Social network tips

With recent news of Facebook and the new Open Graph has been updated the fantastic plugin Facebook Connector to version 3.0.3. In addition to features found in earlier versions there have been added to the Open Social Graph Plugins and integrated a number of widgets. We decided to create a new installation guide for newbie’s who are going to pimp out their blogs.

Install the plugin

First you have to install the plugin of course:

• Go to plugin page and download the latest version.
• Unzip the zip file and upload the folder to the path fbconnect/wp-content/plugins / on your blog.
• From the home page of WordPress Plugins, activate the plugin.

Create a Facebook Application

Now, before you continue, you must create a real Facebook application to connect to the plugin:

Go to the Facebook Developers page, login if you are not authenticated. Click Apply New Settings button in the upper right. Enter the name for the application (the name of your site, for example). Accept the terms and continue. Your application has been created. Take a note of the values ​​of API key and Secret. Set the Icon, and possibly also the logo. Select English as a language. Set as developers of all profiles admin of your blog. Click on the Templates tab in the left column. Enter the URL of your site in Canvas Callback URL . Click on the Facebook Connect tab in the left column. Enter the URL of your site in the field Connect URL . Enter the domain in the Domain Base. Set your logo Facebook Connect. Save your changes.

Note: The image will be the icon that will appear in the bulletin board users when they publish their comments. The Facebook Connect Logo, however, is the image that appears in the window to connect to Facebook Connect.

Configure the plugin

Now you need to set some options:

• Back in the admin panel of your blog.
• Under the Facebook menu, click on the Main options.
• Here enter the Facebook API Facebook API Key and Secret of you have noted before (respectively, the API key and secret).

Select the options you want (Like you can also insert the new button). In the field you can enter perms to request permission to ask the user the first time you login. Entering “email”, you can ask the user to give you their email, for example. Update the changes.

Feed menu templates you can customize the text instead for your comment on the user profile and you can decide to put the comments on Facebook, as disabling of WordPress.

Then going on the management of widgets of your blog, you’ll find lots of new boxes to be inserted. Are the respective plugins that allow greater integration with Facebook? Try them one by one and decide who can serve you.

There are no further changes to make. The new version of the plugin allows for great flexibility and customization options of the widget, so that it no longer needs to manually modify the plugin code.

When you use Facebook you are very often being invited to play with video games already used by our contacts or use of information sharing systems. Almost always, this type of activity requires the installation of so-called applications.

To function, these applications draw on our personal information and, in many cases, can even send data or information to our contacts or post them on the bulletin board. Lose control of all installed applications and how they interact with our personal information is much easier than you think. In previous lessons, we have seen, for example, we have dozens of applications authorized to “write” news and status updates on our bulletin board. The general rule of common sense, even for Facebook applications, is the best criterion to follow to avoid losing control.

Upon installation of applications is in fact always served the type of access to our data we will be granted for the link to our profile, it is well to limit the number or not to install some stay there without too much thinking. Restrict access permissions, or delete operations are always possible, but forget to have it installed is definitely a risk that can be reduced dramatically simply by not adding them. The access point to the panel configuration of all installed applications can be reached by clicking the Settings tab in the Settings menu Applications.

Set the privacy for each application

In the configuration panel will automatically see a list of recently used applications. But beware, this is a partial list of all those who have access to our profile! To view the applications that in some way involved reading, sending or preparing in some way our personal information, we must choose the Show drop-down menu items added to the profile, license, authorized for publication and with additional permissions.

As we select one of these groups, we will see that the list will be updated automatically and in the table header which lists the names of all the selected applications, you will see the type of interaction allowed for that type of applications. In the case of applications with additional permissions, provided the activity is to publish recent activity (news of a line) on my dashboard.

To remove an application, just click on the symbol of “x” of the row of the table and confirm the voluntariness of the cancellation. Clicking on a profile, go to the official page of the application where we can read the details and features. Changing the type of access to our data is done by clicking the Edit settings instead. Depending on the type of application we can take action on the visibility of the type of application or additional permissions granted.

Unfortunately, because of viral games and applications on Facebook, or perhaps I should say for the ease with which you enable access to our profile, it is not uncommon to have to configure or delete hundreds of applications.

