Facebook today released a new beta version of its developer SDK for iOS that aims to make it easier and faster to develop Facebook-integrated iOS apps. The update will also help developers integrate Facebook Login for their apps when Apple’s iOS 6 launches later this fall with deep integration for the social network.

Facebook says this is the biggest iOS SDK update the company has ever done. Facebook SDK 3.0 for iOS gives developers a new FBSession to manage, store and refresh user tokens with default behaviors they can override. Previously, managing user sessions and tokens could be difficult. The company says it has improved latency for Facebook API calls by enabling batching for SDK requests. This and additional API support could encourage developers to integrate Open Graph and create apps that publish actions to users’ Timelines.

Today’s update also includes a number of pre-built user interface components to allow developers to begin from a template rather than building each from scratch. Facebook says this will make it easier to build common features like displaying a user’s profile photo, finding nearby places to check in, and selecting friends to invite to an app. The friend-picker tool will even allow developers to filter friends by device and app auth status, so that users don’t send invites to friends who don’t use iOS devices or who have already added the app.

The company also sought to reduce the amount of time developers spend on memory management. Facebook says it has improved the experience for handling sessions and calls to asynchronous APIs, as well as making the transition more seamless between the Facebook SDK and Apple’s iOS environment.

The social network created a new section of its developer site focused on iOS development. Developers can go there to download the SDK and read technical guides and other resources about how to use Facebook to build, distribute and promote their apps.

Facebook added additional settings to help native iOS applications get traffic from the mobile News Feed, search and other avenues, the company announced today in a blog post.

Developers can optimize distribution by allowing single sign-on and deep linking. Apps that enable Facebook SSO can get distribution from the Facebook iOS app in News Feed, Timeline, requests, bookmarks and search. That’s why Pinterest, for example, is discoverable through mobile search, but Yahoo’s web-based social reader is not.

In October 2011, Facebook introduced social app discovery for mobile devices. With the platform, iOS users can be taken directly to a native app after tapping on a story from Facebook. Users who have not downloaded the app are directed to the Apple App Store. With deep linking, users can be directed to specific pages within an iOS app rather than a landing page.

Facebook reminds developers that users can click on links from a number of contexts — native apps, web and mobile browsers — so the link iOS apps provide should work for these users, too.

For details on how to integrate Facebook with iOS applications, see the developer tutorial here.

Featured page owners get subscribe button – Fans can now more easily subscribe to Facebook page admins who make themselves visible as “Page Owners.” Facebook added a subscribe button to this featured section of pages on Friday. This only applies to page owners who have enabled subscribers.

Zuckerberg weighs in on SOPA -  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg weighed in on the Stop Online Piracy Act on Wednesday, writing in a Facebook post, “We can’t let poorly thought out laws get in the way of the Internet’s development.”

Facebook fifth in video viewers – ComScore reported this week that Facebook was the fifth most popular destination for online video behind Google, VEVO, Yahoo and Viacom. This is among the 182 million Internet users in the U.S. who watched online videos in December. Last year Facebook placed sixth, but generally has not seen steady growth in this category. [Image via ZDnet]

Employees increasingly use social media at work -  Palo Alto Networks found a 300 percent increase in social networking on corporate networks this year. Specifically, bandwidth consumption for Facebook apps, social plugins and posting increased from 5 percent to 25 percent since October 2010.

Update on Koobface virus -  Facebook security team posted an update about the Koobface virus this week, noting that after three years the company is been able to keep the virus off the platform, but is still seeking those responsible.

Next gen iPad includes Facebook code - iMore is reporting that buried within the iOS 5.1 beta 3 code for iPad3 are “ongoing references to Facebook.”

MTV uses Facebook for scholarships -  MTV has partnered with the College Board and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to run a campaign called My College Dollars, which guides students to college scholarships for which they can apply.

Facebook’s “Move fast and break things” mantra was put into action again this year as the company overhauled a number of its products, introduced many new features and eliminated old functionality. Here is a month-by-month review of changes that most affected users, marketers and developers on the platform in 2011.

January

Redesigned Profiles
Facebook started the year with a new look for profile pages. With Timeline on everyone’s minds now, it can be easy to forget that 12 months ago the social network had redesigned profiles to include more photos and information at a glance, eliminating the horizontal tab structure that had been in place since 2008.

