Assessing the value of Facebook

My morning routine involves coffee, Internet, email and Facebook. My use of of the popular social networking site has increased tenfold in the last six months or so. I sometimes check on the hour to see if I've had any updates or to add one of my own. At first when I signed up for an account I had only a few friends and I didn't really check on it too much. As more of my friends started using it my use has increased also.

It has also become something you exchange along with you email and phone number when exchanging contact info. Though it has it's silly side with quizzes, games and other nonsense it does have the feel of a more mature site. Just how does this Internet phenomenon add value to your life, either in a personal or business sense?

Personally I find it a great way to keep in touch with family and friends in a non-intrusive way. In today's world our time constantly being filled up with everyday life event's like family, work, business or personal issue's. We don't always have time to chat with our friends or family. Coordinating people's schedule to chat on the phone or meet up for lunch can be a major challenge to some. Email's can be lost in shuffle between spam mail or lost in a inbox with hundreds of other messages that we'll get to tomorrow. With a simple status report on our Facebook wall or by adding some photo's we can keep others up to date with what were doing. You can keep in touch with those that live far away and have minimal contact with in real life.

I think this a great way for families that only seem to gather for weddings, funerals or holidays to stay in contact during the in between time. Photo's can be shared along with birthday messages. I've been able to keep up with my cousins who live long distances away and find out how they are doing. I find out family news long before I would have through the tradition grapevine of family gatherings and other traditional social events of the past.

Another benefit is to find old school friends to see how they have changed. Though this can be a double edge sword sometimes. Not everyone probably wants to be in touch with their third grade tormentor. The good thing is that "friending" someone is strictly voluntary so you can weed out the undesirables. The benefits I think outweigh the negative though. It's nice to see how old friends are doing. I've made new friends along the way too that I perhaps didn't forge a relationship in real life. You may even find old flames on Facebook that you

may be looking for.

Another valuable thing is that you can learn a lot about people just by what they post(or don't post). The numerous silly games and quizzes can give you insight into people that maybe you've missed in real life. You can (depending on how much information they reveal in there privacy settings) find out tidbits of info about friends or family that you may have known only a little about.

It can be a way to keep business contacts informed and to maintain professional relationships. A word of caution though, businesses and upper management can use this information for or against to you. You may want to think twice about becoming friends with a superior or someone else that may find some of your personal habits or postings disagreeable. If you call in "sick" refrain from posting picture's from the beach you went to the same day or you may have more time on the beach than you like.

Many businesses, celebrities, musicians, politicians, causes and many more well known entities also maintain a Facebook accounts. This can be a personal way to market there items without being overly commercialized. I keep up with Slash (formerly of Guns'N Roses) does every day along with what former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has to say.

Overall I find it very beneficial being on Facebook. It is a way to maintain contact with friends and family in a non-intrusive manner. You can find old friends you went school with or rekindle an old flame of yours that perhaps got away the first time. You may even learn more about your friends and create stronger relationships with them. Celebrities, groups, businesses may stay in touch with their fans that has a more personal touch and less commercialized or faked message than mainstream media outlets. Facebook has an excellent balance of friendliness, fun and maturity that I find very appealing and addicting.

Originally published on Helium.com

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Mafia Wars Etiquette: Energy Packs

Energy in Mafia Wars(on Facebook) allows you to do jobs to earn money and experience. It can be frustrating when you use them all up. Energy points are refreshed at a rate of 1 every 5 minutes. Fortunately your associates can send you energy packs as gifts. This will refill your energy plus give you an extra 25%.

You can only be sent one energy pack once every 23 hours. Once you start building your Mafia you’ll probably start receiving energy boosts like clock work every day(23 hours). It is I believe a common courtesy when receiving an Energy Pack to also pass it along to your group.To do this click on the “Use energy pack” button to receive your energy.

Next you’ll be asked “Send energy to your mafia”. Click on that button.

A pop-up will appear and you can now click “Send Energy Pack”. This will send an energy pack to everyone in your mafia. Think of this as “Paying it forward”.

Another tip is that before accepting your energy pack go and use what energy you have on hand and then go and receive your energy pack. This will maximize your energy you receive. Have a great “Mafia Monday”!

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Social Networking: Mafia Wars on Facebook

Now you can join the mafia without the unhealthy benefits. Facebook is loaded with games(or time suckers as I call them). Mafia Wars by Zynga is a popular game you can play that let’s you join and build your own mob.  You first create your character and then you start building your “family” through your Facebook friends.

You can move up in your mob by doing  jobs and fights. You can purchase weapons, property, vehicles and more. Win special loot on certain jobs or fights.  I have been amazed on how addicting this game is.

One quick suggestion. To add to your mob requires you to add people to your friends list. I’d advise to go through you friends first. If your going to add strangers to your list I’d suggest creating a friends list on Facebook and editing your privacy settings to restrict access to your personal information. You can’t be too careful these days.

