Facebook Patents Social Networking Update Feeds

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Facebook just won a patent for a “method for displaying a news feed in a social network environment.” Uh oh, what does that mean for any site that is considered a social network and displays a “news” feed?

"The launch of News Feed in 2006 was a pivotal moment in Facebook?s history and changed the way millions of people consumed and discovered information on the site," Facebook said Friday in an email response to an AFP inquiry. "We're humbled by the growth and adoption of News Feed over time and pleased with being awarded the patent."
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Arrggg, this looks to be VERY vague and could hit a lot of people if Facebook were aggressive seeking patent infringement lawsuits which I could imagine that it very well could be aggressive with them to see how far they could go with them, its perhaps a legal battle worth fighting because of the potential windfall from such lawsuits, with not lot of downside. Patent infringement suits don't get a lot of negative PR outside of the tech community.
 
Not only is it one of these stupid vague patents, but Facebook doesn't even implement this idea well. The news feed seems to select things to show you in a semi-random way.
 
Hard to believe they have something MS, Google and let’s not forget IBM don’t already have in use or on paper.

I guess any advertising is good advertising.
 
I'm pretty sure this patents their technology which they use to show news feed, not sure if its their "design" more so their program. I'm pretty sure Twitter uses their stuff which means Twitter just became a cash cow for Facebook!
 
Lemurion said:
And yet another reason why software patents are a BAD idea rears its ugly head.
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I strongly urge anyone sharing that sentiment to read the following linked wiki entry re Robert Kearns' 25 year legal battle with Detroit.

Auto industry's legal argument against the validity of the Kearns patent

The legal argument that the auto industry posed in defense was that an invention is supposed to meet certain standards of originality and novelty. One of these is that it be "non-obvious." Ford had claimed that the patent was invalid because Kearns' intermittent windshield wiper system had no new components. Dr. Kearns noted correctly that his invention was a novel and non-obvious combination of parts.[12][13] Kearns' position found unequivocal support in precedent from the U.S. Court of Appeals and from the Supreme Court of the United States. See, e.g., Reiner v. I. Leon Co., 285 F.2d 501, 503 (2d Cir. 1960) (“It is idle to say that combinations of old elements cannot be inventions; substantially every invention is for such a ‘combination’: that is to say, it consists of former elements in a new assemblage.”) (Hand., J.) (cited with approval in KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007)).
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& therein lies the rub
 
I dream of a day where facebook sues all the other social sites into oblivion and then collapses as a result of all the negative press. That would be a most wonderful thing to see happen. :D Because it is getting more and more difficult to not simply backhand anyone who looks at me and seriously asks why I don't use twitter or facebook.
 
Dekoth said:
I dream of a day where facebook sues all the other social sites into oblivion and then collapses as a result of all the negative press. That would be a most wonderful thing to see happen. :D Because it is getting more and more difficult to not simply backhand anyone who looks at me and seriously asks why I don't use twitter or facebook.
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They ask you because it is is a tool to keep in touch with people used by over 400 million people. You either 1). Don't care about keeping in touch with people or 2). Don't have any friends. 3). Believe in the illusion of privacy.

Common sense goes along way to curing most of the Facebook problems, but it's hard to ignore the benefits.
 
kirbyrj said:
They ask you because it is is a tool to keep in touch with people used by over 400 million people. You either 1). Don't care about keeping in touch with people or 2). Don't have any friends. 3). Believe in the illusion of privacy.

Common sense goes along way to curing most of the Facebook problems, but it's hard to ignore the benefits.
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Nothing wrong with Facebook, its pretty cool but like anything that starts from humble beginnings to becoming a big business, the corporate monster begins to rear its ugly head.
 
heatlesssun said:
Nothing wrong with Facebook, its pretty cool but like anything that starts from humble beginnings to becoming a big business, the corporate monster begins to rear its ugly head.
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I think $300 million in profits according to Wikipedia (so who knows the actual accuracy of that). Not bad for a "free" site.
 
kirbyrj said:
They ask you because it is is a tool to keep in touch with people used by over 400 million people. You either 1). Don't care about keeping in touch with people or 2). Don't have any friends. 3). Believe in the illusion of privacy.

Common sense goes along way to curing most of the Facebook problems, but it's hard to ignore the benefits.
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You forgot 4). I prefer people to actually Call or Visit me or at the very least put together a thoughtfully worded email.

