Are you using Facebook for leisure and business? Do you play Facebook games or use Facebook apps that post to your friends’ walls?

Here’s how to protect yourself against embarrassing application stories or to prevent automatic requests that ask your boss to help you harvest corn crops in FarmVille during business hours.

It is important to monitor what happens to your Facebook profile after you install a Facebook application. Once you install a new application, you should go directly to your privacy settings to make sure it doesn’t automatically post embarrassing notifications. Or worse, you may end up on Openbook, a site that makes it easy to search for embarrassing and outragious status updates. FYI, there are Facebook applications that post notifications without you knowing.

Here’s how to protect yourself:

1. Log into Facebook, go to Account > Privacy Settings.
2. Here, we have a page full of complicated options to control privacy. Navigate to Apps and Websites > Edit your settings.

Here’s where you can see what information these applications are accessing from your Facebook profile

The Apps, Games and Websites page shows us which applications we are currently using on Facebook.

1. Under Apps you use, click Edit Settings.
2. Choose an App, and click Edit Settings.
3. Locate “Last data access“, click See details. A small window pops up telling you which information this application has read from your profile. You can either click Remove app to stop the application from accessing your profile or click Back to App Privacy (at the top). Locate Game and app activity: Who can see your recent games and app activity. Click Edit Settings > Custom edit > Choose Only Me or Specify People… who you permit to see your application activity.

If you have any questions regarding Facebook privacy or about this blog post, please feel free to post your inquiries on Six Figure Design’s Facebook wall.

Are you using Facebook for leisure and business? Do you play Facebook games or use Facebook apps that post to your friends’ walls?

Here’s how to protect yourself against embarrassing application stories or to prevent automatic requests that ask your boss to help you harvest corn crops in FarmVille during business hours.

It is important to monitor what happens to your Facebook profile after you install a Facebook application. Once you install a new application, you should go directly to your privacy settings to make sure it doesn’t automatically post embarrassing notifications. Or worse, you may end up on Openbook, a site that makes it easy to search for embarrassing and outragious status updates. FYI, there are Facebook applications that post notifications without you knowing.

Here’s how to protect yourself:

1. Log into Facebook, go to Account > Privacy Settings.
2. Here, we have a page full of complicated options to control privacy. Navigate to Apps and Websites > Edit your settings.

Here’s where you can see what information these applications are accessing from your Facebook profile

The Apps, Games and Websites page shows us which applications we are currently using on Facebook.

1. Under Apps you use, click Edit Settings.
2. Choose an App, and click Edit Settings.
3. Locate “Last data access“, click See details. A small window pops up telling you which information this application has read from your profile. You can either click Remove app to stop the application from accessing your profile or click Back to App Privacy (at the top). Locate Game and app activity: Who can see your recent games and app activity. Click Edit Settings > Custom edit > Choose Only Me or Specify People… who you permit to see your application activity.

If you have any questions regarding Facebook privacy or about this blog post, please feel free to post your inquiries on Six Figure Design’s Facebook wall.

• Firstly, it’s easy to remember and share, just like a website URL.
• Secondly, it is highly advisable to put it on your marketing materials such as business cards, flyers, your website, and the like.
• Thirdly, it’s FREE!

See Six Figure Design’s Facebook fan page for an example: www.facebook.com/SixFigureDesign

Here’s how to get one:

1. Your fan page must have at least 25 fans (or “Likes”) to get a custom URL. If you are a few fans short, use the “Suggest to Friends” link under your profile image to gain more.
2. After you have at least 25 fans, go to www.facebook.com/username
3. In the box where it says, “Each Page can have a username“, select your page from the list.
    
4. Next, a little box will appear below that says, “Enter desired username“. Remember, once you set your URL, it cannot be changed! You’ll want to use something relevant to your fan page–something short and catchy. After you enter a username, click “Check Availability“. Facebook will prompt you to reenter a name if the one you entered is already taken.
5. If the username you choose is available, a small window will pop up stating “Several things for you to remember“. Make sure to read these carefully. When you are ready, click “Confirm“. Congratulations! You now have a custom URL for your Facebook fan page!

Questions? Please post them on the Facebook Wall.

[Facebook] has developed a potentially powerful kind of advertising that’s more personal, more “social”.

In 2008, Facebook’s Chief Operatory Officer, Sheryl Sandberg, left Google because she believed Facebook was the better bet to win in brand advertising.