This game is free but, you can purchase extra “Godfather” points if you want to go that route. They’ve got to support themselves somehow. Zynga does do a good job on this game with a polished look a very intuitive layout. If you’ve got time to kill it’s fun and addictive.

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Social Networking: Opt-out of FaceBook ads

By default your FaceBook account allows your profile and picture to be used in advertising by friends or businesses. Though many times this could be a harmless thing if advertising for something like candy or a cause. If your face were to be used for a dating service your significant other or spouse might be a bit peeved.

This is the way to opt out of this option.

1. Go to Settings

2. On your settings page go to Privacy and click on the “manage” link.

3. Click on “News Feed and Wall”. On the next page click on the “Facebook Ads” tab.

4. Click on the small arrow next to “Only my friends” and you’ll see a drop down and here you can choose “No one”. After you made your choice click “Save changes” and your done.

This should help save you from any embarrassing moments and protect your privacy too. Have a great day!

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Social Networking: Facebook Etiquette

On many social networking sites it seems as if anything goes. Part of Facebook’s appeal I believe that it is a bit more mature or refined than most. Here are a few etiquette tips to help keep your friends and not to annoy them. It may also help your experience on Facebook less of a headache and keep it fun and informative like it should be.

• Will you be my friend? Develop a criteria for accepting friends. Some like to include everyone and others are more selective. Keep in mind that the more “friends” you invite the more activity you’ll encounter on your wall. More quizzes, event invitations, updates about bathroom habits, application invitations, games, chat sessions and so on. Some are fun but they can be annoying to some. I wouldn’t friend someone just out of the blue if you don’t know them. Depending on your privacy settings you could be letting a perfect stranger view your personal information. It’s advisable to think about organizing your friends or contacts and adjusting your personal settings to what they can view about you.
• I just dropped a big one in the ….. Most people don’t want constant updates. Especially ones from the bathroom. Updating your status every two minutes can be annoying to some and may show how little life you have. Depending on your friends will decide your level of class or taste you display. Keep in mind also your boss,parents,clergy members, or spouse may be on your list getting updates of your latest antics. Use common sense.
• Which 2009 song are you? Quizzes are all over the place. Many applications also do this.Almost ask you to share with 10 friends or more. Be a bit choosy in who you pick for this. Sending too many can be very annoying to some. If your friends will be interested then go ahead but, try not to send every quiz to everyone on your list indiscriminately. They can also be on the NSFW( Not Safe For Work) category. Most applications or quizzes will give you an option to skip this step somewhere on the bottom of screen if you wish to opt out.
• Facebook Chat. Just because someone shows up in your chat window means they are willing to strike up a conversation. You can adjust your settings to limit who see’s you online. Be considerate that some may be busy or away from the computer. Send a greeting or ask if they are busy first. Don’t be offended if they don’t respond.

These tips are intended to keep your experience on Facebook positive and fun. Use common sense when using Facebook and don’t annoy others. Yes there is a certain amount of fun and silly stuff that goes on but, try and keep it in moderation and consider who else is viewing your updates. Though I don’t see it as much keep the “Poking” to minimum. Your significant other may not be too pleased.

Source: Print - PC World, August 2009, Page 99

Social Networking

I came across this article at PCMech by Rich Menga about social networking. It kind of got me thinking about it on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I'm sure anyone whose been around the internet or perhaps not have heard of the big guns like Myspace, Facebook etc. Others include Twitter, My Yearbook, LinkedIn should be mentioned too.

I've had some experience with them though I'm not a heavy user. Perhaps it's a twinge of guilt of being on the computer and not socializing with my own family. Kind of ironic I know. Anyway I just thought I'd give my two cents worth on the subject.

MySpace: I've actually had a MySpace profile for quite awhile. I just never did much with it though. I think I tried it out when they first got a lot press and I was curious. I've added some things to it here and there. I've got some friends on there but it sits mostly unattended most of the time.I never quite knew what to do with it.

My Yearbook: I was recently invited to this one by a friend and I tried it out. Though the name implies it's geared for the late teen and early twenties crowd I found plenty of people my age on there as well. It's kind of fun and silly at the same time. Not really a place for serious friendships or networking in my opinion. You tend to get a lot of "friend" requests from people you don't know. It seems like more of a popularity contest at times. Kind of like high school was(or is). I've got one real life friend(who originally invited me).

Facebook: I actually kind of like this one. It's a semi serious social network. Most of the people I have contact with are real life friends or relatives. Don't get me wrong it has it silly side but, it tends to be on the more mature side.

LinkedIn: This one is more on the serious side. Geared for more actual networking with professionals. It's almost like having your resume' online. If your looking for professional contacts or job hunting this is more your kind of site. No silly stuff here.

Well this was just my take on these sites. I don't have a particular dislike for any of these. They all seem to serve a niche. I guess it just depends on what your looking for. Have a great day.