Facebook loses nearly 50% value off its shambolic May IPO price, and reveals it has 83million FAKE accounts

• Facebook's stock fell to an all time low of $19.82 a share at one point today
• That is almost half its May initial offering price of $38
• 8.7% of its 995 million active users may not exist, social networking firm admits
• Astonishing figure revealed in company filings
• Users found to have multiple accounts, and even pages for their pets

By MARK PRIGG
DAILYMAIL
August 2, 2012

Facebook's share price today hit an all time low of $19.82 which values the social networking giant at almost half its May initial offering price of $38.

The company’s stock dropped 88 cents on Thursday, dropping to its new low after the company posted disappointing earnings last week.

It also directly followed the revelation today there are now more than 83 million fake users on its social network.

Are your Facebook friends real? Mark Zuckerberg's site has been found to contain over 83 million fake profiles

 The astonishing figure makes up 8.7% of all Facebook's 995 million active users.

The true scale of the problem was hidden in a company filing published this week, the first since the firm went public.

Duplicate profiles made up 4.8% of the fakes, user-misclassified accounts amounted to 2.4%, and 1.5% of users were described as 'undesirable'.

There were 83.09 million fake users in total, which Facebook classified in three groups.

The largest group were duplicate accounts, such as those set up by people to keep their activities from their partner...

(Click here to continue reading the article on DAILYMAIL)

Your Facebook pictures may turn away perspective employers and lose you a job

Dislike: Having inappropriate pictures on your Facebook profile really could lose you a job

• Researchers warn of increase in employers checking candidates social networking profile
• Lifestyle, attitudes and even your appearance in photos can matter

By MARK PRIGG
DAILYMAIL
July 23, 2012

Your Facebook profile really could lose you a job, researchers have found.

In one of the biggest ever studies of the importance of Facebook profiles among job hunters, American scientists found that employees increasingly use the social networking site to weed out unsuitable candidates.

'While employers are using Facebook to monitor their employees, they have also begun to use it as a screening tool when considering potential candidates,' said Vanessa de la Llama of the Florida International University in North Miami, who led the research.

However, the lack of guidelines means many firms simply follow their own judgement of just how bad your Facebook profile pictures are.

'Because this is a fairly new trend, a standardized set of guidelines has yet to be established, with employers often assessing job applicants in a subjective manner.'

The researchers said they hope to raise the ethical questions for debate surrounding whether or not employers should be using Facebook and other social networks to screen candidates.

'The question of whether employers are providing job candidates with equal opportunities if they are assessing online "image" prior to interviewing candidates must be raised,' they wrote.

'Of course, it is possible that one's Facebook activity is a perfectly acceptable window on to one's personality.'

Two U.S senators are calling for an investigation into the practice of asking for Facebook passwords in job interviews so that interviewers can 'look through' accounts for information that might be concealed from the public.

The practice, which has horrified privacy campaigners, could be against Federal law.

Facebook itself has already said that the practice - which has been documented at several American organisations - is a violation of its terms of use and could potentially lead to legal action.

Facebook to blame for rise in plastic surgeries

Plastic surgery on the rise because 'people hate the way they look on Skype and FaceTime'

By CHRISTINE SHOW
DAILY MAIL
July 12, 2012

More social media users are turning to plastic surgery after being repulsed with the way they look in pictures on video chats like Skype and Apple's FaceTime.

Surgeons are seeing such a rise in people getting cosmetic procedures like facelifts and nose jobs that some of have even created specific procedures to accommodate patients unhappy with closeup views of their appearance on the social-networking sites, it has been revealed.

The social media images offers people an alternate perspective on how they look by showing off fatty and unsightly parts of their body that they otherwise didn't notice in a mirror.

Eye of the beholder: More social media users are getting plastic surgery after being repulsed with their looks in Facebook pictures and video chats (file photo)

One surgeon from California, Robert K Sigal, has developed a specific procedure related to the issue called a 'FaceTime Facelift.'

'People don't come in asking for a FaceTime Facelift per say,' Dr Sigal said in a YouTube posting on his practice's website. 'What they'll say is, "I don't like the way I look when I'm video-chatting. I seem full and heavy under the neck.'

The plastic surgeon went on to say that people often pull their neck down when talking on a video chat on an iPhone, for example, that shows unflattering flabs under and around their face.

Dr. Adam Schaffner, a New York plastic surgeon, told Betabeat.com that more and more people have come to his office because they were unhappy with their presence online.

'Frequency': Online images offer people an alternate perspective on their looks by showing unsightly body angles that they didn't see in a mirror (file photo)

'With a good degree of frequency, people will come in and say, "I saw myself in the mirror, but I didn’t really notice it until I saw myself on Facebook or on my iPhone or iPad."'

