As Facebook's audience has expanded to include more business-oriented users, it's important to remember that the social network formulated an unwritten set of do's and don'ts, set largely by college students whose heavy use of the system provided Facebook with its original user base.
A good social network encourages freedom of movement and expression, and so these rules are not governed by much except the customs of the natives. That said, we were able to compile four Facebook Faux Pas to avoid, and we'd love to hear yours as well (comment below).
1) Wrong Writing on the Wall
The Wall has become one of the most fun, social and playful aspects of Facebook. Depending on how you set access, most "friends" visiting a person's page can read and post to it. However, when used incorrectly, it can also be one of the most annoying repositories for notes that only involve a narrow subset of users. These annoying posts are usually self-indulgent exchanges between two people who assume everyone else cares about plans they're making together. "Hey John, let's meet for drinks on Friday." Such a message, of course, should be reserved for the private messaging function (Facebook's version of e-mail).
2) App Spamming
Since opening its platform to third-party development last May, Facebook has seen nearly 22,000 applications added to its directory. Many of these are games, designed for playful exchanges between users.
It's not that we dislike games.
Scrabulous, for instance, Facebook's version of Scrabble, has been embraced by close to 700,000 users (and has been so popular that Scrabble's owners, Mattel and Hasbro, have filed legal action). But the real issue comes with the completely useless apps, such as ones that invite you to be a vampire or to be "knighted" by one of your friends. While these, too, can be fun, if you send enough of them to friends over time, you end up spamming their home pages with requests to join applications. That, of course, can take away from the time you want to connect with friends in more substantive ways.
3) Keeping "In Touch" via the Newsfeed
(This one contributed by my colleague, Jarina D'Auria)Those of us who are Facebook pros know very well how to turn off the alerts that are sent to the Newsfeed. However, for those who are new, they might not realize the extent to which your every move is documented on what is considered the "Homepage." If you add application, add a friend, end a relationship -- it all can be documented, so beware. (Hint: Visit the privacy tab).
4) Profile Pictures and Knowing Your Audience
People take different approaches to deciding what picture to put on their profile. For the users that have been on Facebook since the site launched in 2004, a sense of entitlement to do something fun and playful (such as a pic showing you and your friends on a Saturday night) seems desirable.
But as Facebook has widened its scope to include more business users, friends lists have diversified to include bosses, friends and family. It's important to think about how you present yourself to the Facebook world. We're not advocating going towards a boring shot that you'd see on a driver's license, nor should you opt for the over-the-top glamour shot. The best is something in between you the partier and you the worker.
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CIO Live Podcast #79: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires Part II 05 October, 2007 06:00:00
For his new book, The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires, social researcher Brent D Taylor spent four years of intensive research investigating the psychological make-up and backgrounds of some of the world's richest men and women, including IT luminaries Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs. Taylor discovered that, despite working in different industries and coming from different upbringings, they all have one thing in common -- they are all outsiders. - +
CIO Live Podcast #78: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires 28 September, 2007 17:34:25
For his new book, The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires, social researcher Brent D Taylor spent four years of intensive research investigating the psychological make-up and backgrounds of some of the world's richest men and women, including IT luminaries Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs. Taylor discovered that, despite working in different industries and coming from different upbringings, they all have one thing in common -- they are all outsiders. - +
CIO Live Podcast #77: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part III 21 September, 2007 07:00:00
Part three in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance. - +
CIO Live Podcast #76: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part II 14 September, 2007 07:00:00
Part two in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance. - +
CIO Live Podcast #75: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part I 07 September, 2007 07:00:05
Part one in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance.
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Data-center security tools to not overlook 10 October, 2008 11:37:00
With the rise of security suites, it's time to consider some emerging security tools and rethink othersProtecting a corporate data center is like trying to keep an elephant safe from a swarm of flies. Despite your best efforts, bites happen. As the staples of security -- such as firewalls, antivirus software, spam and spyware filters -- come together in suites of products that allow for sophisticated management, there are other security tools either emerging or worth a rethink. - +
IBM, Secret Service, others study identity/cybercrime issues 09 October, 2008 10:09:00
Center for Applied Identity Management Research organization teams experts in criminal justice, financial crime, biometrics, cybercrime and cyberdefense, data protection, homeland security and national defense.IBM, LexisNexis and the Secret Service are among a group of corporations, government agencies and academic institutions that has formed to study and help solve identity management challenges around cybercrime, terrorism and narcotics trafficking. - +
Strange account management at Amazon 09 October, 2008 09:51:00
A careless login led to the discovery of some strange ccount management practices at one of the Internet's largest retailers.Via the RISKS mailing list comes an interesting tale of poor online account management at a major online retailer. According to Graham Bennett, accounts with Amazon display an odd behaviour that doesn't seem to have attracted much attention in the past. - +
Cambridge lab sets quantum key world record 09 October, 2008 07:51:00
Researchers can now shift encryption keys around at speeds of 1Mbps.The hugely promising security technology of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) has moved an important step closer to commercialization with the announcement by UK-based researchers that they can now shift encryption keys around at speeds of 1Mbps. - +
Palin hacking charge flawed, lawyers say 09 October, 2008 07:28:00
Case considered a misdemeanor offence not a felony.David Kernell is facing five years in prison for allegedly hacking into Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's Yahoo e-mail account, but lawyers watching the case say that the felony charge against him is a bit of a stretch.
F-Secure achieves excellent results in Internet security suite comparison 10 October, 2008 14:37:00
Lock It Up With Maxtor BlackArmour, Hardware Encrypted Storage Provides Government Grade Security For Consumers 10 October, 2008 09:04:00
Pitney Bowes MapInfo Launches New Version of AnySite 10 October, 2008 05:58:00
IOGEAR Gears Up in Australia 09 October, 2008 20:18:00
Internet Service Providers offer new unlimited Online Backup from F-Secure 09 October, 2008 19:42:00
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