In Ohio county, electorate is hardened and fractured

In Ohio county, electorate is hardened and fractured:
Hank Segle, 59, is one of Mitt Romney’s “47 percent.” He lives off a $982 monthly Social Security disability check and intends to vote in November for Barack Obama. He volunteers in the campaign office of the local Democratic Party, which beats sitting at home doing nothing.
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Reagan National Airport strained by rising number of passengers

Reagan National Airport strained by rising number of passengers:
Sometimes it’s the little things that tell the larger story, like the sign about 40 yards from the security checkpoint at Reagan National Airport.
“Not much longer,” it cheerfully tells passengers as they snake toward the Transportation Security Administration scanners. “25 min approximately from this point.”
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India slowly confronts epidemic of missing children

India slowly confronts epidemic of missing children:
NEW DELHI — Every six minutes, a child goes missing in India.
They are boys like Irfan, drugged and abducted at the age of 9 by two men on a motorbike as he walked home one day after playing with friends.
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As squatters rise again, Britain takes aim with new law criminalizing the practice

As squatters rise again, Britain takes aim with new law criminalizing the practice:
London — The Clash did it. So did Boy George and, at a decidedly less prosperous stage in his life, billionaire Richard Branson. But as the ranks of those living precariously spike amid a double-dip recession and waves of government cuts, Britain has suddenly declared war on squatting.
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Egypt-based Islamist militant group claims responsibility for Israel border attack

Egypt-based Islamist militant group claims responsibility for Israel border attack:
JERUSALEM — An Islamist militant group based in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula has claimed responsibility for a cross-border attack in which an Israeli soldier was killed, calling the raid a response to an online video mocking the prophet Muhammad that triggered protests across the Muslim world.
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One Europe, Many Tribes - Businessweek

One Europe, Many Tribes - Businessweek

Italy, unified in 1870, is newer than Nevada. Spain was split down the middle by a civil war as recently as the 1930s. And reunited Germany, dating back only to 1990, is younger than two of the Jonas Brothers. Just a reminder that, for all their claims to antiquity, many of the nations of Europe have been nations for only the briefest of times. For most of history they were rivalrous territories, kingdoms, duchies, principalities, and city-states. They were bound by language and culture—and riven by tribalism.

Asia is now Facebook’s largest continent after hitting 242 million users

Asia is now Facebook’s largest continent after hitting 242 million users:
Technology companies worldwide are increasingly realising the potential of Asia and, in a clear sign of the size of that addressable market, Asia has surpassed Europe as Facebook’s largest continent, based on member numbers.
Facebook’s latest statistics, via Socialbakers, show that the continent (which includes Middle Eastern countries) now has more than 242 million registered users, putting it ahead of Europe by nearly 1 million, with North America’s figure some 6.5 million users lower.
This handover was always likely to happen — given the sheer size of Asia’s population — and what’s most interesting to note is that the social network has signed-up just 6.26 percent of people in Asia, that’s some way below its rate in Europe (29.72 percent) and North America (44.63 percent).

There are a number of reasons for the low penetration rate in Asia — language, varying levels of access to technology, awareness and more — but it’s clear that, if Facebook is to connect the world as CEO Mark Zuckerberg aspires to, growing its presence in Asia (and Africa) is among its biggest challenges.
Asia itself is a hugely diverse continent and Facebook is the dominant social network in most countries, bar a few well known exceptions (such as China). That indicates that, to grow its numbers, the service needs to do more than raise its (already high) profile among existing Internet users; targeting mobile and basic devices is key.
In India, where social networks account for 25 percent of time spent online via PCs, Internet penetration is less than 10 percent. While that has seen mobile Web usage overtake that of PCs, the lack of Internet access means that Facebook (and any other Internet service) will struggle to gain the kind of traction that it enjoys in Western markets.
Economic factors are outside of Facebook’s control but the company has signalled its intention to help improve technology in Asia, and the US firm invested in a project to build an undersea Internet access cable for the region. That’s in addition to more standard projects, which include a focus on feature phones, which account for more than 70 percent of mobile handsets worldwide, and deals with operators.
The company regularly updates its Facebook for Every Phone app, and it sharpened its emerging market focus when it bought feature phone specialist Snaptu last year.
Facebook isn’t alone in facing the challenge of growing in emerging markets but, as the preeminent global Internet service, it is better placed than most to reach new demographics.
Note that we haven’t discussed Facebook’s dilemma with China as yet. The social network remains blocked in the country, where Twitter-like services Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo have both amassed userbases in excess of 300 million, showing a large potential market for Facebook.
That issue — which tangles politics and nationalism, among others — isn’t about to be addressed by Facebook, and a company executive recently confirmed that the social network has no plans to enter China.
Facebook recently overtook Mixi in Japan, which ranks fifth in Asia; here’s the rest of the continent’s top ten, via Socialbakers:

Image via Flickr / Spencereholtaway
Further reading:
Binu lands $2m Series A funding led by TomorrowVentures to bring the benefits of apps to ‘dumb phones’
Emerging markets: Will technology deliver the promise?

