The HTC First, the affordable Android smartphone that puts Facebook front and centre by coming pre-loaded with the Facebook Home operating system reskin, is reportedly selling so badly that AT&T are considering discontinuing sales of the handset.

Launching on April 12, the HTC First has been sold just 15,000 times as of last week, according to BGR, with AT&T supposedly now preparing to send the remaining stock back to HTC.

This is despite AT&T's best efforts, with the US network cutting the handset price to a mere $0.99 (£0.64) on two year contracts. But even that hasn't been enough to inspire a sales rush, with AT&T now just waiting until an in-store display contract on the handset expires before pulling the plug.

The HTC First is the first (and so far only - and likely it seems to stay that way) handset to come with Facebook Home pre-loaded, revealed onstage by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in April alongside the unveiling of Facebook Home.

However, despite being downloaded over 1 million times by Android users with compatible handsets, it has not proved universally popular, sitting with just a 2 out of 5 star score on the Google Play Store. Facebook Home's focus on the social network actually necessitates a drop in functionality for the Android OS, which has put off many potential users.

Facebook Home, the social networking giant's biggest push yet into mobile software, is proving quite successful on Google's Play Store for Android apps.

Though only available for download to five devices (the Samsung Galaxy S III, Samsung Galaxy Note II, HTC One X and HTC One X+) and coming pre-installed on the HTC First, Facebook's latest big launch has already been downloaded over 500,000 times, just over a week since launching.

Considering Facebook has over 1 billion active users, the numbers may seem small. But given the device restrictions in place and the intrusive nature of the app (which acts as a layer on top of Android, giving Facebook access to data from your apps and giving the user an experience completely centred around Facebook), it's not a bad start.

What's likely to be more troubling for Facebook in terms of attracting those that aren't early adopters is Facebook Home's current rating on the Google Play Store. With only two out of a possible 5-star rating, users are complaining over Home's effect on battery levels, and the way it restricts access to a user's system notifications.

Exact numbers of Facebook Home downloads have not yet been revealed, with Google's Play store only revealing figures in fairly wide increments. The app currently sits somewhere between 500,000 and 1 million downloads.

Facebook Home will be expanding to new devices in the coming weeks, while the social network's executives have also begun talks with Apple in the hopes of bringing a version of Home to iOS devices like the iPhone.

Facebook have revealed that they are in talks with Apple to see whether their recently launched Facebook Home software could ever makes its way on to iOS devices.

Launching last week on a range of Android handsets, Facebook Home acts as an optional UI reskin, putting Facebook notifications, chat and other social interactions at the forefront of the interface, and driving all user data gathered back to Facebook in order to improve their advertising systems.

Apple have traditionally been cautious when it comes to allowing such software onto their platform; whereas Android is open, allowing for such interface overhauls, iOS is closed and does not allow for deviations from Apple's own designs. Furthermore, Apple are reluctant to share the data Facebook would be intending to mine, preferring to keep the information to furnish their own coffers.

"We've shown [Apple] what we've built and we're just in an ongoing conversation," Adam Mosseri, Facebook's director of product, told Bloomberg.

"It may or may not be Home. We could also just bring some of the design values to the iOS app. That might be how it ends up. Or we could build just the lock screen. Maybe then it's not called Home, it's called something else."

COO Sheryl Sandberg echoed Mosseri's comments:

"We are going to continue to develop for both [Android and Apple]. It is true that Android is enabling us to provide a more immersive Facebook experience than we can on other operating systems. Home is based on the openness of Android. It allows users to customise in ways that Apple does not."

Facebook Home's Chat Heads have already leaked into the iPad and iPhone Facebook apps, so it's possible that what's really likely to happen is that the iOS Facebook app eventually will share the same design ethos as Facebook Home. We'd pretty much rule out a full iOS reskinning right now.

The Facebook Home marketing campaign is now in full swing, having launched officially on the Android Google Play Store for US social networking fans.

And with the launch comes this new advert promoting the service, starring none other than Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. He's usually a bit camera shy when away from Facebook's F8 conferences, but he's front and centre here, and comes over pretty well, even if he is upstaged by a goat.

Another tidbit of advert trivia? The supporting cast are all real members of the Facebook development team, and it's all being filmed in Facebook's real, industrial-looking HQ at Menlo Park, California.

