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- Creating Your Personalized News Channel
  by Malorie Lucich on Friday, January 29, 2010 at 11:03am
  UPDATE on Friday, Feb. 5: We've updated the second image showing the display of a "News" list to reflect the new home page navigation. You can continue to use your Friend Lists, such as a "News" list, to filter your home page view by clicking "Friends" from the left-side menu. Once you're on the Friends page, you can view, create and edit lists.
  
  A few weeks ago, I was working from home when my News Feed suddenly became inundated with status updates about a small earthquake that briefly shook near Facebook's headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif.... Though I was only about 40 miles away, I didn't feel the quake but still heard about it as it happened thanks to the posts of my friends and coworkers. My News Feed became my source of news before any outlet had a chance to cover the event.
  
  As news quickly travels, your friends are often the best filters you have for surfacing meaningful news. They are how I heard about Michael Jackson's death, President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize and even "Balloon Boy."
  
  Whether it's a minor event like the small earthquake in the Bay Area or something as life-altering as the recent tragedy in Haiti, you can turn to Facebook to share news, connect with news outlets and discuss current events with others. The news you read on Facebook can be as diverse as the friends and news media you connect with.
  
  When the earthquake hit Haiti, victims in the area, news affiliates and people around the world used Facebook to learn what was happening, connect with loved ones and quickly disseminate information. ABCNews.com and France 24 added Facebook live stream boxes to their sites to enable people to share their feelings on the disaster and relief efforts, and publish it back to their Facebook status. Meanwhile, The New York Times created a special Facebook Page dedicated to Haiti coverage, resources and updates from their reporters on the ground.
  
  Clearing the Clutter
  
  In this era of social news, information is more ubiquitous than ever before and the rate at which we consume and share news has never been quicker. Your friends on Facebook help you cut through the clutter so you can read what's most relevant to you, discover new items and carry on thoughtful discussions.
  
  Just as your friends can post news throughout the day, so do many news outlets. By connecting with their Facebook Pages, you can stay updated and interact with outlets such as The New York Times, The Guardian and CNN, and directly with reporters and anchors such as Katie Couric of the CBS Evening News and CNBC's Nicole Lapin.
  
  At any given time, the news on your home page can consist of celebrity gossip posted by your sister, sports scores from the ESPN Page, and a political debate among your friends as they cite their favorite blogs. With so much information at your fingertips on one site, Facebook can serve as your personalized news channel.
  
  You can even create a "News" list to filter news-oriented Pages into one view on your News Feed. Simply add relevant Pages to the list, just as you would with a friends list. The next time you sign on to Facebook, you can click the "News" filter to see stories from all of the news outlets of which you've become a fan.
  
  Updated image of a "News" list filter.
  Connecting with News Everywhere
  
  In addition to reading news on Facebook, you can share news with your friends on external sites with Facebook Connect. Outlets like The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, USA Today and countless blogs have become more social by adding Facebook Connect to their websites and iPhone applications. You can sign in with your Facebook login to see what articles your friends are reading and comment on articles with your authentic identity.
  
  Startups are also using the power of Facebook Connect to provide social news experiences. Daily Perfect is a personalized news website that you can sign into with Facebook Connect, and it will deliver news tailored to you based on your Facebook profile. For example, I've included in my Facebook profile that my interests are "San Francisco," "technology" and "religion," and Daily Perfect surfaces current affairs related to those interests.
  
  Join the cycle of sharing news with your friends on Facebook and off by posting news, commenting on the links your friends post, and checking out news organizations that are using Facebook Connect or have created Facebook Pages to build a well-rounded collection of news for yourself.
  
  For more examples of how news organizations are using Facebook, become a fan of the News on Facebook.
  
  Malorie is reading her friends' thoughts on the recent State of the Union address on Facebook.
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- Topics: Facebook Connect, Pages, News Feed
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- Viewpoints on Privacy for the Digital Age
  by Tim Sparapani on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 10:41am
  Today is Data Privacy Day, an international collaboration by governments, privacy professionals, academic institutions, businesses and nonprofits to raise awareness about data privacy and the protection of personal information. For Facebook, privacy is a core component of the products and features we build every day. It is critical that we give the more than 350 million people on Facebook the power to share what they want with whom they want while safeguarding their privacy.
  
