In the week that the mobile phone turned 40 (a fortnight after I did), we finally get word of a “Facebook phone”. Not actually a device though, Facebook Home is something between an operating system and an app on a Android phone. Basically, the phone uses Facebook as your way of being online. Wired is underwhelmed but acknowledge its appeal pointing out that for many people ‘Facebook is the Internet’ and ‘Facebook Home is going to be the best way for those people to experience the Internet on a phone’. Gizmodo looks at the positives.

Class has been very much on our minds in the UK this week.  Iain Duncan Smith, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, defended cuts in welfare by claiming that he could live on £53 a week . At the time of writing over 430,000 signatories have called on IDS, who lives in an inherited £2M mansion, to put his money where his mouth is. The #IDS53 hashtag on Twitter reveals little faith in Mr Duncan Smith’s sincerity.

Meanwhile, the BBC invited us to find out which of the seven new social class categories we belong to. As with much of our discussion about class, the tool wasn’t taken terribly seriously (but clogged up our Facebook news feeds on Tuesday nonetheless).  The Atlantic noted that the calculator is ‘distinctly British. Part of the questionnaire, for example, asks if you regularly ‘go to stately homes’. Answering yes instantly increases your cultural capital.”

Elsewhere on the BBC, Aleks Krotoski’s Digital Human series returned for a third run on April Fool’s Day. With the premise that there has never been ‘a greater engine of mischief’ than the Internet, the episode explores how mischief ‘performs many functions in our society; the individual can use it to find their place in the world, while it can also level the playing field between the powerful and powerless’. It’s well worth subscribing to the podcast.

See you in seven.

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Enda Guinan is a consultant and trainer offering advice on social media strategy and product delivery for individuals and small businesses. Get in touch to see how you can make the best use of your time and energy as you put together your social media plans.