All-in-One Messaging
Users began to get access to the new Messages product, which groups all direct messages between users whether they are viewing a conversation from the inbox, chat window or mobile.

Sponsored Stories
In an effort to make advertising more relevant by including social context, Facebook introduced Sponsored Stories that allow advertisers to pay to promote activity on the site, such as likes or check-ins. The company added more Sponsored Story types in April and June.

Memorable Status Updates
Perhaps hinting at the nostalgia-inducing Timeline to come later in the year, Facebook began displaying users’ status updates and stories from the past.

Secure Browsing
Facebook started giving users the option of accessing Facebook over an encrypted connection and encouraged developers to obtain a Secure Sockets Layer certificate to make their iframe apps accessible to users with secure browsing enabled. Since then, the company has prompted users to switch to HTTPS and made SSL certificates mandatory for all developers.

February

Page Redesign
Page owners got a number of new features to help them manage their communities. These included activity notifications, “Use Facebook as a Page,” and a spam filter for comments. Fan pages were also designed to look more like the new user profiles and place pages, which displayed applications vertically on the left hand side rather than in tabs across the top. Advertisers also gained the option of driving ads to any landing tab, not just the default.

Improved Like Button 
Clicking the Like Button began sharing full-sized stories in the News Feed rather than the one-line Recent Activity stories it previously generated. This along with the Send button that came in April have replaced the Share button, which Facebook no longer supports.

Real-Time Commenting
Facebook made commenting more like chat by removing the “Post” button and instead publishing comments after a user hits “enter” on the keyboard. Since this leads to more accidental comments, Facebook later began giving users a 12-second window to edit their comment.

March

Questions
After a Q&A product similar to Quora never made it out of beta in 2010, Facebook relaunched Questions as a poll feature aimed at helping users get recommendations from their friends. Pages began using the feature to engage their fans with questions that had a more viral effect than plain-text posts.

Deals Subscription Service
Facebook seemed to be taking on Groupon when it began a new pre-paid deals service for users in select cities, but it discontinued the test in August.

April

Updated Groups
Ahead of the rumored Google+ launch, Facebook made improvements to its Groups product aimed at helping people share with subsets of their friends. Most notably, group admins gained the ability to approve people before they are added to the group. Users could now also upload photo albums or ask Questions within groups.

Send Button
The Send button was introduced as a way for people to share articles and third-party websites with groups of friends, whereas the Like button posts to all a users’ friends.

May

New Ad Analytics
Facebook made several changes to its advertising analytics dashboard to focus on performance indicators such as Page Likes, app installs and social reach, rather than older online advertising metrics such as CPM.

Recommend This Place
The social network implemented a recommendation box on place pages (and fan pages that included an address) so that users can share their opinions about a location or a business.

Tag Pages in Photos
Users and pages gained the ability to tag other pages in photos they share on the site. This increases the reach of any given photo and builds additional connections between users and pages.

June

Happening Now: Prelude to Ticker
Facebook began testing a “Happening Now” module on the right hand side of the page. This later became the Ticker, which shows more recent activity from your friends, including comments, page likes and now Open Graph activity like listening to a song in Spotify.

July

Mandatory Credits
All developers on the Facebook platform became required to use Credits as the sole payment option for their social games. The company had announced a July 1 deadline at the beginning of the year and then added additional payment options and feedback channels for developers over the next few months to support the transition.

Video Calling and Group Chat
Teaming up with Skype, Facebook integrated video calling into its chat product. The social network also expanded group chat to friends who were not already in designated groups. Users can now add any friend to a chat conversation.

August

Revised Privacy Controls
The company simplified its privacy settings page and moved controls to the profile editor and news feed publisher. Users also gained the ability to approve tags in photos, check-ins and statuses.

Canvas App Page Changes

Facebook made several changes to the Canvas Page, bookmarking and games stories in the news feed in order to improve game discovery, retention and user experience. The redesign added a real-time activity ticker dedicated to stories about a user’s friends engaging with games.

Expanded Ads API
Facebook brought its ad API out of private beta and began allowing more developers to build tools and services that programmatically create, buy and manage Facebook ad campaigns.

Standalone Messenger App
Moving away from its all-in-one mobile application strategy, Facebook released Messenger as a separate app to rival texting and group chat alternatives.

