Facebook Page Updates:

Facebook has Upgraded Pages. The new page design looks similar to profile pages, with latest photos showcased and navigation links on the left (tabs have been done away with).  Other new admin features worth mentioning:

• There is now a profanity blocklist, which you can set at none, medium, or strong. If you choose to use this feature, Facebook will block commonly reported profane words and phrases from posts or comments.
• There is now a moderation blocklist, in which you select words you want to be blacklisted. If someone posts or comments with blacklisted words, the content will be marked as spam and hidden from the wall.
• Page administrators will now be able to login to the page itself, which will allow them to comment on other Pages and profiles on behalf of the Page.
• Admins can now get notifications when fans interact with a page or post.
• You have the option to change your page category.

Facebook Ads:

Facebook has also upgraded their advertising options.  This week, Facebook rolled out a new kind of ad called sponsored stories, and updated their ads to allow for tab selection. Learn more:

• Sponsored Stories
  • From Facebook: “Sponsored Stories are stories that your friends published into your News Feed. These show up on the right hand side of pages on Facebook. The types of stories that can be surfaced include: Page Likes, App interactions, Place check-ins and Page posts.”

• Landing Tab Selection
  • If you are directing those who click on your ad to your Facebook Page, you can now select which tab you would like them to land on. You can now choose whether you would like visitors from the ad to land on the wall, information, a custom tab you have created, etc.

Book Reservations with Yelp:

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, you can now book dinner reservations through your Yelp app on your iPhone, iPad, or android phone. This is part of Yelp’s integration with Open Table, the real-time online reservation network. Yelp already integrated Open Table with their website, but making reservations will be even easier with the new app update.

Email Use Decreases:

You may not want to send your Valentine’s cards via email this year. A recent study by ComScore shows that email use is on the decline. From 2009 to 2010, overall email usage decreased by 8%. Email usage decreased 59% among 12-17 year olds, 1% among 18-24 year olds, 18% among 25-34 year olds, 8% among 35-44 year olds, and 12% among 45-54 year olds. Email usage actually increased in the older demographics, with a 22% increase among 55-64 year olds and a 28% increase among those 65 years or older.

Google for Weddings:

Also just in time for Valentine’s Day, Google has launched a page dedicated to weddings. As Mashable described it ,“The site is the latest attempt by Google to insinuate itself into consumers’ lifestyles.” Teaming up with renowned wedding planner Michelle Rago, they have created wedding specific templates in Google docs, Google Sites, and Picnik. Google wants this to be the place brides-to-be gather tips and tricks, create a wedding website, create save-the-date cards, and use tools to simplify wedding planning.

Getting hitched?
Google is hosting a wedding sweepstakes, where you can enter to with $25,000 and help from wedding planner Michelle Rago.

-Anna (@alucas9)