Ty's Tech Blog

For those of you who have been using FaceBook for a while, it is likely you still have posts popping up on your News Feed that you don’t want to see any more.  Whether it is a friend that you have lost interest in or a fan page of a business you don’t like anymore, it is very simple to remove these posts so that your FaceBook experience is more enjoyable.  Here is a video on how to remove or hide posts.

For those of you involved in social media, you have probably seen the evidence of a social media scam. I admit, they can be pretty easy to fall for. However, knowing what to look for will help you avoid these traps. Here are some samples of what to look out for.

Back when Osama Bin Laden was captured, there was a video scam going around on FaceBook that when someone clicked on the video, the user’s account would be hacked and then the scammer would have access to all of their information. It would also post the video on the user’s “wall”, hoping some of that person’s friends would click on the link as well. The reason this particular scam worked so well was because it took advantage of our own inquisitive human nature. The video Supposedly showed the actual video of Osama being killed. So naturally, A LOT of people clicked on the link to the video and then BOOM, they lost control of their account.

One way to tell if a video or link is a scam is to see if a lot of other people have posted the same link. The more people who post it, the more likely it is a scam. Also, looking at the content of the message will help as well. If it looks fishy, it probably is. Some other links that get a lot of attention are borderline pornographic, so definitely beware of those. If you are really curious, search Google for the video or article and see what happens. If it is a scam, a blog post or article that provides details about the scam will be one of the top results. You can also contact the person who posted the information either via phone, e-mail or direct message. They will likely say either “I don’t know what you’re talking about” or “yeah, it’s a scam”.

I have seen some strange things on Twitter as well. Here’s a good one. You may receive a notification that you were mentioned in an article and there is a link to it. The alert you receive would look something like this.

“@YourTwitterHandle check out this article you were mentioned in! http://bit.ly/adi234″ (note: this is not a real link)

Beware. Because of URL shortening services like bit.ly and others, it is very hard to tell if the link is real or not because it doesn’t show you where you are being directed. A simple rule is, if the message is pretty vague or if you don’t know who the sender is, move on. The more generic the message, the more suspicious you should be.

Common sense should rule when engaging in your social media. Always think twice about clicking on a link, because you never know what dangers lurk behind that seemingly harmless URL. Hopefully these examples which I have provided will help keep you and your accounts safe.

For a while, I had a tough time getting my arms around the idea of telling people where you are via services like FourSquare, FaceBook Places, Glympse, etc.  But I think I am starting to see the benefit of these services on a couple different levels.

 All three of the aforementioned services are very similar.  They allow you to “check-in”, or in other words, show  your network (ie. followers, friends, etc) where you are.    Here is how these services can benefit you.  Say you are  looking for a good place to eat while you waiting for a show.  You can quickly pull up all of the restaurants that are  near you, and some of them might have special offers (which are clearly marked) if you “check-in” with them.  For  instance, I was at a deli the other day and was able to save $1 off my meal because I “checked-in” there.   Also, when  you check-in to a place and your network sees this, you may get a response from them about their experience at  that establishment.  You may even find out that a friend of yours is nearby and they may want to meet up with you.  That “friend” could also be a potential or current client.

Another benefit of using one of these services is that you are opening a bit of a window to who you are without saying it which is a big component of social media as a whole.  For instance, one can imply that by checking in at a baseball stadium that you might be a fan of baseball.  This is good to notice when you see other people checking in at a venue, particularly your clients, good friends or family.  When it comes time to get them a gift, you can purchase a gift card from one of their favorite businesses.

Glympse is a tad different from the FourSquare and FaceBook Places concept  in that it shows your followers a real-time map of where you are.  So if you’re driving to meet up with people, they can see where you are and estimate how long it will be before you arrive.  Now, this takes a bit of pre-planning on your part as you have to register where you are going before you start your journey.  This could be useful way to track your kids or other family members as well.

Please take note that it is important that you control where these things post and who has access to see them.  I personally keep it limited to FaceBook because there I know who is going to see the information whereas on Twitter and other social media platforms, I don’t always know who is watching me.  So I have to be careful.

I suggest that you try these services out and see what you think.  They are all free and you don’t HAVE to check-in anywhere.  You are in total control.

