Facebook Spam has been a problem for some time now, but it appears to be getting worse. It’s even become more effective than email spam. According to a recent article in Information Week, the average conversion rate for a recent Facebook spam campaign was about 47%, meaning that nearly half of the people who saw the spam clicked on the link to read it.

Several Facebook users have had their accounts compromised, allowing spam to spread on Facebook through status updates, chats and private messages. I’ve noticed this happen to a few of my Facebook friends over the past year.

Another serious spam problem is occurring within Facebook Pages as spammers are posting inappropriate and sexually suggestive user-generated images. These adult images are showing up on the top Pages on Facebook, like Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Skittles, etc. Most brands have been able to delete the images quickly, and some are even shutting off the ability for users to submit images altogether. The most popular Page on Facebook, Michael Jackson, continues to be targeted with these images (scroll through the fan photos if you want to see what I’m talking about).

This is a significant problem for Facebook as many brands are using the platform to interact with customers. There needs to be options in place that allow admins to have more control over their Page. Yes, it’s easy to delete and ban users, but it would be nice to have an approval process for content that’s being uploaded to your page (or at least a notification that a photo has been added). From articles I’ve read, Facebook is aggressively filtering Fan Pages for Spam.

Have you noticed an increase in Spam on Facebook? Have you noticed inappropriate content being posted from fake profiles? Are you concerned about your own profile being attacked by Spam?

Have you ever forgot to log out of Facebook while you were on a different computer? It’s happened to me a few times, where I’ve used Facebook on a public computer and walked away without logging out of my account. Luckily, I haven’t had anyone hack my Facebook account.

To help keep your Facebook login secure, Facebook is adding a much needed remote logout feature. With this new feature, you’ll be able to log out of any Facebook session that you may have left active on another computer or device.

You will be able to see all of your active sessions along with information about each one: login time, device name, the location of the login based on IP address, and browser and operating system. You’ll be able to click “end activity” on any active sessions listed.

This new feature is rolling out gradually, but once it’s live you can find it under the “Account Security” section of your Account Settings page.

For more updates on keeping your account secure on Facebook, check out the Facebook Security Page. It’s a great resource to keep up to date on new tools to keep your account safe as well as alerts on potential threats.

Of all the check-in apps, Gowalla continues to be one of my favorites (even if they don’t have as many users as Foursquare). I like the user interface and I especially like the ability to add photos to a location. Plus, Gowalla for the iPad is awesome. Gowalla just released another new feature, called Highlights. It’s kind of like Foursquare’s version of Tips, only more personal.

According to Gowalla, “A Highlight tells a story about a place that is special to you — And it also tells a story about yourself.” Currently, there are 18 different types of Highlights you can share, such as your favorite date night location, best coffee spot, your favorite happy place, etc. (more to come per Gowalla).

The feature is live, but as of now you’ll have to go to the Gowalla website to add your own Highlights. I added a couple of my own Highlights, Alma Mater and My Happy Place. These Highlights will show up on your Gowalla Passport and on the venue pages. According to the Gowalla blog, this feature will soon be available to the mobile apps on iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry. I’m assuming you will have the ability to add Highlights to a place after you’ve checked-in.

What do you think of the new Highlights feature with Gowalla? I like this feature for two reasons: 1) I can get to know my Gowalla friends better, and 2) The places with more Highlights will be more interesting to visit. However, I do wish there was a way to tag your friends in a Highlight as many experiences are often shared with others and not just yourself.

If you use Foursquare, you probably know how mayorships work (the person that checks-in the most days than anyone else at a venue is crowned the mayor). However, it was always a mystery of how many check-ins were needed to dethrone the mayor. A few months ago, I blogged about an application, WhenWillIBeMayor.com, that told you how many more check-ins you needed to become mayor.

Foursquare recently launched a new feature that now tells you how many days you’re away from becoming the Mayor when you check-in to a venue. I noticed this new feature the other day when I checked-in to Schlotzsky’s Deli. I got the notice that I was only 3 days away from becoming the Mayor.

Several venues have special offers and rewards for mayors, so this new feature will be helpful for those users who are battling for mayorships at popular venues.

Even with the launch of Facebook Places, Foursquare continues to grow (they recently surpassed the 3 million user mark this week). I started using Facebook Places to check-in the day it launched, but after using it for a few days, I’ve been really disappointed. In comparison, Foursquare is much more entertaining and user friendly than Facebook Places.

What do you think of this new feature within Foursquare? Are you using Foursquare instead of Facebook Places?

It’s now been over a week since Facebook launched their location-based product, Places. If you’re looking for a good resource on Facebook Places, check out Tomer Tishgarten’s essential guide for marketers and developers on his blog.

Privacy seems to always be a hot topic with any new update from Facebook (big surprise). With Facebook Places, several of the settings are already enabled that you might not be aware of. Below are some common questions you might have about Facebook Places and steps you can take to update your privacy settings.

How can I control who can see the Places I’ve visited?

Similar to how you can control who can see your posts, photos, etc., you can customize who can see your check-ins. Go to the main Privacy Settings page and click the “Customize settings” link. Select the drop-down menu next to “Places I check in.” From there, you can decide who gets to see your check-ins, whether it be everyone, or just friends, or a customized list of friends.

How can I control whether I appear in the “People Here Now” list?

