Category Archives: Facebook

Facebook, Facebook Wish List

Facebook Wish List

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Facebook is still very popular, even though it has had security problems and personal information issues. Some people like the new timeline, some hate it. What would you like to see on Facebook? Here’s what we would like.

1. Compared to the Chinese version of Facebook, renren.com, one of the biggest issues is the ability to leave a private comment. On Renren, any comment on any photo or log post or even on a status update, may be made privately. No one has to know what you say except the person you are answering or whose content you are commenting on. The privacy button means that users can have a whole different experience while they are interacting with their friends. Think of the possibilities!

Photo of private content box
This message will be private. The ‘Private’ box is ticked, the message will be seen by only two people: the user and the commenter.

2. While many scam applications promise to show you who has stopped by your profile, none of them work. On renren, there is a constantly updated facepile of people who have visited you. Additionally, the number of visitors is constantly updated as well. When you know the number of visitors you have, you can see what brings your friends to your profile. It does become a bit of a competition but that’s the beauty of it. You know who your real friends are because they visit you frequently and you also know how popular you are.

Photo of total profile visitors
This profile is relatively popular, with over 37,000 visitors.

3. When you post a photo or an album, how do you know how popular it is. Wouldn’t it be cool to see how many people have seen your vacation photos? Renren shows you who has visited your profile, as we mentioned, but it also shows you how many people have seen each of your photos or read your blog (log). Using this handy tool, it’s easy to streamline your photo albums or your logs to increase their popularity.

Photo of total photo viewers.
This photo isn’t too popular. 22 viewings and 0 comments.

4. We’d like to see a more open Facebook. The world thinks that China is full of censorship, they call it ‘harmonizing’, but in reality, Facebook is in the Dark Ages when it comes to censorship. One of our favorite Facebook friends, a professional photographer, has to use a photo editing program to put a mosaic around different parts of the photos he posts. On Renren, the uncensored photos from his site are completely untouched. This is in China, the country that the world sees as being backward. In reality, Facebook is the more juvenile of the two most popular social networking sites. Instead of opening up the world and people’s minds, Facebook is taking the increasing Victorianism of the United States and running with it. (In case you don’t know, the Victorian Era in England was a time of prohibition of anything sexual in nature.) Accounts are suspended if they show a woman’s breast, if you can believe it. On Renren, if a photo is unusually open, it’s simply removed. Nothing is said about it, the account isn’t suspended; Renren simply removes the photo. No big deal.

Photo showing an example of the lack of censorship on Renren.com
On Renren, this photo is NOT censored. We censored it for our site, however. 

 

6. Our last wish has to do with tagging a comment. Why can’t you just answer the person who is asking a question? Why do you have to tag them in the comment box? If you aren’t friends with the person that you wish to answer or respond to, you have to add them as a friend first. Renren, again, has an answer for this. For any comment, it is very easy to respond to the person, even if that person isn’t your friend. Here is a photo of how it works:

Photo of how to respond to a comment.
The middle circle is what you click to respond to the poster of the comment. 

In the photo above, we have circled the person’s name (upper circle) and the corresponding part of the ‘in reply to’ in the comment box that also shows the person’s name (lower circle), just to show you how it works. No need to tag, just click the word in the middle circle and type your answer/response. So simple!

Looking at all of this, isn’t it rather obvious that Renren is a bit more innovative than Facebook? People may say that the Chinese copy everything but sometimes, as with Renren, the copy is better than the original.

 

We don’t think that Facebook is going to change their style any time soon but this is our current wish list. What things do you want to see on Facebook. Are you ready to give Renren a shot? Meet some new friends in China? Don’t be shy. Jump in and have some fun.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

Facebook, Scroll button

Facebook Scroll to Top Button – here’s how

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If you’re at the bottom of your Facebook page and want to get back up to the top, what do you do? Slowly click the top of the scroll bar or grab the slider with your mouse and drag it to the top of the page. Too slow, right? There’s got to be an easier way. There is. Here’s how you do it:

1. Your desktop keyboard looks like this:

Photo of Mini-Standard-Keyboard-KEY-610
Look on the right side for the 7 key.

 

2. Locate the 7 key on the right number pad, if you have one. That is your ‘HOME’ key.

 

3. Scroll wayyyyy down to the bottom of your Facebook page, or any other page for that matter, then hit the 7 key. You should now be at the top of the Facebook page.

 

4. If your screen still shows your page bottom, that means you have your ‘Num Lock’ key active. If you look at the top of the keypad, you’ll see Num Lock right above the 7 key. You’ll also see that one of the little LED lights above that are lit. Press the Num Lock key, the light will go out then press the 7 key again. Guaranteed your Facebook page will zip up to the top.