He continued: 'When you look in the mirror you’re seeing the mirror image of yourself. But when you see yourself on social media, you’re seeing yourself the way the world sees you.'

Tina Consorti, 60, a regular Skype user, told Betabeat.com that she got a facelift after deciding that she had an unattractive chin and wrinkles while chatting with someone on a Skype video.

She said her chin looked double its size: 'Going on Skype or FaceTime you definitely see it - it looks twice as big as it normally is.

'I just wanted a nice clean look when I’m conversing with someone on Skype.'

Is Facebook Really Haram?

Published on Mar 26, 2012 by TheMercifulServant
http://youtu.be/D9UUPF6csyg

How a Muslim should act and behave while conducting themselves on social media networks such as facebook.


fb.me/TheServantsofAllah
www.youtube.com/TheMercifulServant
www.youtube.com/QuranWeekly

Facebook: The Hidden Danger

Facebook: The Hidden Danger
by: YASMIN MOGAHED |FEBRUARY 27, 2011 
SuhaibWebb.com
from the Islam and the Internet Series

We live in an iWorld. Surrounded by iPhones, iPads, MYspace, YOUtube, the focus is clear: Me, my, I. One need not look far to see this obsession with the self. In order to sell, advertisers must appeal to the ego. For example, many ads appeal to the part of us that loves power and being in charge. DirectTV tells you: “Don’t watch TV, direct TV!” Yogurtland says: “You rule! Welcome to the land of endless yogurt possibilities, where you rule the portions, the choices and the scene.”

But advertisers aren’t the only ones who appeal to our ego. There is a global phenomenon that provides a breeding ground and platform for that ego. And it’s called Facebook. Now, I’ll be the first to assert that Facebook can be a powerful tool for good. It is, like many other things, what you make of it. A knife can be used to cut food which feeds the hungry, or it can be used to kill someone. Facebook can be used for great good—after all it was Facebook that helped facilitate the toppling of a dictator. Facebook can be used as a powerful tool to organize, call, remind, and unite. Facebook can also be used to strengthen our connection to God and to each other… Or Facebook can be used to strengthen the hold of our nafs (lower self or ego).

The Facebook phenomenon is an interesting one. In each and every one of us is an ego. It is the part of ourselves that must be suppressed (if we are to avoid Anakin’s fate of turning to the dark side, that is). The danger of feeding the ego is that, as the ego is fed, it becomes strong. When it becomes strong, it begins to rule us. Soon we are no longer slaves to God; we become slaves to ourselves.

The ego is the part of us that loves power. It is the part that loves to be seen, recognized, praised, and adored. Facebook provides a powerful platform for this. It provides a platform by which every word, picture, or thought I have can be seen, praised, ‘liked’. As a result, I begin to seek this. But then it doesn’t just stay in the cyber world. I begin even to live my life with this visibility in mind. Suddenly, I live every experience, every photo, every thought, as if it’s being watched, because in the back of my mind I’m thinking, “I’ll put it on Facebook.” This creates a very interesting state of being, almost a constant sense that I am living my life on display. I become ever conscious of being watched, because everything can be put up on Facebook for others to see and comment on.

More importantly, it creates a false sense of self-importance, where every insignificant move I make is of international importance. Soon I become the focus, the one on display. The message is: I am so important. My life is so important. Every move I make is so important. The result becomes an even stronger me-focused world, where I am at the center.

As it turns out, this result is diametrically opposed to the Reality of existence. The goal of this life is to realize the Truth of God’s greatness and my own insignificance and need before Him. The goal is to take myself out of the center and put Him there instead. But Facebook perpetuates the illusion of the exact opposite. It strengthens my belief that because of my own importance, every inconsequential move or thought should be on display. Suddenly what I ate for breakfast or bought at the grocery store is news important enough to publish. When I put up a picture, I wait for compliments; I wait for acknowledgement and recognition. With the number of likes or comments, physical beauty becomes something that can now be quantified. When I put up a post, I wait for it to be ‘liked’. And I am ever conscience of—and even compete in—the number of “friends” I have. (Friends, here, is in quotation marks because no one knows 80% of their “friends” on Facebook.)

This preoccupation and rivalry to acquire more, is mentioned in the Quran. God says:

“The mutual rivalry for piling up (of worldly things) has preoccupied you.”(102:1)

Whether that rivalry is in piling up wealth, or friends and ‘likes’ on Facebook, the result is the same: We have become preoccupied by it.