Facebook tests prompt asking you to snitch on your friends who aren’t using their real name

Facebook tests prompt asking you to snitch on your friends who aren’t using their real name:
Facebook’s ongoing war on pseudonyms is well-documented. The company wants everyone to use their real name on the social network, and ideally this would be their only identity on the Internet. Menlo Park often bans users that use fake names (most are spammers, but many are just using pseudonyms), but it recently went further than that: the company is now asking you to snitch on your friends if they are not using their real name.

As you can see in the screenshot above, courtesy of Twitter user chapeaudefee (via TPM), Facebook recently started prompting friends of users with names they suspect to be fake. Facebook confirmed the prompt with The Next Web today:

We are always looking to gauge how people use Facebook and represent themselves to better design our product and systems. We are showing people information that their friends have made available to them and we indicate to the person taking the survey that their response will be anonymous to ensure them that we are not sharing their data with anyone and only looking to understand the results in an aggregate sense. Additionally, it is important to understand that we will not be using this data for enforcement actions.

Again, if you can’t see the above image, here’s the full message:

Please help us understand how people are using Facebook. Your response is anonymous and won’t affect your friend’s account. Is this your friend’s real name?

You then have four options to choose from: “Yes,” “No,” “I don’t know,” and “I don’t want to answer.” Notice that there’s no ‘x’ in the top right corner to close the prompt.
There is, however, a link to the company’s Name policy, which includes the following question and answer:

Why doesn’t Facebook allow fake names?

Facebook is a community where people connect and share using their real identities. When everyone uses their real first and last names, people can know who they’re connecting with. This helps keep our community safe. We take the safety of our community very seriously. That’s why we remove fake accounts from the site as we find them.

Facebook has a point that using real names is a good way to keep its users safe. Unfortunately, it can also endanger them: many Facebook users opt to use pseudonyms to hide from stalkers, abusive exes, and even governments that don’t condone free speech.
Yes, these people are breaking Facebook’s terms of service. Yes, the company certainly needs a way to enforce said rules. No, I don’t think asking friends to snitch is the right way to go about it.
The earliest report I could find of this prompt dates back to June 7, 2012 over at Heise. Facebook told the German publication on June 9 that this is being run as a “limited test.”
I contacted Facebook again to verify if this was still the case, or if it was a broader roll out. “Yes, this is still just a small test,” a Facebook spokesperson told The Next Web. Personally I’m hoping the test will fail.
Image credit: stock.xchng

Facebook adds searches to the Activity Log, allows you to view and remove your search activity

Facebook adds searches to the Activity Log, allows you to view and remove your search activity:
Facebook today announced it has added searches to the Activity Log. As with most Facebook updates, the option isn’t available to everyone immediately: it will be rolling out over the next few weeks.
The new Activity Log feature means that not only can you see all the searches you’re making on Facebook, but you can also delete them. To access the tool, go to the top of your Timeline profile, and click on the Activity Log button on the right-hand side. Next, click on Search from the activity sorter drop-down menu. Again, it might not be there yet, but it will be added soon enough.
Here’s what a single “search activity” looks like in the Activity Log:

The new feature could hint at the fact Facebook is getting more and more interested in search. Two months ago, the company added sponsored results to its search feature. Earlier this month, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg talked about the possibility of the company doubling down on search.
This rekindled the long-rumored notion that Facebook could hit Google where it really hurts: right at home. Many have speculated that the social networking giant could take on the search giant by leveraging its social graph.
As part of today’s announcement, Facebook took the opportunity to remind users of two things:

It’s important to remember that no one else can see your Activity Log, including your search activity.

We’re continuously working to bring your settings inline, next to the information they control.

Does this spell trouble for Google? It’s way too early to tell. That being said, even if Facebook never enters the search space, this is certainly a welcome addition.
See also: Facebook launches Shared Activity plugin to help users control what they are sharing through apps
Image credit: stock.xchng.