  To commemorate this day, we invited experts to share their perspectives... on the meaning of privacy in the digital age and offer advice for managing it online.
  
  Alex Türk
  Chairman, French Data Protection Commission
  Türk
  
  Because European citizens have experienced dark times when the exercise of our fundamental freedoms was seriously endangered, privacy has become one of our dearest possessions. Therefore, our goal today is not to adjust the development and pace of our privacy to the digital society, but on the contrary it is to master digital technology to ensure that privacy can be both preserved and enhanced.
  
  U.S. Rep. Joe Barton of Texas
  Ranking Member, House Energy and Commerce Committee and Co-Chair, Congressional Privacy Caucus
  Barton
  
  I am co-chair of the Congressional Privacy Caucus because I think it's a serious issue, and Data Privacy Day recognizes the importance privacy plays in every American's life. My information is mine. I have the right to know exactly what information people are gathering about me—and exactly what they are doing with it. Regardless of the regulated status of a company or the specific data-gathering technology that a company is using, both public attention and our policy focus should remain on the protection of Americans' privacy. Good public policy would be technologically neutral, and it would not inadvertently create comparative advantages between companies. I also encourage all those involved in the industry's own process to move forward quickly with strong consumer protections and the most clear and transparent policies that are technologically possible.
  
  Karen Curtis
  Australian Privacy Commissioner
  Curtis
  
  For Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, Jan. 28 falls in the middle of our summer, so the Asia-Pacific Privacy Authorities' privacy celebration ("Privacy Awareness Week") is held in the first week of May. However, privacy protection is a truly global issue and government, business and the public should regularly reflect on their privacy rights and responsibilities.
  
  For the individual, privacy is a commodity that is often only recognized and valued when it has been breached in some way. But you shouldn't wait until disaster strikes – be proactive and find out what your privacy rights are in your state or country, and what to do to safeguard your personal information. This becomes all the more important the more we interact online.
  
  For business and government, privacy should not be seen just as a legal obligation, but also as an opportunity. As we say, good privacy is good business. Privacy can be a mechanism for building public trust in your brand, showing how your organization respects its customers and their personal information. Regularly review your privacy practices, and see how they can add value. Privacy—it's in your hands.
  
  U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida
  Ranking Member, House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet
  Stearns
  
  Most of our work product and personal records are now digitally stored and transferred. The time saving convenience of instantaneous communication means we all rely heavily on the Internet and the latest state-of-the-art technologies in our daily interactions. And, more often than not, all of our electronic communications leave behind a digital fingerprint that opens the potential for abuse if the information is in the wrong hands. That is why it is pertinent that we take the initiative to draw awareness to the importance of protecting sensitive personal information—including health and financial data—from misuse and theft.
  
  I have introduced H. Res. 902 in an effort to call attention to the privacy challenges of electronic communications and technologies and to underscore the importance of data privacy in a rapidly changing environment. In particular, Data Privacy Day is designed to help citizens understand more about the ways in which their personal information is collected, used and shared, and to provide resources and educational materials that will allow people to take steps to better protect their privacy. On Data Privacy Day, educators, students, consumers, academics, privacy professionals, nonprofit organizations, corporations and small businesses, and government representatives at the state, provincial and federal levels will come together in a variety of venues to discuss key data privacy issues.
  
  Ann Cavoukian
  Information and Privacy Commissioner for Ontario, Canada
  Cavoukian
  
  Privacy is the foundation upon which democracy is built. Our right to control the collection, use and disclosure of information about ourselves is the right upon which our other freedoms rest. Therefore, to preserve our privacy is to preserve that which we cherish but often take for granted – the freedom and liberty that define the open society in which we live. In over 20 years as a privacy professional, I have witnessed how the growth of technology has brought exceedingly new challenges to the protection of privacy. Individuals are increasingly subjected to new forms of data collection, from both private and public sector organizations. The growth of privacy-invasive technologies such as biometrics, video surveillance and radio frequency identifiers has intensified the need to sharpen our focus on privacy and the best methods to protect it.
  