Simply put, I am of the mind if you can't be bothered to pick up the phone or type out an email, then it obviously isn't important enough for me to be bothered. Sorry, I simply believe texting, facebook, myspace, twitter and other social networking crap is for people too damn lazy to actually build real relationships with people. Frankly it isn't social networking unless there is a physical handshake and a business card exchange involved at some point. If it doesn't require a handshake or a business card, then it isn't networking, it is just a social relationship that should be a little more meaningful then "join my friends list".
 
Non-sense! Displaying news feeds on a web site is prior art no matter how you do it. Where the func do they find the people that work in the patent office? Oh by the way, I have a patent on inhaling smokey air from a cigarette and forcing it out through my mandible in the shape of a ring. Next one of you fellas that blows a smoke ring without my prior consent is going to court!
 
Dekoth said:
You forgot 4). I prefer people to actually Call or Visit me or at the very least put together a thoughtfully worded email.

Simply put, I am of the mind if you can't be bothered to pick up the phone or type out an email, then it obviously isn't important enough for me to be bothered. Sorry, I simply believe texting, facebook, myspace, twitter and other social networking crap is for people too damn lazy to actually build real relationships with people. Frankly it isn't social networking unless there is a physical handshake and a business card exchange involved at some point. If it doesn't require a handshake or a business card, then it isn't networking, it is just a social relationship that should be a little more meaningful then "join my friends list".
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Fair enough, but we're 10 years beyond that. Change, adapt, survive.

While, yes, a phone call or e-mail is more personal. Reality is you don't have time to call the 100-500 friends you had from high school, college, and beyond. Just the fact that you know "something" about what is going on in their lives is better than not knowing them at all. Who knows what friendships can be reformed, business relationships can be formed, etc. just from knowing something about other people's lives on a small scale. It is a useful tool. You can choose to use it or not, but it's your loss for not taking advantage of it.
 
BallerX said:
Non-sense! Displaying news feeds on a web site is prior art no matter how you do it. Where the func do they find the people that work in the patent office? Oh by the way, I have a patent on inhaling smokey air from a cigarette and forcing it out through my mandible in the shape of a ring. Next one of you fellas that blows a smoke ring without my prior consent is going to court!
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The method was described in US Patent and Trade Office paperwork as including comments and links posted by social network users for sharing with other members of the online community.
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Still pretty vague, but they're not going after everyone who uses RSS.
 
kirbyrj said:
Fair enough, but we're 10 years beyond that. Change, adapt, survive.

While, yes, a phone call or e-mail is more personal. Reality is you don't have time to call the 100-500 friends you had from high school, college, and beyond. Just the fact that you know "something" about what is going on in their lives is better than not knowing them at all. Who knows what friendships can be reformed, business relationships can be formed, etc. just from knowing something about other people's lives on a small scale. It is a useful tool. You can choose to use it or not, but it's your loss for not taking advantage of it.
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I think the real problem is most people fail to understand the difference between "Friend" and "Acquaintance". Sorry but it simply is not physically possible to be friends with 100+ people. Sure you might have several hundred friendly acquaintances, but it is highly improbable that you will have more then a few dozen actual friends. Either way, enjoy it if you like it. I was merely pointing out that I will be glad to be rid of all of them if FB does the expected here with this patent.

As for business, frankly I don't want any business relationship that starts that way. I have been in business for too many years and have far too many relationships built in it to value something like that. Sorry but business relationships require far more effort then that. Just like things like your facebook handle doesn't belong on your resume. There is a standard of professionalism that is expected when it comes to those things. I know I instantly shred any resume that comes across my desk with a facebook handle on it. Sadly I get far too many that way.
 
Wait people actually think facebook is a skill? Or check out my facebook page to see more info on me. Oh joy. I remember the good old days before facebook was popular. People actually spoke to eachother face to face, and all their conversations did not involve "oh yah i saw you drunk on facebook last night that was awesome":rolleyes:
 
a couple friends and I are actually developing a social network site for gamers (think GamerDNA or PlayFire) as the first project for our startup. We are already pretty far and about to launch our closed Alpha. I wonder how this will affect us. As I write this I have the adtivity feed code open in my second monitor since I was improving it today, pretty ironic. I am not worried though. If we ever register a blip in Facebook's radar of threats I will be happy.
 
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