New Locations App for Pages
Some corporations gained access to a beta product that allows them to designate multiple locations under a parent page and include a store finder on the page.

September

Timeline
At F8, Facebook unveiled a new version of user profiles that organizes stories in a timeline format, giving users the option to add life events to any point in their personal history.

Open Graph Application Platform
Along with Timeline, the company announced a new way to connect people and objects beyond the Like button. Developers will be able to make apps that let users share what they are reading, watching, listening to, cooking and more. Along with this comes “frictionless sharing” and additional avenues for app discovery.

Reconfigured News Feed
To accommodate this new type of Open Graph app, Facebook redesigned the home page to include News Feed and Ticker.

Subscribe
Facebook introduced a new one-way follow dynamic with its Subscribe button. Users can subscribe to the public updates of anyone who allows subscribers. This gives the social network a way to compete with Twitter and Google+.

Smart Lists
The social network introduced Smart Lists to automatically group users’ friends by location, workplace and school. As users become comfortable with Facebook grouping friends automatically, we could see Facebook’s algorithms creating more nuanced lists that compete with Google’s Circles feature.

October

Mobile Platform
After much speculation, the company unveiled a way to help mobile developers market their native and HTML5-based apps through its platform. Developers can now take advantage of bookmarks, requests and the news feed in the same way that Facebook canvas developers do.

Talking About This
Facebook added a new public metric to pages called “Talking About This.” This metric encourages pages to think about engagement, not just accumulating Likes.

iPad Application
Facebook released its official iPad app after months of leaks and rumors about its development.

November

Sponsored Stories in Ticker
The social network began showing Sponsored Story ads in the Ticker, signaling more lines being blurred between paid and organic content in the future. The company later told us Sponsored Story ads will be shown within the News Feed starting in 2012.

December

Timeline Goes Live
Facebook began its global release of the Timeline profile developers had gotten a preview of at F8. Timeline is still opt-in for users until sometime in early 2012. The company also debuted Timeline on mobile devices for the first time.

Coupon Test
We discovered Facebook testing a new coupon post feature for pages that could have big implications for next year. Pages that are part of this beta can offer discounts and promote them with Sponsored Stories.

Private Message Test
We have also seen the social network testing a way for users to privately message page owners. This, too, could have a big impact for people using Facebook for business in 2012.

Facebook released version 4.1 of its iPhone app to bring the new Timeline version of profiles to iOS. The app is now in line with Facebook’s offering for Android and the mobile touch site, which we detailed last week.

Facebook for iPhone has more than 57 million daily active users, according to AppData, our data tracking service covering traffic growth for apps on Facebook. For the first time, Facebook for Android has more DAU than its iPhone counterpart. The Android app reached that milestone when it passed 58 million DAU on Dec. 16.

Although Facebook for iPhone still leads in monthly active users, the Android app has a higher percentage of DAU per MAU. This suggests Facebook is more “sticky” among Android users.

Facebook noted in the iPhone app changelog that iPad support for Timeline was on its way. Facebook for iPad, has 5.5 million DAU, according to AppData.

Facebook has quietly released a new feature in Facebook for iPhone 4.0 update that could create new opportunities for marketers. If users click or enter a URL that uses the fb://page URL scheme and have the official Facebook for iPhone/iPad app installed, the corresponding Facebook Page will be opened in that app. Before the 4.0 and later software updates, fb://page URL scheme links would load a blank screen in the apps.

For example, if you click the link of or enter the URL fb://page/7844589738 in an iOS device that has Facebook for iPhone/iPad installed, that app will launch and bring up t he official Facebook Page for InsideFacebook.com (7844589738 is the Facebook ID of the Page for Inside Facebook). Marketers could distribute URL scheme-linked text via email or mobile site, and users wouldn’t notice the strange URL, they’d just click on a link and suddenly see the Facebook app open.

This new functionality could let marketers instantly bring users to their Page where they can Like it or write on its wall, rather than forcing them to open the m.facebook.com site where they might not already be logged in. Marketers could attach this link to a QR code to promote their Page and gain Likes from iOS device users. The fb://page URL scheme could become even more important if users gain the ability to access Page tab applications from mobile devices in the future.

iOS URL schemes allow specific first- and third-party iOS applications to be launched with special URLs. They can also be used to immediately perform certain functions such as setting a recipient for a new text message, showing directions in Google Maps, or add a shortened URL to a tweet in Tweetie or Twitterific. However, if the user doesn’t have the corresponding app installed, neither the app or a browser version will load.