  However, unlike some critics, who view technology as essentially eroding privacy, I have always believed that its support may be enlisted to protect privacy. I have worked with many organizations, including Facebook in recent years, to instil the philosophy of embedding privacy proactively into technology itself. I call this Privacy by Design (PbD). On this Data Privacy Day, my office is holding a sold-out event, "Privacy by Design: The Gold Standard," focusing on the positive-sum deployment of new technologies, business practices and networked infrastructure in a manner that delivers tangible results on the promise of PbD. Join us at www.privacybydesign.ca.
  
  U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania
  Member, House Energy and Commerce Committee
  Doyle
  
  The United States has a piecemeal approach to privacy. Your phone call records are protected from intrusion and your cable and video rental habits are protected from resale. But marketers can easily buy your magazine subscription data, and your credit card company is probably reselling information about what you buy to others. Someone, and not just your neighbor, knows if you own a dog or a camera.
  
  Getting off the Internet isn't going to stop some database from collecting information about you. Practically the only way to prevent anyone else knowing anything about you is to literally shut yourself off from the outside world. And that only works if you don't like human interaction and you don't mind missing out on services like Facebook that bring you and your friends closer together or that help us find the information we want to know. After all, it's hard to look something up unless someone else has shared it.
  
  There have been preliminary discussions about legislation to better protect Americans online privacy, but most members of the House and Senate need to know more about this issue. I encourage you to celebrate Data Privacy Day by letting your member of Congress and senators know how you think your privacy should be controlled.
  
  Stephen Balkam
  CEO, Family Online Safety Institute
  Balkam
  
  Few too many people read privacy policies and set privacy settings. Data Privacy Day is a good time to think about what information you are revealing about yourself on the web and take the time to talk to kids about the content you are posting and where you are posting it. We need to work together to be more responsible digital citizens.
  
  Tim Sparapani, Facebook's director of public policy, is speaking at the FTC Exploring Privacy workshop in Berkeley, Calif., for Data Privacy Day.
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- Topics: Privacy
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- Facebook Toolbar Speaks New Languages
  by Yishan Wong on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 5:30pm
  No matter where you are on the web, you can stay close and share with your friends through the Facebook Toolbar. Originally launched in English for the Firefox browser, we now have released an Internet Explorer version of the toolbar and made both versions available in a total of 16 languages.
  
  You can use the toolbar to easily visit the most common sections and applications on Facebook, including your home page, profile and Inbox. You also can see how many friend requests, Inbox message and event and group invitations you have from icons near... the top of your browser, and then click to view them.
  
  When you find an interesting news story, funny video or other content you like on the web, click the "Share" button on the toolbar to share it with your friends on your Facebook. The toolbar even gives you a quick way to upload photos to your profile.
  
  The languages now supported are Arabic, Chinese (simple and traditional), Danish, Dutch, German, Spanish (Spain and international), French, Hebrew, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazilian), Swedish and Turkish. You can download the latest Facebook Toolbar for Firefox or Internet Explorer here.
  
  Yishan is a software engineer at Facebook.
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- Topics: Language, Toolbar
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- Global Relief on Facebook: Connecting in Times of Need
  by Randi Zuckerberg on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 4:09pm
  UPDATE on Friday, Jan. 22: The Global Disaster Relief on Facebook Page will stream "Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief" live at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST tonight here. You can share your thoughts while watching the telethon, as well as get involved in relief efforts through the Causes application and its Haiti-specific fundraising efforts.
  
  Originally Published on Jan. 14, 2010
  The devastating earthquake in Haiti has underscored the Internet's critical role in connecting the world's population in times of tragedy. In response... to this, Facebook today launched the Global Relief on Facebook Page where the more than 350 million people on Facebook can educate themselves and find out how to help not only in Haiti but wherever disaster and misfortune may strike.
  
