Facebook Privacy Basics, Guides, Howtos, tips and tricks

Please click on image to expand. Facebook have just released something called 'Facebook basics' -- which will function as a guide in helping people know and understand how Facebook works. There are a lot of helpful little tips and tricks like -- how to block someone, how to unfriend, what happens when you create a new status update and how to use the status update settings. All in all a very nice and simple guide, just the thing people need to help them navigate the Facebook ocean. [Please check it out here]

Facebook launches new 'Rooms' App for Anonymous chat

For people who have been around long enough on the internet, you would remember chat. People would go to web apps like 'ICQ' and chat with random strangers. All that died out some time ago but Facebook wants to recreate that magic with their latest App 'Rooms'. This App comes from Facebook creative labs and seeks to create the early ethos of the web. That of web communities and random chats with strangers from anywhere in the world. The iPhone app is ready for download and use right now. You can choose any username you want and it will not use your Facebook profile. You can read more at their blog post here and download the App here.

Facebook Founder Mark Zukerberg could become RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD

Mark Zuckerberg has apparently ordered a Pagani Huayra

How to remove Facebook follow button from my profile

Facebook has changed the Subscribe button to a 'Follow' button. Previously if people wanted to subscribe to you on Facebook. They would need to click on the 'Subscribe' button to follow your public updates. Now with the new 'Follow' button - they need to click on the new button to receive your public updates. If you have the Subscribe or Follow button on your Facebook profile and want to remove it or get rid of it. There are simple and easy steps to follow to remove the Follow button from your Facebook profile.

Once the Facebook Follow Button is removed. People will no longer be able to follow your public updates and you will no longer be able to let people become your fan. You will no longer have any followers on Facebook. So, if you have decided you do not want any more fans on Facebook and would not like people to follow you - here is how to remove Facebook follow button from your profile

How to turn off, disable the remove Facebook follow button on your public profile

1. Login to Facebook

2. Click on the COG icon and choose privacy settings

3. Click on Followers

4. Click the tick mark beside 'Turn on Follow'

5. The Follow button will be turned off and people will no longer be able to follow you on Facebook.

The downside is that you loose followers and if your bragging rights. But we also understand that it can be quite daunting for people who don't wish to have followers. The more followers means the more people who snoop around on your profile.

Please check video below if you want the visuals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3v_tcNoCCg

Facebook Stickers are now available in chat

Stickers were released a short while ago to Facebook chat but was available only on mobile. Facebook Stickers are now available on Facebook Web Chat as well. What is a Facebook Sticker - Stickers defy the traditional small size of an emoticon and are large and look like they have been pasted there. Since they come in a larger size they have a lot more option for customization and look amazing. They are not yet available in Status Updates and comment replies and we sure hope they come soon. Facebook have been adding quite a lot of little improvements lately like Hashtags and this is the latest free gift from Facebook. Currently all stickers are available for free on Facebook and you can use any of the collections you want.

Facebook Stickers - How do they work
1. When you're chatting with a friend click the emoticon icon.
2. Two Sticker sets are available by default - Meep And Pusheen - clicking on any Sticker will automatically add it to Facebook chat.

How to get more free Facebook Stickers
In the same window click on the basket icon. This will take you to the Facebook Sticker Store, all Facebook Stickers are available for free in the store right now. Click on free to get the set added to your chat window. We choose bun and are pretty happy with the collection.

Sets added on the web are not added on your SmartPhone. So if you added a set while browsing Facebook on the web and then switch to your SmartPhone or tablet. You would need to add the set again.

Dominoes World is a New Facebook Game

Dominoes or (or dominos) is a game that people have enjoyed for centuries. If you are one of those people who love to play Dominoes - Dominoes World is the new Facebook game for you. To spice things up the makers of the game have added an extra element. Known as a Five-Up Addition it gives players another interesting strategy on order to win the game. The game is fast becoming popular among Facebook users and already has over 500,000+ players. The game is also available in 6 languages with more to come English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese. Once you start playing there are many rooms to choose from including theme rooms and rooms that you can customize yourself.

