Facebook Privacy Settings Explained

I don’t know about you but Facebook updated their privacy settings earlier this year after undergoing some heat about people’s photos being all over the internet. (One girl’s dead mom showed up in a Facebook ad).

But the settings are a bit confusing and need to be deciphered. Why? Because some questions read like you should say yes, but really say no, comparable to Proposition ballots at the voting polls.

This is a long post. But here are a few things you need to know:

1. How to edit your privacy settings

Log into Facebook . In the upper right corner it will say Home, Profile and Account. Click on Account to edit the settings I detail below.

2. How to change your info from when you originally signed up.

Log into Facebook. In the upper right corner you will see Home, Profile and Account. Click on Profile.

Now let’s start with the Privacy Settings. There are multiple areas you need to fill out. This is worse than doing your taxes.

• Profile
• Contact
• Applications and Websites
• Search
• Block List

Let’s dissect:

st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }



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mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;

mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;

mso-style-noshow:yes;

mso-style-parent:”";

mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;

mso-para-margin:0in;

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font-size:10.0pt;

font-family:”Times New Roman”;}

Privacy Settings

1. Profile – controls who can see your profile and who can post to your wall
   1. About Me – refers to the About Me description in your profile
   2. Personal info – refers to what you listed as your interests, activities, favorites when setting up your profile.
   3. Birthday – will show your birth date and year (if you filled out the year part, but know that it’s optional and you can just fill out the month and day)
   4. Religious and Political views – refers to what you filled out in this section. It is beyond my comprehension why anyone would fill this out. But if you do, probably best to either limit it to just your friends or customize it.
   5. Family and relationship – refers to what you entered in Family Members, Relationship Status, Interested In, and Looking For fields when setting up your profile.
   6. Education and work – refers to what you filled out under the Schools, Colleges and Workplaces fields when you set up your account.
   7. Photos and videos of me – - refers to Photos and Videos you’ve been tagged in. Now when you are tagged you can go to the pic or video and Untag yourself. Once you do that you can’t be tagged again in that photo or video.
   8. Photo albums – you need to edit each album as you put it up. You need to click on Customize so that you can determine if you want only you, some friends (people you specify), friends of friends, everyone (default). Otherwise it defaults to Everyone (aka. Millions of Facebook users)
   9. Posts by  me – refers to who sees your  Status Updates, Links, Notes, Photos, and Videos you post. again, probably best to limit to just friends or specific people.
   10. Allow friends to post to my wall – check the box if you want to allow your friends to post to your wall. Leave it unchecked if you don’t want anyone to be able to post to your wall.
   11. Posts by my friends – sets who can see your status updates, links, notes, photos, and videos you post. Strongly suggest you set this to the same as Posts by Me above.
   12. Comments on Posts - controls  who can comment on posts you create. Again, suggestion is to set this to whatever you have Post by my Friends set to above.
2. Contact – controls who can contact you on Facebook, see your contact info and email
   1. IM Screen Name – refers to what you listed in your profile when you set up your account.
   2. Mobile Phone – refers to what you listed in your profile when you set up your account.
   3. Other Phone – refers to what you listed in your profile when you set up your account.
   4. Current Address – refers to what you listed in your profile when you set up your account.
   5. Website – refers to what you listed in your profile information
   6. Hometown – refers to what you listed in your profile information
   7. Add me as a Friend – controls who can add you as a friend from search results for your name and from your profile. This can only be set to Everyone or Friends of Friends.
   8. Send me a message – this controls who can send you a message from search results and from your profile. Do you want everyone on the internet who does a search for you be able to send you a message via Facebook? Probably not. Suggestion is to set this to only friends.
   9. Your email address (physically listed) – Suggest to list it to only your friends or Customize so that only you can see it. Because honestly, if you only friend people you know then they probably already have your email address.
3. Applications and Websites – controls what information is available to Facebook-enhanced applications and websites.
   1. What you share – Applications you use will access your Facebook information in order for them to work. For example, a review application uses your location in order to surface restaurant recommendations.

      When you visit a Facebook-enhanced application or website, it may access any information you have made visible to Everyone (Edit Profile Privacy) as well as your publicly available information. This includes your Name, Profile Picture, Gender, Current City, Networks, Friend List, and Pages. The application will request your permission to access any additional information it needs.

      At the bottom below the image, you will see a note that says:
      
      ”You can view the full list of Applications you have authorized on this page.” This page is hyperlinked and when you click on it you will see the list of all of the applications you have said Yes to and you can edit your settings there.

      An example:
      
      Causes – When you click Edit Settings there are a few things that appear such as whether or not you have a box on your FB page or a tab at the top (where it says Wall, Info, etc). It also lists Info section – this is listed under the Info tab on your home page. If you want people to see it there, great, if not, remove it. And finally, there is a privacy setting here where it controls the visibility of, for example, the Causes’s Box or Tab on your Profile. You can limit it to Friends, Everyone, Friends of Friends, Only Me or Customize.

   2. What your friends can share about you – OMG! This is a nightmare and a MUST edit. Suggestion is to uncheck everything. But entirely up to you.

      When your friend visits a Facebook-enhanced application or website, they may want to share certain information to make the experience more social. For example, a greeting card application may use your birthday information to prompt your friend to send a card. If your friend uses an application that you do not use, you can control what types of information the application can access. Please note that applications will always be able to access your publicly available information (Name, Profile Picture, Gender, Current City, Networks, Friend List, and Pages) and information that is visible to Everyone.

i. Personal info (activities, interests, etc.)

ii. Status updates

iii. Online presence

iv. Website

v. Family and relationship

vi. Education and work

vii. My videos

viii. My links

ix. My notes

x. My photos

xi. Photos and videos of me

xii. About me

xiii. My birthday

xiv. My hometown

xv. My religious and political views

1. 1. Blocked  Applications - is exactly how it sounds. It’s a listing of applications that you have blocked and it allows you to unblock if you want. But you cannot block applications from here.
   2. Ignore Application Invites – Ignore application invites from specific friends
   3. Activity on Applications and Games Dashboards – controls who can see your activity in the Friends’ Recent Activity, Friends’ Applications and Friends’ Games sections of these pages.