Facebook calls its ads “engagement ads” because they ask users to take action:

• Play a Video
• Vote in a Poll
• RSVP to an event
• Or just to “Like” it

Users are more apt to notice ads when they see their friends “Like” it.

If enough of your friends like or comment on your ad, the ad can escape its right-side quarantine and jump into your main news feed. This is called “earned media” and the advertiser pays nothing for this migration.

Read entire article

If you haven’t got a Facebook fan page for your business already, here are some important reasons why you should have one:

Reference:

Baer, Jay. January 14, 2010. Social Media Examiner. October 11, 2010. http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/11-mind-blowing-reasons-your-business-needs-facebook/

Design has drastically changed from the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s…it gets better and better as technology improves. Design isn’t just about making your website pretty, it’s also about improving its functionality, accessibility, and semantics to accommodate your viewers.

Look at automobile design. Imagine if the automobile design was never updated. We’d all still be driving cars without airbags, power windows/locks, no CD/MP3 players, and no built-in GPS systems. How boring!

“How does this apply to my website?” you ask?

Our friend, technology, is always allowing us to make things better and more convenient for us. Do you find yourself updating your browser (i.e. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome) more often? That’s because these browsers want to stay up-to-date with current web trends to make your browsing experience effortless.

Good web developers stay educated with these trends so that they may harness these new technologies to create the ultimate web experience for you and your customers.

So, how do you know if your website design is outdated? A picture is worth a 1000 words. Take a look at the website images below to get a visual understanding. If your website resembles any of the 1990s or 2000s designs, it’s time for an upgrade.

1990s Websites

2000s Websites vs 2010 Websites

Why should I care how my website looks?

Well, think about it this way…which game would hold your attention more: Centipede for Atari or Halo 3 for XBOX 360? Video games today are designed specifically to keep people playing and coming back.

Web design is exactly the same. An excellent website is designed to keep up with people’s interests (what they like to see, how they like to read, how they prefer to navigate, etc) and to keep them coming back for more.

Believe it or not, there are web design companies out there who are still selling outdated designs. We live in a fast-pace world where you have 3 seconds to engage your viewer before they choose to leave your site and move on to your competitor’s website.

Take the Poll:

 Which decade does your website reflect?

• 1990s
• 2000s
• 2010

References:

Martell, Dan. Flowtown. Sept 27 2010. http://www.flowtown.com/blog/9-websites-stuck-in-the-1990s-2
Webtint. Sept 27 2010.  http://webtint.net/articles/a-decade-of-design-what-10-years-did-to-the-web/
Lava 360. Aug 2010. Creative Commons. Sept 27 2010. http://lava360.com/showcases/10-years-old-web-designs-of-famous-websites/
UNeedAPart.com. Sept 27 2010. http://www.uneedapart.com/mustang-parts.php
University of Houston. Sept 27 2010 http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1231.htm
Elliot, Simond. Jan 2009. simondelliot.com Sept 27 2010. http://www.simondelliott.com/blog/2009/01/pong-is-more-than-just-a-game-its-a-way-of-life/

]]> http://sixfiguredesign.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/how-to-know-if-your-website-design-is-outdated-and-why-it-matters/feed/ 0 sixfiguredesign Picture of Pong, The Video Game Picture of Nintendo Wii Tennis Game Picture of Model T automobile ford mustang 1990 website design 1990 webiste design 2000 Yahoo website design Yahoo's website in 2010 Netflix website in year 2000 Netflix's website in 2010 AT&T's website in 2000 ATT's website in 2010 http://sixfiguredesign.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/hello-world/ http://sixfiguredesign.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/hello-world/#comments Wed, 20 Apr 2011 17:54:23 +0000 Six Figure Design http://sixfiguredesign.wordpress.com/?p=1 ]]>

Twitter may have spawned many Internet applications, but the fashion industry is responding too! Check out these 5 Twitter Accessories that will make you a fashionable Tweeter in the Twitterverse!

1. Twitter “Follow Me” Thigh Highs by Tattoo Socks
Nothing says Follow Me like a sexy pair of “stalkings”.

2. Antique Brass Twitter Bird Charms by CanterburyLane

3. Twitter “Follow Me” T-Shirt for Dogs by Vanilla Xtract

4. Twitter “Follow Me” Shoes by Vanilla Xtract

5. Fail Whale Mousepad by Fail Whale