Blurp! Feed: Social

Facebook's Hello app for Android wants to replace your default phone app.

Image: Facebook

The phone app on your smartphone is really dumb. Facebook's new Hello app wants to make it smarter. For an encore, it's more connected and provides the context for things that matter to you.

Available as a free app for Android smartphones from the Google Play Store, Hello is a "customized and useful phone experience" that taps into your Facebook account to surface relevant information related to making calls.

For example, you'll be able to see who's calling you even if you don't have the caller's phone number saved in your contacts. You'll be able to search for people and businesses. And when you do the latter, you'll even be able to look up business hours, make a reservation at a restaurant or get directions.

It's like Yelp, Open Table and Google Maps rolled into your the phone app. Hello is also very similar to the Google Dialer that you get on Nexus smartphones.

The Hello app lets you easily block unwanted calls, sending them straight to your voicemail. The app is linked to Facebook Messenger, so you can text a person instantly without having to open that app separately.

As with WhatsApp's new Wi-Fi calling feature for iPhone, the Hello app can place calls via a cellular connection or Wi-Fi for free.

Have something to add to this story?

Share it in the comments.

Image: Eddie Gerald/Contributor/Getty Images

Photo editing is easier than it's ever been before, which means there's no longer any excuses for posting substandard pics on your social sites.

To help you maximize the potential of your images, we've rounded up five simple fixes for common photo problems that you can fix in a matter of seconds.

Most smartphones boast decent built-in editing options, but we've used Adobe Photoshop Express, an app that's free for both iOS and Android devices, for our walkthrough.

Image: Flickr, Cairo

Email marketing, either to promote business or share the latest announcement, is a staple for many companies. It’s still the best way to reach warm leads quickly and with minimal fuss. However, Google’s new tabbed inbox and prominent unsubscribe option has the potential to affect email marketing strategies — for good or ill.

Curious how ever-adaptable startup founders would cope, I asked a group of innovators from the Young Entrepreneur Council their thoughts on Gmail’s new setup, and their strategies for managing the change. Their thoughts are below:

Do you have a public bathroom?!

1. The Sleep-Deprived Student

Maritsa Patrinos

They have a paper due tomorrow and midterms starting next week…all nighters and espresso are a given.

Microsoft's search engine Bing announced support for emoji, enabling users to type in the special characters into mobile or desktop search and receive results based on their meaning. Bing says the feature, which will be available in English markets, is a way for users to "search the same way you communicate every day." The search engine will offer up definitions for some of the more puzzling emoji. It can even combine different emoji, or words and emoji to provide search results.

Vanity Fair spoke with Craig Beilinson, Microsoft’s director of marketing communications, who explained why the company wanted Bing to offer support for the ubiquitous emoticons.

“Just like I would text my friends if they wanted to go out for sushi, now I can search Bing using the emoji on my phone instead of typing ‘sushi’ and still find a great place to eat,” he said.

Whether it’s actually any faster than just typing the words “sushi restaurants nearby” depends on how well you know your emoji keyboard, usually available on mobile.

IMAGE: ANDERS ANDERSSON/GETTY IMAGES CREATIVE

Having a baby can be exhausting. Aside from the growing it and pushing it out part, the first few months (or even years) are riddled with little sleep, interrupted sleep, floor sleep, rocking chair sleep and sleep that leaves you guzzling coffee like there’s no tomorrow. According to a study covered by the Daily Mail, new parents lose an average of 44 days of sleep in the first year, hence the coffee addiction.

Of my three kids, baby No. 3 has been the least talented sleeper. Not only were we dealing with night wakings, but she’s an early riser. Like 5:13 every morning, riser. I happened to be using a Fitbit during the worst of my baby’s sleep patterns several months ago and made the mistake of checking the sleep log. Seeing that I had 21 restless movements and was awoken umpteenth times in one night was a surefire way to make sure I never checked that again.

In lieu of letting her cry it out (which I have never had the heart to do), I read sleep books, used this Tranquil Moments Sound Machine, tried a pacifier, put her down earlier, put her down later, used bribery, but to no avail, she was far from the champion sleeper I knew she could be. I needed advice from a sleep expert and luckily, with technology on my side, I had access to one just a few clicks away on Google Helpouts.

If you're a creative professional — e.g. a designer, photographer, writer or advertising exec — you'll likely need to show an online portfolio as part of the application process for any job.

But no matter what field you're in, having a permanent link where people can access your work has other benefits, too. It's standard practice these days for recruiters to Google candidates' names to see what they can dig up. And when they do, having a website that shows off the articles you've written, campaigns you've been a part of or other past work you're particularly proud of can be a huge asset.

In addition, an online portfolio allows you to easily collect all of your clips or work samples in one spot. When you need to pull together materials to showcase in an interview, you'll be happy that everything is available and up-to-date. I've found my collection of clips that I keep on Tumblr to be a great way for others to see my latest articles all in one place and for me to assess the trends and topics that I cover best.

Of course, before you start throwing things up on a website, you'll want to make sure that this micro-homepage is visually attractive and dynamic. There are plenty of platforms you can use (Carbo, DripBook, Krop and Carbonmade are some of the best), but regardless of which one you choose, these tips will help you convey the right message in your portfolio.

Google's new privacy policy went into effect Thursday, and after hacking through the document and comparing it to the old policies, two things are apparent — the document has been re-crafted with a strong emphasis on mobile and cross-platform sharing.

In order to take full advantage of sharing on Google, you must create a publicly visible Google profile, which may include your name and photo — something that's been in effect since Google+ launched. However, now Google is integrating that information across all its platforms. In other words, your YouTube account is linked to your Gmail and your search log.

An aerial view of Facebook's expanded headquarters in Menlo Park, California.

IMAGE: FACEBOOK

The new Facebook headquarters looks like a cross between high-art, 21st century corporate thinking and a child's candy-fueled daydream.

Facebook officially moved to a vast 430,000 square foot campus this week, expanding on its old digs nearby in Menlo Park, California. The office complex was designed by famed architect Frank Gehry and includes modern artwork and furniture, stairwells that look like something out of the Guggenheim museum, a 9-acre rooftop park (hate where you work yet?) and at least one meeting room that looks like the multicolored Chuck E. Cheese ball pit.

It also has what CEO Mark Zuckerberg described in a post on his personal Facebook page as "the largest open floor plan in the world," reflecting a trend in tech and other industries to boost collaboration among employees.

The social media company isn't the only tech giant upgrading its (already impressive) offices. Apple is currently building a large new campus that looks like a spaceship and Google has put out a plan to develop a new space that looks like what you probably see when you exit that spaceship in the future.