Do not forget about external applications privacy

There are situations where applications are added to our profile outside of Facebook. In the case of YouTube, for example, when we upload a new video we can choose to enable the AutoShare providing its publication of the notification of uploading a video on our Facebook Wall and beyond. Depending on the outside, once defined the possibilities of the service to interact with our profile we note that other applications have been drawn from the information sent from the authorized range.

Also in the case of YouTube, for example, our post, corresponding to upload videos, are also displayed in the news we received from our friends in their home page and in other applications such as standard of Facebook Photo, Videos and Notes.

To disable the linked sites and applications outside of Facebook, you must retrace or reverse the procedure used to activate the link from within the external application, or locate the application within the Facebook system configuration (see lesson above) and delete it or change its permissions.

A few weeks ago with the introduction of a new Facebook profile, we have witnessed a wave of creativity started by the French Alexandre Oudin, who has actually used the features of the layout of this page to customize your profile. In this article, let us see how we use Photoshop to create our own profile page, in fact, after the jump, you can download the PSD file for photoshop that allows you to easily create all the photographic material necessary for customization.

Set the privacy

First, change your privacy settings (if they have not already done so) so as to be the only one you can see photos that you have been tagged. This will be two advantages:

• if you work, none of your colleagues will know that party where you have drunk up to stun
• your page will show the flow of images in your profile, and not where you’ve been tagged

At this point, you can download the PSD file to be opened with Photoshop and start the next tutorial.

Cut out your photo

First, download or create a PSD file.

By opening the PSD file, you will discover that consists of a single level “laundry” in the parts of your profile photo and the flow of images. It looks like the file just open in Photoshop:

What you do is open your photo and insert it in this file, simply open it in Photoshop and drag from one window to another.

This will create a new layer in the layer stack and the new stock will be above the page layout view, drag the layer so that it is positioned below and you’ll see your photo appear only on the holes of the layout sections, namely, those that make up the profile photo and the flow of images.

You have to do now is select the “holes” on the level of the layout, using the Magic Wand tool, move to the level of photography and doing CTRL + C to copy the selection to a new file. Save all selections starting from the far right and names the file with consecutive numbers. At the end of the transaction on your PC you should have 6 files named 1.jpg, 2.jpg, 3.jpg and so on until 6.jpg which is the larger picture of your profile.

Upload photos on Facebook

All you have to do is go on Facebook and change your profile picture, repeat this process for 6 times, how many files you created in the image sequence that will show you the numbers and you’re done.

And you thought as you customize your Facebook profile? Did you use any pictures as in this tutorial, or have preferred to use many different pictures? Let us know with a comment, and if you want, link your profile to show everyone how you customized.

Facebook provides a very advanced system for managing the participation or the creation in specific groups of people united by common interests. Taking up the first sections of this guide, we can say that in addition to the personal network of Facebook “horizontal” and can participate in a series of sub groups which, although not composed only friends but also and above all, by unknown, it should be considered very similar to the classic community of interest, those that we have defined as “vertical”.

Tools for managing our participation, stay up to date on what is happening inside a group, create new ones or to tap existing very well developed and it is not difficult to familiarize yourself with this system.

Joining a Facebook group

To access the group management just click the Applications menu (button at the bottom left of the page) homonym application. On the main page we see the group information is summarized by us or created where we registered, and those relating to our contacts.

The search for a group that wishes to enroll can be done in several ways. Besides making us be inspired by groups that are already members of our contacts, we can in fact be to browse the catalog of groups present, either search by keyword in the search Facebook generation then click the Groups tab. Trying, by definition, we can identify a number of groups to which we would like to know more details.

Clicking on the name of the group and we will find a description of additional information that will help us understand if it really is our interest. To subscribe just click on Subscribe to this group.

Browse archives directly from groups dedicated to the management groups (Menu path Applications / Groups / Browse Groups), allows you to browse the catalog of groups already based on other people based on issues of common interest. In this case the drop down menu and the various major categories shown on the right of the page with a few clicks allow you to highlight a list of groups you might like.

Before you join a group you should look at the type of communications that are exchanged by members already active. To do this you can visit the page describing the group and click on View discussion boards, links leading to a sort of online forum where members of the group communicate and discuss hot topics.

Create a Facebook group

For those not satisfied despite vast range of existing groups, creating a new group is fast and simple. It begins with a click Create a new group on the page http://www.facebook.com/groups.php.

