Mark Zuckerberg makes surprise cameo on Chinese TV
Social media sites and blogs have lit up after eagle-eyed viewers spotted a surprise cameo in a Chinese TV documentary about the country's police force: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his now-wife, Priscilla Chan.
The documentary by CCTV was part of a series on Chinese police and high-tech crime-solving methods. A few seconds of footage showing Zuckerberg and Chan walking behind two police officers were shown included in a brief clip posted online by the Hebei province satellite station. Read more...
Facebook launches App Store Center
Facebook is launching an App Center to recommend mobile applications based on demographic preferences as well as user ratings, just as long as they're tied into users' Facebook credentials – with a view to monetising the process eventually, of course.
The App Center won't just recommend mobile apps, it will also showcase web-based applications embedded in Facebook and even other websites, as long as they are based around the Facebook logon. Listing will be free, and users will receive recommendations based on their demographic and history rather than blanket star ratings, so the Center will look different to every customer who enters. Read more...
What it’s like to work at Facebook
Facebook generates $2bn in revenue, is valued at $50bnand has a global ‘customer’ base of 600m people. It’s fair to say it’s a pretty big company.
And to service a company of this size, you need a lot of people – 2,000 in Facebook’s case. But what’s life in Facebook like for those that drive the business towards world domination? For a little perspective, here’s a quick peek at another digital behemoth.
Much has been written about Google as an employer over the years. Tales of giant slides, all-you-can-eat buffet canteens and even a giant replica T-Rex skeleton have often been told, as life in the Googleplex is portrayed as the ultimate working environment. Read more...
Here’s How Facebook Wants to Keep Its Engineers Happy
Last week, Facebook formally announced “Hackamonth,” an internal initiative that allows some engineers to leave their team to work on a side project of their choosing. The goal is to prevent burnout among the staff and should result in some cool new products.
In fact, it already has. Over the past year, Facebook tested out Hackamonth with 35 engineers who were encouraged to submit project ideas requiring about a month’s worth of work. Each participating engineer then voted to join the project they found the most interesting. The three most popular projects became the first pilot Hackamonths. Read more...
A Home for a Geek: Zuckerberg’s new $7m super home
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has bought a mansion in Palo Alto
According to local newspapers, the world's youngest billionaire recently spent $7m (£4.2m) on a crash pad in Palo Alto, a 10-minute drive in his eco-friendly Acura from Facebook's soon-to-be-opened headquarters in Silicon Valley.
The 5,000sq ft pile may lack what readers of a snobbish persuasion would describe as "character", but it does boast features commensurate with its 26-year-old owner's status. In addition to five bedrooms and five bathrooms, there's a saltwater pool, glassed-in sunroom, and planet-destroying outdoor fireplace.
Until now, Mr Zuckerberg has lived remarkably modestly, renting a sparsely furnished starter home near the office where he spends roughly 16 hours a day. Last year, Oprah Winfrey was allowed inside, revealing that at least some of his furniture was sourced from Ikea. Read more...