Facebook just wants you to know: it’s a friggin’ Swiss Army knife. Over the past few days, a flurry of posts on the company’s official blog have highlighted ways in which the social network is offering interesting new features or playing important roles in people’s lives.
We can start with a note that appeared Monday; the announcement it made will probably affect the most folks in the short term. Josh Elman wrote, “Full-length television is coming to Facebook, via a new generation of applications. Entire shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes, and The Simpsons and more will be available through a wide range of TVLoop ‘Addicted to…’ applications and Mesmo TV. Many of these shows are streamed directly from television networks or via the video site, Hulu.”
Then there’s a post authored by Joanna Lee earlier this morning. Lee hits what might be a low note by talking about Facebook groups protesting FARC; it’s way too easy to observe that terrorists and dictators don’t care much about a few clicks. But she goes on to discuss a principal’s connection with his students, and even a mother’s discovery of her daughter.
In a message that echoes a testimonial displayed on Google’s press page, the daughter apparently wrote, “I have been looking for my biological mother for 20 years…and my mom found me on Facebook. We were able to exchange pictures and talk. It was the best day of my life, and I owe that to Facebook.”
Finally, we have something connected to the whole mortgage mess and financial meltdown. About an hour ago, Austin Sparks Cresswell told the story of a realtor named Brad Smith. Smith left a Facebook status update about a house he was selling. A friend contacted him through Facebook Chat, and although they moved on to look at a different home, a deal was sealed in one week.
Don’t be surprised if Facebook adopts some sort of red color scheme and cross and shield logo.
