Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) recently released some new privacy features along with a friendly blue dino to explain the new features to users. For new Facebook accounts, the company has set the “Friends Only” option by default. New users will also be reminded to review their privacy settings.
Facebook tried many options
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) said that prior to the selection of the Dinosaur, it tried various other icons like speech bubbles, which did not generate enough interest during testing. The dino made its appearance in a few accounts a few months ago .
Raylene Yung, an engineering manager on Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s privacy team, said, “Our team looked at a few different characters, saw the dinosaur, and just thought he was the friendliest and best choice.” Yung added that after trying the blue dino, company saw some great results and added it to the team.
A report from the New York Times, termed the dino as the “Zuckasaurus” in reference to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Cartoon creatures popular among tech firms
The blue dino will offer full guidance throughout the page for various features. Upon logging in, a pop up window will open with a “Hi” and “Sorry to interrupt” message. It will also inform the users that they have not changed their settings, and that the company wants to make sure if the user is sharing his or her posts with the right audience. With new settings, the social networking site wants to convey that it is taking the right steps to enhance privacy settings.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is not the first to adopt a cute little creature. Characters like TiVo’s Smiley and Google’s Android’s android have helped the company to build stronger brand recognition and brand identity to differentiate itself from the masses. These characters were quite popular with users, be it the small little Twitter bird or the “Fail Whale.”
The Blue Dinosaur is not a scary Tyrannosaurus rex or a velociraptor, rather it is like a short Barney, the goofy kids television show dinosaur.