Previously, URL schemes could be used to open a specific photo album, Event, or user profile in Facebook for iPhone. With the latest major Facebook for iPhone and iPad software updates, official Pages and Places Pages can now be opened with URL schemes as well. Page use the “fb://page/[Page ID]” URL scheme while Places use “fb://place/[Place ID]“.

There may be a URL scheme suffix that allows the info or wall tab to be loaded specifically, though none of the logical suffixes I tried worked. Android devices have their own URL scheme, and some developers have found ways to open user profiles in the Facebook for Android apps, though I haven’t seen a solution for opening Pages.

Facebook for iPhone/iPad has 52.3 million daily active users and 92.7 million monthly active users according to AppData, many of which stay logged in on the app at all times. This creates a large audience that can utilize the Facebook Page URL scheme to quickly gain access to a Page from a logged in state, allowing them to Like it or leave a wall post.

iOS app developers could use the Page URL scheme to send their users out of their app and to their Page so they can gain Likes. Similarly, marketers could distribute a Page URL scheme as an “iOS only” link to gain Likes.

In the physical world, marketers could also tie the URL scheme link to their Page to a QR code and display in their brick and mortar store or distribute through print materials. Users could then scan the QR code to launch their Facebook app and Like the Page. This could become a way to speed up in-store promotions where users who show they’ve Liked a business’ Page get a discount or free gift.

Those trying to take advantage of the URL scheme functionality should be sure their audience is likely to have an iOS device with the Facebook app installed. Otherwise providing a standard browser link that’s accessible across devices and to those without the Facebook app is a safer bet, even if it means users may have to log in to Facebook again before they can Like the Page.

Facebook recently launched its mobile app platform that allows users to access canvas apps built in HTML5 from their mobile devices. Page tab applications cannot be accessed from mobile yet, judging by the fact that some Page tab app developers such as RootMusic have begun building in HTML5. Once Page tab apps are opened to mobile, Page URL scheme links could become a powerful way to drive traffic to them as well as helping Pages gain Likes.

[Thanks to Sam Cornwell for the tip]

Facebook for iPhone users now have access to all the new features for in the official Facebook for iPad app that launched this morning. Now available in the App Store, the 4.0 update includes a major redesign of the navigation system that facilitates quick switching between features, and the ability to access third-party mobile apps.

The new features can also be found on Facebook’s mobile sites m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com, which can both be accessed from Android phones that have yet to receive native Facebook app update with the lastest changes.

The update to Facebook for iPhone’s 91 million monthly active users and 51 million daily active users gives developers a huge new distribution channel for their mobile web and iPhone apps.

One of the worst things about the old Facebook for iPhone app was the grid screen navigation. If users wanted to switch between in-house Facebook apps such as the news feed, Photos, Messages, and notifications, they had to exit their currently used app to the grid screen, then dive back into another app.

This process was both cumbersome and sometimes caused users to lose their place — something especially annoying when one went to look for new Messages or notifications, saw they had none, and wanted to return to the previously used feature. The slowness of switching apps through the grid screen contributed to Facebook spinning out Messages as a standalone app, and preparing a dedicated native Photos app.

Facebook for iPhone 4.0 reduces the friction of app switching through a slide-out navigation menu that is accessible from any screen and houses all in-house and third-party app bookmarks. Users can open the navigation menu, but then easily close it to resume their previous activity.

Similarly, a floating top navigation bar gives persistent access to Messages, notifications, and requests. When their icons are clicked, an overlaid screen slides up from the bottom and slides back down revealing the previously used app when a user is done.

The navigation menu also houses a revamped search feature from which users can find friends, Pages, apps, Groups, Events, or any other Facebook property. It replaces the tabbed search that clumsily required users to choose what they were searching for first, and didn’t include live links to apps.

When users click on the bookmark, search result, or news feed link for a native iPhone app, that app is instantly launched if already installed, or the App Store is loaded so users can download it. Bookmarks to web apps on Facebook’s new mobile app platform are launched within Facebook for iPhone’s internal browser, and users merely need to confirm their login — they don’t have to reenter their username or password.

