called Alphabet to pool its many subsidiaries and separate the core web advertising business from newer ventures like driverless cars.



"Once upon a time, Google was one destination that you reached from one device: a desktop PC. These days, people interact with Google products across many different platforms, apps and devices—sometimes all in a single day. You expect Google to help you whenever and wherever you need it, whether it’s on your mobile phone, TV, watch, the dashboard in your car, and yes, even a desktop!", the diverse technology-based conglomerate said on its blog.

Google also said, "the new logo and identity family that reflects this reality and shows you when the Google magic is working for you, even on the tiniest screens. As you’ll see, we’ve taken the Google logo and branding, which were originally built for a single desktop browser page, and updated them for a world of seamless computing across an endless number of devices and different kinds of inputs (such as tap, type and talk)."

Tech site Wired.com observed that the new logo "is simpler, younger, friendlier, and—dare we say—more visually in line with Alphabet, Google’s new holding company."

"The new logomark is the company’s first major branding update in 16 years. It will preserve the famous blue-red-yellow-blue-green-red color sequence of the original one (the green letter was thrown in to purposefully break up the primary color pattern, because Google isn’t your ordinary tech company), but will lose the old-style serif typeface," Wired.com also said. — with Reuters/ELR, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Brad Pitt Is the New Face of Chanel No. 5

Brad Pitt is keeping busy amidst all the wedding planning — the actor was just announced as the new face of Chanel No. 5. The French fashion house confirmed the news to PEOPLE earlier this morning.
The Academy Award-nominated star is reportedly shooting his first ad in London sometime this week, according to E! News.
It’s the first time in history that the house has chosen a man to represent the fragrance. Pitt joins the likes of Nicole Kidman, Vanessa Paradis, Audrey Tautou, Ali MacGraw and Lauren Hutton.
According to reports, Pitt will be paid seven figures for his work; his ad will be released overseas later this year.

source: people.com