Facebook’s invisible design and big data recruitment: top stories you should read

You’ve probably seen it a thousand times, but do you really notice the subtle lines on Facebook beckoning you to post that photo, give it your information and update your status? Believe it or not, those little boxes are a major consideration for the social network, and mistakes could affect your posts. If you’re not posting, you could miss out on a job opportunity: yes, recruitment agencies are starting to harness online data — including that from social media — to identify the best possible candidates to approach. Those people might be the perfect ones for the job, or the rule breakers and alternative thinkers that are better off selling their ideas on Kickstarter… but perhaps not if they’re into film production?

Confused? It’ll all make sense if you settle down for a reading session. These are just some of the ideas raised by the articles featured in our round up of some of the top technology stories on the web.

How Facebook designs the ‘perfect empty vessel’ for your mind

A white box with the line ‘What’s on your mind?’ may not seem to difficult to put together, but for Facebook, it’s incredibly important. Its design decisions structure conversations for a billion plus users and encourage them to keep filling up its servers (and their friends’ newsfeeds) with posts, which keeps people coming back to check out the latest updates. The Atlantic looks into how Facebook is focusing on design to subtly push conversations without being intrusive.

How big data is playing recruiter for specialized workers

Ever been called in for an interview after an algorithm picked you out by scanning your tweets and posts online? Well, a programmer working for intelligent recruitment company Guild has: he got a position at the startup after he was identified as the best candidate for a job he never applied for. The New York Times looks into the use of big data in job hunting, and whether a piece of code can ever account for personality quirks and replace the tried-and-tested recruitment traditions.

Why Kickstarter can’t usurp the Hollywood entertainment-industrial complex

With Kickstarter darlings like the Pebble watch and Ouya console generating major hype recently, it’s clear we’re witnessing the rise of crowdfunding. But as projects like the Veronica Mars movie showed, these platforms are not just for gadgets — they’re also becoming the go-to option for film makers looking for funding. But is the crowd really the solution to getting series and movies made that have serious staying power and production value, or just for quirky once-off indie creations?

iTunes Store at 10: how Apple built a digital media juggernaut

Yes, the store which is claimed to have revolutionised the music industry has been around for ten years. The Verge looks back at how it became such a power player, from the early days of the first iPods to the successful app paradise it has become, and looks into the rumours and trends to suggest what Apple will be up to in the next decade.