4. Search – who can see your search result on Facebook and in search engines

1. 1. Facebook search results – limits who can see your search result on Facebook. Your choices are Friends of Friends, Everyone, Only Friends.
   2. Public Search Results – This setting only allows search engines to access your publicly available information and any information you set to Everyone. This does not include anything you’ve shared with just your friends or friends of friends. Suggestion is to uncheck ‘Allow’. Think about it, only people you don’t know would look for you on an internet search engine.

5. Block List – who can interact with you on Facebook

1. 1. The place where you can create a blocked list of people you do not want interacting with you on Facebook. Note that blocking someone may not prevent all communications and interactions in applications, and does not extend to elsewhere on the Internet.

1. 1. IM Screen Name – refers to what you listed in your profile when you set up your account.
   2. Mobile Phone – refers to what you listed in your profile when you set up your account.
   3. Other Phone – refers to what you listed in your profile when you set up your account.
   4. Current Address – refers to what you listed in your profile when you set up your account.
   5. Website – refers to what you listed in your profile information
   6. Hometown – refers to what you listed in your profile information
   7. Add me as a Friend – controls who can add you as a friend from search results for your name and from your profile. This can only be set to Everyone or Friends of Friends.
   8. Send me a message – this controls who can send you a message from search results and from your profile. Do you want everyone on the internet who does a search for you be able to send you a message via Facebook? Probably not. Suggestion is to set this to only friends.
   9. Your email address (physically listed) – Suggest to list it to only your friends or Customize so that only you can see it. Because honestly, if you only friend people you know then they probably already have your email address.

[Via http://plusorminus30.wordpress.com]

WE HAVE FRIENDS TOO!!!

Timmy from Tacoma writes:

“Hey man, I really like your site. Can you add this bitch?”

“She didn’t answer my fan letter.”

Yo Timbo! We got more skanks than you can shake a stick at on TFB. Why waste your time on that rank wench?

PS: We won’t even give you shit for sending a fan letter since you still know how to mail one…

[Via http://toofacedbook.wordpress.com]

Facebook

Kirsten Parucha Writes about the Change of Facebook - Photo Courtesy of Dreamstime.com

Online Story – Kirsten Parucha

16 February 2010

Facebook has once again gone under another makeover. And once again, the makeover is absolutely unnecessary.

As of early February, those who logged onto their Facebook accounts would have noticed a subtle change on their homepage, and would also be left questioning, “For what reason?”

The new Facebook layout only pertains to the homepage, which is the first page Facebook users are automatically directed to when first logging on.

Before the makeover, notifications were located at the bottom-right corner of the page. Now they are located in the top-left corner of the page, along with additional notifications of new messages and group invitations. Besides the relocation of these attributes, not much has changed with Facebook.

However, over the course of the past few months, Facebook has made other changes that don’t pertain to their layout. They have made changes with their privacy and security settings, adding more privacy and security options for optimal safety for Facebook users.

Although it’s common for Facebook to change and re-arrange their applications and layout structure on their website, avid users are always temporarily baffled about the changes and left in wonderment.

It’s not uncommon to see status updates such as, “Just as soon as I got used to the old Facebook, they go and change everything again” right after a Facebook makeover.

The reasons for these constant and most likely unnecessary changes: To keep it interesting? To keep it updated and relevant? To lure more Facebook users?

Whatever the reason may be, Facebook users will never figure it out because another change will be made before a conclusive answer is made.

[Via http://kakonged.wordpress.com]

Dr. Strangelove and ironic situations.

This was around the time when Facebook had changed its privacy settings, search deals were being made with social networks and people were getting that first hint of being uncomfortable with what information companies were going to use to monetize. This was way before Google entered the equation of privacy with Buzz.

Back then, Eric Schmidt had famously quoted :

If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.

Two months later. Eric Schmidt’s former girlfriend — going by the net moniker RecoveryGirl007 — writes a tell-all blog about her life that includes (guess what ?) her former relationships. So there was a sense of delicious irony in this piece of news :

We’re told the Google CEO’s aggressive lawyers brought down ex-girlfriend Kate Bohner’s online recovery diary this weekend.

Kate Bohner was the name of his mistress. The bringing-down of the website should’ve been fairly easy : It was hosted at Blogspot. Dr. Strangelove was the nick Kate used to refer to Eric Schmidt in her writing — presumably, because he holds a Ph.D. That also explains the title of this post. There are some funny bits about some other famous people. Read that link if you like gossip.

******

I shouldn’t really bother about what anyone does in their personal time. It was just the irony of the situation that I wrote the post for.

******

I do believe that users need to have a sense of what information they are sharing (it could be inadvertent) with the world. With location-based services getting popular, I don’t think many are aware of how serious the issue of privacy is. For example, sample the recent Rob Me application, that uses location based services to find when people are not at home.

Of course, someone like me recommending precaution sounds way less suspicious than the CEO of Google saying the same thing. But as Kurt Vollegut put it so beautifully, So it goes.

[Via http://iyerdeepak.wordpress.com]

Last Months Best of Random Blog

This Site is a great way to brighten you day, (hey that rhymed)

Check them out

[Via http://miltonious.wordpress.com]

Featured Neighbor's Cafe 1: "A Relaxing Place To Be"

Here is my first featured neighbor’s cafe offering to you. This is the cafe of my neighbor Allen!

For me, her cafe was so relaxing! Yeah, it seems that you’re in a particular resort having different tropical views!

I like the combination of her colors. It’s mainly the combination or variation or green and blue! So nice the eyes…so relaxing!

Well, Allen is already on the higher level of the game (higher than me) to be able to buy such expensive and beautiful ornaments like what she had presented in her cafe!

So, what can you say on her cafe?! LOve it?! c”,)

[Via http://rockzcafe.wordpress.com]

Twitter Series Part One : Beginning with Twitter

Twitter is a service that’s quickly increasing in size.  It’s a blend between a social networking internet web site and a micro-blog.  With over two millions users, Twitter is becoming a popular way to stay in touch with co-workers, friends, family and more.

“If you are not on Twitter then you are not on the world wide web“

As for how you are able to use Twitter to market yourself or your business online, begin with updates.  E.g., do you sell health supplements products?  If so, rapidly describe the product you just made and provide a link to the internet site where it’s available for sale.  Rather than saying buy my product, ask for feedback.  Depending on how your message is looked at, the link may not be clickable.    If anybody likes it, they may buy.

