NY Observer > Facebook Inc. http://www.observer.com/taxonomy/term/27629/feed Articles from Observer.com en Goodbye, Facebook Friend Feature! http://www.observer.com/2008/goodbye-facebook-friend-feature-0

The other day, I wrote a lighthearted piece about a new feature on Facebook called "People You Might Know," which showed Facebook users profiles of people they were connected to. (One writer I spoke to said, "I’ve been feeling like somehow Facebook knows to recommend the very people whose existence I try to forget.") As of last night People You Might Know appears to have been removed from Facebook. Working out the kinks, or stung by criticism?  read more »

]]> Media Facebook Inc. Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:56:27 -0400 Doree Shafrir 67688 at http://www.observer.com Harvard Jokers Sell The Facebook Book to Harry N. Abrams http://www.observer.com/2007/harvard-jokers-sell-facebook-book-harry-n-abrams

Recent Harvard graduates Greg Atwan and Evan Lushing have sold a satirical book about Facebook to Harry N. Abrams Inc, to be published in spring 2008. Mr. Atwan declined to say how much he and his partner were paid, but said it was "in the range" of $50,000.

The Facebook Book, Mr. Atwan said, will not be a users' guide and will contain "no journalism": instead it will be full of jokes, anecdotes, and "fanciful stories."  read more »

]]> http://www.observer.com/2007/harvard-jokers-sell-facebook-book-harry-n-abrams#comments Media Facebook Inc. Harvard Lampoon Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:43:39 -0400 Leon Neyfakh 58338 at http://www.observer.com From Bluebook to Facebook: Social Site Seduces Firmland http://www.observer.com/2007/bluebook-facebook-social-site-seduces-firmland

Distracted lawyers waste billable hours yakking on Facebook.  read more »

]]> http://www.observer.com/2007/bluebook-facebook-social-site-seduces-firmland#comments Style Facebook Inc. Tue, 25 Sep 2007 19:41:54 -0400 David Lat 58238 at http://www.observer.com Obama HQ: Welcome to the Jungle http://www.observer.com/node/31804 As you might expect, Barack Obama's campaign headquarters, which I visited on Thursday and Friday and wrote about for this week's paper, is a place brimming with youthful enthusiasm. It looks like a college dorm. Cookies and jars of candy sit on the desks, ball caps rest on computers, and the door to the press office is adorned with a white sign that reads "Welcome to the Jungle."

The question is whether good cheer and enthusiasm (and lots of volunteers) can possibly be enough to compensate for the advantages the Hillary Clinton campaign has in terms of experience and money.

The Obama operation certainly seem to have the youthful-innovation component down. The new-media office has rolled out my.barackobama.com, a social organizing tool calibrated to locate and activate Obama supporters around the country. According to 23-year-old staffer Chris Hughes -- who happens to be the cofounder of Facebook (and who looks a lot like this guy) -- a good measure of real interest in the site is how many people download their photos. About half of them have.

Robert Gibbs, the elder statesman in the press office who came up with that howlingly aggressive response to Howard Wolfson during the David Geffen flap, promised that the Obama campaign was ready to take on the Clintons -- but in some unspecified new way.

"Obviously she has a stable of some of the best talent in the Democratic Party, and that's commendable," said Gibbs "But if we get into a contest of 'how are we going to outdo what everyone else has always done to win the presidency,' we are not going to win. I don't think there is any doubt that people can do politics as its always been done better than we can." --Jason Horowitz]]> http://www.observer.com/node/31804#comments Politics Barack Obama Facebook Inc. Hillary Clinton Robert Gibbs Wed, 21 Mar 2007 06:15:00 -0400 Observer Staff 31804 at http://www.observer.com Rudy’s Loveless Marriage to Conference Conservatives http://www.observer.com/node/36912 WASHINGTON, D.C.—Every year, anti-tax activist Grover Norquist hosts two can’t-miss even  read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/36912#comments Politics Facebook Inc. Grover Norquist Paul Caprio Rudolph Giuliani Sun, 11 Mar 2007 20:00:00 -0400 Rebecca Sinderbrand 36912 at http://www.observer.com The Transom http://www.observer.com/node/39384 The English Roses    read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/39384#comments Style Beyonce Knowles Facebook Inc. Kelly Rowland Tina Knowles Sun, 10 Sep 2006 20:00:00 -0400 Observer Staff 39384 at http://www.observer.com The Transom http://www.observer.com/node/52649 The English Roses  read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/52649#comments Style Facebook Inc. Land Rover Range Rover Mama Knowles Neil Strauss Sun, 10 Sep 2006 20:00:00 -0400 Observer Staff 52649 at http://www.observer.com Nick Sylvester, Viral Marketer http://www.observer.com/node/32879 Is former Village Voice fabulist Nick Sylvester in talks to write for The New Yorker, as Gawker has it? The line between fact and fiction is hard to pin down where Sylvester is concerned, but Sylvester seems to have gotten a foot in the door already. In this week's issue, John Cassidy writes about online social networking--quoting a Yalie named Matt Morello about the "agonizing" process of choosing bands to list in his Facebook profile:
So what's there now? Albums by Babyshambles, Lady Sovereign, Marxy, and My Bloody Valentine, respectively an indie rock thing, a grime thing, a twenty-minute album released on my friend's record label that's brilliant and heard by practically no-one, and a canonic album from the late 80s.

The "friend's record label" is Beekeeper Records, which was founded two years ago by Sylvester, along with fellow Pitchfork Media writer Matt Lemay.

--Leon Neyfakh]]> http://www.observer.com/node/32879#comments Media Facebook Inc. Matt Morello Nick Sylvester Village Voice Media Inc. Fri, 12 May 2006 13:04:30 -0400 Observer Staff 32879 at http://www.observer.com