Tech Talk

This is an example of the new Facebook profile design. The new cover image is visible above the profile image.

Facebook has revolutionized its network for the betterment of its users.

The social media giant has unveiled a transformed profile interface that offers many beneficial upgrades.

Overall, the pages are cleaner and more visually appealing.

For starters, users will be able to select a strong horizontal cover image to showcase their personalities. Facebook allows users to select any shaped image and drag it around the canvas. This relieves users of the need to resize images before uploading them to the network.

However, it is important to note that because the cover image is so much wider than tall, not every photo will work well in the space. Users may update this space as often as they would like – and as easily as they would update their profile picture, which still exists.  Also, like with the profile picture, a new album is created with cover photos.

A common concern will likely concern privacy since years-old posts will now be visible again. However, users may easily hide such posts from their timeline. This is a good opportunity to remember that the best way to protect one’s privacy, however, is not upload embarrassing photos or posts.

Photos, stories and life events are now visible going back years on the timeline. One could scroll back to one’s birth or simply select a specific time by clicking on a date along the right side of the timeline.

A user could also expand a post, as well as hide or delete it at any time.

Although I have been on Facebook since 2004, posts seem to only go back to 2009 as of this posting. However, information that goes as far as back as one’s birth can be added.

Facebook Places is utilized to a greater degree than ever before.

One of the coolest things about the redesigned Facebook is the ability to see all of the places a user has checked-in on Facebook Places.

Check-ins are now presented on an attractive map, in a similar way to how the iPhone displays where images were captured. Photos and individuals tagged in a check-in are also included as well as the time and date of visit on a large global map. This upgrade will likely inspire more check-ins.

Six randomly selected friends’ images are now automatically selected and placed beneath the cover image. The link to all of one’s friends sits next to the user’s biographical information. The user’s photos, Facebook Places check-ins (categorized as “Map,”) and likes are to the widget’s right in simply-designed boxes.

Another addition is the activity log which lists all of a user’s posts and activities going back to the beginning. A user can go to this private area that other users cannot view to change the privacy for individual stories, to delete posts and more.

Although Facebook is getting a lot of criticism over the changes, the public is likely to embrace them once folks realize just how beneficial, and in many ways, overdue, the changes are.

The future of social media is here. It’s called Google+.

The technology giant’s latest attempt of dominating the social media world combines the best aspects of Facebook and Twitter. Millions of people around the world are already members of the Google community. Now these users have a simple and intuitive platform to join.

Among its many pluses (pun intended), a few stand out:

The circles feature, which your humble Tech Talk editor was at first very skeptical of, is a game-changer.

The feature gives you the opportunity to easily group information around a specific topic or group of individuals. It’s also much cleaner, like what Facebook was when it debuted more than a half-decade ago and has since cluttered. There are no applications or other annoyances to distract the user — yet.

Users are likely to find this platform to be refreshing in that they can still connect with whoever they’d like, but don’t have to be bombarded with every detail a given connection posts. Users may choose to select specific groups of individuals to populate their news feeds at any given moment. Sure, Facebook and Twitter have these options, but Google does it better. It’s easier, more prominently placed and more intuitive.

The integration with other services (like GMail, Calendar, Reader, etc…) people are already using will attract more people to Google+.

The platform is also fast and seemingly dependable.

Google+ also allows users to share content and updates with individuals not using the platform by still allowing you to add them to a circle. Your updates then get emailed to them.

While it remains to be seen if Facebook will continue its dominance in ways MySpace and other services could not, this editor is confident Google+ will be a major player. Facebook is not going to die anytime soon, but folks now have another viable option to connect with others.

Prediction: Within a year, Google+ will be more popular than Twitter and give Facebook a real run for its money.

Let’s face it, it’s often difficult to let go. The same certainly holds true of significant others — past and present. However, it is often critical to do exactly that and let go to stay healthy and maintain a level head — and then find future romance.

It is for that reason Tech Talk applauds YourTango.com, a site devoted to relations, for crafting the first “Break Up With Your Ex” day on Facebook — slated for Feb. 13. Best of all, no cards, candy or purchase of any sort is required.

According to a recent survey conducted for the company, 71 percent of respondents indicated that they think about their ex too much and 48 percent (including 42 percent of married folk) said they look at their ex’s social networking profile too often. If there is a positive side to the results, it’s at least people realize that they are doing it too often.

