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I killed the Facebook Ticker!

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I knew there had to be a way to block it. That’s the keyword: block. I got to thinking, “Gee, this is just as annoying as ads. Wait, I have ads blocked…”

To do this, you must be using a browser that is compatible with AdBlock and obviously you need AdBlock installed. I have not figured it out on Firefox yet, as Chrome is my main browser. There must be a way to manually block an ad on Firefox, I’m just not quite seeing it. Please let me know if you figure that out!

Step 1:
Click your Ad Block tool bar icon and choose “Block an Ad on this page”. That’s easy enough!

Step 2:
Ad Block will pop a box up on the left of your screen and items you hover will be colored a transparent blue. Just highlight and click on one of the ticker items.

Step 3:
Now look back over at that Ad Block box on the left and you’ll notice a slide. Drag the slide to the right until you see these words  DIV id=”pagelet_rhc_ticker” and then click the “Looks Good” button.

Step 4:
You get one last chance to preview it and if it looks good, just click “Block It”. You are done, your ticker is hidden now. One less distraction on Facebook now.

I think Facebook may have just made a wrong move today. I’ve started using Google+ sporadically, but definitely hopped over there this morning. I’m already seeing a lot more activity over there. I bet Google is loving the boost Facebook just gave them!

Thank you AdBlock! I love you!

Kids + Facebook = MinorMonitor

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I originally wrote this for my parenting blog, but I feel that this article also fits in here. It’s techy, techy is what I do.

“Chronically Late”, that’s the new title I’m giving myself 😉 I’m always behind on posting, I never get to park days on time, it’s amazing that I get to soccer practice and ice skating before lessons begin. Let me also apologize for any typos in advance, carpal tunnel makes typing a little difficult. On to the tip I’ve been wanting to post for awhile now…

You’ve got kids, the internet has Facebook. It’s inevitable. More and more and more teens and tweens are signing up for a Facebook profile. I have touched on keeping teens safe online in the past. But now, my 15 year old does have a Facebook account. As mentioned before, I have her password. But, I’ve added a new weapon to my online tracking- MinorMonitor.com

MinorMonitor is a FREE online service for parents to track your child’s actions on Facebook. I love it. There’s a few things I wish it did more of, but for what it does do, I’m happy. If you have multiple children, you will need multiple accounts, one account may only be linked to one facebook profile. No big deal. Registration and set up are very easy. Once you register on their site, you will need access to your child’s facebook profile, but you do have their password, right?! You’ll need to authorize the app, once authorized you’re good to go and your child probably won’t even know. They’d have to go digging through their profile to find the list of apps they’ve given permission to in order to find it.

MinorMonitor tracks comments, statuses, photos and videos. You can change settings to be alerted when keywords are posted. In some cases you might not be able to click through to read conversations unless you sign in to your child’s facebook profile or “friend” their friends. It’s all in the Facebook settings of the other person (you know, that allow friends of friends thing…). One thing you don’t see is private messages. Those only show up when there’s some on the alert list. Not too big of a deal to me, I do want to give my daughter some type of privacy.

I just can not recommend this program enough. It has more potential, but what it offers (and free at that!) is wonderful and fills the need. And let me tell you, this thing does not skimp on alerts! The phrase “I’m going to get off the computer” was red flagged for get off, and “tempted to say” was flagged as mild profanity.

Note: I logged in today to grab this screen shot (where I’ve blurred out personal information) and I see a link to add a child. I get a pop up telling to upgrade in order to add multiple children. I knew they mentioned adding this feature in the future, so definitely something to keep an eye on.

Check out MinorMonitor and let me know what you think!

Email sig tagged as Spam?!

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Thanks Michelle! I never would have thought of this little issue.
The links and/or words used in your sig line might be sending your emails straight to the recipient’s spam box or not received at all. Link shortners, like bit.ly for instance, could be seen as bad and away your email goes. Even using certain wording like “make money” or “work from home” could trip the trigger.

Take some time to read Michelle’s post, When Good Siggys Go Bad & Get You Tagged as Spam, and then check, not only your sig, but also your domain to be sure you haven’t been blacklisted as a spammer.

Be aware of your Facebook Privacy Settings

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In this digital world, it’s more important than ever to think ahead. You have to stay on top of privacy controls, you have to know what information of yours that you have released publicly. You have to protect yourself. You can not depend upon someone else to do it for you.

A stalker in California was recently arrested. He scanned women’s Facebook accounts to pull information. He then used what he learned to gain access to email accounts and proceeded to blackmail these women. Thankfully, one of his victims reported him and he was tracked down and caught. Read more about how he did it over at AllFacebook.com

As a designer, I want my clients to trust me so I do try to be a tad transparent online. I don’t mind being found so to speak. But, I only release a few photos of my children and only to people I know. I very, very rarely use their names online. I check my privacy settings periodically to see what unknown unfriended people can see. I am very protective of my kids online. Many of my friends probably think I lock my kids down too much, but my information is public for my clients and for my business, I have to protect myself and my kids.

Do you know what information you’re sharing with strangers on Facebook? Do a quick check to see what complete strangers can see. First, you’ll need your Facebook URL. If you can’t remember, go to your info page and look down at the very bottom, it should be facebook.com/??? the ??? being whatever you decided to personalize your page with. Now, take that url and head over to a browser that you don’t normally use for Facebook. Paste and visit that url. That is what complete unknown strangers will find when they search you out. Now, this could vary from what you’ve decided to share with your friend’s friends, but at least you know what you’re sharing with someone you have absolutely nothing in common with.

Now, head over to Facebook and check your privacy settings. Do this regularly! And always be aware of what information you are sharing online!

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