If you’ve yet to try Twitter, you will want to do so.  As stated before, Twitter is a combo micro-blog and social networking internet site.  For that reason, some internet bypass the chance.  One of those is internet marketers and home based workers.  If you work from home or from your computer, your primary goal while online is to bring in money, not make new friends.  This focus is beneficial, but it can also hurt you and your business.

Since you are able to use Twitter to do more than just update your current friends and family members, you might prefer to get started.  If you do not already have a Twitter account, the first step is visiting the internet site, which is located at Twitter.com.  You’ll see a link to get started.  Click on that link and fill out the form.  You’ll be required to create a username, a password, and provide your email address.

“If you’ve yet to try Twitter, you will want to do so”

Although you are able to easily add Twitter friends and followers that you don’t know, some are conservative about accepting invites.  For marketing purposes, use the internet, forums, and other social networking websites for information.  E.g., if you sell homemade products, you could also belong to an arts and crafts or home founded business forum.  Post a message inviting Twitter contacts.  In no time in the least, you could have quite the following.  Remember, the more Twitter followers you have, the more you are able to market your business. Internet Marketing Guide

Get Started and Follow me on Twitter  @Mick_Ando

[Via http://internetmarketingguide212.wordpress.com]

How To Create A Facebook Fan Pages

If you’ve a personal Facebook account, you specify to make a Facebook page for your business concern. To make this business sector pagination you require to have a personal Facebook account established 1st. The fan page is associated to your personal account from a log in linear perspective, but doesn’t admit the friends and additional associations you’ve created on your personal page. Therefore, the page can be applied to advertise your business sectors, and your personal account can be continued separate. Technically, it’s a violation of Facebook Terms of Service to apply a personal account for business sector, so if biz is your destination, you’ll desire to make a Facebook page.

To create a Facebook page for your business:

1. Log-in to your personal Facebook account

2. Type: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

3. Choose your business class type from the radio button choices, and then decide the suitable subcategory from the dropdown menu

4. Insert your business organization name in the “Name of Page” field

5. Insert the security textual matter, click enter, and your pagination will be produced!

6. Crucial: On the next page you’ll see your basic Facebook page. It’s a good thought to bookmark the universal resource locator of this page. Also, click on the “Become a Fan” push button so you are able to get the 1st fan of your own page. Believe it or not, these 2 things will assist you discover the page link later, as Facebook does not make discovering it self-evident from your personal visibility page.

7. You are able to upload a picture to apply for your business ID, just like you applied an image for your personal ID. Also – you will desire to update the information part with your business organization name, address, and internet site. You are able to add further fact about your business and hours of operation as well if you like.

You’re now ready to begin placing and gathering targeted fans!

Socido

[Via http://besearchable.wordpress.com]

Photographer Grows Her Brand from Flickr Beginnings

The photography of Natalie Dybisz a.k.a. Miss Aniela

By Diane Berkenfeld The ubiquity of the internet has allowed artists far and wide to reach a much larger audience than they would have been able to by traditional means. This is true of Natalie Dybisz a.k.a. Miss Aniela, (www.missaniela.com) a photographer and artist who has turned her self-portraiture, initially created and posted on Flickr for her own enjoyment, into a brand, complete with a new liveBooks powered website, two self-published books, exhibitions and more to come.

Natalie Dybisz a.k.a. Miss Aniela's website homepage. All images © Natalie Dybisz.

“Aniela is my middle name. I wanted a kind of alter-ego to serve as a name to use on Flickr,” Natalie says. Once she started exhibiting her work, she says it felt right to stick with that name as her artist’s moniker.

Natalie explains that she was fond of snapping photos as a teen, when she first began to shoot self-portraits. Her interest in photography blossomed when she went to university. It was at this time that she discovered online photo sharing as well as the joys of digital processing.

Early on she used Sony compact cameras and lacked a tripod. Natalie then graduated to a Sony R1, which features a swivel screen that makes capturing self-portraits convenient, and a tripod. She used the R1 for about two years. In September 2008 Natalie transitioned to her first DSLR, a Canon EOS 40D. She recently upgraded yet again to a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, a larger, sturdier tripod and flashes.

Natalie Dybisz a.k.a. Miss Aniela's website. All images © Natalie Dybisz.

Natalie’s first website was created in 2007, as a place on the web where she could display a gallery of her photos and write about herself. She transitioned to a liveBooks site this year. “I liked the look of their sleek, fast Flash sites. It looked ideal for displaying photography, and I also liked that I was able to talk about my ideas and have the designers create a custom site based on my vision for my brand,” she says. Adding, “I also like being able to edit my site whenever I want, to edit text, and to add or remove pictures, which is easy enough in the editSuite that comes with the site.” The liveBooks site is the portfolio or gallery, for Natalie’s more refined work, as well as a place to disseminate information about her books, prints and her contact information. “The website is a showcase, a place that is generally consistent. My blog, (www.missanielablog.com) however, is a place with constantly updating information, a place to share essays or thoughts, or to promote my events,” she says. “The way I choose to use Flickr is rather like a studio, where I share lots of images, to see which gauge the most reaction or comment, or just for me to see images build and then to determine which ‘do it for me’ in the long term, and I may then add them to my galleries on my main website. I use Facebook and Twitter to link through to blog posts or to Flickr posts,” she adds.

Miss Aniela. Photographs © Natalie Dybisz.

Miss Aniela. Photograph © Natalie Dybisz.

Miss Aniela. Photographs © Natalie Dybisz.

In addition to a number of exhibitions and speaking engagements, Natalie has produced two books which are available on Blurb (click here): Self-Gazing, a collection of self portraits taken over the course of three years; and Multiplicity, with images taken over the course of more than four years that showcases her evolution of multiplicity photographs. As savvy a businesswoman, as she is a photographer, Natalie also offers fine-art prints of her work and commercial licensing opportunities.

Natalie has also collaborated with other artists. The books She Took Her Own Picture, Selections from the Female Self Portrait Artists’ Support Group available on Blurb (click here), features the work of 44 female self-portrait artists on Flickr including images from Miss Aniela; and In Her Own Image, Selections from the Female Self Portrait Artists’ Support Group also available on Blurb (click here).

