The Good

There are a few things I really like about the new profile setup. It’s great to be able to designate certain content as Featured content, to show users which content you’ve added (or that others have added) to your Timeline is most important to you. This is something you used to be able to do on your profile several iterations ago, and it’s nice to see it added back again.

Facebook has made it super easy to navigate from one time period to another, without which this change would have driven me crazy. So, even if you don’t like the change, at least it’s fairly easy to use.

I even like the new profile cover, the huge image at the top of your Timeline, though I wish you could select a photo you’ve been tagged in instead of just the ones you’ve uploaded.

The Bad

This whole Life Event thing seems over the top. Obviously without it the whole Timeline concept falls apart in many respects. After all, why change from the old profile system if there’s no way to go back and add things to the past? But, then again, do people really want to do that?

The means by which to navigate to the “About” section of your profile has been reduced to a very small link under the Occupation / Education / Location section at the top of your Timeline. Facebook is now putting a much larger emphasis on chronology and far less on autobiography. This is a matter of personal taste, but I prefer the latter.

The Jury is Out

Here’s my biggest hesitation with the new system: the adoption of arbitrary actions and objects. Stay with me here. I know this is the web development side of things, but you will see this show up throughout your Facebook experience.

The Like button on websites is a very simple system right now. You click it and Facebook tells your friends that you Liked a link. Under the new Timeline system web developers can now use any verb and noun they want. So, I could create a Listen button for a podcast, and when I click it you’d see on Facebook, “Andrew listened to a podcast.” New actions and objects go through an approval process. At this point there’s no way to tell how stringent Facebook will be with regard to what they will and won’t allow.

I understand why Facebook is doing this. If their goal is to create a timeline of events then they have to account for the fact that people do a lot of different things. Sometimes they don’t “like” them; a lot of times they “do” them. It’s similar to when a status update always began with “[User] is…” instead of allowing users to dream up whatever they wanted to say.

That said, I grow weary of this increasingly complex and convoluted social environment. I don’t want to be that guy who wistfully recalls how Facebook was “back in his day” and I’ve never been someone who joins one of those “bring back the old Facebook” groups. But I have to wonder if we’ve reached the tipping point. There are many people who compare Facebook’s dominance in the social sphere historically to that of AOL’s in the ISP sphere, and we all know how that turned out for AOL. I agree with the comparison and I imagine there are enough people at Facebook who do too, who fear stagnation, who don’t want to be caught resting on their laurels as others innovate and move forward. Facebook, I believe, may have gone too far in the other direction, overcompensating for a problem that doesn’t yet exist.

But, you know, maybe this change will be great. Who can say? It always takes users a while to adapt to Facebook’s new direction, no matter how significant. Same goes for developers. Only time will tell. I’m willing to give it a chance, but for some reason my expectations are low.

Very Preliminary Thoughts on Facebook Timeline was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.

Here’s the main reason I really like this app: I don’t have to enter into the rest of the Facebook universe to check my Facebook messages. Messenger will not show you if you have any other notifications awaiting your attention. This is a great thing! How many times have you gone into Facebook just to check a message, only to find that there was lots of other activity that “needed” your attention? Yeah, all the time, right? This app lets you communicate back and forth with friends without risk of distraction.

But even more than that, this app has features that its so-called fully featured counterparts doesn’t currently have. These features include:

• Send messages instantly to other friends who have Messenger
• If the friend is logged in to Facebook chat the message will pop up there in addition to the message inbox
• Reach friends via text message if they don’t have Messenger yet (allows you to look up their phone number in your contact list)
• Create group conversations for making plans on the go (you can also name the conversation)
• Add more friends to group conversations at any time
• Attach photos and location to messages
• Control alert settings for each conversation (e.g. turn off alerts for one hour, turn off alerts until 8am)

As you might expect you can receive push notifications to alert you of new messages. One annoyance is the lack of an indicator telling you if a friend is online or if they also use the Messenger app, making those first two features listed above a little less useful than they’d otherwise be. But this app is still incredibly valuable, so much so to me that it sits on my iPhone’s home screen right next to the main Facebook app. I highly recommend this app to anyone who uses Facebook to message friends regularly.

Messenger for iPhone | Messenger for Android

This post is part of my ongoing post series, What I Use. In these posts I highlight the technology, products and services I use on a regular basis.

Messenger for iPhone and Android: Facebook’s Best Kept Secret was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.

What You’ll Need

• Chrome + Adblock Plus; or
• Firefox + Adblock Plus; or
• Safari + Adblock

Normally an ad blocking extension is used strictly to block advertisements, but it can actually be used to filter out all sorts of page elements.

