Hi, I'm Phil Freo

Facebook – after recently getting a “facelift” with its News Feed (which delivers constantly updated information about your friends) and Mini-Feed (to show your friends what you have been up to) – has been up to a lot more. By opening itself up to anyone with any email address today, the once-exclusive social networking site can now be accessed by anyone. This is not big news though, Zuckerberg announced this would happen a while ago.

What I do find interesting, is how the site identifies users as unique… Read the rest of this entry »

Facebook, on a roll launching new features, just launched “Facebook Notes” which automatically imports posts from common blogging platforms (WordPress, Blogspot, even Myspace) and displays them in a new “Notes” section in your profile. Facebook automatically detects links in your profile to any supported blogging platform and allows you to import all yours posts.

Clearly Facebook is wanting to get into as many areas of social networking as possible, with the recent release of the Facebook API (developers.facebook.com). I’m glad they’re becoming more open, as well as trying to integrate with existing blogging platforms. Although I’m not sure quite what I think about their term “Notes,” I’m glad they are bringing blogging into an even more “mainstream audience”.

Facebook just launched developers.facebook.com, allowing developers to interact with Facebook through an API. This is a great step for Facebook. It will increase functionality as developers create new applications and makes the system more “open”. At the time of writing, there are already 2 applications in the “product directory”. One creates a photo mosaic of your facebook picture with your friend’s faces. The other is an expense tracking program. Neither are too exciting as of now, but the possibilities have just been opened. Check it out:

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Look mom, I’m famous… the Yodel Anecdotal (Yahoo’s Corporate Blog) released a podcast on social networking that features me and 6 other interns discussing current trends in social networking. Go check it out.

I have officially completed my internship with Yahoo! in Sunnyvale, CA for the summer and am back home in beautiful Jacksonville, FL. Overall I had an incredible experience and learned a ton. My eyes were opened to the large amount of tech start-ups and large companies in the San Francisco Bay Area. I got to see the office buildings of Yahoo!, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Cisco, eBay, Adobe, Altera, McAffee, WebEx, Facebook, Flock, and Meebo. You just can’t do that anywhere else. I always knew there was a Silicon Valley, but living in the area and rubbing shoulders with so many talented people in one area was a new experience for me.

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Yahoo! launched its corporate blog entitled the Yodel Anecdotal.  I have to admit, it’s a good name, way better than the one I suggested.  Paul and Doreen (other Y! interns) have been working hard on it, so I’m sure they’re happy they get to start the actually blogging now.  I also have had the privilege of being included in some upcoming content for the blog.

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Some exciting news for front-end developers today: The Yahoo! Developer Network has released the newest version of it’s YUI JavaScript libraries today. With extensive documentation, great support for cross-browser coding, and a couple new components, these tools are becoming an even better solution for JavaScript developers. Check out more at the official YUI blog. Here is what’s new:

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I am fortunate enough to be able to work from Florida for a couple days due to July 4th, leaving me with a nice 9-day visit back home. While traveling, I observed a couple of interesting things about business, opportunities, and life. Check them out… Read the rest of this entry »

I’ll post about working for Yahoo! more later, but I just want to write about some fun times in northern California over the last couple weeks. From disc golf in Santa Cruz (photos) with Dimitry Bentsionov and Scott Schiller, to taking a road trip to Santa Barbara with some local Kappa Sigma guys, or just hanging out in San Jose (photos), my time here has been great so far. Read the rest of this entry »

In late March of this year, when I was at school and was just starting to think “what am I going to do this summer?”, a big opportunity opened up for me almost all at once. I was literally sitting in a Calculus 3 class when my cell phone started buzzing, and an unknown, out of state number appeared. That was nothing new or special, but they left a message, making me more interested. Once I got out of class, I listened, and sure enough, “Hi my name is …, I’m a recruiter from Yahoo! … and we want to talk to you about some positions with the company…”. I really couldn’t believe it at first and I won’t lie, I think I listened to the message at least 4 times. When I got back to a computed and checked my e-mail, sure enough, there was a legitimate email:

My name is … and I’m a recruiter with Yahoo. When you have a free moment I would like to discuss Front End Engineering positions we have open. When might be a good time to speak?

Many phone calls and emails later, I got a (generous) offer letter packet in the mail and accepted it, but it had not been an easy decision. I already had several opportunities to stay in Jacksonville with family and friends, to work on a project of my own, do freelance, or possibly repeat my internship from last year. However, this was an opportunity I decided would be foolish to pass up. A job at the headquarters of the world’s most popular website doing what I love, while gaining great experience for myself, my resume, and picking up a good bit of cash.

PS – thanks to everyone who helped show me that this was an opportunity not to miss. And thanks to Chris Dawson who reminded me to check for cheap Kappa Sigma housing in CA, so that I’m not actually losing money by working out here. Photos of “my crib” are available.

After telling enough people that I’m “going” to put a blog on my site, it’s time to finally do it. And what better time than now.

So here goes. Expect semi-frequent ramblings about my life, web development, college, interning at Yahoo!, entrepreneurship, and anything else I feel like.