Facebook also strengthens another dangerous focus: the focus on other people, what they’re doing, what they like. What they think of me. Facebook feeds the preoccupation with others’ assessment of me. Soon, I enter the orbit of the creation. Inside that orbit, my definitions, my pain, my happiness, my self-worth, my success and my failure is determined by the creation. When I live in that orbit, I rise and fall with the creation. When the people are happy with me, I’m up. When they’re not, I fall. Where I stand is defined by people. I’m like a prisoner because I have given up the keys to my happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and disappointment to the people to hold.

Once I enter and live in the orbit of the creation—rather than the orbit of God—I begin to use that currency. See, the currency of God’s orbit is: His pleasure or His displeasure, His reward or His punishment. But, the currency of the orbit of creation is: the praise and criticism of people. So, as I enter deeper and deeper into that orbit, I covet more and more of its currency, and I fear more and more of its loss. While I’m playing Monopoly, for example, I covet more and more of its currency. And it feels great to be ‘rich’ for a moment. But when the game is over, what can I buy in the Real world with Monopoly money?

The human currency of praise is Monopoly money. It feels great for a moment to collect, but when the game is over, it’s worthless. In the Reality of this life and the next, it’s worthless. And yet, I even covet this false currency in my worship. In this way, I fall victim to the hidden shirk: Riyaa (showing off in worship). Riyaa is a consequence of living in the orbit of the creation. The deeper and deeper I enter into that orbit, the more I become consumed with gaining human praise, approval and recognition. The more I enter that orbit, the more I fear loss—loss of face, loss of status, loss of praise, loss of approval.

But the more I fear the people, the more I become enslaved. True freedom only comes when I let go of the fear of anything and anyone other than God.

In a profound hadith (Prophetic teaching), a man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: “O Messenger of God, direct me to an act, which if I do, God will love me and people will love me.” He ﷺ said: “Detach yourself from the world, and God will love you. Detach yourself from what is with the people, and the people will love you.” [Ibn Majah]

Ironically, the less we chase after the approval and love of the people, the more we gain it. The less needy we are of others, the more people are drawn to us and seek our company. This hadith teaches us a profound Truth. Only by breaking out of the orbit of the creation, can we succeed with both God and people.

So while Facebook is indeed a powerful tool, let it be a tool of your freedom—not a tool of your servitude to yourself and the assessment of others.

Facebook NOW has facial recognition...now a bigger asset to the CIA and intelligence agencies

Facebook buys facial recognition startup Face.com
by Jennifer Van Grove
Reuters
June 19, 2012

Facebook has purchased facial recognition startup Face.com, the companies announced Monday morning.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a complaint in
2011 against Facebook over their facial recognition capabilities.

“People who use Facebook enjoy sharing photos and memories with their friends, and Face.com’s technology has helped to provide the best photo experience,” a Facebook spokesperson told VentureBeat. “This transaction simply brings a world-class team and a long-time technology vendor in house.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but previous reports pegged the acquisition price at between $80 million and $100 million. The deal, which is still pending, is expected to close within the coming weeks.

Founded in 2007, Face.com makes technology that can identify people in photos and even guess a person’s age. The company makes mobile-friendly products such as a developer API and an iOS camera application called KLIK that uses facial recognition technology to help users...

(click here to read the full article)

Facebook deletes account and demands passport! - WTF?

Facebook Deletes Account, Demands My Passport

Infowars.com
Thursday, June 7, 2012


Published on Jun 7, 2012 by PrisonPlanetLive
http://youtu.be/SZ7X7Y1AOFU

Facebook has deleted my account (Paul Joseph Watson) for no reason and is demanding my passport. Social networking websites routinely censor alternative media. Another fantastic reason to sign up at Planet Infowars - 
http://planet.infowars.com/

Beware of Facebook...

Photo credit: Infowars

Visit:
Infowars.com
PrisonPlanet.com
PrisonPlanet.tv

Dangers of Facebook, now a massive government spying machine

The Terrible Truth About Facebook

Uploaded by TheVideoPatriot on Jul 19, 2009
http://youtu.be/UJqGbA2tLww

Think you have any privacy when it comes to a social networking site? Think again. Just take a look at who has invested in the site and open your eyes.
[Video property and courtesy of The Video Patriot`s Channel, please give proper credit and citation]    

Zack says FB is losing ground with young people
who find the relationships built there are shallow
ones., credit: NYPost/Angel Chevrestt

Why I quit Facebook
A New York City high-school senior, 18, explains why he quit Facebook
By ZACH PROCHNIK
NY POST
Last Updated: 2:23 AM, February 12, 2012
Posted: 10:34 PM, February 11, 2012

It’s Saturday night, and I am at the house of a good friend. After the usual hours spent playing Xbox and watching “1000 Ways To Die,” I ask him if it would be OK if I used his computer. I want to check my Facebook, because I’d last checked it that morning — and who knows what I’d been missing since then? Best-case scenario: a notification from the girl who — despite the fact that our passion is unspoken — has posted on my wall claiming that she was checking my page and has suddenly realized her true feelings for me. Maybe on top of that a cool, funny kid sent me a friend request saying that I was “the man” and we should be homies for life. No big deal, I get that all the time.