  Moments after the ground shook in Port-au-Prince, people around the world immediately sought to help with relief efforts and express their solidarity with those in need. Every minute, people have been posting more than 1,500 status updates on Facebook that contained the word "Haiti." People have contributed thousands of dollars through the Causes application on Facebook, and groups including the American Red Cross, Oxfam America and Partners in Health have mobilized supporters through their Facebook Pages and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in the last 24 hours alone.
  
  We want Global Relief on Facebook to serve as a collaborative resource for individuals, non-profits, governments and industry to raise awareness for those in need around the world. We're inviting relief organizations to be part of this effort so they can further highlight the needs in Haiti and during times of future crises. Most importantly, we hope all of you will join us by becoming a fan of Global Relief on Facebook and by continuing to support relief efforts along with your friends.
  
  By staying connected, we can all make a difference no matter where we are in the world.
  
  Randi, who manages initiatives with non-profits for Facebook, is sending friends an Oxfam virtual water jug to help provide clean water to those in Haiti.
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- Topics: Disaster Relief
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- Connections of Strangers Returns Camera to Owner
  by Sara Lannin on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 12:58pm
  The following is part of our series on different ways Facebook is used across the world. You can read previous posts in this series here. If you have a story you'd like to share with us, please submit it here.
  
  Nobody likes to lose a valuable item—be it a wedding ring down the disposal or a pair of shoes forgotten under a hotel bed. Even more frustrating, though, is the loss of a camera: Not only is the object itself gone, but so too are the irreplaceable memories captured on it.
  
  ...Knowing that frustration, Danny Cameron set out on a quest through Facebook to find the owner of a lost camera he found along the side of the road while vacationing on the Greek island of Mykonos last summer.
  
  "In theory, with six degrees of separation, the whole world can be reached," said Danny, of Sydney, Australia. "I decided to see whether the world of online resources could track down the owner."
  
  With that goal in mind, Danny started the Facebook group "Needle in a haystack". He uploaded photos from the camera to the group, with the hope that members would recognize someone they know among the strangers.
  
  The group, which started on Oct. 17, grew virally as members faithfully invited others and posted notes of encouragement and thanks to one another for their attempted good deed. Within two weeks, the group ballooned to 235,000 people strong.
  
  On the morning of Nov. 3, Danny received a Facebook message with astonishing news—his social experiment had worked. Some of the people in the photos recognized themselves, explaining that they were tourists who had been in Mykonos the day before Danny. The camera's owner, they revealed, was a woman living on the coast of France. Amazed at the human chain that had been created to find her, the woman was ecstatic to retrieve her missing item.
  
  As for Danny, the success of his campaign led to a newfound respect for the power of social connections and human kindness.
  
  "My simple act found that it is possible to be a noncommercial, nondenominational person just performing a random act of kindness, and I was happy to find (nearly) 250,000 other people who shared that philosophy," he remarked. "If the whole online community could be optimistic, full of hope and good will, then the possibilities for our capabilities would know no bounds."
  
  Sara, an intern on Facebook's communications team, is keeping her camera close while skiing in Lake Tahoe
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- Topics: Your Stories, Groups
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- Breaking Ground on Our First Custom Data Center
  by Jonathan Heiliger on Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 10:24am
  We have come a long way from our roots in a Harvard dorm room, when Facebook was only available at some colleges and run on a single server. Now with more than 350 million people worldwide and our service and business continuing to grow, we must constantly scale our technical infrastructure to meet the demand and deliver you a fast, reliable experience. An important step along the way is to build a custom data center so that we can design it to meet our unique needs.
  
  Today, we broke ground on our first custom data center in Prineville, Ore.,... during a ceremony with local officials. We are designing a facility that will be highly efficient and cost-effective for our operations today and into the future.
  
  When Facebook first began with a small group of people using it and no photos or videos to display, the entire service could run on a single server. However, as the site expanded to different colleges around the U.S., we needed to add more servers and data center capacity to keep up with the increasing number of people who were joining every day.
  
  Initially, as most Internet startups do, we leased data center space alongside other companies in the same building. As our user base continued to grow and we developed Facebook into a much richer service, we reached the point where it was more efficient to lease entire buildings on our own. We are now ready to build our own.
  
