Is there a Facebook spybot?
UPDATE: DO NOT remove this item, see GeekDrop Facebook Spybot entry for more info.
hat tip to @tomharvey888 who sent me this:
RT @bengie Has your facebook been running slow? Go to “Settings” > “application settings” > “added to profile”. delete “unnamed application” -> spybot
Do i have the so called Facebook Application spybot? Apparently so.
Clicking settings will cause an unknown error and the application profile does not exist (it will redirect you to home).
I’m not convinced this is malicious and with no evidence to suggest it is a spybot (would love to hear from you, if you do with a source), I remind you of the SULFNBK.EXE (Symantec) fake alert inviting you to delete a file that was actual an integral part of windows.
I think the most likely explanation for this unnamed app is a leftover from a now removed function – perhaps one from before the profile view was changed.
To remove or not to remove the Facebook spybot? …that is the question.
I’d like to hear from anyone who does not find this when they follow the instructions above, so far everyone I know who has tried this did… which would suggest to me it’s more likely a remnant as above.
Thoughts, screenshots… all welcome below.
Read MoreLinkedIN status updates are dying
Allow me to explain.
It used to be that the status updates on LinkedIN were actually quite useful, to see what people were up to, get a snapshot of what they are/were working on… but alas no more.
Given the option to link a twitter account to LinkedIN (good) most people have chosen to send ALL tweets to LinkedIN (bad) rather than use the selective “#in” option which only sends selected tweets to LinkedIN (good).
The result?
The status updates are all RT’s (the twitter version of forwards) and off topic, no where near as useful as it used to be.
To me, it devalues the activity stream quite a bit – which is kind of a pity as the other things on there are still great – Q+A, groups, events…
Have you noticed this too, or is it just my network of people?
Please, if you link twitter and Facebook together use the selective updates function – make sure your messages are “fit for purpose”, does everything you tweet, really need to be on LinkedIN?
Select “edit my profile”, then click on the “edit” link next to your twitter username and select the option highlighted below.
Next time you want to send something to LinkedIn just include “#in” in your message.
Thanking you in advance… Luke.
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Luke Williams on LinkedIN – I run 1/2 day LinkedIN courses in London and Bournemouth if you’d like to make more of this great business platform.
Read More5 essential Facebook links for business
Listed below are 5 links I think all businesses that use Facebook need, some of them are easy to find, some seem to move around and hide:
1) Set friendly URLs (pagenames), ie: facebook.com/yourname – facebook.com/username – Works for personal profiles and pages (once you have 25+ fans).
2) Widgets, fanboxes and other cross site badges are all on the widgets page.
3) Link twitter accounts to pages or personal accounts facebook.com/twitter – also use this page to change the way your updates are linked and what kind of items are shared.
4) Set up your adverts at facebook.com/advertising – alos handy to see how large a given demographic is, try stepping throughmaking an advert up to the advert target seletion – it will tell you the number of users you could target.
5) Its also very handy to be a “Fan” of Facebook pages (or subscribe to the RSS feed) so you see any updates or new features when they’re announced.
One for my fellow geeks: If you’re thinking of customising the look and feel of your page, or would like to build your own applications, you’ll need the developer resources page for all things FBML.
Handy tip for mobile users: If you use the touch.facebook.com site, choosing friends and then pages gives you quick access to send out updates to your pages – any you are admin for will appear at the top of the list. On m.facebook.com (older non-touch-screen phones) this still works except pages you admin are not listed first… I don’t know why, they just aren’t!
If you find these links/hints helpful, please take 2 seconds to bookmark it somewhere (I use delicious) or share it on with someone else via email, twitter or courier pigeon.
Read Morewhat is your twitter personality
Happy New Year everybody, did you make any changes for the new year?
I’m making a few, one of which is a change i’ve pondered for a while – a split in my twitter persona.
@socialtech is now going to be purely web technology based hints, tips and discussion. It’ll also focus more on the startup and Magus things that I’m involved with.
@alukeonlife is for my personal messages, local info and other off topic stuff like #uksnow.
I’ve felt for a while that I needed a split for a number of reasons, mainly:
Some friends were reluctant to follow as the tech stuff made no sense to them and there wasn’t enough personal messages (where I am, what the snows doing, OT articles)… and conversly, whilst no-one had said it, @socialtech had more personal and OT messages than I’d originally intended and as such watered down what I had to offer (especially to people I’ve trained who just want tips etc).
I also had a lot of local messages sneaking into @socialtech which must of been annoying to tech folks who follow me, or people out of the area – these will all now be from @alukeonlife
Both accounts are open and I’m happy for anyone to follow either, @alukeonlife will also be information on my radio DJ alter ego (Luke Dubyah) with details of radio shows and gig dates.
This does slightly dilute the “Luke Williams” brand, but I think it offers the best of both worlds and I’m a big believer that a twitter stream should be useful – keeping it all together, I felt, had reached a point where it wasn’t as good as it could be for either – jack of all, master of none.
And yes… for the astute amongst you, I did used to use @warpsauce for Luke Dubyah messages, this will now purely be tweets about our warpsauce startup. (our music technology based project)
I’d love to know what you think, do you have one identity on twitter? Do you feel sometimes it dilutes your personal or business brand? Maybe you think I should leave it all as one? I’d love to hear from you in the comments…. or on twitter!
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