(l. to r.) Natalie's two self-published books: "Miss Aniela: Self-Gazing" and "Miss Aniela: Multiplicity" and two books she's collaborated on, as part of the Female Self Portrait Artists' Support Group: "She Took Her Own Picture" and "In Her Own Image"

Q: What inspires you?

A: I have an assortment of inspirations. I don’t look at as many photography books and exhibitions as I should, and I spend too much time online looking at photo-sharing sites. I am inspired by anything from childhood thoughts to dreams, to raging depressive thoughts, from the joy, yet futility of life, to the chilling mystery of death.

I like the work of several people I have seen online, like Rossina Bossio and Rosie Hardy. I also admire the work of Gregory Crewdson, Julia Fullerton-Batten, and Ellen Kooi.

Miss Aniela. Photograph © Natalie Dybisz.

Miss Aniela. Photograph © Natalie Dybisz.

Q: How did you know you were onto something with the Miss Aniela brand?

A: It wasn’t easy for me at first to see Miss Aniela as a brand, probably because my work is so personal, so it was like the images were not just my work, they were me. The stage, therefore, of separating myself from my brand whilst also being able to accept that my brand is very personal, was a challenging step. So, whilst I saw from 2007-2008 that my work was becoming popular and I wanted to go further with it and do it for a living, it still took me a while to see that my artwork can be considered as a brand and a business, something I can sell without feeling as if I were selling myself. As such—I could objectify the self-portraiture as one aspect of what I do, and not the sum total of my being.

Q: What did you think when you realized the large number of people that were viewing your images on Flickr?

A: I was surprised and pleased but always aware that it doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Just because a load of people have clicked on your work doesn’t necessarily validate one’s images. It just meant I had the attention of an audience for an unforeseen length of time, and yet, the audience wasn’t all mine to play with, it was an audience through Flickr. I try to use that audience the best I can in encouraging them to visit my site, join my mailing list, join me on Facebook and Twitter, etc. Even then, the number of people following you and your updates doesn’t often feel like it means anything till someone actually offers me an exhibition or buys a print.

Q: How have you been able to grow your photography into a brand?

A: It has been fairly easy to self-publish books and to make these available to people online, and also to show and sell them at presentations and events. Exhibitions are an aspect that is harder to achieve, as they require collaboration with galleries or other venues. Most of my exhibitions have been offered to me, so the whole scene of approaching galleries is something new to me. I try to keep my brand consistent across books, gallery shows, and my website, in terms of graphic identity, but with the exhibitions, it is harder because the gallery will present the exhibition on their own terms.

Q: What direction do you think you’re going to take your work into next?

A: I would just like to carry on doing what I do, producing images I am artistically engaged with, and pursuing exhibitions and print sales. I would like to have a large-scale exhibition that is accessible to both the art scene and the general public. Another angle to my photography goals is to broaden my experience and my learning of the technical side to the art so I can teach workshops in the UK and beyond. I would like to become a published author (outside of my self-published books) and write books on photography and art, something that I will hopefully begin this year.

The 'About Me' page on the Miss Aniela website. Photograph © Natalie Dybisz.

All you have to do is take one look at Natalie’s work to see that she’s got a great eye for photographic composition and design, and we expect to see much more of Natalie Dybisz a.k.a. Miss Aniela in coming years. Go to the website www.missaniela.com to see more of her work, or check her out on Flickr, Facebook and Twitter.

[Via http://picture-soup.com]

Facebook Mail Mengancam Gmail?

Menurut situs teknologi TechCrunch, diam-diam Facebook tengah menyiapkan fitur baru yang bakal menjadi andalan mereka: email gratis untuk facebooker.

Berdasarkan informasi yang diberikan oleh sumber yang tidak ingin disebutkan namanya, Michael Arrington dari TechCrunch, mengatakan bahwa Facebook tengah mengerjakan Project Titan, yakni proyek yang bisa jadi, bakal menjadi ‘Gmail Killer’.

Selama ini Facebook telah menyediakan fitur message untuk pengguna. Namun, tetap saja, bagi pengguna, itu tidak akan menggantikan layanan web email, karena Facebook Messages hanya digunakan saat pengguna sedang login di Facebook.

Tak heran bila beberapa saat lalu situs jejaring sosial MySpace juga menyediakan layanan web email, yang sayangnya tidak mendukung POP/ IMAP. Nah kali ini, Facebook kabarnya akan menyediakan layanan web email yang bakal mendukung POP/ IMAP itu.

POP/ IMAP adalah teknologi yang memungkinkan penggunanya mengakses akun emailnya tanpa melalui Facebook. Akun email Facebook bisa jadi mengandung identitas akun Facebook (url Facebook@Facebook.com).

Dengan jumlah penggunanya yang lebih dari 350 juta dan 60 juta pengguna terhubung Facebook melalui Facebook Connect, tentu saja, Google, Yahoo, bakal gemetar dengan rencana layanan web email baru Facebook ini, bila nanti benar-benar terwujud.

source : http://nasional.vivanews.com/news/read/127617-facebook_siapkan__gmail_killer__

Wah-wah pemain raksasa baru mulai berperang nih, kalau dulu yang sering antara google vs microsoft, sekarang ada pemain baru Facebook. Let’s see what will happen ….

[Via http://majalahmu.wordpress.com]

Effective Networking Is More than Sending and Accepting Invites!

Your Network Is An Important Asset

We hear constantly about the importance of networking and even about the value of our network. We also hear that we need to nurture and care for our network. Although, the above statements are true, there is one critically important part of your network that has not been discussed.

Your network should be a reflection of who you want to be and what you want to do. If you are spending your time simply adding people that are just like you, then you will continue to get the same thing out of your network. This is a frequently overlooked piece of the networking puzzle. You need to be adding value to your network; not just names.

Have you ever heard the old adage that we are the average of our five closest friends? Basically this means that if three or more of your friends drive a Ford Taurus; you probably drive a Ford Taurus. The tendency is to live within the expectations of your Social Groups. Your network can operate on that same premise.

Before getting into your network goals and your growth strategy for your network it is important to understand the functions of a network.

What Are the Benefits That You Can Provide Your Network?

Before you can receive from your network; you must first be willing to give to your network. Some of the big questions are:

What can I give?

What effort will it take?