Chrome

Step 1 – Add Filter

In Chrome, click the Tools icon and select Extensions. Find AdBlock Plus and click Options. You should see a menu similar to the one in the image above. Click on the Add your own filters tab.

Step 2 – Insert Custom Filter

You will see a text box at the top of the page. Here you’re going to want to enter the following text:

facebook.com#*(pagelet_rhc_ticker)

Click Add filter. You’re done! If you have Facebook open in your browser you may need to refresh the page before you see the changes.

Firefox

Step 1 – Add Filter

In Firefox, click the Tools pull down menu and select Add-ons. Find Adblock Plus and click Preferences. You should see a menu similar to the one in the image above. Click on Add filter… to enter in the custom block filter we’re going to use.

Step 2 – Insert Custom Filter

A text box should appear, prompting you to add in your new filter. Here you’re going to want to enter the following text:

facebook.com#*(pagelet_rhc_ticker)

Click OK. You’re done! If you have Facebook open in your browser you may need to refresh the page before you see the changes.

Safari

Step 1 – Open Adblock Options Panel

In Safari, click the Safari pull down menu and select Preferences. Select the Extensions tab on the top of the Preferences menu, then select AdBlock from the list of extensions to the left. The options for this extension are not controlled from within this menu; instead you must check the box marked Click me to show AdBlock’s options. This will open a new tab with the AdBlock extension options.

Step 2 – Add Filter

Select the Customize tab at the top of the options window. Now click on the option Hide a section of a webpage.

Step 3 – Insert Custom Filter

Two text boxes should appear, prompting you to add a domain and a filter. In the blank labeled Domain of page to apply on enter:

facebook.com

In the blank labeled CSS to match enter:

div[id="pagelet_rhc_ticker"]

Click Block it! You’re done! If you have Facebook open in your browser you may need to refresh the page before you see the changes.

Here’s What You Just Did

The “pagelet_rhc_ticker” part of what you entered is the ID name for the div that holds the code for the Ticker section of the Facebook homepage. If you don’t speak geek, think of it like a section title in a book. Whenever your browser sees that particular ID on the domain you specified (in this case, facebook.com) it will block all the content found there.

Be aware of two things. Facebook could change the name of the ID whenever it wants, which would require you to change your filter to match. Also, Facebook could start including something you might actually want to see within the area of the page you’re blocking.

If you found this helpful, share it with someone else!

How to Hide the Facebook Ticker was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.

Links from this episode:

• My post on Google+ from last week

Facebook Fatigue was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.

Does Anyone Need Another Social Network?

I ask you, do you (or anyone else you know for that matter) have a felt need for another social network in your life? No, I didn’t think so. It seems like every denizen of the Internet is already on Facebook. which rose to prominence because it was able to outperform the MySpace experience in spite of the fact it offered more or less the same experience. Twitter is a powerhouse in its own right. Twitter was able to establish its footing because it’s a dramatically different kind of networking platform than Facebook.

While there are far more people who have a Facebook account who don’t have a Twitter account, there is a growing number of people for which the opposite is true (three such people whom I follow on Twitter are @patrickgines, @shawnblanc, and @BenjaminBrooks) precisely because they prefer its unique utility. So, assuming you already have an account with one of the big two, do you have a felt need to find a superior networking experience? Perhaps, but I think that’s still a big stretch.

I think most younger Internet users and some older Internet users have the capacity (though not necessarily the desire) to manage two social network presences successfully. But I tend to think three is simply too many for most. [Update: I had one reader comment that so-called "older" Internet users might be more likely to also use LinkedIn, which I classify as a niche network but which others may consider a major player.] So, as I see it, Google+ will only be successful if:

• It has a “killer feature,” something so significant not offered by Facebook or Twitter that it gives the typical Internet user a reason to use an additional social network
• It creates an overall unique or more compelling networking experience, so much so that it leads to typical Internet users choosing it over their current social network of choice (or one of them)

I don’t believe a rehash of Facebook or Twitter will lead to success, even if elements of Google+ truly are better than one or both of the primary alternatives. Facebook’s ability to crush MySpace in that manner took place before any social network had a polished feature set. The only way I see this manner of success occurring for Google+ is if Facebook or Twitter makes a huge mistake, probably over a privacy gaffe.

When it’s all said and done, the deck might simply be stacked against Google. Gina Trapani, founding editor of Lifehacker retweeted an interesting thought by Jason Kottke:

Has any large company ever launched a successful & compelling social product?