Another special feature of the game is the ability to meet new people. Yes, you can also play with people who are not your friends. Once a player makes new friends, gifts can be exchanged. You can invite people to specific rooms and set the time. Create your own room and invite other players over. One of the most popular things to do with dominoes is to lay them in a row and then knock one over. Which in turns knocks all of the others over. Dominoes have always been popular in one way or the other. Now that the game is on Facebook, we're sure it's going to gain many fans. Please find a link to below to start playing Dominoes World now on Facebook. The game has been created by P-Kama.

Play Dominoes World on Facebook Now.

Facebook photo comments to spice up comment replies

Alright, we all know you love memes - they have a special way of communicating. So if you love memes and like to post pics and images in comment replies. You are going to love the new feature on Facebook, that allows users to post photos in their comment replies. This is not something new on the internet as many blogs already have this feature. In fact this is something that has really made sites like 4Chan and Reddit really popular. It was inevitable that Facebook would and should follow. This is going to be real fun and if you have a set of fun friends on Facebook. Be sure to watch the comment replies with all the meme pics that are going to be floating around. Reddit is a handy tool f you're looking for some fantastic comments on photo replies. Some of the meme's we have already featured like Bad Luck Brian, Overly attached girlfriend and come at me bro, can be found here.

This feature came about after a hackathon, and Facebook engineer Bob Boldwin said that a pic helps people tell a better story. You can add a photo but still no provision to use GIF images. So all you fans of animated images - would need to wait again.

How to attach a photo to a comment reply on Facebook
1. There is nothing to be activated.
2. Below the post you want to reply to with a comment.
3. There is a photo icon in the comment box
4. Click on it to use a photo from your device or one already uploaded to Facebook.

So go ahead and start using the new feature, expect to see a lot of cats and meme replies.

Facebook Page insights now providing detailed information and stats

Facebook have released amazing stats and insights for Facebook Page owners. So if you are the admin of a page on Facebook - the stats page has just gotten a whole lot more interesting. Especially when it comes to PTAT people talking about this. If you own a page then you know there is clickable link called 'People Talking About This'. Not much information could be garnered from that link till now. That has all changed if you want to know more about the gender of the people clicking you links, it's available. You also have something called Virality. Virality will show you the number of people who have liked you post and are making s story out of it. There is also engaged users to see how many users have actually clicked on your posts. Talking about this will summarize the number of users who have liked, commented and shared your posts. These insights are very valuable to markets and people who want their pages to go viral on Facebook.

When you want your page or post to go viral on Facebook, there are a number of things you need to do. The most basic of which is to know how many users have seen your posts and updates, and how many likes and shares it has received. Once you have stats like these, you can then work on tailor-making your posts to suit your audience. You also gain a sense of perspective as to what users want and how much engagement you can expect.

You can also click on likes and reach and see the demographics and Geo-location of the people who have been engaged in your posts. It lets you know the percentage of gender who have seen your pots. Like number of males and number of females. So if you are targeting a certain gender this is really helpful. With all these stats Facebook page owners and admins are going to have a whole lot of added and needed information. Facebook seems to be taking a lot of steps in the right direction and this is one of them.

How to check your Facebook Page insights
1. Go to your page.
2. Click on the Cog icon
3. Click on view insights

All your insights will now be available

Source: Facebook Studio

Facebook Hashtags Privacy Settings

With the release of Hashtags on Facebook. All status updates with the hashtag in them will appear on public searches. A hashtag is the # sign in front of a word or phase - we have already covered in in greater detail here. With this release many Facebook users are again worried about this privacy. Just by adding that symbol in their status updates, posts, pic updates and video updates means it is searchable by anyone on Facebook. many users have already voiced their concern on various forums. It is to address this issue that we have decided to do this post. There is good news here however, only public posts with a hashtag will show up on Facebook searches or when someone click on the hashtag. so when creating a post if you use the privacy options wisely. Your status updates will not appear on searches.

How to set Facebook hashtags privacy settings.
1. Compose your post with the hashtag in it.
2. Click on custom below the search box
3. Choose friends or only me or just a few people you want to share the post with
4. You're done

You posts will now not appear in public searches when you share it. This is a simple workaround and should serve you well.

