New Facebook Pages roll out

Following the new Profile page design that Facebook rolled out earlier this year, Facebook Pages are now changing to use the new design as well, with the new design rolling out last week. One of the significant changes is that you can now post to other pages on Facebook as your brand; so not only can your fans "like" your brand, but your brand can then "like" other pages, post to other brands' walls etc.

This useful article in AdAge spells out three ways Facebook's redesign should be changing your marketing strategy, and is well worth a read for anyone involved in having a brand presence on Facebook.

Twitter change attitudes toward 3rd party apps

As Twitter celebrates its 5th birthday, an announcement to developers advising against building apps that compete with the official Twitter application is "not a good business" has angered many. Given that Twitter has built its reputation on the back of being an open service, encouraging developers to use its API to build their own apps and services and incorporating some of their features back into the official Twitter service, the change in attitude seems to indicate a new strategy for the company.

The announcement came shortly after a new feature was introduced to the official iPhone app that displays "trending topics" in a bar at the top of the screen. Twitters "trending topics" originally highlighted those which were being frequently mentioned in conversations, but last year were changed to include "promoted trends" — paid-for links to branded tweets. Quickly dubbed the "dickbar" (after Twitter's new CEO Dick Costolo), the feature has been unpopular with users and already revised to appear less prominently, but with no option for users to disable it.

Microsoft Kinect is the 'fastest-selling device on record'

Since its launch at the end of 2010, Microsoft's Kinect (an accessory which allows Xbox gamers to use their bodies as controllers) has officially become the fastest selling device on record.

In the same week that it was announced that Call of Duty: Black Ops is the best selling game ever, it is clear that the world of gaming is growing quickly. With 20.1 million people in the UK regularly playing games across various platforms for an average of 7.7 hours each week (accourding to research from GameVision last year), it can be considered a serious medium.

For more information, check out the IAB's guide to games advertising, and of course our own research into the gaming audience and our updates here on developments in the gaming world.

Microsoft launch Internet Explorer 9

Boasting better security, faster graphics and better compatabilty with web standards, the latest version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser has been launched. Microsoft's share of the browser market has been declining for the last few years, with first Firefox and now Google's Chrome increasing in share, and mobile browsers also becoming increasingly important.

Highlighting the importance of the newer versions of its browser, Microsoft has launched an IE6 Countdown website, chronicalling the decline of it's now ten year old browser. However, the latest version of Internet Explorer will not run on PCs which are using the Windows XP operating system.

BBC delays 3D TV decisions until 2012

Despite increasing levels of hype around 3D TV, with manufacturers keen to capitalise on the new screen technology and Sky and Virgin Media both launching 3D channels in 2010, the BBC has announced that it won't be making any commitments to 3D broadcasting this year.

Although they are running a number of technical trials, they have described these as "experiments", expressing reservations around standardisation of the technology in both producing and delivering 3D content.