Despite Facebook confirming with us that it would remove the Places check-in feed from its smartphone apps, users can still see the locations of friends through a renamed in-house app called Nearby. As before, users can view the checkins of friends as a feed or as photos on a map, as well as add their own check-ins.

The app does lack some of Facebook.com’s newest features. There’s no way to subscribe to someone’s public updates or edit your Friend Lists or Smart Lists. Facebook has also removed the ability to filter the news feed by Friend Lists, which previously allowed users to select to only see updates from a subset of friends. Hopefully these features will be integrated soon.

Facebook for iPhone hasn’t received such a major redesign since its launch years ago. At first, some users will surely be grumpy about having to relearn how to navigate the app. With time, though, we believe users will grow to appreciate the streamlined navigation and ability to access their web and native apps. By becoming an app portal and reducing navigation fatigue, Facebook for iPhone’s 100 million MAU milestone could be right around the corner.

Update 10/13/2011: Bugs in Facebook for iPhone 4.0 caused it to fail to load properly once installed. Facebook has since released 4.0.1 and 4.0.2 updates to fix these issues. Delete, re-download, and reinstall the app if you’re experiencing crashes or it fails to load.

In the release notes of Facebook for iPhone 4.0.1, Facebook explained “Notice to Users Upgrading from an older version: If you’re having trouble starting the app after the upgrade, please delete and reinstall it- this has been confirmed to solve the issue. The update fixes an issue that was causing the app to hang or crash for some users when upgrading from an older version.”

Facebook Forms a PAC – Facebook filed paperwork this week to start its own political action committee, which will allow the company to lobby its causes more effectively in Washington, D.C. The company registered the FBPAC.org and FBPAC.us domain names.

Facebook Addresses Logout Issue – Nik Cubrilovic wrote a post this week breaking down privacy issues that emerged on the platform in wake of the recent redesign.

Politicos Demand Facebook Investigation – A few lawmakers demanded an investigations into the lawfulness of Facebook’s cookie software this week.

Facebook iPad Designer Quits, Works for Google – Jeff Verkoeyen is a former Facebook employee who designed the company’s iPad app. Writing on his blog, he said the iPad app has been feature complete since May. He left the company to work for Google since there wasn’t any progress on releasing the app.

Facebook Sued Over Timeline - CNET reported this week that a trademark infringement lawsuit was filed again Facebook by a Chicago company, Timelines. The company claims that Facebook’s new design endangers its livelihood, and that Facebook has taken over the URL of its Facebook Page.

Facebook’s Katie Mitic joins eBay Board – Facebook’s Platform and Mobile Marketing executive Katie Mitic is set to join eBay’s board. [Image via]

Buddy Media Opens Two New Offices – Page management giant Buddy Media has just opened two more offices, one in San Francisco to be managed by  Carla Bourque who was hired from Six Apart, and another in Singapore to be led by Ken Mandel who was hired from the Yahoo! Asia Pacific ads team.

Facebook Prominent at NYC Ad Week – Facebook and other tech companies are set to be prominent features of Advertising Week in New York City next week.

FanBridge Launches “Social Digest” – Brand and musician relationship management company FanBridge this week launched “Social Digest”, an email marketing tool that automatically creates summaries of the top content published to a client’s social presences, and delivers it to subscribers in a form that increases open rates.

“Social Series” Premieres on Facebook – Warner Bros will release a “social series” called “Aim High” on Facebook on October 18. The show will be personalized to each viewer who adds their profile information. [Image via Facebook]

Socialbakers raises $2M – Social media analytics company Socialbakers raised $2 million this week led by Earlybird Venture Capital. The company is set to expand its social media monitoring with the funding.

Branded games, Facebook Connect and sweepstakes are big on the campaigns that started this past week. Several TV shows are creating buzz for their premieres by promoting social games based on plot lines. Capital One’s placement in three Zynga games seems to have given the Page a huge boost while Lufthansa’s promotion of Oktoberfest is fun but hasn’t really produced a lot of Page growth. Finally, Tiger Balm is giving away a trip to Hawaii and trying to figure out who its competitors are via a sweepstakes entry.

You can see the full week’s coverage in the Facebook Marketing Bible, which also includes detailed breakdowns of over 100 other featured campaigns by top-performing brands and businesses on Facebook.

