Tag: Facebook

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News

Facebook and Twitter Tells Google “Don’t be Evil” With Search Tool

Google has recently started ringed in a lot of Google+ results into it’s search results. It introduced personalized results which show up when users are signed in. Twitter had its issues with the new results as it felt Google was being partial to Google+ results.

For example when we search for the term ‘Facebook’ on Google, I get results to People and Pages Related to Facebook along with the regular links. These results show links to profiles of Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg.

These are links to their Google+ profiles. Both profiles have never been updated for many months. Considering both account for the positions of CEO and COO at Facebook between themselves, it would be better for Google to show links to their Facebook accounts which are a lot more current.

Google_Search_bias

While Google might be suggesting Facebook and Twitter are not sharing their data, but a search for ‘Mark Zuckerberg’ shows up his profile on Facebook as the top social result. So Google is in a way unfairly pushing only Google+ results.

‘Don’t Be Evil’ Features

Facebook, Twitter and MySpace engineers have come with a bookmarklet cheekily called ‘Don’t be Evil’. It aims to transform the results into more relevant ones as seen in the image below.

DOntbeevil_results

  • The results are transformed into more relevant ones after clicking on the ‘Don’t be Evil’ bookmarklet.
  • There is also a Chrome extension if you prefer extensions instead of bookmarklets.
  • What is interesting to note is that these results are improved by using Google search results itself.

Here is video demonstration about this bookmarklet and how it improves search results.

What are your views on Google search results pushing Google+ profiles and pages? Should they stop being partial towards its own social network? Do drop in your comments.

Link: Dont’ Be Evil Bookmarklet

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News

Ignore All Future Event/Application Invites From a Friend on Facebook

Facebook is an interesting social-networking website but what makes it annoying is the useless notifications you get everyday about games and applications and some event requests. Earlier we told you a way of blocking a particular application so that you won’t get any request related to that application from any of your friends. But what if you still want to receive requests but not from a particular friend, well here’s the solution for you.

Blocking requests from a particular friend for an application:

For this go to your Apps and Games page from the sidebar of your Facebook homepage. Alternatively you can click the link below.

https://www.facebook.com/games

After that reject any request from a friend by clicking ‘Cross’ sign given with the accept button. Now to reject all the future requests from that friend click on “Ignore all requests from friends name?” on the same page as shown below.

 

 

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Blocking requests from a particular friend for an event:

If you are getting so many event invitations than it’s a good idea to block those invites rather than removing that person from your friends list. To ignore all event invites go to your events page. Now first of all decline an event request and then click on the button given with the text ‘You Declined’. See the pic below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that click confirm to stop receiving future invites from that particular friend. That’s it, now you will stop getting useless invites and notifications.

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Tips

Write in Strikethrough and Underlined text on Facebook [How-To]

We have another cool trick for all the Facebook lovers. This time we will tell you how you can update your Facebook status or even comment on other’s statuses with Underlined or Strikethrough text. Before this I want to clear one thing that writing a text in Strikethrough in MS Word and then copying and pasting it to Facebook won’t work as both texts have different encoding. Let’s see the simplest way of doing that.

Writing in Strikethrough/Underline:

To update a status or post a comment on Facebook in Strikethrough go to this website. This is a direct link to the tool which generates the Strikethrough Text. Write the text you want to convert to Strikethrough format in the box 1. and click generate. After that copy whatever text it shows in the box 2. and post it on Facebook. For Strikethrough select ‘Format Type’ as ‘Horizontal’ on the same page. For Underline select ‘Format Type’ as ‘Underline’.

Result:

 

 

 

 

 

Writing comments and updating statuses on Facebook in Strikethrough and underline is something new and trending. Don’t forget to give it a try. 😉

Update: You can also write this underlined or strikethrough text in Facebook Messages.

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Analysis

Will Timeline Apps Lead to Sharing Overload on Facebook!