  Artist's rendering of planned Prineville, Ore., data center.
  What is a Data Center?
  It is important to understand what a data center is and how it impacts your Facebook experience. A data center is a central location that houses thousands of computer servers, which are networked together and linked to the outside world through fiber optic cables. Think of a data center as essentially one very large computer that contains the collective computing infrastructure to make web properties, like Facebook, work.
  
  When you create a profile on Facebook, the information you share is captured in servers located in a data center. So when you update your status, post and comment on photos or videos or otherwise communicate with friends, these servers receive your actions, compute them, and then act quickly so that you see your actions completed in seconds.
  
  Energy-Efficient Technologies
  Along with making sure Facebook operates quickly for you, we wanted to minimize the environmental impact of our new facility and its energy costs. To best achieve those goals, we will use several energy-efficiency technologies, including:
  Evaporative cooling system: This system evaporates water to cool the incoming air, as opposed to traditional chiller systems that require more energy intensive equipment. This process is highly energy efficient and minimizes water consumption by using outside air.
  
  Airside economizer: The facility will be cooled by simply bringing in colder air from the outside. This feature will operate for between 60 percent and 70 percent of the year. The remainder of the year requires the use of the evaporative cooling system to meet temperature and humidity requirements.
  
  Re-use of server heat: A portion of the excess heat created by the computer servers will be captured and used to heat office space in the facility during the colder months.
  
  Proprietary Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) technology: All data centers must have an uninterruptible power supply to continuously provide power to servers. The Prineville data center will use a new, patent-pending UPS system that reduces electricity usage by as much as 12 percent.
  Our Commitment
  Our new data center is another example of our investment to meet the needs of the growing number of people using Facebook and to deliver richer and more innovative services to you. The new data center will help us by adding more computing and storage capacity, which we expect to help us deliver a faster, more reliable experience worldwide. This is just one step along the way in building a business for the long term and dedicating resources to scale our site to support our users, developers and advertisers.
  
  Jonathan, Facebook's vice president of technical operations, is always expanding behind-the-scenes infrastructure.
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- Topics: Data Centers
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- Communicating with Your Favorite Applications through Email
  by Arun Vijayvergiya on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 10:03am
  Starting today, you'll have a new way to stay connected to your favorite applications on Facebook.
  
  As we work to make the site as simple and efficient as possible, we're giving you the opportunity to receive updates from applications in your email inbox, such as your MSN, Yahoo! or Gmail accounts, similar to how you may receive email notifications from Facebook when you're tagged in a photo or receive a message. Note that you will have to explicitly grant developers the right to email you; they will never receive your email address without your... expressed consent.
  
  You can now use the rules and routing mechanisms of your email inbox to control how you communicate with applications. This email option is one of a number of upcoming changes we announced in October to give you a faster and more connected experience when interacting with external applications on Facebook. You will soon start to see dialog boxes on application pages from external developers asking you if you would like to receive communication about their applications through your primary email address.
  
  Just like you can receive newsletters from your favorite websites, granting developers permission to email you means you can receive more detailed and interesting information from them, including notifications of actions within their applications, receipts for purchases you make or newsletters like the one below.
  
  At any time, if you decide that you no longer want to receive emails, you can unsubscribe by clicking the "unsubscribe" links in the emails (they'll most likely be located at the bottom). When you unsubscribe from communication with an application, that application's developer will no longer be permitted to contact you. If an application is not complying with your request to unsubscribe, you should report it to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for violating CAN-SPAM here.
  
  Some applications may require an email address in order to use their service, in the same way that websites might when you sign up for them. In all cases, you will have the option to click the "change" link in the dialog box and share an anonymous version of your email address, called a proxied email address. You can always choose to stop using an application or use a different application instead if you don't want to receive emails from a particular application.
  
  This new communication channel gives you more control over how you communicate with applications on Facebook Platform, and you can turn the channel on and off as you choose. Additionally, developers will be held to the highest Facebook and federal guidelines to help prevent spam, misleading information and malicious intent. We encourage you to use caution when communicating with these applications in the same way you do with sites across the Web. If you feel that an application is violating the guidelines in place, you can report the application to Facebook by clicking "Report Application" at the bottom of the page, or by clicking "Report" at the bottom of any canvas page within the application.
  