Complete the online form with all information to be viewed by other members of Facebook. The moment we decide to create a group acquires the rights of directors, after completing the basic information we have access to the configuration page of participation rights to the group. In particular, we have to decide whether the group will be visible to all, only to our contacts, or anyone except those directly invited by us.

As we can see the level of customization is very high, so much so that we can not only choose who participates in the group but who can administer and with what level of control. These features allow you to create micro-network of friends that are very useful to limit communication only to people who are genuinely interested.

Interactive social games developed especially for and similar to it resources by such developers as Zynga and Playdome are very popular these days among those surfers who spend their lifetimes in the web chatting and sharing their ideas and wasting their time entertaining themselves with all available Facebook means. The most popular interactive games as Facebook Farmville Application occupy most of their lives and that is why no wonder developers are interested in creation more profound and interesting amusing games for such pro . The following article will serve as a certain review for the new but still rather popular among games – Zynga’s Roller Coaster Kingdom which a free application everyone can enjoy while playing it.

Below you will find assort of introduction of the Roller Coaster Kingdom game and few tips how to start playing successfully:

1) Roller Coaster Kingdom game or just RCK is very easy to find and install on your Facebook page. Check your News Feed and you will definitely find over these the posts like “Click to decorate your own roller coaster park” and so on which means you have got a sort of an invitation to join thousands of users who area already playing this game within Facebook all over the world. This link we give is also can help to find RCK easier – (just do not forget to login onto your Facebook account at first).

2) After registration a mascot of your park named as Wally will meet you and give you a sort of a brief review of all those game opportunities you can choose from just after the start. In general RCK gives a newbie about 15 thousands dollars to run his new park of attractions and the half of this sum you will have to spend in order to buy your first roller coaster for your new park. There are 3 options of choice are given in the very beginning so choose carefully because all of them gave different levels of excitement and capacity for passengers of your virtual amusement park.

3) After getting this tutorial from the friendly mascot you can start to create your own park using all available for a newbie means. Never forget that you won’t manage to have a huge park at first but then after providing your strategy of marketing and advertising your amusement park you can expect to expand it and buying new attractions like cooler roller coaster as well as shops and merry-go-rounds for kids. Rides and shops set beside each other will bring you virtual profits you can spend for improving your park even more.

4) Even if you are not logged onto this game application your park never stops to bring you profits, but level points will be taken into consideration and added only if you are physically in the game. And these level points are the only means to get bigger amusement park in RCK eventually. After all you will be offered to offer your virtual visitors booking some tours at your park because of high quality and popularity of your park. And that is when you will have to feel what is like to run your own park of attractions.

Those serious people who use exclusively for fun and chatting can use this social community for developing of their small business as well by creating a and upgrading it with numerous applications which can help to rotate this page and logically can bring more clients to your business. Do not ignore the power of Facebook because by installing the following you will be able to advertise those unique services and products you can offer to millions people who use this network not for just for entertaining but for looking for certain small business in different niches in their area.

So here we go, prepare to see the list of the most useful Facebook applications for small business owners which may assist in branding, promoting and showing he favorable sides of your business to all your prospective clients on Facebook:

Facebook Poll

It is very significant for Facebook users to know their latest updates. This fact proves that your fan page’s friends and fans actually care about you and do not leave your Facebook page after spending only few second on it. Polls are used within the Facebook community in order to motivate people share their own content on your Facebook business page or because of proper building of your business basing on your customers’ preferences.

For this purpose you may use lots of applications but we advise to use for promotion of your small business fan page such app as Facebook Poll. This app turns the ordinary informal polls taken into the normal status updates into the official and interesting to take part in polls. This app is quite east to handle and install so you shouldn’t find any troubles with it from this point of view. You will choose for sure what questions to include to your poll, how to design it and make it whether public or private.

Promotions for Fan Pages

By means of this next app in our list of the best Facebook apps for small business owners we recommend to appeal to Promotions which can make and the n post branded contests, some coupons, sweepstakes and different giveaways in order to promote your business among those people who are ready to choose your niche of business but don’t know yet that they should choose you for this purpose. Customize, specify prizes and point the contest dates. Promote and advertise your business by means of the Facebook Promotions App.