Let me start with the fact that I am not really a fan of Facebook’s new Timeline layout. It definitely looks pretty but making it necessary for me to look up my share setting for all my posts over the past 3 years is very tedious. I am also not a big fan of the ticker in the sidebar either. The sidebar can be hidden but then I cannot see my friends who are online and available to chat.

facebook_apps_timeline

Facebook today has announced a host of Apps that can be added to your Timeline.  Apps from Goodreads, Rockmelt, Flixster, Yahoo News and several others have been accepted by Facebook to post on your Timeline. So next time if you read something on the Yahoo News App, it will be shared on your timeline.

See this video demo about App on your Facebook Timeline

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Will Apps posting on Timeline lead to Sharing overload?

I think Facebook cannot be blamed as users will have to allow apps to post on their timelines. But it might be something users might find a little tricky to manage.

Apps are reducing the step of us listening to a song and sharing it with our friends on Facebook. They are making the process automatic. This might suit some people but not everyone. If I read 10 stories via Yahoo News App, I might want to share only one or two of those stories with my friends on Facebook.

If you want to approve Apps for your Facebook Timeline look up this link.

What are your views on Apps posting on your Timeline? Will it lead to an overload of sharing? Do drop in your comments.

Link: Facebook’s Timeline Apps

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Video

Access Facebook on Your Mobile Phone without Internet! [Video]

Facebook India recently announced that mobile users in India can also access their Facebook accounts without the need of a internet connection, with the help of an app called Fonetwish.

All you are need to do is dial *325# on your mobile phone. This will pull up a list of options via a console like interface to access your Facebook news feeds, update your status, manage friend requests and notifications.

fontewish_facebook_dial

Using Fonetwish App for Facebook on your Mobile Phone

  • This is done via using Facebook App called Fonetwish, which charges Re 1/- per day while updating status on Facebook is free.
  • This service is meant to work on any phone which could be an iPhone or even simpler lower-end phone models. There are no roaming charges either.
  • The only problem with using Fonetwish is that it has a limit of 140 characters.
  • This service is available in India on Airtel, Aircel, Idea, Videocon, Loop Mobile and Tata Docomo networks.

Video demo for using Fonetwish

This will be really useful for people who do not have a smart-phone but still want to check their Facebook account from their phone at a reasonable price.

Do drop in your comments.

Link: Fonetwish

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News

Does India Really Want Internet Censorship Like China?

Internet censorship was something we never imagined in India. There have been calls for bans on social media networks by some groups but no one really gave such ideas any real importance. Then came the bombshell from Indian Government’s Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal who first wanted internet websites to screen all their content. Screening online content is just another definition of ‘online censorship’.

Today according to this report on NDTV, a Delhi High Court Judge warned Facebook and Google that if they failed to create a mechanism to remove objectionable online content, they would block these websites like China does.

Why was the case heard in Delhi High Court?

The case against 21 internet sites like Google, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and more for objectionable content has been registered in Delhi High Court. These are complaints against posts and images that are objectionable. I am not a lawyer, but it is a little strange to ask for filtering of content created by billions of people every day. The case is not about removing objectionable content but filtering this content.

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After the court’s observations, the government of India has also now sanctioned prosecuting these websites.

What could happen next?

The worst case scenario, is that websites like Facebook and Google cloud be blocked. I do not think Google or Facebook will adhere to any screening unless India does have a law that defines what exactly needs to be blocked, removed or screened. Personally I doubt the Indian government would like to see itself in a club that contains mostly autocratic regimes from around the world.

Also these are observations of a High Court in Delhi. The Supreme Court could also be approached to also address the issue if websites could be held accountable for content created by third parties (users).

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Google and Facebook’s Defence…

Almost every social network has a procedure to remove objectionable content from its website. Another issues is India does not have a Data Protection Act which lays down privacy laws for online content. So internet companies tend to adhere to community rules from the US.

Google is not even hosting the content but only pointing to links to content written and hosted independently.

Holding websites responsible for user-generated content is the same as holding a telephone company responsible for what was discussed on the phone by users.

As someone who lives in India, a country with free press and no internet censorship, the suggestion that China is a model we want to follow – is very depressing and disheartening. 🙁

Web censorship of any kind tends to be abused and ends up killing innovation. What are your views on internet censorship and the possibility of it happening in India? Do drop in your comments.

