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Social media self-promotion: The urge, the ick, the outcome

"My agent just sent my book to publishers! Fingers crossed!" That's the status message I just stopped myself from writing on Facebook.

It took all the willpower I've ever had.

In fact, I'm now eating a block of cheese because focusing so hard on not updating Facebook with that status has depleted my willpower reserves. My diet is left defenseless.

I'm 29, and I'm working hard to make a living, to produce something I am proud of, to pay the rent, to scrape some savings together, to make time for love, to eat … Read more

Facebook's Parse helps mobile developers build for the Web

Less than two weeks after announcing its sale to Facebook, mobile app development platform Parse has expanded its product suite to include hosting for app makers who want a Web presence, no servers required.

Parse plays host to 80,000 iOS, Android, Windows, and HTML5 apps, whose makers have entrusted their infrastructure and people management needs to the company. Facebook reportedly picked up the 2-year-old company for $85 million in cash and stock.

Today, Parse introduced a Web-hosting option geared for developers who want a painless way to port apps to the desktop. The company created AnyYolk, a sample Web-based … Read more

Facebook's iOS Messenger app gets all sticky

Ever had the need to show what you're feeling on Facebook Messenger with an image of a cute pink critter holding a heart-shaped pillow? Well, you're in luck.

The social network updated its iOS Messenger app on Monday with a grab bag of stickers. For those people unfamiliar with stickers, they're basically emoticons that users can tack onto messages for added sentiment, gusto, or laughs. Facebook will be rolling out the stickers on its iOS Messenger app over the next few weeks; Facebook Messenger for Android already has the stickers.

Currently, Facebook's stickers are free, but … Read more

Exiting Facebook board member dumps $38 million in stock

Jim Breyer, the early Facebook investor who is leaving the company's board, has dumped roughly $38 million worth of Facebook stock, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing published Monday.

Breyer is a venture capitalist whose firm, Accel Partners, was one of the social network's first investors. The filing from Wednesday shows that he sold 1.3 million of his own shares, valued between $28.19 and $29.03. The amount is a drop in the bucket for Breyer, who is still hanging onto 7.8 million shares, which were worth roughly $223.6 million at the … Read more

Instagram sale to Facebook made Jack Dorsey 'sad'

It's been well-chronicled that when Instagram was sold to Facebook last year, it spurned similar interest from Twitter, probably leading to bad blood between the two companies and a tit-for-tat series of feature shutdowns and one-upmanship.

But a new Vanity Fair story by AllThingsD co-founder Kara Swisher spells out in detail just how disappointed Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey was upon learning that he'd lost out on the opportunity not just to buy Instagram, but to acquire the talents of the photo app's co-founder, Kevin Systrom, a friend.

Dorsey says the news was [hard] for him to take, … Read more

Facebook settles with Timelines Inc.

Facebook has finally put to bed a 19-month legal battle with Timelines Inc., the Chicago company that was suing the social network for trademark infringement.

Facebook said Thursday in its 10-Q quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had reached agreement with Timelines Inc. to settle the dispute. The social network did not disclose the terms of the settlement, but indicated that the cost was not material to its business.

Timelines Inc. filed suit against Facebook in September 2011 after the social network unveiled that its new member profiles would be called Timelines. Facebook sought to … Read more

Hate Facebook mobile ads? Now you can hide them

Facebook is letting mobile users hide ads in their News Feeds, the company confirmed today.

This applies to the ads that Facebook Pages share featuring photos or links, and is available on iOS, Android, and the mobile Web (Pages are Facebook profiles for brands or public figures). The feature, which was already available on the desktop, has been live for about six months now, according to a representative. Just click the "x" button in the top right of the advertisement.

The Atlantic noted this change after writing an article about how annoying the Facebook mobile ads were.

Additionally, … Read more

With 'Photos of You,' Instagram embraces people and brand tags

Following the lead of its social-network owner, Instagram today introduced a new photo-tagging feature to let members add people, things, and brands to the photos they upload and share on the service.

The new feature, called "Photos of You," is essentially the photo-sharing service's colorful interpretation on tagging.

App users can tag any Instagram account in their shots -- be it a friend, cat, or burger joint -- during the photo upload process. Those tagged in photos receive notifications and can choose whether to publicly display the images on their own Instagram profiles in a new section … Read more

Facebook puts account security in the hands of your friends

The next time you're locked of your Facebook account, one of your besties can loan you the key.

Facebook today released a security feature called "Trusted Contacts" as an optional way for people to recover their passwords with the help of their closest friends. Thursday marks the global rollout of the redesigned feature, previously named Trusted Friends, which the company first started testing back in 2011.

With Trusted Contacts, you can pick three to five friends you trust to help you get back into your account the next time you're having trouble logging in. Should a … Read more