facebook – Dr. Ray Pastore's Instructional Technology Blog

Facebook buys Occulus Rift

admin — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 12:33:23 +0000

Well this was unexpected. If anything I would have thought Amazon or MS would have acquired Occulus. Needless to say when I first heard facebook was buying this I felt a bit let down but after reading through the many articles on the deal I atually think this might be a good thing. Maybe facebook was the right company to buy it. Here is a good article which describes some of the good/bad things about the acquisition:

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-you-shouldn-t-worry-about-facebook-buying-oculus-rift/1100-6418545/

I am currently waiting for the next generation of Occulus to arrive this summer – I have it on pre-order!

Facebook admits young teens are losing interest in the site

admin — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 12:12:01 +0000

Now this is an interesting headline on cnnmoney this morning. For those who are not paying attention, more teens are shying away from facebook. Why? Its just not as cool when your parents are on it too (and probably reading your posts haha). Teens like to be using the ‘next big thing’ before everyone else. They do not like to follow the typical trends that everyone else does. If you dont believe me look at their music collection:) So what are they using? Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumlr to name a few. Go ahead, see if your kids are on these sites. You might be surprised to see what you find.

Do you want to clean up your facebook page?

admin — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:25:52 +0000

There is a cool free service called facewash that does just that. It cleans up your facebook page so that it is ‘interview’ ready. It can also search for keywords and delete posts containing them. This might be easier than going through years of posts to determine what is professional or not. This free service is a must for all college students applying to jobs.

Link to Facewash

Is Facebook posting your private messages?

admin — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 13:09:20 +0000

It seems like this is a hot issue right now. Is facebook posting your private messages on your timeline? On one end of the issue are many users who claim that their private messages are being posted. On the other end is facebook who is saying no, they are not being posted. My thoughts?

– If it was on facebooks end, I am sure they are or have fixed it.

– If its on the users end, its because they cannot remember what they wrote because these are old posts from years ago. I checked mine and thought they were probably not private messages but I was not 100% sure. But I cannot remember messages I sent 3 years ago.

– From a technical standpoint, all of this information is probably stored on different tables or even different databases so the programmers of facebook would have had to purposely put the information in your timeline and if they are denying it, then more than likely they did not do it.

– My suggestion for facebook: Get better privacy and this would not be an issue. Make everything private by default and let users make things public if they choose. Why this company has a problem with privacy is beyond me. It is one of their biggest downfalls. I have friends who have stopped using it due to privacy concerns.

Here are some news stories about the issue:

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/facebook-not-posting-your-private-messages-1B6071010

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/us-news-blog/2012/sep/24/facebook-leaking-private-messages

http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/24/reports-facebook-users-seeing-private-messages-pre-2009-showing-up-on-timelines-as-posted-by-friends/

Facebook now has 1 billion users

admin — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 13:00:01 +0000

Kind of crazy to think about how many people that really is considering there are roughly 7 billion people on planet earth.

Facebook videos not playing?

admin — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 12:23:19 +0000

I had this problem on 3 of my computers and thought it was a Mac issue. Well maybe it is but I have been reading online that PCs are having the problem as well. Now I am not 100% sure what is causing the issue, whether its a setting on the computer, browsers, or in facebook itself, or even in a plug in. But I do know a solution:)

In your address bar you will see something like: http://www.facebook.com or www.facebook.com

The problem is that your browser is looking for a secure connection to view the video. So to view it you need to make sure there is an (s) in that web address like so:

https://www.facebook.com

Do you see the (s)? Type that in and reload your page. The video should now play. And yea you will need to do this each time you want to view one but at least its working.

Facebook CEO: ‘Betting on HTML5 our biggest mistake’ and future of HTML5

admin — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:58:53 +0000

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg went on record yesterday discussing their recent move to a native app in Apple’s iOS. The facebook app had been developed in HTML5. Now I am not quite sure why a company with the resources that facebook does would have even considered an HTML5 app vs a native as native is definitely better, however, they did. But why was it a mistake? Because Apple has chosen to not allow HTML5 apps to run as fast and smooth as native ones.

Article is here

So what is the future of HTML5? Well at this point APPLE does not want to support HTML5 mobile apps. Why? They lose control and money. Sure they are supporting it in the browsers but they are not supporting it in apps. Why would HTML5 apps be good for developers? Because you could develop one app and publish it to all mobile devices. So for instance, Apple has purposely made apps running HTML5 run slower than they would as webpages in their browser, citing security and stability concerns. While it might be valid it a very suspicious as Apple has been trying to tell people to use HTML5 instead of Flash for similar reasons.