6/28/11 1:11 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@jkottke

Jason Kottke

What is the Google+ Killer Feature?

There might be two: Huddle, a group texting feature for smartphone users to communicate with specific groups of people (called Circles), and Hangouts, a group video chat feature. Watch the videos below for a demo of each.

Watch on YouTube: The Google+ project: Huddle

Watch on YouTube: The Google+ project: Hangouts

Google has posted a playlist of videos about Google+ on YouTube with a total of eleven videos (at time of writing).

Is the Google+ Networking Experience Truly Unique?

The two features mentioned above are unique, but I’m not sure they’re enticing enough to prompt wide adoption by the typical Internet user. But you never know. I certainly have Facebook fatigue, and maybe there are more Facebook users like me than I realize. Maybe xkcd is right:

Will I Use Google+?

Well, I’ll join, but then again I’m an über-geek. I’m the guy who has (but never uses) accounts on Orkut and Buzz. But will anyone else use it? I can only see myself using Google+ if my close friends decide to give it a try, and I’m just not sure how many of them will.

What About You?

What do you think? Will you join and use Google+?

Is Google+ a Big Deal? was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.

Links for this episode:

• Here’s a primer on the EdgeRank formula

Upcoming Social Media Presentation was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.

First Row

The three social networks I use the most, in descending order, are Twitter, Facebook, and Foursquare. I’ve tried out several Twitter apps but find the official app is the strongest one available. The Facebook app isn’t as good as it could be — it lacks many features you find on the full site, such as the ability Like comments, @ tag content in status updates and comments, and access the old style Groups — but it’s the best option available. I’ve also tried out several Foursquare apps, and until recently my main reason for sticking with the official app was because it didn’t crash as much as most 3rd party apps. But the new Explore tab is tremendous, so now I think I’ll stick with this app even if the others I’ve tried become more stable. All three of these apps are free.

Rounding out the top row is my Bible app of choice, the ESV Bible app by Crossway. I used to use YouVersion, but I find the reading experience on the ESV Bible app to be so much better with its full screen reading mode. You don’t need an Internet connection to use it, which is a huge plus. I’d estimate that I now do roughly half of my overall Bible reading in this app. Furthermore, it’s amazing how much more I read the Bible now that I literally always have one with me. This app is free. The same developers make a premium ESV Study Bible Plus app that I’ve had my eye on for a while which includes study Bible materials. That app costs $14.99.

Second Row

All four of these apps are default iPhone apps. I moved the iPod app out of the Dock row because I just don’t need to get at it as much as my text messages. That said, I still use it more than any other music app. You might think it a little odd that I keep the App Store on my home screen. I download apps all the time (236 since I got my iPhone, 175 of which are currently on my phone). Plus, I’m a little obsessive compulsive about checking to see if there are any updates available for these apps, so I’ve kept in on my home screen. I use the Calendar app all the time. I have it synced to my Google Calendar. It’s one of the things I like most about having a smart phone, the ability to have my full calendar right at my fingertips and make plans accordingly. I kept Maps on the home screen because I’m usually using it while I’m in a car. I need easy access to this app, even if I don’t use it too often.

Third Row

This row includes two folders, which I’ll highlight in detail momentarily, but first I’ll look at the two apps standing alone. Evernote makes up one half of what I refer to as my “second brain.” I use Evernote as an idea box. When I have an idea for an essay, for a web project, for ministry, or whatever, I open up Evernote and either type it in or, more often, use the audio recorder to record a memo for myself. I’ll be able to access all these notes from my Evernote desktop apps at home or work, or from anywhere I have an Internet connection using the Evernote web interface. I don’t need a web connection to use the iPhone app, only to sync my notes across platforms. This app is free.

The other half of my second brain is OmniFocus. At $19.99 it costs four times as much as any other app I’ve bought to date. And it’s been worth every penny. OmniFocus is a project management app. Sometimes I use it as a simple to-do list for the errands I need to run. But it’s real strength is in breaking a project out into many smaller steps, with the ability to give each step its own due date and other specific information. The app pushes reminders to me when an item is about to be due. Over the past year I’ve taken on a lot of new responsibilities in totally unrelated spheres, and this app is one of the reasons I’ve maintained my sanity through it all. Shawn Blanc wrote an excellent and massive review of OmniFocus for Mac, iPhone, and iPad a few months back should you be interested in more information on the app.

Photography Folder

Even though I have a number of different camera apps I still use the default Camera app quite a bit. Ever since Apple included the HDR setting — and chose not to make it an API available for 3rd party app makers to use — it’s become a very strong option. Plus, it’s really my only video camera app (FlickIt also takes video but limits you to 90 seconds).

