Facebook today officially released its “Facebook Messenger for Windows,” a stand-alone desktop chat client.

Apparently, an Israeli blog TechIT leaked the link to the client, before Facebook officially launched the new client.

TechCrunch reported that the app was first released for private testing in November this year, but is now available to the public. However, the app will only run on Windows 7 operating system, according to tech site, The Verge.

The client offers a number of Facebook features, including live updating Facebook ticker and notifications, as well as dockable client window.

Here is the official download link for Facebook Messenger client. You can learn more about it on the Facebook help page.

{ 1 comment }

An Indian student was shot dead in Greater Manchester on Boxing Day, and sadly, family members came to know of it only through Facebook.

Anuj Bidve, 23, took admission in Lancaster University in October this year and was on Christmas vacation in Manchester City with his friends where he was shot dead, near their hotel.

So far, five persons have been arrested in connection to the murder. The murder weapon, believe to be a small handgun, is yet to be found. Police says they are treating the murder as a hate crime even if there is no evidence because of concerns within the community.

The father accused British authorities of failing to contact him in India to break the news of the death. He revealed that he found out about his son’s death over Facebook.

According to a report on The Times of India, condolences and messages extending help has been pouring in on the ‘Anuj Bidve Help Page’ on Facebook, with some even offering to help the bereaved family get their only son’s body back to Pune.

The Indian Government also stepped in and decided to bear the expenses of bringing Anuj Bidve’s body to India.

{ 0 comments }

All iPad owners hoping for Facebook’s new timeline profile to appear may have to wait a little longer.

fb ipad 300x225 Facebook Timeline Update Coming To iPad In Late JanuaryThe original planned December release was postponed due to last-minute bugs. 9to5Mac reported that the social network is shooting for a mid-to late-January launch of timeline on its application for the Apple iPad tablet.

Facebook released an update to their iPhone and iPod touch application in mid-December bringing Timeline profile support in addition to improved photo management, subscriptions management, and smart friends list.

It’s not surprising that iPad was the last platform to get an official Facebook app too.

{ 0 comments }

The largest social networking site is undoubtly Facebook, but Google is still the web brand to beat.

According to a Nielsen report released Wednesday, Google was the most-visited U.S. web brand in 2011.

Nielsen reviewed the top online destinations, social media sites,  video destination, and smartphone devices.  Without surprise, Facebook and Youtube tops the list of social media sites and online video destination respectively, without much competition. Apple was the top smartphone manufacturer claiming about one-third of the market share.

Nielsen compiled the data based on web traffic from home and work computers from January through October 2011. The data does not include mobile visits, a growing consumer browsing category today.

Experian Hitwise also released their list last week  where Facebook topped the list of most-visited sites and most-searched terms in 2011. It is worth mentioning that Nielsen focused on individual visitors per month while Experian Hitwise looked at total visits for the year. Moreover, Facebook had more U.S. visits than Google.com, but Google has the edge when the visits to all Google properties are combined.

Enough said, let’s look at the Nielsen’s list of toppers for 2011.

Top 10 U.S. Web Brands in 2011

nielsen top10 usa webbrands Google Edge Facebook On Nielsens Top Web Brand of 2011

Top 10 U.S. Social Networks & Blogs

nielsen top10 usa socialnetworksblogs Google Edge Facebook On Nielsens Top Web Brand of 2011

Top 10 U.S. Online Destinations for Video

nielsen top10 usa onlinevideodestinations Google Edge Facebook On Nielsens Top Web Brand of 2011

Top 5 Smartphone Device Manufactures.

nielsen top10 usa smartphonemanufacturer Google Edge Facebook On Nielsens Top Web Brand of 2011

{ 0 comments }

Now that Facebook’s Timeline has been rolled out to all users worldwide, here is a post focussing on one of the coolest elements of Timeline: the cover.

Since its launch in September last, we have seen users getting really creative with it. There are a lot of cool sites out where you can find interesting images to use as your Timeline cover, and also ones that let you easily generate cool Facebook covers. Here is a list of few of them, not necessarily the best sites, but to get you started. Hope you find them useful.

Facebook Profile Covers.
fbprofilecovers 5 Sites To Check For Facebook Timeline Covers
Facebook Profile Covers is a repository of images that are ready to use as your Facebook Timeline cover. The site has hundreds of cool images under different categories that include Abstract, Animals, Art, Brands, Celebs, Cartoons, Cars/Bikes, Creative, Cute, and more. Covers feature the website watermark and the process of using images are bit elaborate than it needs to be. The image first is posted to your Timeline, and you can set it as your cover photo.