Here is an article about Apple stopping HTML5 dead in its tracks on iOS (not the browser). And this has not changed with iOS5.

Here is another article about why apps should go to HTML5 but they are not being supported:

Why apps should but are NOT going cross platform with HTML5

Facebook drops HTML5 for native iOS app (Xcode)

admin — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:02:25 +0000

I think this speaks volumes about the power of HTML5 vs native app development. What I find interesting is that both Apple and Google claim to really push HTML5 yet they still make sure their native apps run significantly better – for now at least because I am sure their futures OSs will offer better support. I am surprised a company like facebook even attempted HTML5 vs a native app to begin with and am surprised it held up so well to this point. This shows HTML5 does have power but not enough compared to Xcode. Xcode offers a lot more and HTML5 is really only designed for simple apps. When you are a company like facebook that has millions of users I could only imagine how bogged the app could easily get. Well here is the article for your reading pleasure:

Article: http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/23/3262782/facebook-for-ios-native-app

Another article: http://mashable.com/2012/08/23/facebook-ios-5/

Finally your deleted facebook photos will actually be deleted – after 30 days

admin — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 12:15:28 +0000

As many have discovered, when you delete your photos from facebook, they are not really deleted. They are just no longer in your profile but they still remain in facebook databases and are sometimes used for ads and such. According to new sources (article here) when you delete your photos they are only used by facebook for 30 days and then deleted. While I am happy they are actually deleted, I need to ask myself, why does facebook need to use them? Should we all stop using this service due to their weird privacy rules?

How faculty use social media in the classroom: infographic

admin — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 13:16:21 +0000

Source: OnlineColleges.net

Edit comments in Facebook

admin — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 12:15:03 +0000

Finally facebook allows you to edit your comments. This is good as so many times I have deleted my comment and had to rewrite the whole thing because of a spelling mistake:( Well now you can edit your comments. To edit, simply click the little pencil icon on the top right corner of the comment and click edit. Simple as that!

Facebook Launches App Store: Major Privacy Concern!!!!!

admin — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 12:23:42 +0000

Well facebook has launched their app store for Android and Apple iOS users. So you can now download apps via their store but there is one issue: Facebook automatically tells me what apps my friends have and recommends apps to me based on their apps. Do they want me to know which apps they have? It tells me specifically who has what app. In my opinion this is kinda like someone looking at my browsing history because it actually is telling me what sites my friends used. For instance, it is telling me who has used match.com. I do not like this and I do NOT know how to stop it. Here is how to manage which apps can interact with facebook but this still doesnt solve the problem (actually it might, I just do not know for sure). If anyone knows how to prevent please let me know.

1. Log in to facebook
2. Go to privacy settings (top right corner for those on a PC)
3. Click ‘edit settings’ on the ads, apps, and websites section
4. On the apps you use section, click edit settings then edit the settings for each app

Facebook please make this easier to change.

Link to facebook app store: http://www.facebook.com/appcenter

Facebook releases Instagram clone for iPhone and iPad

admin — Thu, 24 May 2012 19:23:38 +0000

Well this is kinda surprising. They just bought instagram and then release their own clone which they obviously have been working on for a while. The app is only available via iTunes so it is not available for Android yet, although I assume it will be very soon. But the question is, why did Facebook buy Instagram for 1 Billion if they were just going to release their own version anyway? Was it a copyright issue? I would doubt it considering there are 20 other Instagram clones in the market.

Anyway, here is a link to the app: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/facebook-camera/id525898024?ls=1&mt=8

Facebook IPO

admin — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:49:21 +0000

Will you be buying? I will not be – not because I do not have the money (Although I do not because I am a college professor which means I cannot even afford to live). The reason I would not buy at least in the long term, for those looking for investments, is that this company can go down and fail overnight. If you do not believe me, look at myspace or any of the IPOs in the early 2000s during the tech boom. On the other hand as a short term investment for the person who watches the market and pay attention to what is happening in the tech world, this is probably a decent investment as it will go up right away just as google did. The key here is watching and knowing when to get rid of it. The best part of everything was watching and learning how big financial firms operate in the market and do things. SoFi is such a big player and any advice they have for you is something id recommend.