As it stands, Facebook Home isn't available in the UK, but there are work arounds to get it working if you're keen to give the Facebook-centric Android UI a go. You'll need to be using one of the supported devices (HTC One X, HTC One X+, Samsung Galaxy S III, and Samsung Galaxy Note II, with the HTC One and Galaxy S4 getting support with future updates), and have the latest version of the standard Facebook app and Facebook Messenger apps installed. You'll then need to download and install the Facebook Home APK from this link, and activate Facebook Home from the standard Facebook application's settings tab.

For getting the interface on unsupported devices, check out this guide from MoDaCo.

How much would you pay to get the ear of one of your favourite celebrities? Facebook are banking on it being a pretty penny, today beginning the roll out of their pay-to-message-celebs program to UK users too.

Launching initially in the US back in December, it's now letting users in 36 other countries pay a premium to send direct messages to notable persons.

Celebrities will be graded on their popularity and have an appropriate per-message price set by a Facebook algorithm. The cost to message Olympic diver Tom Daley for instance has been set at £10.68, while author Salmon Rushdie costs £10.08. Paying for a message has your correspondence sent to the celebrity's main inbox, rather than be relegated to the dreaded "Other" inbox into which few dare to venture.

"It is being tested among a very small percentage of users," a Facebook rep told The Guardian.

"There is no set timescale. It depends on what happens, what feedback we get as to whether it is rolled out nationally. We are testing a number of price points in the UK and other countries to establish the optimal fee that signals importance. This is still a test and these prices are not set in stone."

Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg clearly think his time is worth top-dollar; it costs $100 (£61) to message him using the new service.

Facebook Home, the social networking giant's Android user interface takeover that was revealed last week, is set to be officially released on April 12 to the Google Play Store. But, if you're courageous, you can give it a try today!

A beta version of the mobile software has leaked online today, with MoDaCo publishing the beta APK today. Click here to grab it.
Interestingly, the software can be added to a wide range of Android handsets beyond those specified as compatible by Facebook themselves, including the Nexus 4 and Nexus 7.

All that's seemingly required is that your Android device has a maximum resolution of 1280x768.

As an unofficial beta release, there are a few features not fully working, such as the much-vaunted chat heads, as well as a number of bugs that still need ironing out. Indeed, for the time being, download and install at your own risk, or hold out until April 12 for the official release.

By Ashley Norris, Shiny Shiny

I assume you have all caught the Facebook news from yesterday. If not go here. Suggesting that apps were a legacy from the PC age Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a new wrapper for Android 4.0 handsets called Home that is embedded in a six handsets - three each from HTC and Samsung - and will be available to download via the Google Play Store.

The wrapper's customise the home screen of an Android phone enabling notifications, images and messages to appear on the main screen of the phone.

Its nearest cousin is the way in which Amazon has wrapped its content around the Kindle Fire Android powered tablets.

It is an interesting move but is it enough to make you want to run your phone via Facebook? Or do you think it is all a step too far?

Whatever your views, it is a shift in emphasis that Facebook needed to make. It has to get more people using Facebook on their mobiles so it can present mobile advertising to them.

Zuckerberg said."The home screen is the soul of your phone. It sets the tone. We feel it should be deeply personal." And: "It's putting people first in your phone."

So in order for consumers to let Facebook lodge on their home phone the company needs to deliver a pretty compelling set of features.

Well slowly but surely over the past year or so that is exactly what Facebook has been doing.

Want to make a call? Well Facebook recently introduced its free Messenger calling service in the UK. So if you and your Facebook buddy both have the service live and a Wi-Fi connection you can chat without paying.

Want to listen to music? Well don't bother firing up your Spotify app you can listen to your tracks on Spotify via Facebook. Image - well they have Instagram. Want to read the news - well several sites have Facebook apps.

You get the picture. It has always been the stated aim of the company for Facebook to be the internet for people and with Facebook Home on the mobile it could mean that people spend more of their time using the company's services.

What I think Facebook are hoping for is that Home goes viral. In that users download it and show it off to their friends outlining all the benefits, who then go and download it. It is fair to say that with Android they have good chance too for even though the OS is highly customisable a lot of phone owners barely tweak their home screen at all.

The next question for Facebook then is getting the Home feature to work on iPhone or Windows handsets. It is not a move that you can't see Apple freely and readily making, but if Home becomes massively popular on Android it may have no choice.

It looks like Facebook has an interesting year ahead.

