Facebook is buying an Israeli startup that specializes in software that connects any type of mobile telephone to the leading online social network and other popular Internet destinations.Facebook on Monday confirmed that it is acquiring Snaptu with an eye toward extending its reach to the hundreds of millions of mobile phones that don’t feature the computer-like Internet capabilities of smartphones.The deal was expected to close in a few weeks. Financial details were not disclosed.Snaptu was founded in 2007 with the stated goal of making available on “feature phones” innovative services people access routinely on smartphones.Nearly 1.6 billion mobile phones were sold worldwide last year, with 296.6 million of those being sophisticated smartphones, according to figures released last month by industry tracker Gartner.In January, Facebook launched a new software application for feature phones that was co-developed with Snaptu.

LinkedIn is a professional social networking platform with more than 90 million users in over 200 countries. Although it is a relatively young company (it was founded in 2003), LinkedIn is one of the top places employers go to check out candidates. In order to truly optimize your profile, you need to update it often and accurately. Employers don’t want to see stale information that’s an exact copy of your paper resume, either. A LinkedIn profile is the perfect opportunity to showcase things you just can’t on a regular resume, like links to your blog, videos, testimonials, visablility SearchMe link and QR code, clubs, and organizations, etc. Further, a recent article done points out that you can do multiple things to your profile to optimize it, such as using keywords to attract recruiters, targeting strengths, and marketing your expertise.

Xtranormal is a great way for small businesses to become their own and set themselves apart from the competition. It is unique, isn’t very complex, but it allows small businesses to advertise for free.  Yes the voices are monotone, but that’s actually part of the fun. If you get creative you can develop a really entertaining animated video for your business. The xtranormal.com web tool allows you to easily turn text-to-movies, select scenes and configure animations. All that you need to do is create the script and go to work on developing your xtranormal.com animated video.

Facebook created last week an official list of acceptable ad providers that developers can use to make money with their Facebook applications. Notably absent from the list is Google’s popular AdSense service, an omission that has developers on various forums up in arms. Also missing: Amazon.com, which offers an advertising API.Google and Amazon apparently didn’t make the list because they refused to sign on the dotted line of Facebook’s new and arguably restrictive terms of service for ad providers. In short, advertising providers are forbidden from receiving, directly or indirectly, any type of Facebook user data, even if a Facebook user consents to sharing it. Should any such data end up in an ad provider’s stores, the provider is required to alert Facebook immediately and purge said data.The list isn’t finalized, so it’s entirely possibly Google and Amazon will sign on. But given the recent spats between Google and Facebook over sharing user data as they fight to grab the most user eyeballs, it’s tough to predict who is going to blink first.As it stands, developers are expressing outrage that they’re no longer permitted to use AdSense and Amazon.

Well, it’s finally here. After Facebook announced that they’d have an email solution that’s not email, they’ve rolled it out to the public.

This morning, on my Facebook news feed, I saw the following message regarding Facebook’s new Messages:

The new system combines your messages, texts and chats in one place so you don’t have to try to remember how you communicated with your contacts in order to find what you’re looking for. But it also does one other important thing – something that’s a salvo at Google’s Gmail: users are given the opportunity to get a Facebook email account.

Why would you want a Facebook email? According to Facebook:

There are many benefits:

• It’s free and easy to set up.
• Having your email integrated with your messages, chats and texts makes it easier to check them all at once. And if you’re looking for a message later, you don’t have to worry about how it was sent since all your different types of messages are in one place.
• Your Facebook messages are compatible with traditional email systems (e.g., Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail). When people send you emails from these external systems, they’re delivered directly to your Facebook Messages. And when you send messages to external email addresses, they’re formatted to look like your messages on Facebook, including your name and profile picture along with your message.
• Owning your @facebook.com address makes it easier for friends and family who are not on Facebook yet to connect with you.
• Your other email addresses may change over time, but your Facebook email never does.

Personally, I”m a committed Gmail user, since my Google account integrates with many other platforms (such as Blogger, which this blog is written on), among others. I don’t know if I’ll give this a try or not.

But a little bit behind what’s driving Facebook’s decision to expand in this area. The New York Times discusses the decline of email in Gen Y, citing that the younger generation simply doesn’t use email as much as they use IM and texting.

In November, Facebook announced the evolution of its messaging system and in a Fast Company article, Zuckerberg noted his inspiration for deciding on the software that would shape the communications style of whole generations:

“Whenever I get a chance to talk to high schoolers, I always want to ask them what kind of software they’re using… So I asked them: What do you use for email? [And they answered,] ‘Some of us use Gmail. Some of us use Yahoo. But we don’t really use email.’ And I said, ‘What do you mean you don’t use email? Everyone uses email.’ And they said, ‘No. It’s too slow.’”
Using high schoolers as a focus group for the future of a multi-billion dollar company? While I understand that they’re on the cutting edge of what’s next and that they’ll be the users of the future, my traditional self cringes a little about the notion of basing your success on the tastes and proclivities of such a young generation. Particularly when they have yet to fully grasp the habit of good writing, functional grammar, and the ability to fully express their thoughts.

My concern arises from this kicker from the Fast Company article:

The teens told Zuckerberg it was too much trouble to think of a subject and to compose a formal message.