An article about the ipo: http://money.cnn.com/2012/05/17/technology/facebook-ipo-final-price/index.htm

Watch the IPO (FB) on NASDAQ: https://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:FB

NYC passes social media law for K-12 Educators

admin — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:05:24 +0000

I cannot say this is a bad law. While I wish it wasnt needed, unfortunately there are just so many problems that something like this needs to be in place. In fact, this probably just makes it easier for the teacher to say ‘no’ when their students ask because many students do ask their teachers to be facebook friends and it puts the teacher in an uncomfortable situation. Here is what the law says:

“NYC DOE Teachers cannot use social media accounts unaffiliated to the school on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and Flickr to contact students regardless of the nature of the message.”

Source: http://mashable.com/2012/05/02/social-media-student-teacher-contact/

Now the good thing to point out here: These services can still be used as long as its for educational purposes. So the schools are not banning the tools. If they were, I would have a major problem with this. They are simply banning personal connections, which I believe is fine. I warn all of my K-12 pre-service to teachers to say ‘No’ to any student that requests them on facebook. Not that I think its bad in all cases but that it just avoids a potential future problem.

Here is a video on the topic:

Facebook launches ‘Groups for Schools’ for Educators and Students

admin — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 18:40:27 +0000

Facebook launches a new tool for Educators. It requires a ‘.edu’ email address and allows schools to create groups. Within these groups the schools can send emails, upload files, create calendars, post messages, etc. – pretty much everything you can do on Facebook but it’s private for your school. I would love to hear from a school that ends up using this as I am sure many are very apprehensive considering Facebook is ‘Taboo’ in most schools and universities.

Here is a link: https://www.facebook.com/about/groups/schools

Another article with more information at Mashable

Maryland becomes first state to ban employers from asking for your facebook password

admin — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:05:27 +0000

This is an issue I have written about now several times. I have given advice about what to do when asked here. Well finally we are seeing what is going to happen – Maryland has now become the first state banning employers from asking people for their social media passwords. While it still is not banned in 49 states, I would guess it will be by a majority of states within the next year assuming it remains an issue.

Here is a link to the maryland story

Facebook buys Instagram for 1 Billion

admin — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 20:45:22 +0000

So I am sure most of you have heard this news by now.

About Instagram – Instagram has 31 million users and only 13 employees. They offer a free app for iPhone/iPad and just last week (maybe 2 weeks ago) offered an Android version that is still a little unstable.

Was this company worth 1 billion? There are many other apps that do the exact same thing. Couldnt facebook just create their own app and compete? I guess not. I guess the 31 million customers was key.

I wish the Instagram founders much luck in their future endeavors – have fun spending your money and if you want to, you can give me some:)

What do you do when your employer asks for your facebook password?

admin — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:17:20 +0000

This is a ‘hot topic’ right now in the tech world. Companies, schools, and government agencies are apparently asking their employees or interviewees for access to their facebook profiles. Now I am sure this is not too common as I have yet to hear of a real case of it, but from all the news surrounding the issue, it is happening. So what do you do if asked? What are ways to get around this?

1. Dont have a facebook profile. Easy enough but realistically all of us do.

2. Please please please make your profile private.

3. When your employer asks you for your facebook profile, here is what I am recommending everyone do:

Show them your profile as it appears to the public. Explain that this is what the public sees. Explain that the contents are for family and friends only and you feel that showing the rest is too personal (if you need to explain this much), which is why its private in the first place. Also, you can point them to your personal webpage or LinkedIn page and explain these are the networks you use for your professional connections.

Now obviously what you do is up to you but if they can get your passwords what is next? Looking in your house? Going through your closet?

Here is my previous post on the social network bill of rights

Here is an article from mashable that explains some other options

What do hashtags # and other symbols on twitter and facebook mean?

admin — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:04:56 +0000

What is twitterspeak? Well it’s how we communicate on twitter and other social media sites of course:)

The hashtag (#) is simply a way to search. This was designed for twitter and is used as a way to search. So if I were discussing mobile learning in a post I could say #mobilelearning and then anyone searching twitter for mobile learning posts could more easily find mine. Now people are using this on facebook, however, facebook does not currently use these to search but that could be changed in the future.

Another symbol used on twitter is the @ symbol. This is used to refer to someone. So if someone were speaking about me, their post might include @raypastore which would then link to my profile. Again this is being used on facebook but does not actually link to the referenced person.

I hope this helps clear up two of the most common ‘symbols’ used on facebook and twitter and help people understand what they mean and how they are used.