  Email from applications is one of many updates we'll be rolling out over the coming months. In addition to email, you will soon start to see new places to receive notifications from applications. For example, there will be a new feature called "Counters" that will appear next to bookmarked applications on your home page, as well new Applications and Games Dashboards where you'll also be able to get application updates. As we open a new means of communication with applications through these new channels, you will soon no longer receive updates from applications in the notifications channel on Facebook.
  
  For the latest on these changes, become a fan of the Facebook Page.
  
  Arun, an engineer on the Facebook Platform team, likes straightforward communication.
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- Topics: Applications, Notifications, Platform
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- Better Security through Software
  by Jake Brill on Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 9:47pm
  One of the best defenses against security threats is a good offense, and we want to help you take the offensive by having the latest security software installed on your computer. Today, we are announcing a year-long partnership with McAfee to offer all 350 million people who use Facebook the ability to download a six-month subscription to McAfee security software at no cost, along with a special discount once the six months are over.
  
  You can take advantage of this offer by visiting the Protect Your PC tab on the McAfee Page on Facebook.
  
  We're... committed to doing everything we can to help you protect your account and make your experience on Facebook as safe and enjoyable as possible. We invest in dedicated teams and advanced technical systems that detect and block suspicious behavior. When we find a message with a link to a fake login page or other malicious website, we prevent it from being sent and delete all instances of it from the site. We also work with third parties to get malicious sites added to browser blacklists or removed completely.
  
  For the rare case in which an account is compromised, we've developed a unique process that requires the account owner to take steps to secure the account and learn security best practices. We've also incorporated custom McAfee software into this process for people identified as having infected computers. Now, if your computer is infected, you will be asked to run a scan like the one shown below and clean it before accessing Facebook. We're not aware of another free Internet service that takes this much responsibility for helping people keep their accounts secure.
  
  We have a lot of control over security measures on Facebook. However, we don't control other websites and services you visit that might infect your computer. For this reason, we recommend that you install updated security software, which you can now do at no cost through this partnership, and that you always follow these safe practices:
  Don't open attachments in emails that look suspicious or come from an unknown or untrustworthy source.
  
  Don't open attachments unless you know what they are, even if they're from friends.
  
  Delete chain mail and spam from your email and Facebook inboxes.
  
  Be cautious when downloading files from the Internet.
  
  Be cautious of any message, post or link you see on Facebook that looks suspicious, requires an additional login, or asks you to download or upgrade software.
  
  Use an up-to-date browser that features an anti-phishing blacklist. Some examples include Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 3.0.10.
  
  Choose unique logins and passwords for each of the websites you use.
  
  Check to see that you're logging in from a legitimate Facebook page with the facebook.com domain.
  
  Become a fan of the Facebook Security Page to receive more tips, updates on the latest threats and other information to help you protect your computer and online accounts.
  
  Jake, a project manager for the site integrity team, is keeping his computer clean.
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- Replying to Comments through Email
  by Tom Whitnah on Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 9:55am
  One of the easiest ways to stay updated on relevant conversations happening on Facebook is through email notifications, which inform you about comments made on the posts you've created or commented on. These notifications—for comments on such content as status updates, photos, videos and Wall posts—allow you to stay informed about your Facebook friends' activities without being logged in when you're on the go, on your phone or at work.
  
  Today, we're launching the ability for you to participate in these conversations by replying directly to... these email notifications. When you receive an email notification about comments, you can just click "Reply" and start typing a comment at the top of the email. Then hit "Send" from your email and your reply will automatically be added as a comment on Facebook without you having to even log in.
  
  If you aren't currently receiving email notifications for comments, be sure to check out your Account Settings. From the Notifications tab, you can choose to receive email notifications when people comment on posts and content, as well as for many other common Facebook activities.
  