The site encourages everyone to cut social media ties with former boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses and partners on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and the like.

However, the site doesn’t stop there. To ensure that we’ll all move on, YourTango.com encourages folks to:

• Untag and/or delete photos of yourself and that person online, on your computer and phone;
• Delete songs and playlists that remind you of the person;
• Block or erase the person on Google chat, AIM and other instant messaging services;
• Delete their numbers from your phone and their email addresses from your address book;
• Enlist the support of friends and community to detach and stay detached from your ex;
• Get back into the dating scene to complete the moving-on process.

“The current digital landscape makes it especially difficult to truly break from past relationships. Nevertheless, getting someone out of your head — and your heart — is a necessary part of moving on and finding new love, as well as succeeding in a current relationship,” said Andrea Miller, founder and CEO, YourTango.com in an e-mail to Tech Talk. “With the massive ex-attachment going on, we devised this simple call to action to help individuals digitally untether themselves before Valentine’s Day.”

In the same e-mail, Miller stressed the importance of severing ties with the following disturbing details:

• 57 percent of singles said thinking about their ex prevents them from finding new love
• 60 percent of married people agreed that their ex is on their mind too often
• 36 percent said their attachment to their ex interferes with their marriage

 In an attempt to encourage others to follow suit, and surely to garner attention for the website, participants are encouraged to post “I Broke Up With My Ex,” and use the #DumpYourEx hashtag.

Regardless of why YourTango.com is doing it, it’s a great idea and one that TechTalk endorses.

An assault is raging on Twitter.

Thousands of accounts on the popular social network have been hijacked and turned into spammers at a speed never before seen, Mashable reports. It may be tied to the recent attack against Gawker and its 1.3 million commenters.

The tweets link to domains containing “acainews,” the technology blog reports — and it is strongly advised to steer clear of such links. Many of the tweets seem to advertise a berry-based product that will help folks to lose weight.

Folks operating compromised accounts should immediately change their passwords and then check if their accounts have been linked to unknown third-party accounts.

Tech Talk advises folks never to use the password for more than one account, that all passwords are at least 12 characters long and contain special characters, numbers and capital letters and to change all passwords every 30 days.

Facebook has introduced a dynamic new feature to help highlight various relationships users share on the social network.

The network has begun generating personalized pages for users documenting photos with both users, mutual friends, recent wall posts and similar interests. The page is accessible by either:

• Visiting a friend’s page and then selecting “View you and [person's name]“, or by
• Selecting “See Friendship” below a Wall post.

However, the feature is not just limited to you and a friend — although it does work best for folks who interact the most. It is also available if you are friends with one of the people and have permission to see both people’s profiles.

It seems to have expanded the technology first utilized when Facebook posted a photo of two people together when they declared themselves to be in a relationship.

The most popular applications on Facebook have been transmitting identifying information to advertising and tracking companies, the Wall Street Journal reports. Tens of millions of users are affected — even those who have the strictest privacy settings, the newspaper reports.

The breach is hardly the first on the network.

It is a good time to remember that users should assume that all information posted online will be ultimately made public to everyone. Assuming anything else would be foolish.

A Facebook spokesperson told the Journal:

“A Facebook user ID may be inadvertently shared by a user’s Internet browser or by an application,” the spokesman said. Knowledge of an ID “does not permit access to anyone’s private information on Facebook,” he said, adding that the company would introduce new technology to contain the problem identified by the Journal.

It is important to note that the majority of applications are not made by Facebook, something many users do not realize.

Click here to read the full Wall Street Journal report.

One ought to never forget the potential power of Google or Twitter.

Unfortuantely your Tech Talk editor momentarily failed to recognize both Thursday — but was immediately reminded why the technology giants have become so engrained in his daily life.

By default, Google Mail places users’ signatures below the message to which they are responding as opposed to immediately below the response. The decision has led to much frustration — so much so that the Tech Talker felt vented about the decision on his personal Twitter account. Within hours, a friend responded and pointed the Talker to a simple solution he should have thought of: The Google Labs section of Google Mail.

There, listed among more than a dozen other neat options, is the option to move the signature to immediately below one’s response. Incredible.

The episode reminded the Talker of the potential of Twitter to find solutions easily and effectively — and how forward-thinking Google is.

Happy weekend.