Facebook are today set to activate voice calling and voice messaging on their Facebook Messenger app for iPhone.

Already available in a testing phase in the US and Canada, it now seems that Zuckerberg's empire are ready to roll the features out to other territories. Technically still in testing, there may still be bugs with the app, with Facebook using this new roll-out opportunity to hunt down any remaining issues.

With the new features, Facebook Messenger can effectively be used as a replacement for standard 3G calling, providing the user is in range of a Wi-Fi network and their pals also use the app, much like Skype. Even if the recipient doesn't have the app, leaving a voice message should allow them to pick it up later through the standard Facebook messaging system.

Available for free from iTunes, we'll keep you posted if the features eventually roll out to the Android and BlackBerry versions of the app too.

Big changes are coming to the Facebook News Feed, the social networking giant revealed in a press conference today.

The Facebook News Feed (the area of the site that holds all of your friends' and Liked pages' posts in a stream) will be given an overhaul, with a new interface that's "mobile-inspired" in its design that will turn Facebook into a "personalised newspaper", according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The aim is also to further align the look of the desktop version of the network and its many mobile variants.

The changes will reflect and take advantage of the growth in visual content being shared on the site, and will also work to make clearer differentiation between posts from real-world friends and those of brand pages and celebrities.

Photos and albums that appear in the News Feed will now appear larger, looking similar to the style already adopted in users personal Timeline pages.

Articles from "Liked" websites and publications will also be expanded, giving more space over to their pictures and synopsis. Third party content from sites such as Pinterest and linked apps will also be made more attractive.

Facebook will now also recommend outside content based on your Liked pages. The example being given that if you Liked Taylor Swift's Facebook page, content from apps and groups that post about her (seemingly even if they are links to outside websites) will also optionally appear in your News Feed.

As this is a developing story we'll have more on the changes as we find out. As ever with Facebook updates, expect the roll-out of the changes to occur gradually across the globe.

Not content with snapping up over 8.4 million players through its web and Facebook games, We R Interactive's casual football sim I AM PLAYR is now available as an iPhone and iPad app too.

A free-to-play title that mixes action mini-games with role-playing elements and professionally shot, star-studded broadcast-quality video footage, I AM PLAYR already offers gamers the chance to fill the boots of an up-and-coming young football star as he signs his first professional contract with River Park FC, with the aim to make him as valuable to the club as possible.The new I AM PLAYR Mobile app acts as a supplementary experience to the desktop game. It focusses on mini-games, letting you flick and swipe your way around a number of training pitches, with drills including target practice and passing practice. While the free-to-play nature of the app means that each mini-game is time-locked (in-app purchases allow you to play whichever drill you prefer, as you please), the game is designed in such a way that there is always at least one available training game to play through.

Though the game can be played as a standalone diversion, I AM PLAYR Mobile is at its best when tied to an account with the desktop version of the game. Those who play I AM PLAYR through Facebook or various other browser-based portals will be able to use the mobile app to boost their I AM PLAYR Match Fitness on the go. I AM PLAYR desktop players already play the social game for an average of 44 minutes per day, with the new app designed to keep them in the I AM PLAYR universe for longer still.I AM PLAYR will face stiff competition on the iPhone and iPad from New Star Soccer, a game we heralded as one of the most addictive gaming apps of all time. But while New Star Soccer sports charming retro graphics, I AM PLAYR trumps it when it comes to presentation. While the iPad/iPhone version of I AM PLAYR has full 3D graphics, it comes into its own on its companion web version, where video footage is seamlessly integrated into the gameplay. Footballing stars like Steven Gerrard, Theo Walcott and Aaron Lennon, alongside a whole cast of actors, allow I AM PLAYR to deliver a rich, interactive storytelling experience. Over 250 video clips feature in the game. During these video cut scenes (including behind-the-scenes dressing room moments and nights out at glitzy showbiz parties) players will often be faced with multiple choice dilemmas that, depending on the path they take, will have a bearing on the success of their in-game careers.Though in-game purchases can be bought with real money to help speed up skill unlocks and career progression, patient players can make it through the game without paying a penny if they chose to do so. While in-game microtransactions certainly help boost We R Interactive's revenue streams, it's not the sole monetising element in the game. As in real life, there are plenty of real-world brands looking to court the football players of I AM PLAYR, and gamers will regularly be offered sponsorship opportunities for their player. The likes of Nike, Gillette, Alfa Romeo and Red Bull all feature. It's a subtle way of putting advertising into the game, but in the context of the footballing world (where so many stars have numerous sponsorship contracts) it feels natural and welcome.More than 15,000 new players join up to play I AM PLAYR every day, and if the iPhone and iPad versions pick up steam those numbers may spike quickly. The social/casual gaming markets and mobile gaming markets are incredibly competitive, particular the free-to-play space. But We R Interactive's obvious love of the beautiful game and I AM PLAYR's top-notch presentation looks to elevate the game beyond the usual freemium grind.