Have you noticed that you are only seeing updates in your news feed  from the same people?  Do you ever look at FaceBook on your phone and you see a ton of information/posts that you don’t see when you are on your computer?  Don’t worry, everyone still loves you and nobody has intentionally blocked you. The problem is due to some setting changes implemented in a recent FaceBook update.

The “New Facebook” has a news setting that by default is automatically set to show ONLY posts from people who you’ve recently interacted with or interacted the most with (which would be limited to the couple of weeks just before people started switching to the new profile). So in other words, for both business and personal pages, unless your friends/fans commented on one of your posts within those few weeks or vice versa – you are now invisible to them and they are invisible to you!!

HERE’S THE FIX: On your FaceBook homepage, click the “Most Recent” title on the right of the news feed, then click on the drop down arrow beside it and select “Edit Options”, click on “Show Posts From” and change the setting to “All Of Your Friends and Pages” (you can also access the “Edit Options” link at the very bottom of the facebook homepage on the right)
Note: Business pages do not have a news feed, however, page owners should adjust the settings on their personal accounts.

The good news is: now you can now view all of your friends and fans again. The bad news is: YOU ARE STILL INVISIBLE to a large portion of your list. You must get the word out to ALL of your friends and fans by forwarding this information to them so they can adjust their settings.

You can create your own event by clicking on the “Events” link on the left side of your page, and then click on the “Create New Event” button.  Set the date of the event a couple of weeks ahead, name the location “Internet” and put the information above in the “More Info” box.  You don’t need to invite all of your friends but you can, just to make sure they get all of the information.  Just make sure that you keep the event “Public” and remove the guest list option.  Your fans will see the information.

Hopefully this will help you get more out of your FaceBook account and also allow your followers to re-connect with you if you haven’t interacted with them in a while.

Because of the world-wide impact of the news of Osama Bin Laden’s death, doors of opportunity open for criminals and hackers to compromises the general public, their computers and social media accounts.  As with any other e-mail or link in Facebook, Twitter, etc.  Be very careful what you click on.  Anything that seems to provide further information about how Osama was killed, ie, videos or photos, will very likely be links to viruses or phishing scams that could compromise your e-mail and social media accounts.  When in doubt, pick up the phone and call the person who posted the link or e-mailed it to you and ask them if it was real.  It is very likely they will know whether or not it was real.

I always find it funny when I post something on one of my social media sites and out of NOWHERE someone responds to it, and I had no idea that they were following me or were my friend.  I call these people Social Media Stalkers.  What this means is they do nothing but just watch over everything that is happening around them, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

This may sound kind of harsh, however I know most people mean well.  They look for something that catches their attention and they respond.  But they never post anything about themselves.  In real life and in business, relationships are a two-way street.  I would like to know a little about you as well, especially if I’m developing a new relationship with you.  I’m not very likely to do business with you or keep you as a follower/friend if you respond to my post with a solicitation or some worthless chatter and I never see you post anything.  Out of sight, out of mind.  I don’t like being stalked either, most people don’t.  And by doing so, what credibility have you demonstrated?  I want to trust you and get to know you.  By putting yourself out there on these social media sites as I do, I will see who YOU are.

Keep this in mind when you are on your social media sites.  You will get a lot more out of your experience if you put yourself out there and don’t just stalk people.  Let people see who you are.  It is ok to talk about what you do professionally, just don’t make it a focal point of your discussions.  You can create business pages (FaceBook) and separate Twitter profiles for that sort of thing if that is where you want to focus your efforts.  Avoid being a Social Media Stalker and become a Relationship Builder, and your experience with social media and with your friends and followers will be much more fulfilling on multiple levels.

For quite some time I was not much of a believer in Twitter.  I figured you can convey only so much in 140 charechters or less and why would anyone care.  Yes, there are services that allow you to shorten your posts and you can link to photos and videos, but what real purpose does it have?

Well, after attending a presentation by Gary Vaynerchuk, author of  “Crush It” and the newly released “The Thank You Economy” my perceptions of Twitter have changed darastically.  Here is why.

It is projected that Twitter will have at least 200 MILLION users by the end of 2011 sending nearly 1 BILLION “tweets” per week.  These tweets contain a tremendous amount of information about the users.  From hobbies and interests, to weekend plans, to relationship status and much more. 

