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Facebook's Sandberg writes book about female leadership

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg wants to impart her leadership knowledge to other women, and to do it she's penning a book called "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sandberg's book will be less about her high-up roles at Facebook and Google and more about encouraging readers to achieve leadership positions. She will share both her personal and professional experiences.

"I wrote 'Lean In' so women can make more informed choices and increase their chances of making it to the top of any field or pursue … Read more

To Facebook, a shared link is as good as a Like

Like it or not, Web pages can count your Facebook shares as a "Like."

A Facebook Like multiplier bug going around highlighted a feature of the social network that may seem unfair to some: If you send a Web site's link to a friend via a Facebook message or if you post it to your Facebook wall, that Web page's Like counter ticks upward.

First noticed by The Wall Street Journal, the feature may rankle some users who don't want to be a part of an overinflated count for some Web site tracking its visitors, … Read more

French privacy watchdog: Nope, no Facebook messaging bug

The French data protection authority, the Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertes (CNIL), this week concluded there was no bug behind claims last week that Facebook was publicly displaying older private messages on users' Timelines.

A report published by the CNIL said the issue arose -- not for the first time -- after the new Timeline feature was globally rolled out.

In late September, French newspapers reported the alleged bug that showed private messages sent between two users as displaying in a "Friends" box on users' Timelines, which collated all the posts sent prior to 2009. Facebook … Read more

Zuckerberg wants everything to connect through Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg has offered some hints about what could be in store for Facebook's future, saying he sees an opportunity to be the "infrastructure" for various other services now that the site has hit the 1 billion active user mark.

Zuckerberg, speaking in a Q&A with Bloomberg Business published today, said Facebook's user base is now large enough that the majority of customers at other sites -- like Skype or Netflix -- are likely also using Facebook. That means those large-scale services can now rely on Facebook as a "piece of critical infrastructure … Read more

Facebook hits 1 billion active user milestone

Facebook has reached 1 billion people who are "actively" using the social network every month, the company announced today.

"If you're reading this: thank you for giving me and my little team the honor of serving you. Helping a billion people connect is amazing, humbling and by far the thing I am most proud of in my life," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Facebook's online newsroom

The social network, which started in a dorm room in 2004, reached the historic milestone at 12:45 p.m. PT on September 14. This now puts one … Read more

How Facebook knows which apps you want

Facebook says its app recommendation engine, which runs on your data, has become a major way for developers to get to the millions of users who visit the App Center each month.

In a developers blog post today, Facebook estimates that every month, some 220 million people visit the App Center, which went live in the U.S. in May and globally in August.

"We built the App Center to give the growing audience of app users a central place on Facebook to browse apps. However, given the multitude of apps that use Facebook, recommending the right apps to … Read more

Facebook: Pay to promote your posts for garage sales, parties

If you want to get more attention for your engagement announcement or an event like a garage sale or a party, Facebook has got a way for you to do it -- if you're willing to pay.

The social network started testing a new feature in the U.S. today that lets people buy promoted posts. Facebook will push your selected post to the top of news feeds, increasing the likelihood of your friends and subscribers seeing it.

A Facebook representative said the company is not confirming how much promoting a post will cost, because the feature is still … Read more

NYPD beefs up gang unit after Facebook success

After a resounding success last month in hauling in 49 alleged gang members using evidence posted to Facebook, the New York Police Department announces its plans to expand its online investigative department.

According to the Associated Press, the department's commissioner Raymond Kelly announced today that the NYPD will fortify its social media sleuthing and double the size of its gang unit up to 300 investigators.

"By capitalizing on the irresistible urge of these suspects to brag about their murderous exploits on Facebook, detectives used social media to draw a virtual map of their criminal activity over the last … Read more

The Zuckerberg tour continues: Next stop -- the 'Today Show'

Clearly, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has decided he's ready for his close up.

After months of silence from Zuckerberg, the hacker-turned CEO is basking in the limelight. He's been doing public appearance after public appearance recently, with the latest -- an interview with Matt Lauer -- airing Thursday on the "Today Show."

Zuck and crew didn't make a peep as Facebook recoiled from a bungled IPO. And, now, with fallen stock and lawsuits dragging down the company's image, the social network is working hard to make sure the public hears its message loud and … Read more

Con man pleads guilty to selling fake Facebook shares

It was a simple scam that most recently landed John Mattera in jail. He was selling shares in companies -- including Facebook and Groupon -- that didn't actually exist. For this, Mattera pled guilty today to three criminal counts -- conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud, according to Bloomberg.

In selling these shares that he didn't own and wasn't allowed to sell, Mattera raked in $11 million from naive would-be investors.

Mattera carried out these scams through a hedge fund he operated called Praetorian Global Fund, according to Bloomberg. For the two years he managed this fund, … Read more