For more on I AM PLAYR, visit www.iamplayr.com. To grab the new I AM PLAYR Mobile app, click here.

Social networking giant Facebook have been hit by what it describes as a "sophisticated" hacking attack through a previously unknown loophole in its systems.

Though the company insists that none of the personal data belonging to its 1 billion+ users was compromised, Mark Zuckerberg's employee team found their computers had been infected with malware code.

Facebook's security teams have identified the root of the attack to be the website of a mobile applications developer that itself had been compromised. It exploited a flaw in Oracle's Java software.

However, the company believe they were not the only California-based company to be hit by the attack.

Revealing all in a blog post, Facebook stated that:

"Last month, Facebook security discovered that our systems had been targeted in a sophisticated attack.

"Facebook was not alone in this attack. It is clear that others were attacked and infiltrated recently as well."

Though Facebook's sensitive data remains unharmed by the attack, the same can't be said of Twitter following a recent attack on its systems. The micro-blogging service reported that earlier this month 250,000 usernames, passwords and email addresses were harvested by hackers, calling the attack "not the work of amateurs".

Some security specialists believe that the latest spate of high-profile attacks on prominent US-based websites is not the work of bedroom hackers, but a larger cyber espionage campaign. The National Intelligence estimate also claims that US intelligence services, financial services, aerospace and other technology companies have been targeted, while the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal have all been attacked by what they believe were hackers funded by the Chinese government.

So we've all been waiting eagerly to find out what Facebook's big new announcement will be this evening and, like many predicted, the social network has added a new smart search engine called Graph Search. Our sister site Shiny Shiny sheds some light on the new - and kinda disappointing - new search functionality...

Yep it sounds a bit like some mathematics term we probably should all remember from Secondary School, but in actual fact it's a way of sifting through the data about photos, people and connections that live on facebook.com.

The new search feature will appear as a big search bar at the top of each page you visit. You'll be able to start new searches and will then be served up data under that title, so the Facebook team use the example of "people who like things I like". You'll then have a page with that title at the top and a list of people who into the same stuff as you.

Once Graph Search is up and running, you'll be able to use it to find data about four distinct things, people, photos, places and interests. Over on the Facebook Newsroom the team outline the kinds of searches you'll make to find each type:

People: "friends who live in my city," "people from my hometown who like hiking," "friends of friends who have been to Yosemite National Park," "software engineers who live in San Francisco and like skiing," "people who like things I like," "people who like tennis and live nearby"

Photos: "photos I like," "photos of my family," "photos of my friends before 1999," "photos of my friends taken in New York," "photos of the Eiffel Tower"

Places: "restaurants in San Francisco," "cities visited by my family," "Indian restaurants liked by my friends from India," "tourist attractions in Italy visited by my friends," "restaurants in New York liked by chefs," "countries my friends have visited"

Interests: "music my friends like," "movies liked by people who like movies I like," "languages my friends speak," "strategy games played by friends of my friends," "movies liked by people who are film directors," "books read by CEOs"

It's not the big web search competitor some were speculating about earlier today and the team are keen to point out the differences:

"Graph Search and web search are very different. Web search is designed to take a set of keywords (for example: "hip hop") and provide the best possible results that match those keywords. With Graph Search you combine phrases (for example: "my friends in New York who like Jay-Z") to get that set of people, places, photos or other content that's been shared on Facebook. We believe they have very different uses."

Facebook users just love to constantly use the site then whine about how it's not private or secure enough and it's clear the team have already prepared for that kind of criticism by pointing out that Graph Search has been built "with privacy in mind" and no matter what you search for the privacy and settings of each separate piece of content will be respected.