Please leave a comment with what you think in the comments section below.

Video below if you want the visuals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE4OkjNGKEI

How to use Facebook Hashtags

Facebook has now got what Twitter made popular - Hashtags. With hashtags users can click on them and follow topics as it's happening in real-time. So let's say you see the hashtag #NBAfinals - when you click on it all the news surrounding the NBA Finals will be visible. This could include pics, videos, status updates, page posts and posts from groups. So if there is a hashtag on Facebook and you click on it. You will be able to see all the different things Facebook users are saying about that particular topic. This means you will be able to see status updates from more people and not just your friends and the people you're connected to. This is a popular feature on Twitter - when you click on trending topics on Twitter everything is organized around hashtags. Which makes it easier for you to follow, breaking news stories, trending topics and anything that is going viral on Facebook. The #hashtags we know today was first created by Chris Messina in 2007 on Twitter.

How to create or make a hashtag
You will need to use the number sign # before along with a topic of phrase. Like this #ILoveCoffee. When users click on this everyone's status update on #ILoveCoffee will appear on your news feed in a new window.

How to use a Hashtag
You can either make your own hashtag or click on someone else's hashtag. These are clickable links and appear in the traditional blue color. Adding a hashtag to your post or status update will tell people that this is part of a larger conversation.

Other uses for hashtags on Facebook
You can search for a specific hashtag from your search bar. e.g #NBAFinals.
Click on hashtags that originate on other services, such as Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, or Pinterest
You can also compose posts directly from the hashtag feed and search results.

What about hashtag privacy on Facebook
If you compose a post and share it only with friends or certain people. Facebook will follow your sharing options. Posts you create that are public will only be shown throughout Facebook.

Read more at the Facebook news release. Image by Facebook.

Difference between show and allow on Timeline

When you access your activity log on your Facebook Timeline and want to set permissions for a post, pic or video. You are presented with two options 1. Shown on Timeline 1. Allowed on Timeline. This is quite confusing and might have people wondering what this actually means. Since both mean almost the same thing. Facebook has an algorithm that is used to determine what posts show up in users' news feeds and Timelines. Not all posts show up everywhere. The same applies to your Timeline. Facebook's algorithm decides which posts get shown on your Timeline and which posts get hidden. So when one of your pals visit your Timeline - they get shown the posts Facebook have decided is important.

In this scenario is where the difference between show and allow on timeline come into play. Basically is you choose Shown on Timeline, you are telling Facebook that you actually want his post on your Timeline. It will then always appear on your Timeline. If you choose Allowed on Timeline - you are letting Facebook decide if it's important or not. So allowed on Timeline means the Facebook algo will come into play and decide to either feature it on your Timeline or not.

Hope this helps, please leave a comment below with what you think and we can continue this discussion in the comments section below.

How to remove Joined Facebook fromTimeline

So you're still working on your Facebook Timeline and trying to work everything to perfection. One of things you might want to do is to remove 'Joined Facebook' from your Timeline. There might be many reasons why users want to do this - maybe they are newbies on Facebook and would like to appear much older. The opposite also might be true. Maybe they don't want everyone searching for them on Facebook to know when they joined. There are a 101 reasons why you might want to remove 'Joined Facebook' from your Timeline - so here goes.

How to remove 'Joined Facebook' from Timeline
1. Login to Facebook
2. Click on your name to go to your Timeline
3. Scroll all the way down
4. Hover over 'Joined Facebook' and on the right click on the 'Pencil' icon
5. Choose 'Hide from Timeline'
6. Magic - it disappears.

Please leave a comment below to continue this discussion.

Video below for the visuals
http://youtu.be/rzCKC-zCgDU

Facebook Timeline: How to remove Born info

Right at the bottom of your Facebook Timeline, there is something called 'Born'. Many users find this tab to be a bit irritating. The purpose of this from Facebook's point of view is to tell others when you were born. It however looks a bit ugly and might remind people of mortality. The best thing to do is to get rid of it. This post deals with how to remove the date from appearing under the 'Born' tab. The tab however cannot be completely removed. If however we are wrong and there is a way to remove the born tab do let us know in the comments section below. You can however prevent your date from appearing under Born.