FB Cover Pix
fbcoverpix 5 Sites To Check For Facebook Timeline Covers
FB Cover Pix is another great gallery to find images to use as your Timeline cover. You can either log in using your Facebook account and select an image to use as your cover, or download the image to your computer and upload them to Facebook yourself.

MyFBCovers
MyFBCovers is a great site that lets you design your own cover. Apart from getting cool custom covers, you can also share it with the rest of the community, and if your cover is the most downloaded image of the week, you can win $50. After logging in with your Facebook account, you can choose from the available covers, or design a collage made out of 24 of your friend’s profile photos. MyFBCovers also lets you upload images from your PC, scale and position them, and even add a couple of effects.

Site Canvas
If you are into collages, then Site Canvas lets you generate cool collages for your Timeline cover. The site has over 20 templates to choose from. Once you select a template, images are automatically selected. You can hit the Remix Photos button to get new set. Sadly, you can’t reposition images, or select the images. So, you might take a while to get the combination you like. Once you get a desired combination, hit the Make My Cover button to apply it to your profile.

Your TimeLine Covers
Your Timeline Covers is a another great site that lets you easily create Facebook Timeline covers. Click on the “Get Started” button and log in. After giving permission to the cover generator app, you will be taken back to the site where you can upload the picture that you want to use as your cover. After uploading, select a portion for your profile image and crop it. It is worth mentioning that, there is a simple survey that will last a minute or more. Once done, click the submit button. Your pictures will be uploaded to Facebook, and you can set your cover by selecting it from your album.

Getting Creative
If you still can’t find any cover that satisfies you, then you can always make one yourself. With a good photo editing software, a little bit of creativity and patience, you can put together a great looking cover. Check out how creative one can get with the example below.

bulletin 300x184 5 Sites To Check For Facebook Timeline Covers

Cover images of 850 x 315 pixels should fit perfectly. You can personalize your cover with different sort of messages and images that describes what you want to share with the world. Research the internet and you will find quite a few extraordinary designs out there that can kick start your creativity.

If you have any comments, tips and tricks, or more sites, do share with us.

{ 0 comments }

Hello readers. Just read about a cool Facebook Chat gimmick and would like to share it with you.

Check out the picture below.

fb chatemoticons Facebook Fun: Create Your Own Facebook Chat Emoticons

It’s cool right. Amaze your friends by creating your own emotions. The best thing about it is the ease with which you can create one. Here’s how.

Just type the profile id – yours/friends name or Facebook’s user id number) between double brackets and the Facebook profile picture corresponding to the id will appear on the chat. Try these out too:
Here is what I have used for the emoticons that appear on the picture above. [[zuck]],[[facebook]],[[zynga]],[[empiresandallies]],[[texasholdem]], and of course my profile id

Have fun, and don’t forget to leave your thoughts.

{ 0 comments }

A woman and her son held captive in a Utah home for several days were rescued after the woman’s plea for help on Facebook were reported to the police.

The woman’s post that said she and her son would be “dead by morning” prompted someone to call police. She reportedly posted her SOS message from a laptop while hiding in the closet.

According to the Tribune, the victims phones, were taken away and they were not allowed to leave home.

The woman told the police that she was choked every time she tried to leave home. Her husband, the accused, would not let her feed their family dog, and had even “thrown” her 17-month-old son at her. She was repeatedly hit, and sexually assaulted over a period of nearly five days.

The accused, Troy Reed Critchfield, 33, was arrested and booked for investigation of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, domestic violence, child abuse, animal cruelty and other charges.

Mr. Critchfield who already has a history of felony-level assault against her is being currently held in the Salt Lake County jail without bail.

{ 0 comments }

With the new profile, Facebook Timeline, rolling out to everyone, there are few things I want to share with you.

Here is 5 things to do before you publish your Timeline.

1. Clean Up Your Content

In the old profile, it was possible to check old posts but one has to go on clicking on older post again and again. With Timeline, all your activities are stream more visually and searching for old post is breeze. It’s like a time machine, giving all your friends the tool to easily dig up your past. So, the first thing you’ve got to do is clean up any embarrassing or unwanted post, before it turns out to be a privacy nightmare.

