Category Archives: Social Networking

Snapchat, Social Networking

SNAPCHAT (Part 2) – THE ULTIMATE SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDE – PART 6

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Once you’ve got your Snapchat account, you’ll be able to pick up snaps from Snapchat’s Live account. You don’t have to subscribe or add this Live feed, it’s there automatically. Recent feeds have been from Dublin, Al Ahmadi, Boston, New York, Hong Kong, The Netherlands, etc. You also get snaps from various events; award shows, music concerts, sport feeds and so on. These snaps are not from pros, they’re from people like you.  That’s the cool part of this, the snaps aren’t staged or repetitive, they’re live and real.

Snapchat’s Screens

There are five Snapchat screens. The default screen shows your camera. The button at the bottom controls the camera, press it once and you take a photo; hold it and your snap becomes a video.

Scroll left and you’ll see any snaps that have been sent to you. Scroll once more left and you’ve got your chat screen. See the line at the bottom? That’s where you can type your message to one of your Snapchat friends. Tap it and a keyboard appears. Once you’ve typed your message you can either attach a photo or video snap or just send the text. Note that you can’t send a chat message to someone until they have sent you a snap.

Scroll three to the right and you’re at your main Snapchat window. This is where the most recent updates are, the ones at the top of the page are new snaps you’ve received since the last time you checked. Below that, your friends are listed in alphabetical order. If they have a recent snap, it will show below their name.

Photo of SnapChat screen
We only have to updates at this point. One is from Mark Kaye, a DJ who is very popular on Snapchat. The other is from Snapchat’s live feed, this time from Al Ahmadi in Kuwait.

 

Scroll once more to the right and you’re at the Find Friends screen. Press on the magnifying glass at the top and start typing. You’ll know that you’ve found someone who has a Snapchat account when there is a tiny square with a plus sign inside it to the right of the name. Press that and you’ve added that person to your Snapchat as a friend. Anyone you add has to approve your request but that’s common in most social media. You will see the word ‘pending’ just below their name once you’ve pressed the add icon.

Photo of Snapchat Friend Addition
We’ve added anna. We don’t know who she is but she has the option to refuse us. See the ‘pending’ below her name?

If you search Google for ‘snapchat users’, you will find quite a few sites that list Snapshat accounts. Be advised that while Snapchat doesn’t condone nudity, some of the profiles you encounter may not be suitable for all ages or for browsing at work. That’s where the term NSFW pops up. If something is Not Suitable for Work, you can bet there is probably partial nudity in the snaps.

Generally though, Snapchat isn’t crawling with adult-themed photos or videos. For the most part Snapchat is fun, wholesome, often silly and entertaining. It’s full of pranks, bad jokes and people being people. That’s why we like it.

Snapchat Tips:

1. Add MarkKaye if you’re into Snapchat stars, both current and upcoming. CyreneQ is a very popular Snapchat artist. Check out her site for more Snapchat users: the11thsecond.com 

2. If you’re searching for users on your own, make sure you use as many forms of the name as possible. Anna might be just Anna or she could be Anna_ or Anna_Anna plus many other variations.

That’s it for Snapchat. Have fun, share your adventures with us and, if you want followers, add your Snapchat in a comment below.

Comments and questions are welcome but  Likes on our Facebook page get immediate attention.  Here’s the link: Computers Made Simple on Facebook .  Thanks for reading!

 

 

Snapchat, Social Networking

Snapchat – THE ULTIMATE SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDE – PART 5

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Snapchat used to have a bad reputation, back in 2011 and 2012. Many people thought it was just another way to send rude photos. We’re not sure who the app was aimed at originally but lately it’s been embraced by many companies and organizations, something that never happens with some social media. If you think Snapchat is just for teens, it’s time to take a second look.

Although the app is simple, Snapchat’s power is in its portability, spontaneity and, yes, its simplicity. Want to share a moment or a series of moments? Press a button to record a photo or short video, decide who to send it to and, presto, it’s delivered. As with other social media, users add contacts with whom they can interact. Some may be genuine friends, others may be total strangers. They could even be celebrities, Nick Jonas for one, or a company, Me Undies for instance.

Photo of Me Undies
Where else can you get 365 pairs of undies? We’re not affiliated with Me Undies but their Snapchat videos are fun to watch.

Besides photos and videos, Snapchat’s other claim to fame is its customization. Snap a photo or video of anything then enhance it with your own art. Adding colorful art has created some world famous Snapchat users, not all of them from the U.S. Sure, there is a huge American user base but Snapchat has taken off worldwide. On any day of the week, you could find a whole city sharing Snapchats with you. This week it’s Amsterdam, last week it was Sydney.