NetworkedBlogs

Share and advertise your content on Facebook via NetworkedBlogs app because it has perfect social RSS and a set of tools and setting to turn your Facebook blog into real blog with new tab window, tags and other useful stuff only experienced bloggers know how to apply but still it doesn’t make this blog worse than this.

We like an idea of sharing some interesting focusing on specific groups of people and active having the same interests and jobs and like to suppose that these professional can help people from different towns and countries but having the same careers to meet and discuss common problems and meet new friends having the same interests.

This time we decided to focus on such interesting professions as librarian and gathered in this article the most interesting for our point of view Facebook applications which may be very helpful for all people related somehow to this profession and who like an idea of communications with people of the similar interests within Facebook social network:

Books iRead

Having more than 200 thousand of registered this helpful application turns to be the most popular application for book reading fans and active social users on Facebook. iRead allows to do lots of things like sharing your own virtual bookshelf with all your FB friends and show them e the titles of books you are currently reading and those titles of books you are just going to read. Besides you can also form list of books you have read few years and those books which you will never going to read due to some personal reasons you can point out if you want.

Rating book titles and spotlighting your favorite book reviews you have read or maybe written by yourself are also included. This is very helpful application for all those people on Facebook who can’t imagine their lifestyles without reading interesting books and librarians in particular. Fully customizable setting will let you set this app as you like and discuss your favorite books with all your Facebook friends who have joined this application as well.

Librarian

This is a great online Facebook librarian service allows to check out through the links to books, some scholarly sources and even reference resources which this community can add to this page and then vote and rate every single book just like in the previous book app on Facebook. Add to this a great option known as “Ask a Librarian” where you can actually ask for a professional advice because many librarians find this app very cool and displaying their interests and job completely.

UIUC Library catalog

Having this app installed on your Facebook profile you may get an access to the huge library catalogue of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign or even make few requests and get a live assistance from a librarian working over there. Ti service is great for many people – students, teachers, librarians and all those who are interested in reading good books and seeks for a good app allowing gaining an access to the rare and interesting literature masterpieces.

JStor

Stands for a very popular scholarly journal archive which has created a sort of search app allowing accessing to its enormous collection of full-text books and literature concerning mostly social science field. This app supports a remote login access and requires from you being a member of the website of this archive in order to use this app on your Facebook page.

If you belong to a category of proud and like everyone else like to then this article will be definitely very interesting for you, pals! We will discover the most interesting applications and groups dedicated to iPhone services which can be found ion Facebook and will prompt you how to find all required info about iPhones via your Facebook account. Let’s start to review the most popular and groups for iPhone fans and users:

1) feX for iPhone App (aka Friend Exchange service)

If you want to keep your friends’ photos updated whenever you wish then import their current Facebook images and photos straight on your iPhone contacts’ list. While looking for this application in the web you will face the fact it is also known as “Friend Exchange” service which was developed by the creator Punit Java. Unfortunately, this application cannot be installed directly on your iPhone before you buy it via the official iPhone Apps store.

This app will cost you only ninety nine cents which is less than a dollar but services this app can provide for you are really cool and necessary. This app has a fan page on Facebook and even a forum where you can discuss this app’s faults and advantages. Visit and enjoy sharing photos with friends in more suitable way via your iPhone. According to the latest info, the developers have added to this iPhone app on Facebook a calendar function so you could include your FB friends’ birthday dates in your iPhone.

2) iPhone Application List Application on Facebook

If you really want to know about the latest iPhone applications available on the official website of Apple Store then visit this app titled as iPhone application list on Facebook which was developed by the programmer Steven Schopp. You can simply add it to your page on Facebook and then use whenever you need it.

3) I Love the iPhone App

This next iPhone Facebook App lets you posting the badges according to your choice on your Facebook personal page in such way displaying your appreciation and love to this famous brand of cell phones and smartphones. Thee a custom bade you can change and you can add your text message to it. They develop lots of badges so you could create really unique symbol of your iPhone love.

4) iPhone Campus Application

If you need to know about the latest iPhone apps, tricks and stuff then you are to visit the page of the next application developed by Leo Pang whose product turned to be very handy for iPhone users who browse Facebook. You can install this app in two versions – via your PC desktop on straight on your iPhone.

