How to Block Facebook Beacon using Mozilla Firefox

Last week our class discussed the privacy concerns surrounding Facebook Beacon, which was launched November 6th.

Here's a link from WikiHow on how to use Firefox to completely disable Beacon.

Eventually, like the News Feed, Facebook is going to come up with their own way to permenantly opt-out (or how about even an option to opt-in??). In the meantime, Firefox users can make sure their data isn't being mined and sent out using BlockSite.

Has anyone tried this? Let me know how it went for you!

And speaking of getting caught by your "social" life...

Check out this article from Valleywag about an intern who said he had a "family emergency" but then submits his Halloween party pics on Facebook from the night he was supposed to work.

This article features his original email, the reply, then the office-wide email sent with his lovely Halloween picture.

Group Podcast: Social Media for Non-Profits

The JenKasMeg Show – Social Media for Non-Profits

:28 sec – Jennifer: Social Networking

3:44 min – Megan: Blogging

My Sources: RB Digital Rodeo and NetSquared

7:08 min – Kassie: Twitter

This podcast is the result of a class project for our "social media and internet for PR" class. This podcast was made in Audacity. The song we used is called "Move Your Body" by miyoshimasato.

Student Beware: is it time for you to do an internet audit before job searching?

While surfing Ars Technica, I found an article posted earlier this year called "Job Candidates Gone Wild: be careful what you post online," which I find extremely relevant as I draw closer to graduation. This is something all students should consider as they prepare to seek professional jobs and opportunities: if a hiring manager Googles you only to find your ridiculous Myspace page or your serial drinking binges and intoxicated escapades on Facebook, this is probably not going to help you (unless that's what your job calls for and in that case, good job!)

Be careful what you post online if you want to be able to get a job in the future. Your blog, web site, Facebook, MySpace, online dating profile, or even forum postings might "out" your salacious activities to a potential employer. According to a survey conducted by business social networking site Viadeo, one-fifth of hiring managers have used the Internet to find personal information about potential job candidates, and a quarter of those have rejected candidates based on what they found. - Jacqui Cheng, "Job Candidates Gone Wild"

So is this fair? This is an argument about public domain: if your crazy photos and epic rants are put out for all to see and read on a publicly accessible site, you should assume that this content is fair game when being considered for a job.

A good place to start would be to see what information you put out there on any social networking sites: if your Facebook page talks about your favorite books and movies that's probably not an issue (unless your employer HATES that movie :P ), but pictures and notes posted that detail your Friday night drunken debauchery may not be what they're looking for.

Another tip would also be to Google your name. Sure many people probably share your name (gosh, look at me - how many Megan Garzas are there!?), but see what comes up that may pertain to you. Example: Google "Megan Garza" and the first hit will be a link to my LinkedIn page that features resume-type facts and shows my list of connections of professionals that I know. This is definitely a preferable result when I think of a manager looking me up on the web.

I think that conducting an "internet audit" to see what pages feature you is an important step for those active on the internet. I took this to heart when I completely overhauled my former MySpace page. For years I had the typical layout but I realized over the summer that if someone searched for me on MySpace they would pull up my crappy page. I then found a clean, professional div-overlay to construct a simple yet very attractive page with minimal information - my page did not show my friends or the comments they left me. I was very proud of it until I recently found out that my account had been phished for the second time which finally convinced me to delete my account.

The moral of the story is that students should consider what they put on the internet in terms of how it will look to others who are considering you. If a resume and a nice suit for the interview is all a part of impression management, so are the pictures you post and the forums you participate in publicly on the web.

What about you all, my fellow classmates and readers? Any great examples?

10/4 Update: Hoi Polloi posted an entry today about investigations targeting employees who have posted ill-advised pictures on Facebook. A 20-year-old RA at OSU lost his job and had to move dorms because of some pictures that surfaced on Facebook featuring under-age drinking. Thanks for putting these examples together, Angelo.

MUDs/Second Life + Web 2.0 + 3D = Metaplace

Just when you thought you've seen everything the Web 2.0 and social media has to offer, Metaplace scribbles all over that and writes their name over the sad remains, making MySpace look childish and old-fashioned.

What is Metaplace? I first heard about it when my boyfriend mentioned it from an interview he read. Let's see how well I can explain it.

If MySpace and Second Life had a lovechild, the next generation would be named Metaplace.
Take the personal website profile aspect of MySpace, but add the graphics and navigation of a videogame or MMO a-la-Second Life and you would have a 3D virtual world of your own creation that exists on your own personal Metaplace website.

