Stan Schroeder says, “For years, Facebook has maintained a bug bounty program to reward those who find problems with its platform. Now, it’s expanding that program to Oculus Rift, which it acquired as part of Oculus VR for $2 billion in March. The company is offering money for identifying issues in any major part of Oculus Rift’s code, from the development software to the website — with a minimum payout of $500 for bugs and software vulnerabilities. There’s no upper limit, so the more critical or inventive the find, the more it could be worth”. Facebook Will Pay Up If... [...]

Brian Anthony Hernandez says, “Like a child shaking an Etch A Sketch with both hands, celebrities on Monday’s Emmys red carpet will be shaking a new toy created by Facebook. Facebook told Mashable that on Aug. 25 it will debut the Facebook Mentions Box, an interactive device that stars will wield to answer questions from fans. It’s similar to the InstaStop Video Q&A Station that Instagram launched at the Golden Globes in January. Though the Facebook Mentions Box will be used for the first time at the Emmys, anchor Katie Couric is already slated to use the device during... [...]

Selena Larson says, “You’ll now see fewer spammy applications begging you for Facebook Likes. On Thursday, Facebook made some changes to itsPlatform Policies that will stop app creators from asking users to Like their page in order to view special videos, win prizes, or get other giveaways. First reported by The Next Web, this policy change means that Facebook-linked apps will have to get people to like them the old fashioned way—simply because they do. This ban on Like incentives for app pages goes into effect on November 5″. Facebook Puts An End To Apps That Beg For Likes ReadWrite  [...]

Karissa Bell says, “Facebook is hoping its latest acquisition will help protect users from malware and other security threats. The company announced Thursday it was acquiring PrivateCore, a security startup that focuses on securing remote servers. Facebook is hoping PrivateCore’s technology will help make its own systems more secure, according to Facebook’s chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, in this Facebook post”. Facebook Buys Security Firm PrivateCore Mashable  [...]

Karissa Bell says, “If you’re still not using Facebook Messenger, you may not have much time before your messages disappear from the main Facebook app. A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to Mashable that some users began to notice the change Wednesday — but that it is not yet affecting all of Facebook’s mobile users. The change will only affect users of the iPhone and Android app; messages will remain in the iPad and Windows Phone app. It’s not clearly exactly how long it will take for all of Messenger’s holdouts to see the change, but the spokesperson said it will... [...]

Annie Colbert says, “Hide yo’ kids, hide yo’ wife — viral videos are climbing into your News Feed, snatching up your content. It’s not in your head. Facebook is delivering more videos. A Facebook spokesperson tellsMashable that “twice as many people now watch videos on Facebook compared to just six months ago.” Rival Google still dominates the online video market, but Facebook’s controversial move towardauto-play last year has made video consumption a more natural part of the News Feed experience. When you pause your scrolling to watch a herd of baby goats... [...]

Ryan Skinner says, “Pundits’ take that Facebook has “solved” mobile advertising after its home run last week hid a bigger, behind-the-scenes story: We’re finally seeing branding and direct response marketing merge in a meaningful and measurable way; Facebook is just one place where it’s happening most demonstrably. Here’s important context: Facebook’s quarterly earnings beat projections last Thursday, driven by the 62% of its ad revenue that comes from mobile. Also note that Facebook’s only ad revenue from mobile is its in-feed ads (or native ads, or whatever you want to... [...]

Peter Kafka says, “Did you think that Facebook’s amazing mobile ad story — mobile was a big, troublesome zero two years ago, and 62 percent of the company’s ad revenue yesterday — was fueled by app install ads? Sheryl Sandberg wants you to know that this isn’t the case. Or, at least, that Facebook isn’t dependent on app install ads, which are just what they sound like — ads that try to get phone users to install apps like Candy Crush. Here, via Seeking Alpha, is what Sandberg said yesterday during Facebook’s earnings call, when an analyst asked about the size of her app install... [...]

Ted Schadker says, “Facebook’s steely revenue march is fueled by mobile ads: 62% of Facebook’s Q2 2014 advertising revenue came from mobile ads, up from 41% just a year ago. This ad revenue may still just be a paper castle waiting to fall — my colleage Nate Elliott’s analysis that Facebook is still failing marketers suggests that. But right now over a billion people around the world — 81% of its entire member base — access Facebook on mobile devices every month, twice as many as did just two years ago (see Figure 1). And they are seeing ads. I see three... [...]

Kurt Wagner says, “Facebook has earned a reputation for delivering the goods on earnings day, and Wednesday was no exception. The social giant reported record totals for revenue, profits and user figures across the board on Wednesday, beating Wall Street estimates on a day when company stock rose nearly 3%. The new numbers show that despite more than 1.3 billion users, Facebook is still growing at a steady rate. The company added more than 40 million monthly active users in Q2, and mobile monthly actives increased more than 30% over the past year”. 7 Charts With All You Need to Know... [...]