At each Place page within Facebook, there is a “People Here Now” section that lists those Facebook users who have checked in. So, if you checked in to a Starbucks, you could see a list of people who have are there now and they wouldn’t necessarily be your Facebook friends. You can enable or disable your inclusion in “People Here Now” after you check in at a Place by navigating to the main Privacy Settings page and clicking the “Customize settings” link at the bottom of the page. From there, just uncheck the “Enable” box next to “Include me in People Here Now after I check in” if you do not want to be included in this list.

What if I don’t want my friends checking me in to Places?

Only your confirmed friends on Facebook are allowed to tag you at a Place, but you can adjust this setting. To do this, just go to the main Privacy Settings page and clicking the “Customize settings” link at the bottom of the page. Then, simply choose “Disabled” in the dropdown box next to “Friends can check me into Places.”

How concerned are you with your privacy when using Facebook Places? Do you plan on (or have you) disabling most of these features?

If you have further questions about Facebook Places, check out their Places FAQ page.

Altoids, yes the breath mints, has launched a genius application that allows you to create a list of a few of your Facebook friends (those who matter the most) and tune out everyone else. This app has perfect timing as it seems everyone is complaining about how their news feed is filled with unwanted updates (now including Places check-ins) from friends.

The Tune Out app is available for iPhones, iPads, and a desktop app can also be downloaded from the Altoids Facebook Page on the Tune Out tab. The app is very easy to setup. Once you download the app, you will be prompted to login to Facebook so the app can access your list of friends. From there, just search for those special friends that you want to add to your list. Once your list is complete, you will only be able to see updates from these friends when using the Tune Out app.

I did learn that the app will automatically post notifications. Below is what was posted to the News Feed once I authorized the app. I was hoping to use this app in secret, but it broadcasts a message to your friends that you have decided to “tune out” some of them.

The iPhone app is slick. When you click on one of your friends within the list, it pulls in their activity in a nice, clean format. You can also use this app with Twitter.

What do you think of this app? Would you use it?

Since the announcement of the new social plugins back in April, Facebook has encouraged websites to add the “Like” button, which allows users to instantly share content with their friends. As of July, over 350,000 websites have implemented the “Like” button within their site.

In the past month, several e-commerce websites have placed “Like” buttons throughout their pages, including Best Buy and eBay. eBay has actually attributed part of their $2.2 billion in revenue last quarter to Facebook’s “Like” button. The Like button has been added to eBay’s Daily Deals and Fashion Vault promotions. According to Julie Haddon, Senior Director of Social Media and Integrated Marketing at eBay, “Facebook plug-ins are some of the best marketing tools going right now. We can’t ignore the opportunity to reach 500 million people.”

The “Like” button is proving to be really powerful for e-commerce sites. Shoppers are able to instantly share a product or special deal to their network of friends, which could encourage them to buy. The “Like” button can be helpful for the casual shopper as well. Imagine shopping for a pair of jeans on Levi’s website. If you’re undecided on which pair of jeans to buy, you’ve got the tally of “Likes” from the Facebook community to help you decide.

What are your thoughts on “Like” buttons on e-commerce sites? Will we see more integration with Facebook and e-commerce in the future?

Facebook has finally launched their long-awaited location-based product, called Places. With this new product, you will now have the option to share your location by “checking in” to that place and letting friends know where you are. You can also see if any of your friends have checked in nearby.

To start using Places, you can use it by downloading the most recent version of the Facebook application for iPhone. Non iPhone users can access Places from touch.facebook.com if your mobile browser supports HTML 5 and geolocation.

If you’ve used other location-based services, such as Foursquare and Gowalla, then you’ll have no problem using Places. Checking-in works the same way. All you need to do is tap the “Check In” button on the iPhone app and you’ll see a list of places near your current location. From there, you can choose the place that matches where you are or add it if it’s not listed. After checking in, your check-in will create a story in your friends’ News Feeds and show up in the Recent Activity section on the page for that particular place.

Just like you can tag your friends in photos and status updates, you can also tag your friends who are with you at a location. What about privacy? Facebook appeared to be a little more prepared to tackle the privacy issues and provided more controls for users. You have the option of whether or not to share your location when you check in at a place. When you check in, you can tag friends who are with you but only if their settings allow it. When you are tagged, you are always notified (similar to how you’re notified on a photo tag or status update tag).

All check-in activity/history will reside on a new Facebook Place Page. Similar to Foursquare/Gowalla, each place or venue will have it’s own dedicated page. If you’re the owner of that business, there is a process that you can go through to claim your place (see screenshot below). If you claim the location as your business, it will become a Facebook Page or you can merge it with your existing Facebook Page.

Places will be rolled out gradually to users in the U.S. and will be made available to other countries and platforms in the future. What do you think of Facebook Places? Will you use it?

This was sent to me today and I thought it was hilarious. How have I missed lamebook all this time?!?! For those that don’t know, lamebook is a site that covers the funniest and lamest stuff found on Facebook.

(Thanks to Russ, our IT guy at work, for sending this picture to me and killing my productivity for about 30 minutes on lamebook.)

You can purchase flowers on Facebook and now you can book a flight. Delta Air Lines has launched an application on their Facebook Page that allows you to find, book, and share flights (and you don’t have to leave Facebook).

The app, called The Delta Ticket Window, aims to keep users on the Delta Facebook Page for the entire booking process. I played around with the app a little and it works nicely. As far as I’m aware, it’s the first airline to isolate the booking process inside a Facebook Page.

I was surprised to see that the Delta Facebook Page has little over 34,000 fans. I imagine this new feature will help increase their fan base. It will be interesting to see how many users actually use this app to book their travel and share with their network of friends. What do you think of this app? Would you book a flight on Facebook?