Facebook Status Update

Welcome to the fourth instalment of our series covering the latest happenings on Facebook. This week the focus is on a selection of interesting interactive uses of Facebook photos.

Linkin Park's New Interactive Music Video 'Lost In The Echo'

Linkin Park have described their upcoming album as a personal album. For their new song 'Lost In The Echo', Linkin Park have decided to make their music video just as personal.

Users can log in via Facebook Connect and see a selection of their photos integrated into the music video. The video itself shows a man walk into a warehouse with a briefcase of snapshot photos. He then hands out the snapshots to a series of people to look at. Single user Facebook photos are on 4 or 5 of these shapshots. Users can then share the video with their friends.

The music video was directed by Jason Zada and Jason Nickel, the creators of Take This Lollipop. Zada told Rolling Stone "These interactive videos have really resonated with audiences. People love seeing themselves as part of the entertainment." We agree, and this music video definitely offers something different and engaging for their fans.

For more information take a look at Linkin Park singer Mike Shinoda's interview with What's Trending below...

Live Updating Facebook Page Cover Photos

Are you starting to get bored of your personal or brand Facebook page cover photo? Did you wish you could make your cover photo update regularly or real-time? Well now you can.

Take a look at Slovakian company Zaraguza Digital's Facebook page. They have set up a live web cam that updates in their cover photo every 30 seconds, showcasing what's happening in their office right now. According to AGBeat they play hangman with fans, and even leave messages for fans, encouraging people to simply refresh the page for a newly updated image.

The only options available through Facebook for cover photos are to upload an image. So how can this be done? Through using the IFTTT tool, users can create recipes. An example of a recipe could be if you take a photo on Instagram then it automatically publishes to Tumblr. In this particular case, it is probable a webcam was set up to upload pictures to Flickr every 30 seconds, then it was connected to the Facebook page album for cover photos.

Another example of a live Facebook cover photo can be seen on the Besançon Facebook page. Here a clock updates itself every minute.

As well as IFTTT, there have been a launch of new companies offering live Facebook cover photos. Besançon's Facebook page cover photo was created using LiveCover!

It will be exciting to see what other ideas brands and users alike will come up with for their Facebook cover photos. Perhaps clothing shops could have an instore photobooth that sends photos to their cover photo album - after moderation of course. Or conferences, product launches or sport matches could update with regular photos of the event as it unfolds? Let us know your thoughts!

Facebook Are Testing A New Photo Sync Feature On Android Phones

A new photo sync system which automatically uploads photos taken on your Android phone to your Facebook account is currently being tested by Facebook.

Android already provides the functionality for app developers to push images to services the minute they are taken. Facebook are now taking advantage of this and have enabled this feature in its official Android app, first testing it with a limited set of users.

Facebook now syncs pictures you take on your phone 'as soon as you take them.' The app does also check the battery level on your phone and your sync settings before it starts uploading, so there’s no need to worry about loss of power or your photos being automatically shared. The uploads will reside in a 'Synced from Phone' folder inside Facebook’s Photos page, waiting for you to take appropriate action.

Facebook appears to be taking inspiration from both Google and Dropbox by storing photos and then waiting for you to take action.This feature will first be pushed to a limited subset of users. It's currently unclear if this feature will be rolled out more widely, but it seems likely.

If rolled out, this is an update that all users will benefit from and there could be business opportunities for brands to easily keep their Facebook pages constantly updated.

Topshop - Shoot the show

High Street fashion brand Topshop have an inventive way of socialising their presence at London Fashion Week. For fashionistas unable to attend the show, they can now watch live catwalk shows as well as recorded shows online. The clever part though is they can snap a photo from a camera connected to Facebook, sharing it with their friends. They are then able buy whatever is viewed or heard on screen – clothes, music etc.

This idea could pave the way for future commerce online, providing users with an engaging way to interact with live events, socialising the transaction process and using Facebook photos.