Facebook: It is OK to Lie

You've heard all the noise about Facebook's privacy settings. Basically if you don't adjust your settings, your facebook page is open game on Google and Bing.

Facebook's answer; just lie. Yup, in a recent Wall Street Journal article Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt said you are free to lie about you hometown, take down your profile photo, and now have the option to hide your friend list.

There is a problem with that, Facebook's terms of service, which states, "Facebook users provide their real names and information, and we need your help to keep it that way."

In another article on TechChruch, Schnitt says he was paraphrased, but he did go on to say, "you can indicate that your current city is 'Atlantis,' 'Valhalla' or, again, anything you like."

Facebook for Real

Ever wonder what Facebook might look like in real life... Check this video out.

Addicted to Facebook. Need a job?

Turns out there are jobs out there just for people like you.

Five jobs you may qualify for:

1. Recruiter

2. Strategist

3. Enterprise architect

4.User operations analyst

5.Director of social media

So put those social networking skills to work for you.

More privacy on Facebook

Millions of Facebook users can now decide exactly who sees the provocative picture of them.

The company is looking to streamline the space to better compete with Google, MySpace and Twitter.

Facebook as well as its users are trying to figure out how to monetize the site. This may put the company one step closer.

The Facebook Username Land Grab

"Nice to meet you!"

"Yeah, nice to meet you too! Say - what's your facebook page? I'll friend you."

The conversation above became possible on June 12, when Facebook started allowing unique usernames to profile pages. Now you can have a page like http://www.facebook.com/your.name. It has been said that more than 1,000,000 users claimed names within one hour of the service being announced.

One of the notable registered names was "default.aspx", belonging to Christine Shipley.

If you have a "desirable" name or want to sell your registered name, you might find a buyer on assetize.com, where you can put a registered name you own up for sale. For example, a recent check showed that the owner of www.facebook.com/rebate was trying to sell that name for $60,000.00.

I found it surprising that the names "www.facebook.com/god" and "www.facebook.com/stevejobs" were still unclaimed as of the publishing of this post.

image: http://www.arabexpatriates.org/pic/facebook1.bmp

Now the winner of the best job in the world....

Drum roll please... it's Ben Southall from Britain. Southall beat out more than 34,000 people to win what many are calling the best job in the world.

He'll spend 6 months on beautiful Hamilton Island where he will explore the white sandy beaches, scuba dive and snorkel. Then he will write all about his adventures on a blog.

The 34 year old will make over $110,000 for all his troubles.
If you missed out on that job and want to try for another dream job, check out this winemaker who is looking for some temporary help.

Murphy-Goode in Sonoma County, CA is looking for a wine country lifestyle correspondent to work 6 months for $60k. You'll learn a lot about the wine making process and post a lot on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. You can find more info on the job here.

More changes at the White House

The Obama Administration is everywhere. For those who followed the campaign, it should not be a surprise to find out that you can now find the White House has a Facebook, MySpace and Twitter page.

The administration won't be able to respond to your Facebook posts or questions, but other people in the group could give you a thumbs up.

Fess up to your FB addiction

Therapists are seeing a new symptom of social networking sites... addiction to the world of people who only show their best side online and a disconnect from the real world.

They say there are 5 signs of addiction:
1. You're up too late on Facebook and you're tired the next day
2. If you spend more than an hour a day on FB.
3. You become obsessed with an old fling.
4.You ignore work to be on Facebook
5. The thought of leaving FB puts you in a cold sweat.

There are so many surveys on FB, it's only appropriate that you should take a quiz to find out if you're addicted to Facebook.

Feathers fly at pillow fight

Police arrested a man in Burlington, VT for allegedly organizing a mass public pillow fight. The man apparently got word out about the pillow fight via Facebook. The rules were simple, bring a soft pillow to Church Street. Wait for the signal and start to swing. About 50 people participated in the event.

In an era when we're fighting 2 wars and people are stressed out over the economy, what a great way to reduce your aggression. Get a sense of humor. It's not like they are blocking traffic. It's a pedestrian walkway. Besides, stranger things have happened on Church Street in Burlington.

The best part of this story is there is video of the fight.

The Ettiquette of Unfriending

Have you ever been unfriended on Facebook?  And I mean, not as a way for someone to get a Whopper.

It's time to evaluate your relationship with the person who unfriended you.

This page may help if you are trying to come to terms with the fact that you aren't friends anymore -- or if you weren't as good friends as you thought you were.  Steps include writing (but not sending) a goodbye letter to your former friend, getting even, and more.

Master's in Social Media

I know what you're all thinking... I can teach this course. Someone at Birmingham City University in the United Kingdom already has the job. Students will learn how to use Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter as marketing tools. The cost: about $6,200.

Considering the future of the free world depends on monetizing the web, this must be a worthwhile degree. For all of you amateurs out there with blogs, the pros will be on the scene soon.

Recipes from the depression

At 93 years old, Clara Cannucciari lived through the Great Depression. Turns out she learned a lot about living on a little. Now, the woman with her own website, blog and Facebook page also has a cooking show that is a YouTube sensation. On a typical episode of "Great Depression Cooking with Clara," you will find recipes, advice and interesting stories. You'll find episodes like "Egg Drop Soup, Poorman's Meal, and Poorman's Feast." What's a feast? Meat at the table. Something Clara says was pretty rare.

If you put Clara's name into YouTube, you'll even find a thank you video from one of her legions of fans.

If nothing else, Clara is an inspiration. How many 93 year old do you know who are so hip?

Facebook: nevermind...

After thousands of people raised a ruckus, Facebook has decided to return to its previous terms of service. So, for now, it's business as usual, but expect a change in the near future.

Married to Facebook Forever

It turns out your membership to Facebook may last longer than some marriages. Facebook changed its Terms of Service recently basically saying it can do whatever it wants with your content even if you erase it all or close your account.

Here are just a few lines that's generating a lot of buzz.

"You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content."

You can join a group of people who are protesting Facebook's new Terms of Service here. No doubt Facebook is working on a response.

But seriously, did you think that a free service wouldn't retain the rights to your stuff?

Politician Posts Shower Picture of Herself on Facebook

Posting nude pictures on Facebook is not just for teens with hot bodies. Uruguary's interior minister, Daisy Tourne, posted a picture of herself taking a shower on her Facebook page. In all fairness, it's not full nudity (although I have not seen the picture.) Tourne's hand and face is shown with the water running. As you can imagine, a half naked picture of a national leader is causing quite a bit of controversy. Tourne says the picture was not meant to be erotic. Her picture caption said "there's nothing more natural than a woman in the shower." So there.