How to remove the date from under 'Born' on Facebook Timeline
1. Login to Facebook
2. Click on your name and go to Timeline
3. Click on 'About'
4. Click on Edit beside Basic Info
5. Click the Lock Icon beside Birthday
6. Choose Only me
7. Save and you're done

You can also use the dropdown menu to choose between showing your full birthday or just month and year or just month

Now when you go to your Timeline and click on 'View As' - this will give you the public version of your Facebook Timeline. Born tab will still appear but no date below it. Please leave a comment with your feedback below.

Please check video below for more
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnfovhH6z5k

Mickey O'Greedy new iOS, Android and Facebook game for travelers and gamers

The new game Mickey O'Greedy's Luggage Swindle is brought to you by SendMyBag. The game revolves around the concept of frustrated travelers and the problems with luggage. Low-cost airlines tend to be greedy and very bad at handling luggage. You, their customer and traveler must pay the price. It all starts with the Airlines and their confusing luggage policies, high excess baggage fees and hand luggage. The game takes a swipe at all this. So the next time you're in an airport and need a game to vent your frustrations and also earn discounts from SendMyBag - this is the game you need to be playing.

Mickey O'Greedy's Luggage Swindle - how to play.
The game can be played on your iPhone, iPad, Android Phone and Facebook. Once you start the game you have a catching hand and with it, you can grab as many travelers as you can. Be sure to only grab travelers with luggage. Each one you grab gives you points. Reach a high score and avail discounts and coupons from SendMyBag. Check you starts and your earnings by clicking on the passport icon. You can also use it to pay with friends competitively. The game lets users play at all imaginable international locations and so changes the flavor and feel of the game. Very simple to play and will take away your boredom when waiting to take your next flight. Simply touch to grab.

Mickey O'Greedy's Luggage Swindle - iOS App, Android App and on Facebook. You can also check out Luggage Shipping Provider SendMyBag here.

10% of Facebook's users are not human - Dogs, Cats and Toasters.

Facebook did make their announcement that the site now has over 1 Billion users. Not so says couple of reports on the net. Quartz reports that more than 10% of all Facebook uses are dogs, cats and toasters. A whole lot of non-humans now have a Facebook profile. These may not be Facebook fan pages but actual profiles. Independent research says that Facebook will cross the 1 Billion mark only in 2014. With highest growth coming from India, Brazil, Russia and the Middle East.

It's not enough that owners have Facebook profiles. Pets need their own profiles too, Facebook is free for everyone. So why for animals and inanimate objects like toasters and flowerpots. It's all a part of the game and the complete Facebook experience. The i Billion mark of register people however will only be crossed in another year. A lot of young users in the US and UK however might be leaving Facebook - this after parents started using the site. Teens considered that uncool. The above image is of James Haestad hansen - he's a dog.

Source: Quartz via DailyMail

Bing Tags How do they work

Bing has something new which has come with this Facebook integration - Bing Tags. Once you login to Bing with your Facebook account and do a self-search. That is earch for your name on Bing. You get your Facebook profile and the ability to tag other pages with your name. You can also tag yourself with other people on Bing. Essentially it is like a small social network that contains all your pages, blogs and websites in one place. So when your Facebook profile comes up in a Bing search you can in addition add or tag your linkedIn profile, Twitter and other social profiles' of yours. This way they say other people searching for you on Bing can be very sure that it's you, they're looking for.

You can also tag your friends and vice versa. So when you're busy adding tags a list of your Facebook friends show up on the right, from here you can choose to tag them and they can do the same to you. Once a friend has tagged you - you will get a notification on your Bing page under the 'Review Tags' section. From here you can choose to either accept or reject tags. Once you find a page you want to tag - simply click the tag me button under the page. You can also untag by clicking on the 'Untag me' button.