I think Instagram is my favorite photography app though. The filters are great and the square Polaroid-esque shots it produces are really slick. There’s also a lot of amazing tools being made to work with Instagram, such as Instaprint, Inkstagram, and Instagallery (especially the iPad version). Instagram is a free app.

The other six apps in this folder I don’t use too often, but it seemed foolish to make a separate folder elsewhere for them. The Photos app doesn’t really need much explanation: it’s the browser for my photos. I use FlickIt to upload photos to Flickr. Camera+ used to be my go-to camera app. It has some features that none of my other apps have that still make it a strong choice for some situations, such as the ability to set separate focus and exposure points, a grid overlay for taking straight pictures, a stabilizer to guard against blurry shots, a countdown timer, and burst mode for a rapid succession of shots. I only use Picplz to comment on the photos of other Picplz users, though I used to use it to add photos to my Foursquare checkins before Foursquare added that feature to its own app. It’s not a bad app though, and some may prefer it over an app like Instagram. Path is one of those apps that I want to start using but haven’t yet. It’s to share photos with friends without posting them to a social network for all the world to see. Potentially very useful. Finally, I use the Flickr app to browse Flickr. Camera+ costs $0.99 and the others are all free.

Video Folder

As with the Photography folder, most of these apps don’t get a ton of use but it seemed logical to keep them together. Yes, I have two YouTube apps. The first is a link to the mobile web app, which is many respects is the better of the two products, and the second is the built-in YouTube app. The apps for Vevo, Vimeo (web app), Justin.tv, and Dailymotion are just for browsing their respective video offerings. I don’t have a fancy cable TV package at home; instead I stream Netflix and Hulu Plus to stream content to my iPhone, TV, and computer. VLC is no longer available in the App Store, but it’s used for playing video files not natively supported by the iPhone. AirView is an awesome app. We’ve all seen the iPad ad where the guy is watching Toy Story 3 on his iPad and he tosses it to his Apple TV using the AirPlay feature. This app allows other iOS users to toss videos to my iPhone. Yeah, so wicked. Justin.tv will set you back $4.99 (I downloaded it when it was still free) but all of the rest of these apps are free (though you’ll need to pay to use Netflix and Hulu Plus once you’ve downloaded the free apps).

Fourth Row

As much as I’d like to move the Settings app off the home screen I find that I go into it quite often, mostly for issues with wifi networks or to put my phone into Airplane Mode (something I do often so I can “get away from it all”). Instapaper is the newest addition to my home screen. I’m trying to add this service into my workflow as a way of saving articles I find on the web that I don’t have the time or ambition to read the moment I find them. This app costs $4.99. Reeder is a fantastic app, one of my favorites, and a must-have for any Google Reader user. I’m a huge fan of Google Reader and RSS feeds in general. (Learn more about RSS in this post I wrote a while back.) It’s how I’m able to read over 100 blogs every day without wasting my entire life in the process. Reeder syncs with my Google Reader account so I can read my favorite blogs on the go. It costs $2.99.

UPDATE: Since publishing this post I’ve written an article on how and why I use Google Reader and Instapaper to read content on the web.

Writing Folder

This folder is a work in progress. I use WordPress for my personal blog and for several other websites I’ve developed. I’ve actually never used this app to write a new post or page for any website, but I do use it to approve new comments and write follow-up comments. (Thus, you may question why it’s even in this folder. I do intend to use it to write new posts eventually.) PlainText is a cool little app that syncs with my Dropbox account. (Learn more about Dropbox in this post I wrote earlier this year.) It allows me to create and edit .txt documents in a folder within Dropbox. This sync option makes it far superior to the default Notes app, also included in this folder for sake of continuity only. Lastly, Glyphboard is a useful web app character map. All of these apps are free (you can remove the ads in PlainText for $4.99).

Dock Row

My dock is pretty boring with its four native apps: Phone, Messages, Safari and Mail. At some point I’d like to use Google Voice in place of the Phone and Messages apps, but I’m not eager to do all the work required either to port my existing number or to train people to use a new number.

About the Title

The name of this post was lifted from a website called 1st and 20, a collection of iPhone and iPad home screens from designers, developers, and tech writers.

What’s on your Home Screen?

If you’re an iPhone user, tell me about your favorite home screen apps in the comments.

This post is part of my ongoing post series, What I Use. In these posts I highlight the technology, products and services I use on a regular basis.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: Affiliate Marketing Links http://cmp.ly/5

First and Twenty: My iPhone Home Screen was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.