There have been mixed reactions to the news so far, with many wondering why a network that's dedicated to connecting you with people you know is suddenly so concerned with helping you find new people. Some of the searches certainly do seem a bit like a creepy dating tool and social media is sleazy enough without an added way for scumbags to find us. However, when it comes to helping you find out more about your friends then it seems like a good idea. We think.

Obviously social media land is already speculating about what the news means for businesses, as searches that are concerned with pages were mentioned at the event, like "sushi restaurants that my friends have been to in Los Angeles", which could open up places, events and brands to an even wider audience.

Read the official Graph Search post over on the Facebook Newsroom. You can sign up to the beta version of Graph Search here: facebook.com/about/graphsearch.

[Via Shiny Shiny]

Instagram are preparing to introduce a new policy for the new year in which they will share all content with new owners Facebook.

Posting on the company blog, Instagram detailed that the new changes will come into play in January in order to make the relationship between the two companies more seamless:

"Our updated privacy policy helps Instagram function more easily as part of Facebook by being able to share info between the two groups. This means we can do things like fight spam more effectively, detect system and reliability problems more quickly, and build better features for everyone by understanding how Instagram is used."

While Instagram insist that nothing will change in terms of who owns photos posted to their snap sharing network and who has access to them, Facebook's position as owners gives them far greater access to data and content you share through Instagram. Looking at the small print of the company's information section, alarm bells start ringing:

We may share User Content and your information (including but not limited to, information from cookies, log files, device identifiers, location data, and usage data) with businesses that are legally part of the same group of companies that Instagram is part of, or that become part of that group ("Affiliates"). Affiliates may use this information to help provide, understand, and improve the Service (including by providing analytics) and Affiliates' own services (including by providing you with better and more relevant experiences). But these Affiliates will honor the choices you make about who can see your photos.

Instagram users who avoid Zuckerberg's empire are getting worked up over the proposed changes. But after the high-profile buyout, this increasingly cosy relationship between the two firms was all but inevitable.

Via: ShinyShiny

Reports are coming in that Facebook are preparing to launch a brand new messaging app with a keen focus on user privacy.

Ready before the end of the year according to All Things D, the app will let users set a time limit within which messages can be viewed. After the allotted time, all messages and images sent will be automatically deleted, with no trace left behind. All correspondents will lose access to the sent messages, which could be great for those partaking in a bit of "sexting", looking to cover their potentially embarrassing tracks.

The proposed app sounds very similar to Snapchat, who offer similar "Mission Impossible" style time limits on their messages.

However, the ability to take screenshots on both desktop and mobile devices makes the service somewhat obsolete, as users will still be able to capture screengrabs of all correspondence.

Facebook have been at the centre of a number of instant-messaging app rumours of late. Most notably, the company were rumoured to be buying WhatsApp, the popular cross-platform messaging app.

Via: All Things D

Sick of hopping foot to foot outside a toilet waiting for the previous occupant to clear out? The problem may be down to social networking.

No, not the sort of social networking that George Michael is partial to. We're talking about people browsing Facebook and Twitter on the loo.

New research from NM Incite has shown that, in the US at least, toilet users are taking their time browsing social networking smartphone apps while on the phone, while the traditional toilet magazine rack gathers dust.

According to the report, 21% of adults in the US ranging from 18 to 24 have admitted to partaking in some form of social networking interaction during restroom breaks. 25% of individuals between 25 and 34 do the same, but the number drops to just 15-percent of people between 35 and 44, showing that social network addiction is still primarily the reserve of the young.

NM Incite's Vice President of Social Media Solutions Deirdre Bannon said:

"Social media is truly everywhere in people's lives. It is so ingrained and has touched every facet of everything we do all day long. We are literally taking our phones with us to the bathroom and connecting on social media."

Could be worse. Could be "sexting"?

Facebook may be preparing to buy multi-platform instant messaging app WhatsApp, according to the latest Silicon Valley rumours.

TechCrunch are citing "source close to the matter" on the possible merger, though details are being kept so closely guarded currently that there's no word yet on timings, pricing or the details of how WhatApp would be implemented into Facebook, let alone an official comment on the matter.

From Facebook's point of view, it'd probably make sense; WhatsApp is an increasingly popular IM mobile client, with many of its users bypassing SMS messaging altogether in favour of it. The fact that it's available on a variety of platforms only helps to sweeten the deal. Facebook have always struggled when it comes to instant messaging in our opinion; in both mobile and desktop forms, their current IM clients can at best be described as "functional".