Gary Vaynerchuck discussed on tactic he used to create a customer for life.  Gary, who runs a website that sells wine, started following one of his best customers on Twitter.  From following the customer, he was able to learn that the customer was a huge fan of NFL Chicago Bear’s quarterback, Jay Cutler.  As a thank you to this person for being such a loyal customer, Gary had a signed jersey sent to the customer’s shipping address (which he had from his previous orders). 

What an incredible way to communicate and thank your customers!!!

Now, aside from stalking your friends and customers, there is another hidden jewel within the Twitter-verse.  That is the ability to search for Twitter users that have posted a Tweet containing a key word or phrase that you are interested in.  From a business standpoint this is HUGE!  You can perform searches for things such as “buy an investment home in (your city)” or “moving to (your city)”.  To perform the search, just go to http://search.twitter.com and enter in your search criteria.  Here are some different search tricks that will help you really zero in on the most reliable and accurate results.  (you can find more at http://search.twitter.com/operators)

If you are to focus on any of these tricks, the ones I recommend you pay special attention to are the NEAR and WITHIN functions.  These search functions when used properly will allow you to zero in on a certain city or zip code.  For example, if I wanted to search for everyone that has tweeted “real estate investment” within 10 miles of Phoenix, my search would look like this:  real estate investment near:Phoenix within:10mi

Another feature that really sets Twitter apart from FaceBook and other social media sites is that you can follow just about anyone without their approval.   However they do have the option to BLOCK you if they don’t want to be followed.  So if you do start following someone that you don’t know, be careful you don’t jump on them.  People will respond much better to positive, helpful information rather than someone trying to sell them something or forcing information down their throat.  Become a resource for the person.  Build your credibility and if you do this correctly, they will reach out to you for further guidance and support.  Guide them to your blog or website for more information.

If I can become a believer in Twitter, I know you can too.  And with these powerful tips, you will be able to interact with more people and generate more business.   Even within 140 charachters or less.

My one gripe with FaceBook Business (Fan) pages has been the inability to post from anything other than a computer.  Fortunately, this has been addressed and the solutions are relatively good.

There are four ways to post to your business page from a mobile device.
1. email your post to your page
2. visit your business page through your mobile browser and post from there
3. the iPhone app has the capability
4. send your update via text message

To e-mail your post, here is what you need to do.  You need to find out the e-mail address for your page.  To do so, go to your business page and then click on the Edit Page link at the top right of the screen under “Home” / “Profile” / “Account”.  From there, click on “Mobile” on the left side of the page.  You will then be shown your page’s e-mail address.  Save this information in your address book and any time you want to post an update or a photo to your page (you can’t send video or post website links yet), all you have to do is send the e-mail to the address, and put the information in the subject line.  DO NOT put information in the body of the message.

To use your mobile browser, just enter in the url of your page (ie.  www.facebook.com/sony) and you can post your information through the web interface.  If you don’t have a Vanity URL, here is a link to a post I did a while back explaining how you can get yours, http://tystechblog.com/2009/10/06/facebook-vanity-url/.  You can also find more information on Vanity URLs on FaceBook.com at http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=900.

To post via the iPhone app, install the Facebook application and login. Click the “+” sign on the top left corner and then Click “Pages” on bottom right. Select your Page — it is now a favorite on your home dock. Now click your Page’s icon. To post a photo, click the “camera” icon. To post a status update, tap the “What’s on your mind?” field.

Finally, to post via text message, within the Mobile page as reference above, click on the green “Sign Up for SMS” button on the right side of the page and follow the instructions.  You will then be given a 5 digit number to send your updates to.  At this time you can only send text via this method.  So no photos, videos or website links yet.

By being able to post photos on the fly, you can get really creative, like posting a photo of a new listing or smiling clients after a closing.  Let your imagination run wild!  Just don’t let your business page sit there and rot.

It is important to keep your business pages active in order to generate interest and business.   If you can update them while you are on the fly, you are able to stay engaged and top of mind of those following you without having to wait until you get to the office or home.  So no excuses, make your business pages come to life!

I have finally jumped aboard the TweetDeck bandwagon.

If you haven’t heard of TweetDeck, here is a quick explanation.   TweetDeck is a program that allows you to connect to your Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIN, FourSquare and other social media accounts all from ONE place.

