May 30th, 2007 Rachel
Remember this?
Well ain’t this interesting…look at how the date on that note (one of many, many notes/images/blog posts/user groups/etc about the then new ‘Newsfeed’ feature was unveiled) and the traffic growth correlate.
I won’t bore you with the details. I won’t go into the incredible user stats and ridiculous number of people joining each day. I won’t touch on how intelligent this Facebook platform move is. And I wouldn’t dare recount number of times I’ve overheard people sitting around talking about Facebook.
If you cared, you’d already know. And if you don’t, I’m certainly not in a position to change your mind.
So with that, I’ll end with this - Bravo, Facebook folks. Bra-freakin-vo.
Posted in Facebook | No Comments »
May 25th, 2007 Rachel
Okay, I’m in. Thank god. That was a close one.
Breathe in…Breathe out…
Posted in Facebook | 5 Comments »
May 25th, 2007 Rachel
It bears repeating, even if only to point to the screenshot of death on Jenny’s blog.
I actually CAN stare at the blinking red light, and have done so several times for months at a time…but this is just too far. No warning? No preparation? I could have fallen asleep staring at my Newsfeed just so I didn’t feel so wronged this morning…
Posted in Facebook | No Comments »
December 26th, 2006 Rachel
Lets say your a student. And maybe you’re busy…you don’t really have time for those student-ly things like going to class, attending/participating in tutorial, handing in papers, etc. It’s okay, of course, because excuses are pretty easy to make up, you know. Being sick is a good one (you can have the flu at least twice in a semester), car’s need to be in the shop all the time, or even better take the bus because you can miss it countless times and not really be held accountable…
But you have to expect that by the end of the term, your TA (you know which one is yours, right?) will probably be pretty sick of you…after looking at your name on the attendance sheet three times before she even remembered who you are, of course. For all you know, she’s documented all the “hiccups” that got in the way of your academic endeavors…so you better make sure this last one is a doosie.
If “My mother died and I’ve had to take care of the family and my two little brothers” popped out of your mouth before you could stop it…is it still a “lie”?
Well, if this happened, you should probably cross your fingers and cover your tracks in case your TA is more technically savvy than you think. Especially if you send her hatemail after class, providing more “details” about the “death” of your “mother”.
In other words…check to see what comes up if s/he Googles you.
Those drunken pictures on Myspace/Facebook? “I was drowning my sorrows in beer…” Laughing and smiling amongst a group of fifty people? “These are the times when..sniff…sniff…I need my friends the most.” Messages that read “So glad your mom could make it to the party!” on a day two months after her supposed demise?
I’d suggest deleting those.
Or at least having the common sense to adjust your privacy settings so that said incriminating materials are more private (i.e. don’t show up so quickly/freely in the top 10 search results). But even that doesn’t mean your information is 100% protected from anyone other than your “friends”.
If you don’t want your mom/professor/potential employer/future partner/etc. to see it…
“So you just typed her name into Google…and her Myspace page showed up?”
“Yep.”
“Wow…I should tell the rest of my TA’s that one. That’s hilarious…”
…use some common sense and don’t post it.
Posted in Computers, Facebook, Learning, Observations, School, Tech | No Comments »
December 11th, 2006 Rachel
So, I’ve been experimenting a lot with blog widgets lately. You may have noticed them, running down the right hand side of the screen. Here’s what’s there, why, and what I’m thinking so far.
Search Box: Pretty self explanatory, probably used by me for the most part.
About Me: Just a blurb about myself and my blog. Originally a separate page, I decided to incorporate it here instead. Nothing too fancy and purposefully plaintext to try to deter a spambot or two.
RSS Feed: Essential. I get really annoyed with any blog that doesn’t have something like this. Attached to Feedburner, another must have.
Calendar: My motivator — turn the days blue. More like a mantra….turn the days blue, turn the days blue…
Monthly Archives: Another motivator, but more for organization and being able to go back and see what I was thinking a month ago, six months ago, and pretty soon a year ago.
Fav on Technorati: Kinda important, easy to use,Technorati is worth fully taking advantage of.
More Technorati Goodies: See above.
MajikWidget Blog Poll: I have important questions, important questions that need answers. MajikWidget may not have the answer, but they do have easy to integrate tools for (hopefully) finding that answer.
Last.fm Recently Listened To: I like the idea of integrating music into my blog…Last.fm’s blog widgets are the best I’ve seen so far…I’ve tried a couple MP3 streaming blogs and have not been impressed. I’m open to suggestions, since I’d like to be able to stream the MusicIP Free Music from Debanter.
Facebook Profile Badge: I think this is only the beginning for this one…there’s a lot of fun stuff you could do to say something about yourself on Facebook in other places. But in the meantime, it’s one of my favorite online destinations so why not tell the world person who reads this?
FIQL MyPlaylists: These guys are working really hard and the site is a fun idea. I post playlists intermittently (when I remember to save them..which is not often), but for the most part I have this widget to support Mike and the rest of the FIQL team.
Twitter - What Am I Doing: Oooooooh, it’s simple…and fun…and more than slightly addictive. Like Facebook, I’m hoping for more options/customization in the future, but for right now it’s a bit of a ‘Why Not?’ widget, and it definitely impacts how well Twitter has stayed on my radar.
Backpack: Voluntary advertising. I love Backpack — useful for an individual and in groups. Easy to use, free - wildly low pricing. The calendar has also been the stickiest for me.
Firefox: IE is not the only option my PC loving friends. Make the move, you’ll thank yourself for it.
Creative Commons License: The sensible option for content creators, Creative Commons is the way to go for me. This widget lets everyone who takes a peek at what I’m writing know how I feel about reproduction and attribution of my wee little writings.
TheGoodBlogs: My latest blog widget experiment…it might stick, it might not. I haven’t had it long enough to really have much to say, but TheGoodBlogs sounded interesting enough.
So there you go - what’s happening on my Sidebar. Don’t you feel like you know me just a little better?
Posted in Blogging, Facebook, Personal | 4 Comments »