  Tom Whitnah, an engineer on Facebook's News Feed team, plans on e-mailing it in.
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- Topics: Comments, Notifications
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- Student Scientists Stay Close a World Away
  by Sara Lannin on Monday, January 11, 2010 at 4:26pm
  The following is part of our series on different ways Facebook is used across the world. You can read previous posts in this series here. If you have a story you'd like to share with us, please submit it here.
  
  Could a chemical compound found in a common insect, the maggot, have the potential to kill many types of dangerous bacteria? For the past year and a half, four high school students have worked to answer this question by collaborating on a research project using Facebook.
  
  ...The students aren't a typical scientific team. Joanne Guidry and Robbie Daitzman are high-school seniors in Washington, D.C., while their partners on the project, Troy Tan Sheng En and Darren Choo, are students across the globe in Singapore. With several thousand miles between them, the four young scientists have used Facebook extensively to keep in touch and share their results.
  
  Although the students started merely as academic partners, they have also become close friends. In October of 2008, a month after beginning the project, Troy and Darren visited the American students to work out the details of their procedures as well as to experience cultural traditions like trick-or-treating. Anxious to be reunited again, the Americans planned a reciprocal visit to Singapore for the following summer, when they presented their research findings in front of a panel of Singaporean judges.
  
  During the 10 months in between visits, Joanne said the students used Facebook Chat extensively as "an effortless venue for communication about our project, our day, ourselves—anything and everything. Facebook helped to bridge the gap, and made it feel a little less like we were living halfway around the world."
  
  Upon their arrival in Singapore, Joanne and Robbie worked tirelessly with Troy and Darren to finalize their presentation—effort that was well worth it when the team received top scores and took home the second-place prize.
  
  After celebrating with sightseeing and shopping at Orchard Central, Singapore's famed 11-story mall, the foursome once again parted ways for home. However, through Facebook they continue to nurture their growing friendship. Joanne is particularly grateful for the ability to share photos and videos with both American and Singaporean friends.
  
  "My photos and videos are like an online scrapbook that I have access to wherever, whenever, with little blurbs and personal comments from the Singaporeans," Joanne said. "I love how I can just look back and reminisce."
  
  The significance of Joanne and Robbie's project goes beyond their successful identification of the peptide responsible for the maggots' interesting effects. Though the students' partnership started professionally, it has evolved into a unique and meaningful international friendship as well.
  
  Sara, an intern on Facebook's communications team, is still not a fan of maggots.
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- Topics: Your Stories
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- Calling All Ph.D. Students
  by Greg Badros on Friday, January 8, 2010 at 10:07am
  As Facebook engineers, we are surrounded by engaging technical problems to solve. We've recently tackled efficient photo storage, distributed computation and crowdsourced translations, to name a few. While we're working on inventive solutions on a daily basis, we can't do it alone.
  
  Today, we're announcing the Facebook Fellowship Program to support Ph.D. students in the 2010-2011 school year who can help solve some of the biggest challenges facing the social web and Internet technology. We believe that the academic community plays a central... role in addressing many of our most challenging research questions, and we created this fellowship to extend our involvement and collaboration with the academic world.
  
  We are interested in a wide range of academic topics, including Internet economics, cloud computing, social computing, data mining, machine learning, and systems and information retrieval. Full-time Ph.D. students who are enrolled in U.S. universities and working on research in these topical areas qualify to apply for one of five fellowships, which will cover their tuition and fees and provide a $30,000 stipend in addition to conference travel and other benefits.
  
  If you or someone you know fits the requirements above, we want to hear from you. To be sure our first fellows receive funding in time for the upcoming school year, we are working on the following tight deadlines:
  Feb. 15, 2010: Applications for fellowships must be submitted in full.
  March 29, 2010: Award recipients will be notified by email of their acceptance.
  For more details on the fellowship and to apply, please visit the fellowship website.
  
  We look forward to working together with leading Ph.D. researchers across the country to take on the big technological challenges facing our engineers and the social web. We are eagerly awaiting your applications for our first Facebook Fellowship Program.
  
  Greg Badros, a University of Washington Ph.D. '00 and a director of engineering at Facebook, can't believe his first decade as a doctor is almost over but glad that no one asks him to act as their physician.
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- Topics: Research, Facebook Fellowship
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