Is this going to take a lot of my time?

The first thing that needs to be done is for you to remove those questions from your mind. Concerning yourself with what is in it for you, is the wrong way to network. Your first concern must be your network, when you give your network the priority it deserves your rewards will come.

What Are the Benefits That Your Network Can Provide To You?

There are many things that one can give to their network including:

Time

Talents

Advice

Connections

Answers

Referrals

Recommendations

Appreciation

Introductions

Adulation

Recognition

Why is giving to your network important and what does it do for you?

These are some of the benefits you derive by giving to your network, listed in the order I perceive as being the most important.

Trust

Credibility

Reliability

Respectability

A brand

Demonstrate your willingness to share your knowledge

Demonstrate your interest in their wellbeing

Shows a caring mentality

Shows a sharing mindset

The list is not meant to be all inclusive, but it is meant to provide you with an idea as to what you can accomplish.

What Are Your Goals For Your Network?

To communicate effectively you should have an underlying purpose or goal for your network. Without a goal your communication will be unfocused and, therefore, ineffective. Because one of your goals should be to establish a brand it is important that your networking activities support that goal.

Your goals must include reaching most, if not all, of the objectives listed above. Those qualities elicit recommendations and referrals from your network which is your objective.

If you have defined your goals properly it should result in your building a network of people with whom you want to connect and, more importantly, who want to connect with you. A group that you want to be in contact with on a regular basis and a group that will be interested in your message. Once again, and I cannot stress it enough, it is critically important that you have a value to add to your network and that you have a reputation that encourages people to want to connect with you.

Just as there will be people that invite you where they will be the primary benefactor, this same thing can hold true with the people that you want to invite into your network. Be aware of that reality and approach your desired connection accordingly. That does not mean that you should not invite people where you appear to have nothing to offer, it just means you must approach it realistically.

What Is Your Growth Strategy for Your Network?

Now that we have addressed those issues; what is your growth strategy for your network? Who do you want to include and why? You must be looking at this from both giving and receiving perspectives.

Most networks include people where you will be able to provide to them, but the chances of their giving to you are limited. This may impact your decisions to invite, but should never impact your decision to accept an invite.

You may choose to decline an invite based upon other factors such as the invitee’s reputation, the types of people on the invitee’s connections, and there may be other factors. Just do not deny based upon what the individual can do for you.

Sometimes the only thing you might add to an invitee is your admiration for their accomplishments. Do not discount this factor; people like to hear that they are respected and admired for their accomplishments – just be sincere in the praise.

Conclusion

If you care for your network properly and continually add value; it will be your most valuable asset and road to your continued success.

Copyright Tom Staskiewicz

[Via http://upproach.wordpress.com]

A "Status Update"

I spend too much time distracted by facebook, blogs, cartoons, celeb gossip, nerf gun discussion boards, the internet.  As such, I am making a change.  It’s over facebook.  It’s over between us. O facebook, I have been with you for more than five years and you’ve never let me down.  So you need to know that you did nothing wrong.  It’s not you… it’s me.  You’re too much for me.  You’ve got to much to offer the world and I can’t appreciate all you have to give.  No – no – no… don’t say anything.  I am going to take some time for myself and then we will reevaluate the whole situation.  I don’t expect you to wait for me and I know you will change – you always were a free-spirited hellion.  Goodbye.

Hi Joshua,

You have deactivated your Facebook account. You can reactivate your account at any time by logging into Facebook using your old login email and password. You will be able to use the site like you used to.

Thanks,

The Facebook Team

So what now?  I COMMAND+T; “f” still yields “www.facebook.com”.  I’ve ended a long relationship with the social networking pest but I know i’ll go back.  One day at a time, am I right?

[Via http://hossmosis.wordpress.com]

My Technologically Filled Day.

My iPhone has really become an important aspect of my day-to-day routine. I posted updates to Twitter, update my status on Facebook, check my email, update my Calendar events, mark off my Task-list and use my voice to find a restaurant near me so I can make reservations for the night. It’s great.

I start my days off usually with a quick tweet or two from my iPhone twitter client Twittelator (free version available).

Once I’ve done that I scoot on to work, logging my arrival time into Momento, which is my daily journal app. It works great and I use it to log various conversations I’ve had throughout the day, and personal opinions on various items that pass through my desk… Opinions that can’t be voiced in a public forum due to job security. Another nice thing with Momento is that it connects to my facebook and twitter profiles, and pulls in my status and tweets from there, building a timeline I can follow at a later point in time. Posts that I make within Momento I can tag with various tags, include people and locations within it. Then at a later time, I can search through sort able tags to help find what I’m looking for. It works great

As I progress through the day I’ll obtain various new tasks I need to accomplish or complete, and I’ll log those into Pocket Information (Free version available). Pocket Informant connects with my Toodeldo account and synchronizes with it. Allowing me to take my tasks home and access them via my laptop while I work from home. Pocket Informant also synchronizes pretty well with my Google Calendar allowing me to create and manage my calendar events on the go. Since Google is my central repository anyway for all my email, documents, RSS fees and photo management, it’s nice that my apps all sync with Google and allow me to access my data everywhere I go.

As I get free time throughout the day I’ll try to spend some time reading my RSS feeds. The Google Reader works pretty well via a web browser on the iPhone, but I prefer to use MobileRSS (Free version available). It syncs with Google Reader and lets me send content to my Read It Later account (iPhone app available in Pro & Free), along with Instapaper, Delicious, Twitter, Facebook and Email.

It supports Google Article sharing and comments as well, which makes it nice.

As the day comes to a close I post a few more updates to twitter and facebook (via the facebook app), make what ever adjustments I need to do with my events and tasks, and off to bed I go to start a new day tomorrow using the same apps again.

I love how the iPhone has allowed me to be more productive with less effort. I even import and manage my iPhone photo’s with Google’s Picasa and it’s a piece of cake.

I <3 my iPhone.

[Via http://scionwest.wordpress.com]

Facebook captcha gets brutally honest

Facebook’s Security Check now has a feature called “RUsure” which helps eliminate needless posts on Facebook fan pages.

The fan page admin can’t turn the feature on/off… it turns on automatically after 6 posts within a 24 hour time period and will only turn off after one of those posts receives 5 “likes” or 3 comments.