Photo of Nick Jonas
Follow Mark Kaye and you’ll get to see Nick Jonas with his eyes closed.

When it comes to live events, Snapchat leads the way. Whether it’s Coachella , the NBA playoffs or the World Cup of Cricket, Snapchat was there. We’re not sure how that part of it works but however they do it, it’s a lot of fun to share in these events. If you like red carpets, check out the Snapchat feeds from the award shows. Your favorite stars are suddenly themselves when they’re away from the TV cameras and interviewers. You’ll see a whole other side of things, things that Instagram and Facebook never show. Snapchat is the winner here, hands down.

Snapchat is cross-platform. The versions differ somewhat but you can have fun on Android as well as iOs plus, we expect, on some others as well. Download it, install it and sign up. In our next post we’ll show you how it all works and, best of all, how to find people to follow. Stay tuned!

Comments and questions are welcome but  Likes on our Facebook page get immediate attention.  Here’s the link: Computers Made Simple on Facebook .  Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

WeChat, Weixin

WeChat – Back up your chats or lose them

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We love WeChat. Many of our readers like it too. Our WeChat posts are almost as popular as our Facebook posts. For that reason, here’s a tip for the holiday season: Back up your chat history.

This is the time of year when many of us get new mobile devices as gifts. Sales of tablets and smartphones peak at this time of the  year, at least in the western world. While WeChat automatically backs up your contact list, it doesn’t save any of your chat history. If you sign into your WeChat account from a new phone or mobile device, your contacts are there but your chats aren’t. Here’s how to temporarily save your chat history to the WeChat servers. Once you do that, you can restore the saved history to your new phone.

1. Head to Settings on your Me menu:

Photo of WeChat Chat History Backup
Head to your WeChat account and click Me in the lower right hand corner. Click Settings when you see this.

2. Look for the word Chat in your Settings and press it:

Photo of WeChat Chat History 2
To backup your chats, press Chat.

3. Under Chat History, we’re going to Backup/Restore Chat History. Backup first from this device then Restore on your new device.

Photo of WeChat Chat History 3
Back up now, Restore later.

4. If you’ve got your new device all set up, click Backup. This whole process is temporary, right? Seven days is the limit.

Photo of WeChat Chat History 4
Make sure you’re on WiFi and your battery is full then press Backup.

5. Once you’ve backed up your chats, sign into your account on your new device and go through the same steps shown here, except choose Restore instead of Backup. Depending on how large your chat record is, this whole thing could take some time. Make sure you’re on WiFi and that your battery is well charged or you’re plugged into a power outlet before you begin. If your phone dies in the middle of all of this or if you lose your connection, things will get screwed up. Prepare everything using your common sense and you’re all set.

Comments and questions are welcome but  Likes on our Facebook page get immediate attention.  Here’s the link: Computers Made Simple on Facebook 

 

 

Instagram, Social Networking

Instagram Friend of Follow – Beating the follow/unfollowers

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If you use Instagram, you know that many people follow you then, almost instantly, unfollow you. It seems that the principle here is to get you to follow them, then they unfollow you a bit later on, leaving you stranded. We’ve noticed lately that many start-up businesses do the same thing, it’s not just individual users. Here’s how we get rid of those tricksters once and for all.

1. Head over to insta.friendorfollow.com   . If you have Instagram open on your computer, all you have to do is press the login button. Otherwise you have to enter your Instagram information. It’s safe, don’t worry about your security with Friend or Follow.

Photo of Friend or Follow Main Page
Click on the link and this is where you’ll end up.

2. Once you are officially inside the site, you’ll see three tabs across the top of the page. One tab shows Instagram users who you follow but do not follow  you back. The next tab shows you who follows you but you don’t follow them back. The third tab show users who follow you and you follow back.

Photo of Friend or Follow Three Tabs
Here’s all you need to trim the deadwood from your follow list.

3. The most recent additions are at the top. Assuming that you’ve been using Instagram for a while, you’ve got a fair number of accounts that you follow. Your oldest follows are at the bottom. You can’t organize any of these lists of users any other way.

4. If someone has recently followed you and has tricked you into following them, they will be on the first tab, right up in the top left corner. If you hover your mouse over their icon, their mini-profile will appear. You can either unfollow them from there or you can click on their username and check out their posts. Then you can unfollow them from that page if their photo mix doesn’t meet with your approval.

