For those of you optimizing your News Feed distribution, Facebook just pushed an update tonight that changes the way application feed items are displayed to users without the app.

Essentially, feed items that link to pages that require adding the app to view will now get much lower Feed Rank than feed items that link to pages that can be viewed without adding the app. Facebook writes,

We hope that this change will improve the quality of our user’s experience when interacting with News Feed stories for Platform applications. While this change will in the short term result in fewer application stories being displayed (since most of them currently require that users add the app), we expect that it will eventually enable us to show more application stories as the quality of this experience improves.

Facebook says that for now, this change will only affect News Feed stories for users who haven’t yet added your application, “but in the future it may also affect the rank of your story for users of your application.”

Considering Facebook’s philosophy toward the News Feed is important in planning your application’s approach to viral distribution. It’s clear that Facebook favors applications that expose pieces to users without the app.

Update: Also, starting tomorrow night, Facebook will prohibit News Feed stories that contain the word “message” in either the application-generated or Facebook-generated parts of News Feed stories. According to Facebook, “Use of the word ‘message’ was confusing users into thinking unauthorized people had access to Inbox messages.” However, user-generated content that includes the word “message” is still permissible.

Always vigilantly protective of its elegant design and simple user experience, Facebook has taken note of user complaints about profile page application clutter and will soon be launching a Profile Clean-up Tool, reminiscent of the Windows Desktop Cleanup Wizard, to help users boot superfluous application boxes from their profile page.

The Profile Clean-up Tool will recommend that users keep the Friends, Mini Feed, Wall, Basic and Personal Information boxes, as well as the top 12 application boxes they have added. A “Show Extended Profile” link will be added to the bottom of the profile page that will show profile boxes for all the other apps the user has installed.

Since the profile box is a major point of both existing user re-engagement and new user acquisition, any move by Facebook to “hide” application boxes from profile pages could negatively impact application use and growth. However, the default setting of the Profile Clean-up Tool to keep 12 application boxes visible by default should not have catastrophic effects: since the average Facebook user has about 13 apps installed (800 million apps have been installed [Adonomics] / 60 million active users [Facebook], not all of whom have apps), this change could result in about 10-20+% of application profile boxes being hidden (depending on the actual app distribution).

Ultimately, this is a good move by Facebook to protect the user experience. Decreasing the number of application boxes on profile pages will keep profile pages loading quickly (some profile pages with dozens of app can take 20-30 seconds or more to load).

[via Julie Zhuo/Facebook]

Here’s a quick look at some important Facebook updates that are expected to launch in 1Q 08:

1) Friend Lists Privacy Controls

A few weeks ago, Facebook took the first step toward enabling more efficient friend management with the release of Friend Lists. However, as was noted at the time, the killer feature of Friend Lists — Privacy Controls — was nowhere to be found. The good news is Facebook is working on this, and will allow users to control visibility for their profile, photos, and apps using Friend Lists soon.

2) Facebook in New Languages

It has been known for a while that Facebook is working on translating the site into a few new key languages. However, beyond this initial step, Facebook is planning an aggressive “crowdsourcing” approach to translate the site into dozens (if not hundreds) of languages around the world by harnessing the collective volunteer power of its user base. Soon, Facebook will launch a “Translations” app (which we saw briefly a couple weeks ago) whereby users can enter translations for every Facebook menu, button, and copy item. (To all Facebook users in Turkey: Facebook will be available in Turkish soon!!)

3) Blasting Messages to Groups With More Than 1,000 Members

Facebook marketers have been banging their head on the wall for a long time because of Facebook’s cap on the size of groups you’re allowed to blast messages to. This has caused many to migrate their group members to Pages, or even other websites, in order to enjoy more robust group communication tools. However, Facebook will soon be removing this ceiling, meaning Groups will become a more viable option for many grassroots marketers and large communities.

Charlie Ayers probably took the most lucrative Executive Chef position ever when he joined a little company called Google in 1999. Six years and millions of dollars in vested stock options later, Charlie retired from Google to start work on his own organic restaurant chain called “Calafia,” run an “innovative corporate well-being” consulting practice, and start his own non-profit, Chefs for Humanity.

For those Executive Chefs hoping to strike it rich in Silicon Valley, you may have another chance – Facebook is now hiring an Executive Chef at its Palo Alto headquarters. Just be sure to request Charlie’s stock option package.

Executive Chef

The Executive Chef is responsible for the leadership of the kitchen by managing and overseeing the activities of the entire kitchen as well as menu development and food quality through purchasing organic products, multi-cultural cuisine, kosher foods, etc. This position is also responsible for recipes including menu item presentation, lunch, corporate, and catering events. He/She is expected to maintain high standards by establishing food specifications and adhering to those specifications via recipes, portion control, presentation, safety and sanitation. This position is full-time and located in Downtown Palo Alto.