^^^^^^^^^^

[Via http://utodd.com]

Google Buzz- Can it be the Facebook Killer?

Gmail greeted me this morning with a new Buzz. The Gmail blog told the entire story of Google  launching a yet another SOCIAL Feature called the Buzz. Google Buzz is among the very crucial moves which Google has been playing to sustain its dominance in the web especially the social web.

Google Buzz

The Buzz is a lifestreaming service more like the FriendFeed where all your activities on the various social sites get aggregated at one place facilitating a much broader picture of your digital echo. I won’t help you guys with the features, coz the video is easier to follow. Interesting again with the cartoon showing up in a google’s product launch similar to Google Chrome in 2008. What would make the Google Buzz even more competitive would be an integration of the Google Wave along with updates from Google groups and more socail sites into it.  Facebook is not yet a Lifestreaming service, but they did acquire FriendFeed. (I am not still sure what their plans with FriendFeed are)

Facebook recently had its 6th anniversary and hit the 400 million user mark, But Google buzz will already start off with over a 150 million(approximately) user base owing to the fact that its built right into Gmail. What Google Buzz lacks is the all the social games that people play on Facebook. I guess once an API for the Google Buzz is out, it will go head on against Facebook. As yet it too early to say who will kill Facebook, but Google Buzz definitely has potential.

[Via http://sarublogs.wordpress.com]

Google puts Buzz in the Gmail

 

Google woke up to the Facebook and the Twitter challenge. Finally.

Google Buzz is the latest product from the Google family and its best attempt to build a social network after the early attempts like Orkut and Open Social saw marginal success.

To me Google Buzz looks like FriendFeed 2.0 (Facebook acquired FriendFeed last year) with its stream of updates, pictures, links from one’s friends. The biggest advantage that Google has in launching Buzz is that this is built into the Gmail application which already has over 175 million users. And Buzz is available on the iPhone and the Android as well.

Google is giving a lot of granular controls but the default social graph is based on the Gmail settings (mail recipients and senders of mail). Whether they indeed are actually the desired social graph for someone is something that I am not sure. For me, it surely is not!

Will Google win against Twitter with the Buzz? Twitter is simple and the tweets go to all the people who follow the tweet sender. “Buzzing” is not. There is a public and private buzz and this could make it complicated.

At first glance Google Buzz has a few advantages: It combines the best from Twitter, FriendFeed, Facebook Connect, Flickr and a few others. It has nice email integration as they show up in the Inbox and as a tab within Gmail. It highlights items that friends like and share. You can read about the functionality here

The key challenge is how will Google square off against Facebook when Facebook introduces email. And whether Google Buzz will integrate with Facebook connect.

That will be interesting to watch!

[Via http://subbaiyer.wordpress.com]

not cultured

dear you,

i like to think i’m a cultured sort of person, like if someone asked me what i did in my spare time i’d say reading fucking satre books and creating great works of art or something. but it’s not really true, i mean, i do those things sometimes, but mostly i spend my time like my sims character.

i was playing sims 3 on my iphone, and made this character called nina or something. basically she was the town bike. she also nearly died from no food or sleep. however she was being very social. this is sorta how i spend my days. but lately, you know, im sick of being the town bike. in fact, i never really liked it that much anyway. i thought id start blogging so i can keep track of my thoughts and boys and mind and if i am, where im going wrong.

fuck fuck fuck, got an email from my lawyer. i have to call him. and my mobile is going off. its optus again. its not my mobile. its my dads. my sim card is in it. my mobile won’t charge. i can’t do anything about it. dad gets shitty about me using his mobile. dad gets shitty about everything. he has, as the family shrink/s puts it, a history of anger management issues.

fuck being broke! fuck being single! fuck writing this blog no one will read. can’t find my fucking lawyers number.

i miss shoplifting. i’m soooo nervous about my court case! nervous! nervous. google lawyers number. room too messy, dont know where i put his contact card. fml.

i don’t want to get drunk or have sex anymore. but i’m seeing russel tonight, and we WILL fuck. have a bottle of jack in my bedroom. DO NOT BRUSH MY TEETH WITH IT. i hate you kesha. i hate you.

its because ive already fucked him, and he called me up and asked me to come over to his place tonight which is empty. and he doesn’t want me to meet his mother. yeah, im definitely just a fuck. apparently he never brings girls home, and his mum would freak. well, he didn’t have any condoms in his bedroom… read: excuse to do it unprotected. or not? god, i dont even trust men anymore.

got to go to scummy box hill tafe to meet up with friend then wait for russel to call so i can go to his awesome awesome house in canterbury. canterbury!!! his house is totally awesome boyfriend material, like a house whod i like a boyfriend to have. russell definitely not boyfriend, but has a house like one, so am getting somewhere perhaps. fucking optus is still texting me.

oh – why his house is awesome – good books/mags/walls… fuck! cause it looks ‘cultured’. why do i care? look, i dont want to date a stupid boy. ive done that before. its horrible. i hate it. i hate that i hate it. i hate that i have to break up with them and tell them its me, not you. its me, not you. its actually me. you can’t help it if youre stupid and senseless (enough to fall for me, when i won’t feel the same way). but whyyyyyyy.

im going on facebook too much! and my bedroom is a mess. what is wrong with me!!!

oh my god! this random indian guy called neelu sharma has been posting facebook videos that im tagged in as his statuses. fuck, so creeped out. REMOVE FROM FRIENDS.

shit, am late for late lunch date. be back soon. x

[Via http://thinveins.wordpress.com]

Sunday, February 7th, 2010.

[Via http://christianabourdon.wordpress.com]

Google to enlist NSA to help it ward off cyberattacks

By Ellen Nakashima

The world’s largest Internet search company and the world’s most powerful electronic surveillance organization are teaming up in the name of cybersecurity.

Under an agreement that is still being finalized, the National Security Agency would help Google analyze a major corporate espionage attack that the firm said originated in China and targeted its computer networks, according to cybersecurity experts familiar with the matter. The objective is to better defend Google — and its users — from future attack.

Google and the NSA declined to comment on the partnership. But sources with knowledge of the arrangement, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the alliance is being designed to allow the two organizations to share critical information without violating Google’s policies or laws that protect the privacy of Americans’ online communications. The sources said the deal does not mean the NSA will be viewing users’ searches or e-mail accounts or that Google will be sharing proprietary data.

