Facebook Adds Controversial “Expected: Child” Option

Facebook has updated its user profiles to allow married couples to announce if they are expecting a child.

The update made by the social networking giant adds ‘Expected: Child’ to user profiles. Facebook is already filled with new born baby profiles, despite its age policy, so it decided to legitimise the entire thing by allow parents to add their child to their Facebook profile before even it is born.

The option can be accessed by going to ‘Edit Profile’, clicking on ‘Friends and Family’ and select the ‘Add another family member’ option. In the ‘Select Relation’ drop down menu, users can select the ‘Expected:Child’ option.

Facebook also allows users to give a name to the child when they create a profile for the unborn baby. Many believe that the new option is sort of creepy and have spoken out against the fact that a child is going to lose its privacy before it is even born.

Parenting has already grown into a billion dollar industry and people who have put up the new profile update will surely bombarded with ads related to baby products and the likes. This may well be quite a money spinner for Facebook.

This move by Facebook has raised some brows and Scott Campbell, a professor of communication studies at the University of Michigan, told New York Daily News “The feature makes it a very clinical way to share what some consider very sacred information. Facebook makes listing a child announcement as casual as updating job information and hobbies.” as cited by Daily Mail.

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Facebook Buys Immersive eBook Maker ‘Push Pop Press’

Leading social networking website Facebook has acquired Push Pop Press, a start-up that sought to deliver dynamic electronic books on Apple’s iPad.

According to tech website Apple Insider, Push Pop Press, the company behind the digital version of Al Gore’s famous book “Our Choice”, has been acquired by Palo Alto, California-based Facebook. Under the acquisition the company, which was started by Apple’s engineers to support digital books and more immersive apps on Apple’s iOS, has decided to discontinue the service.

The company has revealed that the acquisition does not mean that Facebook is diverging into the ebook business, but the company has been brought in to integrate the service with the social networking platform and offer its more than 750 million users new ways to read and share.

“We can’t wait for co-founders Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris to get started and for some of the technology, ideas and inspiration behind Push Pop Press to become part of how millions of people connect and share with each other on Facebook,” the company said in an official announcement.

One of the founders, Kimon Tsinteris, worked for Apple to build Map apps for iPhone as well as the OS, while the other, Mike Matas worked for Apple to develop  the user interface on iOS and Mac OS X.

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