We'll keep you posted if anything changes. As the recent Instagram buyout proved, once Facebook CEO Zuckerberg sets his eye on something, money is no barrier.

Via: TechCrunch

A man has been arrested under the Malicious Communications Act and is awaiting questioning after posting a picture of a burning poppy onto Facebook this weekend, coinciding with the annual Remembrance Day events.

Posted alongside "an offensive comment" according to Kent Police, the 19-year old was arrested as his actions fell in line with the act's guidelines for communications that are "indecent or grossly offensive, or which conveys a threat... provided there is an intent to cause distress or anxiety to the recipient".

The arrest has not met with universal support however, with many taking to Twitter in protest. This includes Paul Chambers, who was at the centre of the Twitter Joke Trial who unwittingly caused a security scare for joking about blowing up an airport, resulting in legal action against him.

Chambers tweeted: "It's time the authorities knew that dissenting voices are not arrestable #poppycock."

Social media censorship and conservatism has been an increasingly hot topic for the likes of Twitter and Facebook this year, with high-profile cases such as the baiting of Olympic diver Tom Daley and the blocking of a neo-Nazi Twitter feed in Germany making the headlines.

Where do you stand on the Twitter/Facebook censorship row? Should social media be a safe-haven where all views, however controversial, are tolerated, or should these communication channels be more closely policed? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

The rumours of a Facebook phone once again rear their heads, with news again coming in that HTC may be making a phone for the social networking giants.

A Taiwanese source for Pocket-Lint has revealed the HTC Opera UL, billed as an "OEM Product" for Zuckerberg's empire.

The source states that the phone has already been delayed (interesting considering it had never even been revealed), the source revealed NenaMark2 benchmarking tests, suggesting the handset will run off a 1.4GHz processor, likely dual-core.The source also revealed that the graphics processor would be a Qualcomm Adreno 305, with the display hitting a HD resolution of 1280x720. Running Android 4.1.1, it'd look like a mid-to-top-tier offering from Facebook and HTC.

It's not the first time HTC and Facebook have teamed up. Back in 2011 the two came together for the HTC Salsa and HTC ChaCha Android handsets (pictured above), though the sum of the partnership only ended up being two phones with hardware buttons dedicated to firing up the Facebook app.

Via: Pocket-Lint

How do you become the world's biggest social network? By dodging your tax dues, that's how. That's the accusation levelled at Facebook today, after it was revealed it had paid just £238,000 in corporation tax in the UK, despite pocketing a multi-million income.

Declaring a UK turnover of £20.4 million in 2011, the £238,000 tax paid last year seems a paltry sum, with Zuckerberg's empire routing tax through its Irish office to avoid further charges.

But Facebook may have been due to pay even more still; independent researchers at Enders Analysis claim that Facebook may have in fact made £175 million in the UK last year, meaning that a mere 0.136 tax was paid on its UK earnings.

However, there's little anyone can do to claim back owed taxes, as the Irish loophole is perfectly legal. Google too game the system, paying just £6 million in taxes on its estimated £395 million British income last year.

Via: The Independent

Facebook have hit another staggering milestone, announcing that their social network now serves over 1 BILLION users every month.

"This morning, there are more than one billion people using Facebook actively each month," announced founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on his Facebook page.

"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.

"I am committed to working every day to make Facebook better for you, and hopefully together one day we will be able to connect the rest of the world too."

Along with the news, Facebook have thrown together a few interesting figures about usage on the site. Since its launch, Facebook has seen:

- 1.13 trillion Likes
- 140.3 billion friend connections
- 219 billion photos shared
- 17 billion check-ins
- 62.6 million songs played 22 billion times (roughly) 210,000 years of music
- 2.45 billion content items and 2.7 billion Likes shared every day
- More than 300 million photos uploaded daily

What's perhaps even more remarkable is Facebook's mobile reach. 600 million people use Facebook from a mobile device at least once a month, accessed from more than 7,000 different types of mobile device. In other words, almost twice the population of the United States carry Facebook around in their pockets.

The numbers are frankly mind-boggling, and surely would have staggered even Zuckerberg himself in Facebook's formative years.

With so many people now using Facebook, getting noticed on news feeds is getting tougher than ever. For those who simply must be the centre of the social universe, Facebook are rolling out an update that will allow users to promote personal posts for a monetary fee.