The program is FREE and it is available on your computer, iPad, iPhone and any Android based device (not yet available for the Blackberry).   You can find it in your device’s mobile app marketplace or online at www.TweetDeck.com.

One reason why I like TweetDeck so much is because it saves me a ton of time when I want to post to multiple social media accounts.  I only go to ONE program instead of multiple programs/websites.  It also gives me the flexibility to choose which accounts I want to post to.  So if I have something personal to post, I can control which account will display it.  It works the same for business related posts. I retain total control.

Another reason why TweetDeck is useful is because it has engaged me in some social media sites that I didn’t use very much, such as Twitter.  Now, because I can link everything into one place, I am connecting with my followers that are not linked to me through other services (ie FaceBook).   From a business perspective this is HUGE because you are expanding your reach to potential customers.

Finally, TweetDeck allows me to view all of my social media streams in one place, so I can see what my friends, followers, etc are doing and posting, all in ONE place.  Again, this is another time-saving feature and it allows me to engage with more people than before.

The program is easy to set up and easy to use.  If you are looking to save even more time when engaging in social media, I recommend at least trying TweetDeck.   I’m certain you will enjoy the features and flexibility it provides.

Within the last two days I have had at least five of my FaceBook “Friends” spam my wall and made general posts with links to phishing viruses.   Now, I know that my friends did not submit these posts.  Their accounts were compromised by a virus.  These types of viruses are very dangerous because they can get in and grab your own personal information and spread itself to your list of friends via bogus links that can appear to be legitimate.  And if they fall for it, the virus continues to spread. 

To protect yourself, be very aware of the links you are about to click on that have been sent directly to you via a wall post or in your general feed.  If they sound kind of fishy or too good to be true, they probably are.  The virus links that get the most attention are the ones that claim to be programs that allow you to find out who is viewing your profile or how many times your profile has been viewed.  There is NO SUCH FEATURE AVAILABLE and there will very likely never be one.  I have noticed that the majority of the posts come from my friends that are not very active on FaceBook.  So if a friend of yours that normally doesn’t use FaceBook all that much sends you a link or posts something that seems strange.  AVOID IT.

Another sneaky virus comes via a friend request.  If you get a friend request from someone you don’t know, be very suspicious.  There are viruses that send themselves out as friend requests and they usually look disguise themselves a very attractive male or female.  Keep your hormones in check, click “ignore” and move on. 

One thing I personally do to keep myself safe online is I do not use the same password for all of the websites I visit.  I have 5 different passwords that I consistently use for five different purposes.
1. e-mail
2. banking
3. shopping or any site that requires or stores a credit card number
4. social media sites (FaceBook, YouTube, Twitter, etc)
5. everything else

It is good to change these at least once a year as well.  By keeping them separate, I don’t have to worry about someone hacking my FaceBook account, finding my password and then getting into my bank or e-mail account.

Now, back to FaceBook viruses.  If you fall victim to one of these viruses, here is what FaceBook recommends (this is directly from the FaceBook “Help” page).

1. Run anti-virus software: If your computer has been infected with a virus or with malware, you will need to run anti-virus software to remove these harmful programs and keep your information secure.
For Windows:
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/viruses/xp/av.mspx http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/default.mspx
For Apple/Mac OS:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

I personally use MalwareBytes and Avast Anti-Virus.  Both are free and can be downloaded from www.Download.com.

2. Reset your account password: If you know your password and would like to change it, you can do so from the Settings tab on the Account page. If you don’t remember your password, you can reset it by clicking here.  Be sure to use a different password than you use for other sites or services, made up of a complex string of numbers, letters, and punctuation marks that is at least six characters in length. Do not use words found in the dictionary.

If you are not able to access your account because your security information was changed, you have two options:

1. Select the “Forgot your password?” link that appears below the Password field on the FaceBook login page. An email will be sent to you with steps for completing the process.

2. Submit a report to FaceBook using the following link, follow the instructions on the page.  http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=420#!/help/?page=1025

Having a FaceBook account can be a life altering experience in many ways.  By being cautious when you are in your account, you can keep the experience positive and hassle free.   However, if your account ever does get hacked or if you accidentally click on a virus, you can resolve the issue with a few simple steps and get back into your account.  Just be a little more careful next time