5) iPhone Gifts Service on Facebook

If you belong to those users who like to send virtual gifs to all those friends on Facebook then this application from the developer Hanan Al Hashemi will definitely become your favorite one in our list. By means of this cool app you will get a chance to send to all your friends virtual iPhone accessories and cell phones. Such cyber-gifting stuff is very popular on Facebook so your presents will be appreciated and your friends will send you some virtual iPhone gifts back.

If you suppose by mistake that only kids are having fun while uploading their childish videos on and only porn apps developers design video applications for then you may think twice and change your opinion after reading the following article reviewing the most adequate and popular applications developed mostly for entertainment purposes:

Video

This is the most widespread and default Facebook services which you may add as a built-in app to your personal page at once after registration. Its main advantages are in popularity (more than 4.5 millions of Facebook have this app added in their personal pages) meaning it has a huge database of videos and lots of features so every user could find it useful. You are allowed to upload videos which weight no more than 300 MB or last no more than 15 minutes (which is however longer than average clip on YouTube). Such strict limits make the process of finding, watching and uploading your on videos even more interesting because this process is getting to be rather creative one.

Its major functions are quite simple because this built-in Facebook video service is foremost a video version of photo utility based network. It is strange because many users expect Facebook Video to become self-maintained platform within this large social network like for example MySpace developers made but due to the fact there are multiple video applications designed by third party developers such positions is getting to be more reasonable.

Vodpod: Videos

If you have registered on the video resource known as Vod:Pod then you can by means of this app integrate your Vod:Pod playlist with favorite videos and watch them like at any other non-Facebook blog platform. You can display the latest videos uploaded and added by you on Vod:Pod account to all your Facebook friends because they will be shown at once after adding them on your account ton this popular video network. Besides you will get an option of Vod:Pod bookmarklet identifying videos and clips anywhere and viewing the recent updates via your “Pod” being embed on your FB profile. The top 5 chosen by you videos will be displayed only on your account but the first video from this personal top list will be available for the other to watch.

SplashCast

Positioning it as an online video feed aggregator SplashCast looks like Miro in the cloud. You can view RSS feeds and flash embed videos and pull them out from the video player side where a user is allowed to arrange and display his own video channel for his Facebook friends. Besides it provides users with the so-called “View Bigger” option where you will able to view your videos on rBGH.

Mesmo.TV

Developed for proper social video discovery (according to the words of its CEO Davin T.Miyoshi) this service or Facebook video application is for searching videos among other users uploaded clips. You are able to browse and rate videos after watching them but it fact its functions are quite limited and only Mesmo.TV will find it useful.

In a case that someday will change its policy concerning playing music or you also (as millions of Facebook users actually do) find Facebook not so good when it comes to default music options and opportunities for promoting your band or simply to listen your favorite music we offer the list of the most interesting to use music player plugins and apps. Use them wisely because not all of them are the same when it comes to appliance and a set of offered features. Prepare to look through the list of the best for music fans who like an idea of integrating their music libraries straight to the .

iLike

Being also known in the past as My Music app this one is for no one of the most widespread music player app within Facebook social network. iLike lets you as a FB page owner create a new music profile and then scan you music library’s song list straight from iTunes. In a case you don’t have an account on iTunes you can add such list from any other music social network where you have an account. Such app will allow you adding music to your FB page without any obstacles and can help to share your lists among friends and take info about their lists as well. There are also few extra features you may look so check iLike right now.

Mixpod

This is a music player which can play list of your songs on Facebook page of yours. You can use the default skin or customize as you like it in order to make your FB page brighter. Besides it can offer the following feature – when a person click on any song from your list added via Mixpod he or she gets a chance to watch the corresponded videos to this tune on YouTube.

Music

Prepare to get the best Facebook music sharing app after installing on your page Music app. It willet you adding the clickable links leading to the songs you will add to your FB page. You are allowed to upload music from your PC or choose the direct music downloads from online resources.

My Band

This is another cool app which will be the perfect one for you if you are a musician because it helps to create original band page on Facebook, and post totally unlimited number of songs and download music to this upgraded page whenever you want to. You can share your music via this app and sell tickets to your concerts as well. It has more than 4 millions of fans so you should join this army as well if you want to make band homepage on Facebook really cool and popular.

Songs

They say that it is the most popular music player within Facebook so you should check this fact on your own. This app has more than 2 millions of active users telling us that it has certain advantages over other numerous music player apps which can be found on Facebook.