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We could add another sentence to that title, to read “whether you like it or not”.  Yes, the latest change is another one in which users will have no say.  There is no chance of opting out because those in charge at Facebook have provided no option to do so.

According to a spokesperson for the social media giant, the idea is to start promoting the sponsored stories “slowly.”  However, no matter how slowly the site opts to do it, the fact that they give no choice for users to decide whether they want to see such stories or not is nothing short of disturbing.

This advertising is all set to be shown as part of users news feeds.  This particular type of advertising was tried three years ago on Facebook, but they have now decided that they want to make it a regular feature.

The problem is that many users are bound to dislike the new round of changes to the site.  Most users would be happier without seeing the ads, and even one a day (which is the limit being touted by Facebook) might be one too many.  We have already seen a raft of users leaving the site this year due to changes that they do not like.  This could be the latest in a series of upsets that the social media site will have caused.  Clearly some believe that they do not care about their audience – and this latest change could make that number swell further.

You may remember when MySpace was one of the biggest social networking sites on the planet.  There was a time when it was MySpace and Facebook, and there was no mention of Twitter anywhere.

But things can change very quickly in the world of the internet, and before too long MySpace started to slide in popularity.  Twitter took over and while Facebook is still there, MySpace has become the largely forgotten social networking site.

Until now, that is.  It looks like its acquisition by Specific Media could be leading to some interesting changes to come in the future.  There are big plans in store for MySpace during 2012, and while it remains to be seen how these plans will unfold, the first stage has just got underway.

A brand new music player has now been added to the website, enabling users to find it much easier to enjoy music on the site.  The plans involve focusing purely on music in the future, although very little detail is available for 2012’s changes beyond this.  The CEO of MySpace and Specific Media is Chris Vanderhook and he seemed very positive about the future of the site.  He spoke of music as being “white hot” and it is clear that this is the direction of the new site.

There is still the question of how it will develop and whether it is still too little, too late for the site that was once a giant.

When you hear about someone buying a stake in a social media site, you probably don’t initially think the stake will be somewhere in the region of $300 million dollars. That is exactly how much a Saudi prince has invested in the site.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has bought what has been termed as a ‘strategic stake’ in the microblogging social media company. The Prince will probably have found it quite easy to find the cash, since he is estimated to be worth around $19 billion dollars. It marks the latest foray into the social media scene for the Prince, who has already invested in other similar sites.

The cash will no doubt come in handy for those in charge at Twitter, as the site is currently undergoing a revamp. The aim of the changes is to speed up the site and make it even easier to use than it is at the moment. According to reports, a strategic holding basically means that a single investor has invested in more than 3% of the company.

The news has certainly hit the headlines around the world, and Twitter will no doubt put the money to good use as it tries to make changes to the site in order to attract more advertising revenue. There are definitely some big plans on the horizon for Twitter as we move into 2012, and this injection of cash will be a very welcome addition to the pot.

Since Google+ launched earlier in the year, it has constantly been hitting the headlines for a variety of reasons. Mostly this was because of the sharp drop in visitor numbers after its initial surge when it first opened to the public at large. Now it has had some rather better news, thanks to a few changes that have been made to the site.

The announcement has recently been made that Google+ is set to enjoy a few new features in the coming week. Perhaps this is something of an early Christmas present for those who are sticking with Google+ and enjoying what it has to offer?

It seems as if the majority of the changes have been brought in as a consequence of the feedback the company has received from its users. Clearly they are aware that they need to keep working on the product to make it more appealing to those who are using it. It has a long way to go to be anywhere as good as Facebook, so these changes could be the first of many to come.

One of the most intriguing additions to the site acts like a graphic equalizer or volume control. If you decide you want to receive fewer updates from one or more people in particular, you can adjust the control to ensure they do not clog up your account. This could be a big hit, but it remains to be seen whether users like the changes or not.

You may not have heard of Sociable Labs before, but this is all set to change in the coming months.  The company has secured $7 million in funding for its immediate future, which is involved with the idea of social sharing.  It believes that this will be an integral part of e-commerce in the future, with companies that have an online presence able to capitalise on their social audience.

The founder of Sociable Labs is Nisan Gabbay.  The idea that has pushed the company forward is to make the social media marketplace into a people-to-people area.  This is in direct contrast to the idea of businesses promoting to customers.  Clearly, the idea is to be more trustworthy and accessible, instead of promoting your business to people who feel as if they are simply being marketed to all the time.

It is early days yet for Sociable Labs but the early signs are very good.  Facebook has invested in the company and it would appear that the investment was a good one.  The goal of Sociable Labs is to provide customers with a solid return on their social media investment.  The company is also known for experimentation, which will hopefully see them achieve far more than many other companies in the area.

There is a clear message here – Sociable Labs might be the new kid on the block, but it has the potential to deliver more and better results than many other social media marketing companies.  We shall see what happens.

Remember when eBay used to be all about auctions of second-hand items?  This is no longer the case, as you will find countless Buy it Now items on the site as well, all of them being bought every second of the day.  However, there have been other changes in e-commerce too over the years, and it would seem that eBay is struggling to catch up with one change in particular.

We are all used to buying items online by sitting at our computers and going through the motions.  Nevertheless, this is no longer the case, as many of us are using our smartphones to go online and make purchases too.

To this end, the company has created an entire ad campaign that will make widespread knowledge of the fact that we can all shop on eBay by using our smartphones.  Many people have already started shopping on eBay in this way, but the company realises that many more people have never thought about using the site like this.

Considering how big eBay is, it is strange to think that it has been left behind in this way.  However, one suspects that it will not take long for the site to catch up to its rivals, particularly with the assistance of this new advertising campaign.  There may come a day when there are more people shopping on eBay via their phones than there are using the old method of going online via a computer.