I hit enter. My eyes immediately jump to the top left of the screen. The page loads and my heart drops. All I can see is blue. Blue, the color of 21st century social mediocrity. The color of people’s indifference towards you. I quickly realize the reality of my situation: The world does not revolve around me. My friends all have other friends. Every minute that I spend navigating the Facebook universe, I am shrinking.
But as I scroll down my home page, I realize that I’m not the only one desperate for attention. Every status and post seems to be saying “I’m here! Tell me that I’m somebody!” Hundreds of kids are selling their identities — like livestock at a market — for a couple of comments and “likes.”

As I scan my alleged friends’ profiles, I’m seized with feelings of jealousy and rejection. I want to say to them “I thought I was your friend! So who the are these 200 other guys commenting on your stuff?” As our circles get wider, our interactions become fewer.
I joined Facebook four years ago. and at first it was amazing. You’d friend someone, and you’d be linked to all their friends. In fact, the standard that classified a kid as your friend was quickly dropped. That girl your friend told you about was now your “friend”; that friend of your sibling was now your “friend.” You now shared everything with anyone whose name or face looked vaguely familiar.

This quickly wore me down. Being constantly informed that you make up just a small portion of another person’s life erodes the feeling that you are at all meaningful to them.
Adolescence, to begin with, is a time of awful social anxiety. Now a website exists that exacerbates your most irrational social fears to the point of paranoia. Instead of just a private hormonal case of nerves, this is a massive, corporate crowd-sourced paranoia that a huge economic sector is encouraging us to take part in.
On Facebook, I saw how I was taking time away from being with my real friends to feel bad about all the other people who were hardly even part of my life.

Leaving it was easier said than done, however. I couldn’t find where to deactivate my account. I had to look up “how to deactivate Facebook” on Google. After navigating multiple pages, I found a tiny link at the bottom of the security-settings page. After clicking the link, a page popped up with bright photos of my good friends and me. “Jake will miss you,” one caption read. “Jules will miss you,” and another saying “Aaron will miss you.” All of my friends were smiling at me and telling me they would miss me.

I was struck by the irony of this statement about how my different friends would miss me when I left. When you’re an adolescent, what Facebook is really all about is creating a sense of distance between you and your friends, not about strengthening the relationships. Distance because it makes you realize that you’re both lost in a crowd. Worse still, this website that profits off the data it collects about me by selling it to advertising companies is now trying to hold onto me by enlisting my friends to seduce me into staying.

Why are my friends going to miss me? My friend Raymond is still sitting next to me playing video games. I’m still talking to people in the halls at school. Maybe next time someone takes a cool picture, they’ll call me up to hang out and stare at a screen side-by-side, which is what real friends do.

I’m not the only one who is deactivating my Facebook account. I’ve had other friends tell me that they’re sick and tired of going on Facebook everyday hoping to connect, but ending up feeling only more disconnected. Lost in the hype of the company’s stock-market debut this year is that while Facebook is ubiquitous, it may also be a fad.

Before I went off Facebook, my friend made a status update saying,“Deleting your Facebook is like running away from home. You do it for attention but you’ll be back one day.” But I’m not doing it for attention. I’m doing it so I won’t go there when I’m hungry for attention, only to end up feeling more alone.

Zach Prochnik attends a Manhattan public high school.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/unfriend_VhP9QLXispf2RzznaNHPNK#ixzz1mPdgmpnn

Copyright Disclaimer [Rubaiat`s Blog]:

The use of incidental copyrighted material is covered under 'Fair Use' (Copyright Act, 1976) Title 17 U.S.C Section 107, with particular emphasis on such use for educational and non-profit purposes. Under Sec. 107 of the Copyright Act (1976), allowance is made for 'Fair Use' for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair Use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of Fair Use (Moe, AllSeeingEye). If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'Fair Use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act-

In Aug 2008, U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel of San Jose, California, ruled that copyright holders cannot order a deletion of an online file without determining whether that posting reflected "fair use" of the copyrighted material.
[View the blog`s full Fair Use Copyright Disclaimer at the end of the homepage]