Related: Read about SOPA which could give rise to Internet Censorship in the U.S.

Image Credit

Categories
Reviews

Listen to Music Synchronously With Your Facebook Friends

Facebook has introduced a really cool new feature. It will allow Facebook friends to listen to synchronously played music. This is not just sharing but actually sharing the same song and listening to it at the same time.

This new feature will be rolled out over the next few days for all users. So if you have a friend who is online and listening to a song, you can see a music icon next to their profile photo.

Facebook_music_share

If you hover over that friend’s name in the chat list, a pop-up will show up. Click on ‘Listen with’ button to listen to the same music your friend is playing.

If multiple friends join the conversation, all of them can chat and discuss the song as it plays for everyone online.

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As a lot of people like to listen to online music and check Facebook with their internet enabled smartphones, this could be a really catchy feature. Hopefully Facebook will make this feature bug free and easy to use.

I think we might see a similar feature for videos very soon, which might be an even better experience. Imagine watching a movie while sharing a conversation with your Facebook friends.

Would you find this feature interesting? Do drop in your comments.

Categories
Tips

How to report for suicidal content on Facebook

If you or your friend is depressed and needs an online help then Facebook is a good medium for that. With a feature on Facebook you can report any content that your friend has posted to Facebook directly or alternatively you can contact the local authority for the same.

To Report the Suicidal content directly to Facebook:

If you want to report some suicidal content from your friend’s profile or someone you know but that person isn’t there in your friend’s list then you can use this form. In the form add the name of that person in the first box, his/her profile link or search link in the second box and add comments or the suicidal content in the third box and submit it to Facebook.

Direct Suicidal help for your friend or yourself:

In case you or a friend needs immediate help then please contact your local suicide prevention hotline for that. You can get country wise helpline links and phone number on Facebook Help Center (Click here for that). You can also Google for such helpline numbers and online contact persons.

You can even drop a comment below if you or someone else need some help but please note that suicide isn’t a solution to any problem, there are thousands of other alternatives too. 🙂

Categories
News

Facebook Timeline not supported by Internet Explorer 7

The latest profile design update by Facebook was Facebook Timeline profiles. It has a good user interface but a confusing design. You can use these profiles with Firefox, Chrome or even with Internet Explorer 9.0. But unfortunately these Timeline profiles are not supported by Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 which is an older version of I.E.

Well if you are using Internet Explorer 7.0 (just in case) and want to use Timeline profile then you have to upgrade your browser. If you activate Timeline in IE 7.0 then it will be activated and anyone on Facebook can see your Timeline profile except you and those who are using IE 7.0.

Hate Timeline? In that case a solution for you is to downgrade your browser to I.E 7.0 or simply install IE 7.0 with your regular browser. That way you can continue using your old Facebook profile layout as there’s no other option of switching back to normal profile once you activate Timeline.

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Tips

How to hide updates from a particular friend in Facebook Ticker

Facebook Ticker, a feature that was launched in second half of 2011 shows you Facebook news feed updates in real-time on your sidebar. It’s a good way of staying updated with what your friends are up to on Facebook as it gets refreshed quickly. But if you have too many friends on Facebook then this Ticker starts flooding your sidebar with so many updates and most of them might not be useful for you. Let’s see how you can hide Ticker updates of some friends and continue to show others.

How to Hide Ticker updates of some friends:

#Method 1:

Open your Facebook homepage and click on a friend’s update you want to hide in future. Then click on the arrow on top right of that story and select ‘Hide all by ____’.


#Method 2:

Another way of doing this is by using ‘Restricted List’ feature of Facebook. This ‘Restricted List’ method will hide your friend’s update from Ticker but it will also stop showing your updates to your friend on their News Feed.

To add a person in your ‘Restricted List’ use this method. Once you add someone to this list you will no longer see updates from him on your Ticker or your News Feed.

Don’t forget to give it a try. This will definitely make Facebooking better for you. Stay connected for more Facebook Tips.