5. If you’re using a laptop, you still have a Home key. It can change places but on an HP Netbook, it’s on the left direction key on the lower right side of the keyboard. The word Home is in grey, telling us that we have to hold the ‘fn’ (function) key and press ‘Home’ at the same time. Why? Since laptop/netbook/notebook keyboards are usually smaller, many keys have two or three actions. The function key (fn on the lower left), switches between the functions that some of the keys have.

That’s it! You can now scroll to the top of any long page instantly, no need to drag the scroll button and wait. We’ve saved you almost a full second of your day. You’re welcome!

Thanks for reading!

TIP: It’s interesting to note that the Chinese version of Facebook has a big button on the bottom of long pages, part of the page design. Click that button and you’re back to the top instantly. QQ uses the same thing in user’s zones. Now that you know this trick, you don’t need it on Facebook.

Facebook, Facebook Secrets, Facebook Tricks, Hide Game Updates

Fewer Facebook Updates

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Some Facebook friends are just too active, right? Your newsfeed is full of ‘X did this’ and ‘X did that’. Here’s how you can stop those updates from making it to your Facebook newsfeed.

1. Go to your troublesome friend’s timeline. Hover your mouse over the word ‘Friends’. This is what you’ll see:

Photo of Hiding Friend's Updates 1
Hovering on the word ‘Friends’ will bring out this menu.

 

2. On the menu that pops out, look for the word Settings, as shown here:

Photo of Hiding Friend's Updates 2
Settings is the one you want on this menu.

 

3. Click the word ‘Settings’ to bring up this menu:

Photo of Hiding Friend's Updates 3

Choose which updates you want to receive.

 

 

4. From the list, choose which updates you want to receive. If you’re getting spammed with game updates, make sure that the ‘Games’ word is unchecked.

Thanks for reading!

Block game invitations, Facebook, Facebook Games, Facebook Secrets, Facebook Tricks

Block Facebook Game Invitations

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Facebook game invitations are frustrating, aren’t they? If you don’t play Facebook games, these invitations are no different than spam. Here’s how to stop them. Actually, there are two ways to do this. You can block the app itself or you can block that pesky friend or relative who just loves to send you Facebook game invitations. You decide how you want to do it.

1. Head to your Facebook Privacy settings from any Facebook page. Top right, click on the down arrow and choose ‘Privacy Settings’.

2. This is what you will see next:

Photo of how to Block Facebook Game Invitations 1
Look for ‘Blocked People & Apps’ at the bottom then click on the blue ‘Manage blocking’

 

3. Click on the blue link at the bottom right, ‘Manage blocking’. This is what you’ll see next:

Photo of how to Block Facebook Game Invitations 2
You have a choice here. Block the person or the app. You decide.

 

4. Decide if you want to block app invites from that pesky friend or relative or block that stupid game that you hate. We would recommend blocking the person(s) since there are always new apps/games on Facebook. You can also block event invitations here. That’s handy if you follow someone who’s always throwing a party or some art event that you’re not interested in. All of these settings can be undone, of course.

Thanks for reading!

Adjust Default Privacy Settings, Create a List, Facebook, Facebook Tricks

Custom Facebook Privacy Settings – Part 2

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In our last post, we explained how to create a list of friends on Facebook. In this post, we will use that list to create a custom privacy setting for certain posts that you make. This setting will guarantee that only the people on this list will be able to see what you post. Let’s get started!

1. From any page in Facebook, click on the little down arrow up on the right, beside the word ‘Home’. This is what you’ll see when you click on it:

Photo on how to create Custom Privacy Settings
Click on Privacy Settings.

 

2. This is the next menu that you’ll see:

Photo of Custom Privacy Settings 2
What you’re looking for here is the ‘Custom’ button.

 

3. Once you set up this custom setting, you’ll be able to choose who can see certain posts. You can name them all individually or simply choose a list that you’re already created. Here’s the next menu, the one you’ll see when you click ‘Custom’:

Photo of how to Custom Privacy Settings 3
Choose ‘Specific People or Lists’

 

4. Once you choose ‘Specific People or Lists’, this is the menu that pops out:

Photo of Custom Facebook Privacy 4
Choose to hide or make the post visible. Note the tagging reminder.

 

You can choose to make certain posts visible or you can choose to hide the posts from some people. We would suggest hiding the posts as opposed to restricting who can see it. It’s the same thing, pretty much, but when you hide something, it seems to be more secure, more private.

Warning: Before you go nuts with this, specially where family or significant others are concerned, think about what you’re posting. A mistake here could be disastrous. 

Tip: This setting is your default setting. Whenever you post something, you will have to check which setting you’re using, this custom one or one of your other settings. You can change your default setting at any time using this set of menus. Good luck!

Thanks for reading!