The partnership strikes at the core of one of the most sensitive issues for the government and private industry in the evolving world of cybersecurity: how to balance privacy and national security interests. On Tuesday, Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair called the Google attacks, which the company acknowledged in January, a “wake-up call.” Cyberspace cannot be protected, he said, without a “collaborative effort that incorporates both the U.S. private sector and our international partners.”

But achieving collaboration is not easy, in part because private companies do not trust the government to keep their secrets and in part because of concerns that collaboration can lead to continuous government monitoring of private communications. Privacy advocates, concerned about a repeat of the NSA’s warrantless interception of Americans’ phone calls and e-mails after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, say information-sharing must be limited and closely overseen.

“The critical question is: At what level will the American public be comfortable with Google sharing information with NSA?” said Ellen McCarthy, president of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, an organization of current and former intelligence and national security officials that seeks ways to foster greater sharing of information between government and industry.

On Jan. 12, Google took the rare step of announcing publicly that its systems had been hacked in a series of intrusions beginning in December.

The intrusions, industry experts said, targeted Google source code — the programming language underlying Google applications — and extended to more than 30 other large tech, defense, energy, financial and media companies. The Gmail accounts of human rights activists in Europe, China and the United States were also compromised.

So significant was the attack that Google threatened to shutter its business operation in China if the government did not agree to let the firm operate an uncensored search engine there. That issue is still unresolved.

Google approached the NSA shortly after the attacks, sources said, but the deal is taking weeks to hammer out, reflecting the sensitivity of the partnership. Any agreement would mark the first time that Google has entered a formal information-sharing relationship with the NSA, sources said. In 2008, the firm stated that it had not cooperated with the NSA in its Terrorist Surveillance Program.

Sources familiar with the new initiative said the focus is not figuring out who was behind the recent cyberattacks — doing so is a nearly impossible task after the fact — but building a better defense of Google’s networks, or what its technicians call “information assurance.”

One senior defense official, while not confirming or denying any agreement the NSA might have with any firm, said: “If a company came to the table and asked for help, I would ask them . . . ‘What do you know about what transpired in your system? What deficiencies do you think they took advantage of? Tell me a little bit about what it was they did.’ ” Sources said the NSA is reaching out to other government agencies that play key roles in the U.S. effort to defend cyberspace and might be able to help in the Google investigation.

These agencies include the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.

Over the past decade, other Silicon Valley companies have quietly turned to the NSA for guidance in protecting their networks.

“As a general matter,” NSA spokeswoman Judi Emmel said, “as part of its information-assurance mission, NSA works with a broad range of commercial partners and research associates to ensure the availability of secure tailored solutions for Department of Defense and national security systems customers.”

Despite such precedent, Matthew Aid, an expert on the NSA, said Google’s global reach makes it unique.

“When you rise to the level of Google . . . you’re looking at a company that has taken great pride in its independence,” said Aid, author of “The Secret Sentry,” a history of the NSA. “I’m a little uncomfortable with Google cooperating this closely with the nation’s largest intelligence agency, even if it’s strictly for defensive purposes.”

The pact would be aimed at allowing the NSA help Google understand whether it is putting in place the right defenses by evaluating vulnerabilities in hardware and software and to calibrate how sophisticated the adversary is. The agency’s expertise is based in part on its analysis of cyber-”signatures” that have been documented in previous attacks and can be used to block future intrusions.

The NSA would also be able to help the firm understand what methods are being used to penetrate its system, the sources said. Google, for its part, may share information on the types of malicious code seen in the attacks — without disclosing proprietary data about what was taken, which would concern shareholders, sources said.

Greg Nojeim, senior counsel for the Center for Democracy & Technology, a privacy advocacy group, said companies have statutory authority to share information with the government to protect their rights and property.

[Via http://afteramerica.wordpress.com]

10 Things To Do When You're Home Alone

I’m a highschool teacher and my boyfriend is a bartender, so often I’m home alone in the evenings. Since I don’t have a TV and like it that way, I tend to do other things.

Here is, in no particular order, a list of my ten favorite things to do when home alone:

1. Read a good book.

Be it fiction or factual, there’s nothing like tapping a hot bath or crawling into bed with a good book. Right now I’m reading Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and ‘Shakespeare’ by Another Name by Mark Anderson, both brilliant in their own way. If you feel uninspired I suggest starting here. GoodReads is a community where you can track books you’ve read, want to read or might want to learn more about later. You can browse other users’ lists, browse categories, learn about new releases or simply browse books at random.

2. Write blog posts.

This is the perfect time for me to write on my blog. I spend my day at work running between classes, talking to students and planning my courses. There simply isn’t time to sit down and really write. At the most I’ll jot down an idea I have for a blog post. Then when I’m alone at home I can work on my posts undisturbed for as long as I like.

3. Watch a lecture on TED and learn something new.

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design and is a small nonprofit enterprise devoted to “Ideas worth sharing”. If you ever wanted to find inspiration, get new perspective or just learn something from smart  people this is the place to go. If you think educated people aren’t funny, I warmly recomend watching Ze Frank’s nerdcore comedy presentation. He’s young, passionate and brilliant. Just be warned: TED is addictive.

4. Browse youtube.

Have you seen Improve Everywhere’s “Subway Ride With No Pants“? How about the Dramatic Prairie Dog? Youtube is a fascinating social phenomenon that can keep you busy for hours on end. Plus you never know where you’ll end up.

5. Catch up on social networking.

Being home alone is the perfect time to respond to e-mails from friends, browse Facebook to get updated on the whodunnits and chat on skype with friends who are too far away to have coffee with.

6. Take macro photographs of things at home.

I have to be pretty bored or in an artistic mood to do this one, but it can be a lot of fun none the less. You’d be surprised how many things can look really cool when photographed up close or in a particular lighting. You don’t even need a digital SLR camera, most compact cameras have very decent macro functions. After uploading them into my computer and playing around with them in Photoshop, I usually post the ones I liked best on Flickr.

