John C. Dvorak recently blasted Facebook with his article The Ghetto Called Facebook. I agree with most of the article but disagree with notion that FB’s main competitor is Second Life due to the fact the two, while both social, are two completely different platforms; saying the two are direct competitors is a bit of a stretch. I also disagree with the...

Years ago many people used AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) as their primary means of instant messaging, but it fell out of favor with the masses with the advent of social networking, namely, Facebook. Today you can use a traditional instant messenger just like people used to, using the same client, AIM. The first reaction people have to this is "I don’t...

Some of you probably remember all the hub-bub when Facebook had a presentation announcing their new messaging system earlier this year. Many called it a "Gmail killer", but Facebook was very quick to reply with "This is not a replacement for email." At the end of the presentation, it was said the new system would go live ‘soon’...

While Yet Another Facebook Look Change is nothing new to report about – the features of the newly redesigned user profiles is something of which to stop and take notice. Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerburg, appeared on 60 Minutes last night to talk about the newly unveiled profile look for users of the social networking site. As early as yesterday,...

The rumor mill went crazy over the supposed “Gmail Killer” coming out from Facebook. Honestly, when the buzz machine declares something a “killer” before release, they’re usually dead wrong. … And they were wrong again. This isn’t a Gmail killer. But, it is new. It is innovative. And it could, indeed, help foster in a...

Social Media giant Facebook is set to unleash the proverbial “dogs of war” on G-Mail tomorrow by announcing its own rival e-mail service to its over 500 million members. Facebook members can already chat and send private messages on the site – this branch out to external email is not a simple task, but a logical one. The company has been noted to have...

Back in the early 2000s I remember reading about several instances where people would get fired from their jobs for what they wrote on their blogs. These blogs contained negative opinions (read again: opinions, meaning not accusations) that were something to the effect of, "That guy I work with, John, he’s a jerk." And yes, that was enough to get...

Facebook’s idea of privacy is so laughable at this point that it’s almost a running joke, and a really bad one at that because the joke’s on us. Even so, people still use the site in droves because, um.. well.. we don’t know exactly why, but they do. It was only a matter of time before someone whipped up an anti-Facebook add-on for a...

This week, Facebook introduced a new feature called “one time password“: [W]e’re launching one-time passwords to make it safer to use public computers in places like hotels, cafes or airports. If you have any concerns about security of the computer you’re using while accessing Facebook, we can text you a one-time password to use instead...

There is no denying that, Farmville is an incredibly popular game on Facebook. Although I have never played it, from what I have seen it appears to be a Sim City-esque  game with a farm backdrop. If you like this style of game and are more interested in college sports as opposed to farming, take a look at ESPNU College Town. ESPNU College Town, which features...

The latest Facebook feature, Places, when enabled broadcasts your current location: Easily share where you are, what you’re doing and the friends you’re with right from your mobile.Check in and your update will appear on the Place page, your friends’ News Feed and your Wall. Tag the friends you’re with so they can be part of your...

Due to it’s popularity, Facebook has become a breeding ground for widespread malware and phishing attacks. One such vehicle for these attacks is the use of Facebook Apps. Apps can be particularly dangerous because they can tap into your personal information and hand it over to the app’s developer to use for who knows what. For a good tip on how to...

As you probably know, Facebook has been in the news recently being hammered for their apparent lack of concern regarding user privacy. While Facebook is responding to these issues, it raises the question: would you use a Facebook alternative where your data is controlled by you? Such a task is the goal of an in-progress open source project named Diaspora. The...

Many Facebook apps are granted additional access to your data, with some even being allowed to post on your behalf. Taking that quiz or filling out your family tree may have seemed like a fun idea at the time – but before you know it, that app is spamming updates to all your contacts or sending you unwanted emails. What many people don’t know is that...

For Facebook users concerned about your privacy or wanting to leave the site for one reason or many others, the site does not make the process of removing your account intuitive (by design). Unlike a dead email account (which is private), leaving your Facebook account disabled or inactive still leaves your information out in the open. So for instructions on how...

The instant messaging I’m referring to is the traditional old-school way, that being you download a proprietary client, sign up for a free account and then run the client, add buddies/contacts as need be, etc. Such examples are AIM, Yahoo! IM and Windows Live Messenger. The main reason why people aren’t too fond of IM’ing anymore is mainly...

Facebook apps for the most part are junk. However there are a few diamonds in the rough that are actually useful. Here are 8 of them.  MyCalendar Events like people’s birthdays, meetings and other social stuff is part of what Facebook is all about. The MyCalendar app gives you a far superior way centralize all that information in Facebook instead of...

Microsoft’s Silverlight is one of those platforms that most people have heard about but never found a good use for as a user. The platform itself was originally supposed to be Microsoft’s answer to Adobe’s Flash. But then Adobe released AIR. What does Silverlight compete against now? I have no idea. You be the judge. For most people, the only...

There is no doubt that social networking is an improvement in the way we communicate on the internet, as it allows for people to connect in ways not possible prior to it. For example, Facebook allows to search people by name; this is much easier compared to connect with old friends, family members, acquaintances, coworkers and so on. However, social networking...

A problem with instant messaging is that it can be tough to get the same screen name on all services you use. Most people these days choose to employ the use of a multi-protocol instant messaging program such as Digsby, Trillian, Miranda, Adium or Pidgin, and having all those different names can be aggravating for others to remember. You can, however, use your...