Today I launched the FSU Navigators Podcast Facebook page. Honestly, I should have made it a long time ago. I used to post links to the individual episodes to the wall of the FSU Navigators Facebook group, which the ministry uses to communicate with students roughly on a week-to-week basis. But there is a major problem with that method: you have to be a member of the group and be my Facebook friend for these posted links to appear in your News Feed. A page is a much better solution. Any Facebook user can “Like” the page and expect to receive notice of new episodes on their News Feed.

There is one other advantage I’m excited about. The new podcast Facebook page won’t be used the same way as the Facebook group ministry’s main Facebook page, meaning it won’t send out weekly announcements about Nav Night or upcoming trips. So Nav alumni, parents of students, and our ministry supporters now have a means of being informed of a new episode without having to weed out all the messages that don’t pertain to them.

I added a couple bells and whistles in the form of two custom tabs. One is a welcome tab asking the user to Like the page; the other is to encourage users to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

You should definitely go check it out. Let me know what you think of it in the comments.

UPDATE: The page now has its own vanity URL. http://www.facebook.com/fsunavspodcast

Introducing the FSU Navigators Podcast Facebook Page was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.

I’m the head web developer for four websites (including my personal site) and a contributing developer for one other site. Facebook has been making a lot of work for me lately. They recently changed the way outside sites connect with its services. They announced the eventual shutdown of Facebook Connect, the existing protocol, in favor of a new JavaScript SDK that makes heavy use of the Like button through social plugins. Strangely, there isn’t a Share button social plugin that runs on the new SDK. You still have to use Facebook Connect for that feature.

But here’s the real kicker: a website cannot run Facebook Connect and the JavaScript SDK at the same time. Trust me, I’ve tried. So did the good people over at AllFacebook, and they came to the same conclusion. Developers must choose between the new Like button and the existing Share button.

(Yes, I know you can have both running simultaneously if you use iframes. That’s how Mashable has both running on their site. I’m assuming the use of XFBML, which offers a richer user experience. Also, the unofficial Share button by fbShare.me works fine while running alongside the new Like button. I’m assuming the use of the official Share button.)

Initially I assumed that Facebook must be phasing out Share all together in favor of Like. I started poking around the documentation for Facebook’s Open Graph protocol. (Everything with a Like button has a place on Facebook’s social graph. Developers can designate certain information on their end so it appears on Facebook the way they want.) At the very bottom of that documentation there’s a section called “Best Practices.” Bullet number two is very interesting.

Make only real-life things into objects. Users don’t want news articles and other transient content as objects on their profile.

Wait a minute. Sounds like Facebook doesn’t want developers to use the Like button for individual posts and news articles, but rather for blogs and sites as a whole. With this definition you might be able to get away with adding a Like button to a category within a blog or maybe a type of news on a news site (example: “[Facebook user] likes World News on CNN.com.”), but that’s about it.

So here’s my big question. If Facebook itself claims not to want to use the Like button as the new Share button when it comes to “transient content,” why would they leave the existing Share button out in the cold under their new JavaScript SDK?

I sent this question along to AllFacebook. Nick O’Neill, their lead writer, messaged me back saying it was a good catch and that there would be a post on their site about it soon. My site isn’t exactly a bustling thoroughfare of activity, so with any luck they can take my question and start up a good conversation.

Update

The above-mentioned “bullet number two” has been removed from the Open Graph protocol best practices page. Also, the “Object Types” have been updated. Under “Websites” there is now a third option called “Articles” that was not present when I originally posted this entry. Facebook explains:

Use article for any URL that represents transient content – such as a news article, blog post, photo, video, etc. Do not use website for this purpose. website and blog are designed to represent an entire site, an og:type tag with types website or blog should usually only appear on the root of a domain.

This update has thoroughly answered my concerns over the Facebook Like button, though it would still be nice if the Share button was compatible with the JavaScript SDK.

Like Button Best Practices was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.

When I first saw it on Facebook I commented that someone ought to add a Frisbee into Joe’s hand. After all, the only reason Joe had ever had to jump like that before was to catch a disc. So, with a few clicks here and there I added one.

My friend Scott took my idea and turned it into a bona fide meme. First he added a Super Mario question block.

This next one is my favorite. Apparently Ken from Street Fighter tried to crash the wedding. Joe wouldn’t hear of it.

This last one shows Joe in considerable peril.

So, who wants to make their own? If you do, download the first picture, make your edits, upload it to Facebook and tag Joe.

The Jumping Joe Meme was originally published on Andrew Ledwith's blog.
© 2004-2011 Andrew Ledwith. All rights reserved.