Gah, it's difficult to really picture it without seeing it. So watch this:


The idea is that like other social media in that you don't need to know any code to use it. Designer Raph Koster describes it like a 3D graphical blog or profile page that you can make in minutes then alter and add at will.

Metaplace gaining substantial buzz, especially among gamers. For them, this will mean this type of online gaming and social interaction will not depend on downloaded software but directly on a webpage that can be accessed anywhere.

Metaplace is currently in alpha, being offered for previewing to programmers and developers. The goal is to make the different "templates" (do you want a game? a 3D chatspace?) to be created by anyone to be shared with the community (for free or at a price - it's up to the creator). Like a videogame, Metaplace will have it's own currency so you can "buy" new things for your page.

Of interest to businesses and PR professionals: Areae, the company producing Metaplace, is already in talks with undisclosed corporations about creating "sponsored" pages that users will be able to visit and play in, like Second Life.

Not expected to reach open beta until next Spring, this will be MMO gaming and Second Life interaction for the page-surfing MySpacer. Welcome to the future.

"...we've created a virtual world platform. We're trying to be open, so that anyone can write clients. It's designed to allow anyone to have a virtual world on any kind of website that they want. You can have a standalone client too. Our goal is to have virtual worlds for everyone. We have this motto, "Build anything, play anything, from everywhere." Eventually. Of course, we're not done yet." - Raph Koster, in the 1-Up interview.

9/25 Update: I mentioned it in the comments for this post, but Kassie (thank you, Kassie!) found me a link about Google trying this for themselves.

Social Networking is Born-Again

With the insane general appeal of MySpace and Facebook, it seems that the new growth in social networking sites is going to come from niche markets, appealing to specific types of people. Today I highlight the surprisingly longer-than-I-thought list of social networking sites that are appealing to specific religions.

Christian Social Network Holypal (holypal.com) - Calling themselves the "Christian MySpace Alternative," Holypal features all of the typical social media genres we've come to expect - a personalized profile and blog and the ability to upload video and pictures. They also offer a discussion forum and a Christian singles dating service. The homepage highlights the current forum discussions like "once saved always saved," "why do we go to church?" and "defending our faith".

Xianz (xianz.com) - I always thought saying "Xians" was meant to be a little offensive, but this site has embraced it. Xianz.com calls itself "The MySpace alternative for Christians! It's the Faith Based MySpace" and features live webcam recording and contest where they give away Nintendo Wiis.

MyChurch (mychurch.org) - This site had gotten a bit of blogger buzz recently for crossing the 10,000 mark for how many churches it features. Churches can register a church profile (featuring blogging, photos, video, audio clips and event postings) and members of congregations can be added to their church and to fellow church-goers. The profile pages are aesthetically pleasing; the layout is similar to Facebook with clean blue and white boxes. Very nice.

If you Google "Christian social networking," you'll get 13,300,000 results. But Christians aren't the only ones jumping on the social networking bandwagon.

• The Jewish have Shmooze.com and Koolanoo.com (which claim's to be the "world's first Jewish social network), and many more.
• Muslims have naseeb.com, muslimsocial.com, and of course muslimspace.com and many more.
• And let's not forget our Pagan and Wiccan friends who have OurGrove.net and covenspace.com.

I think it's exciting to see people of various faiths using social networking for religious support and questioning. Whether you're looking to find fellow followers and groups in your area or just explore what hot topics members of your faith are discussing, check out these sites and use the power of social media for bettering yourself and your community.

Keeping out the Social Networking Peasantry

The New York Times' tech article "The Gated Social Network" discusses the trend that new social networking sites are designed to keep the layperson out, and only allow certain applicants access to their network. The article features a modeling social site that accepts you based on appearance and the "Diamond Lounge," that will only accept celebrities and other such A-Listers.

I suppose that everyone likes belonging to an exclusive club, so it makes sense that you should be able to gloat about such a thing online. I guess that's how you know you're "in" with the cool kids, and it's a sign of the times to see such invites being extended to hard-working bloggers.

If anyone has any further examples, I would love to hear about them. We always talk about social media and web 2.0 as an open door for the average joe to start up and make a difference. But what if we're not invited?

9/20: Update: Sign up on inviteshare.com to get sent invitations to betas and invite-only sites! I received an invitation in a few hours to join the beta invite-only Yahoo! Mash, so look me up if you get an invite too. Fight the Power!