This is one of Facebook’s best moves which lets you have a visual of what you have been doing your whole life with Facebook. Its just what it is – a timeline. Also included are more visual stuff and gestures, it even has a part where you were born. You can even put events that matter like you got a pet, got your bone break or even joined a military.
“With timeline, now you have a home for all the great stories you’ve already shared. They don’t just vanish as you add new stuff. Timeline is wider than your old profile, and it’s a lot more visual. The first thing you’ll notice is the giant photo right at the top. This is your cover, and it’s completely up to you which of your photos you put here.,” by FB CEO Zuckerberg.
But timeline is not yet available to the public but there’s a way to get that. TechCrunch.com shared a post on how to activate it.
Here’s how to do it:
1. Log into Facebook
2. Enable developer mode, if you haven’t already. To do this, type “developer” into the Facebook search box, click the first result (it should be an app made by Facebook with a few hundred thousand users), and add the app.
3. Jump into the developer app (if Facebook doesn’t put you there automatically, it should be in your left-hand tool bar)
4. Create a new app (don’t worry — you wont actually be submitting this for anyone else to see/use). Give your shiny new app any display name and namespace you see fit. Read through and agree to the Platform Privacy agreement. This is the step you need to be verified for.
5. Ensure you’re in your new app’s main settings screen. You should see your app’s name near the top of the page
6. Look for the “Open Graph” header, and click the “Get Started using open graph” link.
Create a test action for your app, like “read” a “book”, or “eat” a “sandwich”
7. This should drop you into an action type configuration page. Change a few of the default settings (I changed the past tense of “read” to “redd” — again, only you can see this unless you try and submit your application to the public directory), and click through all three pages of settings
8. Wait 2-3 minutes
9. Go back to your Facebook homescreen. An invite to try Timeline should be waiting at the top of the page
And you’re done! We’ve seen this work quite a few times now, so it should work without a hitch for just about anyone. – TechCrunch.com
Will all the buzz Google+ is having still it isn’t near against Facebook or Twitter. Although some notable things are very special like the circles and video conferencing, it will always be the people who’ll join it. Personally I like it but will my friends like it or can I even drag them there?
Google has a lot of products but they are not successful with social networking. If you remembered Wave which was a flop. But this has a promise of something and Google’s approach to design is superb. I love the new cleaner look of Blogger and some other products.
WebProNews tells us what is Google+ all about.
1. Google+ is currently available on an invitation-only basis.
2. Google does not consider it a Facebook competitor (at least publicly).
3. Google+ is currently available for download as an app in the Android Market.
4. When you download that app, it splits off the “Huddle” feature as a separate app.
5. Users can post status updates, and these appear on the Google Profile under a tab called “Posts”. The +1′s and Buzz tabs remain separate. I have to wonder if we’ll see Buzz and Posts merge eventually.
6. What is available now is “just the beginning” according to Google. These are just the first features or presumably many more to come.
7. Circles is one current feature. It lets you share things with different people (kind of like Facebook Groups) but with a very different user interface. Watch this video:
8. Another feature is Sparks. This looks for videos and articles it thinks you’ll like, so “when you’re free, there’s always something to watch, read, and share.” Filter Bubble anyone?
9. Hangouts is another feature. It’s basically group video chat. Google describes it as “the unplanned meet-up.”
10. Instant uploads is a mobile-specific feature. Photos upload themselves as you take them, and are stored in a private area on the cloud.
11. Huddle is another group-conversation feature for mobile. Essentially, it’s group chat.
The Stream
12. The stream is basically the equivalent of the Facebook news feed.
13. When you share something with Google+ it’s added to your stream and the stream of everyone you shared with.
14. The stream shows you what all of your Circles have shared with you.
15. If you mention a user, using the “+” or “@” symbols, the person may receive a notification that you mentioned them.16. You can see who specific posts were shared with in the stream – whether they were shared publicly, to extended circles, or a limited group.
17. You can filter the stream by specific Circles.
18. You can chat directly in the stream
19. You can report inappropriate content.
20. You can search for people from the search box at the top of the stream.
21. Soon, Google says you’ll be able to search the stream itself from the search box.
22. If you leave comments on a post, you can edit or delete them.
23. The same goes for posts, but you can’t edit a post’s sharing settings after the post has been shared. However, you can delete the post and share again to different circles.
24. You can “reshare” posts made by others (like retweeting).
25. You can “mute” a post. This will let you stop receiving updates from a post, like if the comments get out of control for example.
The Google Social Network
26. You can use the “Google+ Bar” that appears at the top of various Google products as your connection to the social network.
27. When you’re signed in you’ll see your full name or email address displayed with a photo or avatar next to it, to help you identify which account you’re currently signed in to.
28. If you’ve enabled multi sign-in you can sign in to two different Google accounts and switch between them using the Google+ bar.
29. When you sign up for Google+, you’re also signing up for Picasa Web Albums, so all photos and videos uploaded to Google+ (including from your phone via Instant Upload) will also be available in Picasa Web Albums.
30. You can use the Google +1 button from the stream.
31. You can have a ton of friends on Google+. Robert Scoble quickly added over 1,000.
38. There are already privacy concerns about Google+ but the Privacy Guide can be found here.
39. According to the Financial Times article, you can share something within a closed “Circle,” but somone from that circle can then reshare it with anyone, and even make it public.
What they need to do is use Facebook Connect to get people going there like any other company. Friendster just did that and it seemed working for them as a gaming website. Facebook and Twitter are friends and they get along well why can’t Google do that?
Facebook blasted itself once again with the Like button and Open Graph, it seems we have to like every piece of information rather than share it.
Its a simple and uncomplicated thing to do and funny is that you have to like what you hate or simply ignore it.
I’ve been reading Mashable for quite some time now and it helps you understand social media and its fast paced changes. Facebook is first on the list and recently had a major privacy issue which caused 30000 people submitted to quit Facebook and held the first ever Quit Facebook Day which was kind of a flap.
Why do you have to quit something that’s a tool for communication? I mean aside from those addictive games and commenting on your fave shows and stars. You can never simply left it behind.
It is a breakthrough in communication and privacy is much like security. It can’t be perfected but can be adjusted. So I want to ask you? Will you leave Facebook?