Photo of Friend or Follow Mouse Hover
Hover your mouse over any profile icon and a small mini-profile pops up. You can unfollow directly from it.

We’ve found that Instagram users play this game far more than people on Twitter. On Twitter, your followers generally stick around forever. If they don’t, there is a separate friendorfollow site for Twitter. It works the same way so there’s no need for a separate post, at least not anytime soon.

We’re winding down for the holidays but we’ll be checking for comments every day. There may be a few posts before we take a break, we’re not sure. Regardless, we love to hear from our readers. Comments and questions are welcome but  Likes on our Facebook page get immediate attention.  Here’s the link: Computers Made Simple on Facebook 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

Facefeed, Snapchat, Social Networking

Snapchat vs. Facefeed – and the winner is?

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Snapchat and Facefeed are two popular and relatively new mobile apps which share a similar purpose: meeting people. No, these aren’t replacements for the online dating sites, they’re far more casual, less intense and a lot more fun. Initially we were going to do separate posts but since they’re more the same than different, we decided to do a comparison. Here we go!

Similarities: 

1. Both Snapchat and Facefeed are available for Android and iOS devices. Facefeed started out as iOS only but now it’s available at Google Play for Android.

2. The two apps require a camera, something that WeChat etc. don’t. Like Instagram, both of these are image based. They let users display themselves and/or their lives. Facefeed requires a front facing cam, Snapchat can use either front or rear cam.

 

Differences: 

1. There is no log-in with Facefeed. You show up, give your preferences and you’re on your way. Snapchat requires a username and an email address.

2. The camera thing mentioned above. Facefeed cannot use your rear cam, just the one that sees, guess what, your face. Snapchat lets you shoot your own ugly mug or those of your friends.

3. You can keep track of friends/strangers on Snapchat. You can add them to your feed and send messages directly to them. While Facefeed allows you to follow people, you can’t directly message someone unless you keep a continuous stream of messages going back and forth. Facefeed is not one-on-one, at least as far as broadcasting messages (snaps) is concerned. It’s easy, almost too easy, to lose connections.

4. Facefeed is pics and text on pics only, no video and no art. Snapchat uses still photos, videos as well as art. You have to take a photo or video before you can draw on your screen but most users shoot a pic of a blank ceiling, for example, then draw on it. You can add text and/or your own drawings. Here are a few examples from Snapchat users:

Photo of Ryan Seacrest
Cyreneq is a real artist, here shown with a pretty good Ryan Seacrest.
Photo of Drawing of Cat
A smiling cat. Take the pic, add the art and send it off.

 

5. Of the two apps, Facefeed is more instantaneous, more current. The feed is always there, sometimes with repetitions but more often than not, fresh every time. Snapchat only shows the current snaps, ones that the people you follow send out. If everyone is busy, you’re got nothing to look at.

6. On Facefeed, the stream of faces is your source of contacts. You can’t add people from a list of names, you can only send them a message when you see their face on the flow. With Snapchat, there are sites that allow users to share their Snapchat names. Here’s a link to one of those places:

http://www.the11thsecond.com/

Photo of website
Cyreneq seems to work at or run this site. Lots of names here.

Decisions, decisions: 

Which app is best? We like both but we lean towards Snapchat. It’s more fun, has far less of a single’s bar atmosphere and it allows you keep in touch with your contacts. Facefeed is frustrating, to be honest. While we’re not going to get into instructions for these two, we will warn you to be very careful with your swipes. Swipe the wrong way at the wrong time and your contact is lost, often forever. You can be in the middle of a conversation with a friend and, bam, they’re gone. Once you install the app you’ll see what we mean. Just read the comments on many of the photos and you’ll get an idea of exactly how exasperating Facefeed can be.

One feature that we like on Snapchat is the weekend feeds from various social events. Things like college football games, rock concerts, charity events, conventions, etc. These come automatically, you don’t subscribe to them. Watch them or not, it’s up to you, but they add a whole other element of fun. At this point they’re all from the U.S. but we hope to see more from around the world.

Snapchat also allows video chats, text chats with no photos and, of course, the drawing function. Add both but we think you’ll grow to like Snapchat more. Single guys and girls can play around with Facefeed but we think you’ll see it’s not much different from WeChat’s Shake feature. Everything about it is a shot in the dark.

There you have it. A short synopsis of Facefeed and Snapchat. If you have questions or comments, use the comment form below this to share them with us. Alternatively, Like our Facebook page and make a comment there. Here is the link: Computers Made Simple on Facebook.   Thanks for reading!