You can edit your posts – show/hide in your Timeline, remove posts, or adjust the privacy settings – either through the Timeline stream or from the Activity Log.

Facebook gives you three options to decide who sees what: You can make all your post friends-only; You can limit the posts by others on your Timeline; Or you can review every item ever posted to your wall individually.

Activity Log button is located on the right next to “Update Info” below the cover photo.

fb Timeline 300x218 Facebook Timeline: 5 Things To Do Before You Publish

2. Cover Photo

Cover photo is the most significant difference between the old profile and Timeline visually.  Your cover photo is the wide photo that spans the width of your profile. Your old profile photo will still be there, but it will be smaller and inset beneath the cover photo. However, it is still important as it is the one that shows up in News Feeds and searches.

Remember that the cover photo is the first thing people will see when they visit your timeline. So, don’t forget to use images that represents you the best.

So, don’t forget to experiment with different images and have fun with it.

3. Life Event

After you switch to Timeline, you will see a new button on your Status Update bar called the Life Event.

As the name suggests, this button allows you to add important events that happened in your life to your Facebook timeline.

Clicking on the “Life Event” tab will provide you with a menu of different categories, each containing a number of options. It is like adding profile information, but much more. To add an event, choose a category to update and fill in details in the provided form and you are done.

4. Highlighting The Things That Matters

Below the Timeline Cover and other profile information, you will find the Timeline stream of your Facebook life in reverse chronological order.

On the Timeline stream, you will be able to mark which post deserve more prominence and which don’t. As part of Timeline’s more visual experience, your selections will be reflected in the size on the post.

If you want to highlight a particular item, hover over the item and click the star icon. Now, that item will be displayed more prominently.

Similarly, you can hide particular item from your Timeline, or delete it by hovering over the item and clicking the pencil (edit) icon. Note: Removing an item from Timeline will not delete the item.

5. Review Your Likes

Unlike the old profile, Timeline your likes are easier to see as Timeline places the pages you liked below your cover photo. So, don’t forget to review all your likes from each year.

Click on the “Likes” icon. The first section will show you your interests and the next section will show you the pages you like, and your friends who also liked that page, by year. To add or remove some, click the “Edit” button at the top. To remove a page, click on the page’s name, then select “Unlike.”

Remember that you can take charge of who sees what, what is displayed, or how something is displayed. You just need to take some time customizing your profile. Have fun and good luck creating your Facebook Story.

{ 0 comments }

Facebook’s has finally rolled out Timeline, its newly redesigned profile, to all users worldwide.

Timeline, Facebook’s new way of presenting you to the world, is the most dramatic change in Facebook profiles to date. Facebook first introduced it back in September last, and has received mixed opinions and responses, but one thing for certain, it is here to stay.

fb Timeline 300x218 Facebook Introduces Timeline To All Users Worldwide

Most of you might have received a notification to switch your profile by now. If not, you can either wait for the notification or activate it by going to Facebook.com/timeline. Whichever way you decide to do it, you will have seven days to review your Facebook Timeline before it goes live.

Timeline is a very creative and interesting way to experience Facebook and look back at your past Facebook activity. But, the highlights are collected from what Facebook sees as important – so, it might become a privacy nightmare for some when skeletons from the past starts tumbling out on your profile.

Hopefully, you will use the seven days to fine tune your profile to the fullest because few years of Facebook is a lot to go through.

Check out our other post on Facebook Timeline for how to’s and tips.

{ 0 comments }

Facebook will be hosting two Mobile Hack events in January 2012 at New York and Boston.

The New York event will be held on January 18, 2012 (from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM EST) while the Boston event will be held on January 20, 2012 (from 11:00 AM to 11:00 Pm EST). The contest will be all about building social mobile apps that will cover iOS, Android, and mobile web (HTML5) app development.

fbmobile Facebook To Host Two Mobile Hack Event In JanuaryFacebook had already held a Mobile Hack event at Palo Alto in October last. While the event at Palo Alto was free, Facebook will charge a small admission fee for the upcoming events. But, the fee is pretty cheap at $25. Moreover, students with ID’s will be given free admission to the Boston Event.

Industry experts along with the Facebook Platform team, will host technical deep-dives, Q&A, as well as share their best practices at the event. The best mobile apps will be selected and awarded at the end of the events.

Your apps does not need to be created from scratch at the event. So, you can start coding right now. Good Luck!

{ 0 comments }