Responsibilities:

• Develop, cook, and manage breakfast, lunch and dinner for employees
• Directly supervise all kitchen personnel with responsibility for hiring, training, employee development, performance evaluations, and salary recommendations
• Have knowledge of food and catering trends with a focus on quality, production, sanitation, food cost controls, and presentation
• Develop and test recipes, techniques for food preparation, and presentation
• Must have skills in cooking and preparation of a variety of foods
• Possess ability to supervise and/or assign training for kitchen staff
• Possess ability to plan a variety of menus on a daily basis
• Possess knowledge of food supplies, equipment and services, ordering and inventory control
• Ensure cost effective production of the highest quality food
• Establish, manage, and maintain all vendor relationships
• Consult with Facebook’s Catering/Event Coordinator on a weekly basis as well as with other departments if necessary
• Be accountable for the financial aspects of the F&B department ensuring a profitable operation
• Other duties may be assigned

With the Iowa caucuses and the first Democratic and Republican primaries just around the corner, I thought it was time we take a look at the American political landscape according to statistics on the Facebook user population. While not everyone in America is on Facebook (just over 8% of the adult population is, including almost 47% of Washington, DC), Facebook users are representative of a very important young, educated, and connected demographic.

Below are the findings of my research, which I conducted using data provided by Facebook (all national and state user statistics), the US Census Bureau (2006 population estimates), and CNN Politics (past election results). While most of my methods were back of the envelope, I think you’ll find the results pretty interesting. If you would like a CSV file containing the raw data mentioned below, just email me (justin at insidefacebook dot com) with “Political Stats” in the subject line, and introduce yourself. I always enjoy meeting more of my readers.

National Statistics

• 18.4 million Facebook members self-identify as American adults, which represents about 8.2% of the approximate 225 million adults in the United States. (Actual penetration is higher, but many members choose not to declare their age or country.)

• The variation in Facebook penetration from state to state is quite large.  Over 15% of those of voting age in South Dakota are Facebook members (what else is there to do?), but only 3% of those in New Mexico are. In important primary and caucus states, it’s 8.9% (Iowa), 9.4% (New Hampshire), and 6.4% (South Carolina). Over a whopping 47% of adults in Washington, DC have Facebook accounts.

• Of American adults that declare their political views on Facebook, 40.9% call themselves liberal, 28.4% moderate, and 30.7% call themselves conservative. In the 2004 US Presidential Election, 50.7% of voters cast their ballot for George W. Bush. Thus, an especially large portion of the (probably older) conservative voter base is not on Facebook (or not declaring its convictions).

• Of the 10 states that had the greatest voter turnout in the 2004 Presidential election, four (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Vermont, and South Dakota) are amongst the 10 states where the greatest percentage of adults have Facebook accounts, and all except two (Oregon and Ohio) have Facebook penetration rates higher than the national average.

State by State Statistics

Facebook Voting-age Penetration

Full of young college graduates, Washington, DC leads all the states in Facebook penetration by a long shot. Most states with the highest penetration are liberal states in the northeast (Rhose Island, Massachusetts, Vermont), with the exception of a few conservative states in the midwest (South Dakota, Kansas). Ironically, California, home to Silicon Valley, is one of the least penetrated Facebook states.

Apparently, many in the less-densely-populated western half of the United States have yet to discover Facebook – Nevada, New Mexico, Hawaii, Wyoming, Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon are all some of the least Facebook-penetrated states in America.

Facebook Penetration in Red and Blue States

When compared to how each state voted in the 2004 presidential election, states with the highest Facebook penetration skew democratic:

Conservatives on Facebook

The most conservative states on Facebook largely correspond to the states that voted most Republican in 2004 — largely, southern and midwestern states. Many states had much larger Republican turnouts in 2004 than declaring conservatives on Facebook, suggesting that many conservatives are not yet on Facebook. Only Washington, DC had a greater percentage of people declare conservative on Facebook than actually voted for George W. Bush in the 2004 election.

Liberals on Facebook

Likewise, the most liberal states on Facebook largely correspond to the states that voted most Democratic in 2004 — primarily northeastern and western states. However, unlike the conservative/Republican gap, the percentage of people in most states that declare themselves liberal largely equates to the percentage that voted Democratic in 2004, suggesting that the liberal crowd are early Facebook adopters.

Percentage of users who declare political views on Facebook

Not every Facebook user declares his/her political views. In fact, most don’t: the state where the most do is Alabama at under 45%. Interestingly, most states with the highest rates of users who declare their political views are very conservative. Either people in these states have the strongest political views, or it’s in these states that it’s most socially acceptable to declare one’s political views.

Correspondingly, most states with the lowest rates of users who declare their political views are the most liberal states on Facebook. The most liberal states in America are also the most politically private (or else apathetic) on Facebook.

Are there any more statistics you’d like to see?