7. Play with iPhone.

Yes I bought an iPhone. I’ve had it for about five months now and it is my number one favorite toy ever. Reading books, playing games, checking e-mail and Facebook, composing shopping lists and browsing recipes – all from the comfort of my bed or sofa, without the loud fan of a laptop. Not to mention the integrated iPod. iPhone App Reviews.net has up to date reviews on all kinds of applications and is my personal pick from among the application review sites.

8. Play computer games.

Yes I’m a nerd. I used to spend most of my time playing this online roleplaying game and blogging about it. I don’t have the time needed for that kind of game anymore, but I still play games. Right now I’m slowly working my way through Bioware’s Dragon Age: Origins and loving every single line of dialogue in it. If you don’t know what games to play, I suggest starting over at GameTrailer. You can find both trailers and fantastic reviews there, even if you’re not a hardcore gamer.

9. Play loud corny music and lip sync in front of the mirror.

Admittedly, I don’t do this all that often, but it sure is fun. Being home alone means you can play whatever music you want, without bothering anyone or being judged. I usually log on to Spotify or youtube if I’m in the mood for a particular song. If I’m just out for a general genre, I usually go with Last.fm which is brilliant for discovering new music similar to what you already listen to.

10. Have a cup of tea by the window and muse about life.

I work with people all day and spend a lot of time socializing with friends, so from time to time I like to just turn off all electronic devices – the computer, my phone, even the radio – and just spend some time alone. Tea helps me unwind and I can think about whatever might cross my mind without worrying about having to be anywhere or having to get anything done. Just be.

I didn’t put “grade student papers”, “clean up” or “do the dishes” on that list even though I do that a lot too. But let’s be honest: who likes doing those things, anyway?

What’s your favorite way of spending your alone-time?

[Via http://aendi.wordpress.com]

Texting, Twitter contributing to students’ poor grammar skills, profs say.

Just read an interesting article in the Globe and Mail that suggested some social networks contributed to students’ poor grammar skills:

Little or no grammar teaching, cell phone texting, social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, are all being blamed for an increasingly unacceptable number of post-secondary students who can’t write.

Well, not all social networks are created equal.  Many Wattpaders are saying that Wattpad is helping them to improve their writing skills!

[Via http://allenlau.wordpress.com]

What is to come

I have just finished watching one of the most engaging documentaries to date. at least for me, and it did not grasp my interest because it was a trendy or controversial. It caught my interest because it is something that is apart of my every day life. Something that I have grown up with since birth. Something that effects me and many of friends.

It is the digital age and its effect on society. You can find the documentary posted at this link.

The reason I am posting this is because Another Day On Facebook is scheduled to release another Blogitorial by the end of the week. So stay subscribed and keep checking back.

[Via http://anotherdayonfacebook.wordpress.com]

Doppleganger Week

Doppleganger is Facebooks latest fad.

In order to celebrate Doppelganger Week, Facebook users switch their profile pictures to famous people they have been told they resemble. It could be Michael Jackson, Zach Efron, or if you’re lucky, Natalie Portman or Jennifer Aniston

The trend appears to be catching on like wildfire, so much so that its success is being compared to that of the “bra color” status updates. The bra color trend had women updating the what color bra they were sporting that day in order to raise awareness for breast cancer.

Here is my contribution to Doppleganger week. No, I am not going to put it on Facebook. This is me and boyfriend:



It’s not a celebrity but these are the two characters I thought were most like us so I broke the rules a little bit. I think it still counts.

[Via http://whatsthatblog.com]

Be Careful What You Facebook...

That’s right job hunters and college-bounders.

A new release of information by ReputationDefender CEO Michael Fertik stated that there have been increasing instances of employers and colleges now asking their applicants to pull up and log into their Facebook accounts DURING INTERVIEWS!!!!!!!!

Y’all heard me, they will flat out ask you to log in and peruse your Facebook profile while you sit there, helplessly cursing yourself for not detagging incriminating photos from last weekend’s debauchery.

So now, not only is it important to keep every part of your Facebook profile private, but also you must be very wary of the content that you allow to exist online in general on Facebook. I highly suggest logging into your account right now and checking out your photos/wall/status updates and pretending that you’re sitting next to the CEO of XYZ company and assessing how red-faced you will be if he or she were to check out your profile. I do feel that this new finding is a bit alarming and unnerving, how about you?

As this article discusses, it is of utmost important to keep a positive online reputation. Employers can screen you before you even walk in the door via the portals of Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.

Additionally, it is important to know that your friends (or more likely enemies) aren’t slandering your reputation and airing out your dirty laundry. How can I figure that out, you ask?? I’d like to introduce you to one of my online website saving graces: www.google.com/alerts.

Google Alerts are a-m-a-z-i-ng. Basically what this feature does for you is scour every online source and nook & cranny and then emails you (you pick: daily or weekly-I’m not that cool or popular so I chose weekly) who has posted anything to do with your name online in the last week. I have found random things that I never knew existed, such as my new IMBD entry (because apparently I’m famous in the UK since I acted in an independent film in 2002): http://uk.imdb.com/name/nm3687720/. This randomly showed up online about a month ago, and I would have never known about it if it weren’t for google alerts.

Lessons for today:

1. Don’t allow anyone (or yourself) to put up incriminating photos of you, wall posts, or status. You will most likely regret it (if not professionally, probably personally).

2. Sign up for google alerts. If you have a nickname or alias that you go by, sign up for several alerts (your real name, nickname/alias, etc). Also sign up your business or website if you want to have a little extra fun in knowing who has been blabbing about you.

3. Routinely check your Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter (etc) privacy settings. Facebook recently changed their privacy settings, making it easier to look at people that you’re not even friends with profiles/pics/etc. Check that, make sure most if not all of your settings are set to “Only Friends.” Lock your twitter account (so people have to request to see your statuses) and same for MySpace (does anyone even USE MySpace anymore?).

4. Pretend that your grandma has access to your Social Networking accounts. Perhaps your grandma IS actually on Facebook, but if she isn’t, just imagine that she checks your Facebook on a weekly basis. Do you want grandma seeing your best friend doing body shots off your stomach? Or seeing you sticking your tongue down a random creep’s throat? Or, my personal favorite, the girl’s “I’m so drunk and I’m on the toilet so this would be the best time to take out my camera and pose with some toilet paper” pictures. Yeah, I didn’t think you wanted Grandma to see that.

[Via http://stilljennyfromtheblog.wordpress.com]