“Homeland’s” WatchCareful.ly

Goal: Engagement, Brand Loyalty, Viewers

Core Mechanic: A branded website that utilizes Facebook Connect to allow users to play a few games tightly related to the upcoming show “Homeland.”

Game: The games are actually really interesting because of how they mimic the types of games played on the Facebook platform everyday, but in a “Homeland”-specific iteration. For example, there’s a video to watch, words to descramble (a secret message), photo alteration ID (intelligence) and listening to talking then answer questions about the conversations (quizzes).

Method: The show is about a CIA agent suspicious about the loyalties of a Marine recently rescued and returned from Afghanistan, and the games on the website are tightly woven into this narrative. The games are fun and interesting, not too long or boring, but the Facebook authorization feature doesn’t really publish content to the stream — it seems like the show is missing out on some social distribution here. Once they complete the four levels, users can unlock content such as the unedited pilot of the show and show-related documents that give background on the characters.

Impact: Perhaps for the sharing problem, the Page currently stands at about 15,000 Likes before next week’s premiere. The WatchCareful.ly website is promoted both as a tab on the Page, and in status updates on the Page. PageData shows that the Page grew significantly starting last week.

Capital One, Zynga’s Three-Game Promotion

Goal: Network Exposure, Engagement, Brand Loyalty, Page Growth

Core Mechanic: Capital One and Zynga are engaging in a three-game promotion across CityVille, FarmVille and The Pioneer Trail.

Game: In CityVille, players may place branded Capital One banks in their cities, resulting in a decorative item, energy, experience points and other payouts. In the other two games, players may interact with characters from Capital One’s commercials. FarmVille’s integration allows users who visit or participate in Capital one’s farm receive a breedable, limited edition Capital One Goat with a high value, as well as the chance to get some “animal grow.” In The Pioneer Trail, players can earn branded quest rewards and permanent in-game items.

Method: In each game the integrations redirect users to Capital One’s Facebook Page. The CityVille integration is on for 30 days, while the other two will last for 10 days.

Impact: As mentioned, this integration redirects to Capital One’s Page, which began to see some significant growth last week right after the partnership launched. The Page is currently at 2.3 million Likes and a week ago it was at 1.5 million, according to PageData.

How are top brands in the industry designing their Facebook marketing campaigns? See the Facebook Marketing Bible for detailed breakdowns of hundreds of Featured Campaigns by top-performing brands and businesses on Facebook.

Facebook IPO in Late 2012? – The Financial Times reported this week that Facebook’s IPO is set for the end of next year, with a valuation of what would be at least $66 billion. But The New York Times said Facebook was on track to go public in the first half of next year. Facebook itself hasn’t made any official statements about

FTC Proposes New Privacy Regs – The Federal Trade Commission proposed rules this week that may affect how children under 13 use the Internet. Mobile web apps are now included in the rules, for example, and so may require parental consent for use.

Update on Case Sensitivity of Passwords – ZDnet wrote a piece this week in which Emil Protalinski found that Facebook passwords are not entirely case sensitive. Facebook responded noting that the site accepts three forms of your password: the original, the original with the first letter capitalized (to accommodate mobile devices) and the original password with cases reversed (to accommodate a caps lock being on).

Facebook’s FBAR – Facebook’s Engineering Team wrote a note this week detailing FBAR, or Facebook Automatic Remediation. These are scripts that detect errors or breakage in servers, automatically removing them from the system, determining the problem, alerting a technician to replace the drive, testing it and re-adding to Facebook’s infrastructure. It now manages more than 50% of Facebook’s infrastructure and is doing the work of about 200 system admins. [Image Via Facebook]

Skype, Facebook Integration 5.4 – Skype released its Mac updates recently that includes a Facebook integration that allows you to IM and connect with friends without leaving Facebook, also allowing you to read/update the feed, comment Like and more.

Custom URLs Available to Anyone – Facebook no longer requires users or Pages to need 25 friends to acquire a custom URL.

Fake Facebook Name Not a Felony – Forbes reported this week that, despite an initial concern that a fake Facebook name could be considered a felony under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, an amendment added eliminated this possibility.

App Allows Cross-Platform Posting – If This Then that allows users to cross-post to dozens of programs for content management purposes, such as instant messaging to your blog.