What are Bing Tags and how does it work
1. Once you tag your pages under your name. Then people searching for you find the real you and the results are not bunched together with other people who share the same name.
2. This feature will only be available to you and your Facebook friends.
3. If you don't want these tags posted to your Facebook Timeline - when giving the app permission use the 'Only Me' option.

Read more about Bing Tags here or Get started here.

How to connect Bing and Facebook for better social results

Bing have made a huge announcement, when searching using Bing. You can now see relevant results from your Facebook friends. This is something called social sidebar. This was first launched just over a year ago and is now going pretty strong. So now when you search on Bing you can get results that match your search query from your friends. So if your looking to go to an upcoming concert in your area. You can now see if your friends have posted anything about the concert. This way you can like their status and also send them a message. You don't have to logout of Bing to do this. Simply connect your Facebook with Bing and you're all set to go.

After you search for something on Bing, you can then add a comment to Facebook, read other people's comments, like a status and even start a threaded conversation without leaving Bing. The Facebook integration has now gone considerably deep and Bing is hoping to attract more users with the new social integration. Microsoft has not really gained much in the search market and here is another attempt to do just that. With deeper social integration with Facebook - Bing wants users to interact more right there and not have to leave and go to Facebook. So now you have the full Facebook experience right within Bing. Please leave a comment with what you have to say about this new feature.

How to connect your Bing and Facebook
1. Go to Bing.
2. On the top right-hand corner click on Sign in
3. Choose Facebook and click connect.
4. Allow Bing to connect to your Facebook account and you're done.

Source: Bing Official Blog.

How to recover your Facebook Password using Trusted Contacts

Now here's something useful for people who might forget their Facebook password and in addition lose access to their email. You might read the first sentence with a smirk on your face. However there are many people who lose access to their email accounts. You might think it's not possible - but it is. There might be many times when a user might forget their Facebook password and cannot open the recovery email sent to their email accounts. Facebook wants to make sure you can always gain access to Facebook no matter what happens. And to facilitate this Facebook has introduced something called Trusted contacts.

What is Facebook trusted contacts and how does it work
With Trusted contacts you can add 3 - 5 people who you think you trust the most. These friends need to be on Facebook and once you add them as trusted contacts. They will be notified and can help you if you ever lose access to your Facebook. Make sure you can contact these people offline - phone or someone you can visit physically. It's like giving your house key to a trusted friend. So once you lose access to your account call them up and let them know you want to recover your account. They can then help you out with a security code. Once you get your security code from at least 3 of them. You can enter then codes and gain back access to your account. There will be no need to add a security question and all of them. The codes are enough. Also good if your account gets hacked.

How to setup, enable turn on Trusted Contacts on Facebook.
You can click here to go to your security settings and enable Trusted Contacts or follow the steps below.
1. Login to Facebook
2. Click the cog icon and then choose account settings
3. On the left click on Security
4. Now click on trusted contacts
5. Choose trusted contacts
Save and you're done. The process has now started.

Source: Facebook Notes.

Please see video below if you need the visuals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGBgogY2L7w

Facebook iPhone and iPad App Gets Chat heads and Stickers

The Facebook App for the iPhone and iPad has got a decent upgrade. The visuals for stories on the iPad has been improved and you now have clearer and brighter stories in your News feed. Especially pictures being shared by your friends, which appear on your news feed - looks a lot more interesting and bigger. The two biggest and most noteworthy improvement are 'Chat Heads' and 'Stickers'.

Facebook Chat Heads
The way this works on the app is that - you keep doing what you normally do. When a friend wants to chat all you need to do is to click on the Chat heads icon to reply. Drag them around and flick them down to close. This way you carry on doing what you usually do and simultaneously chat with all your FB pals.

Facebook Stickers.
This is one of those fun features to add life to you fb messages. So when you're chatting all you need to do is to tap on the smiley face to add sticker to your chat. You can also tap on the basket to go to the stickers store. Here you can buy additional stickers to add color to your chat.

To updated version of the app is now available at the app store. Chat Heads and Stickers will roll out over the next couple of weeks.

Source: fb Newsroom.