How to use the New Facebook…

Posted on by
2

Hurrah! Facebook has changed its Privacy settings! But what is all the fuss about? And should you actually bother? The good part is that it takes just one sitting to optimize and get the most out of the New Facebook. In the old settings, you just had choices of showing content to Friends, Friends of Friends, Networks and Everyone. The Network concept was downright silly. For example, if you are in the India network, there may be millions of people in the network. So much for privacy!

Now you can choose who sees which piece of content. Here’s how:

1. Lists: The most important thing you got to do is to make lists. For example, you could make the following lists: Family, Work, Friends, Schoolmates… This is a one-time job. Now a different and specific group of friends or list(s) can view every piece of content you post. When you add a new Friend, you can automatically add him or her to the relevant list.

2. Default Settings: Go to Privacy Settings–>Profile Information
Choose who gets to see what. To use the specific Lists you have created above, click “Customize” and choose from there. You can also choose a group of friends not mentioned in the Lists.
For example, the settings could be:
About me–>Everyone
Personal Info–>Friends of Friends
Family and Relationship–>Friends
Photos and Videos of Me–>Family
Posts by Me–>Everyone
Etc.
Remember: If you choose “Everyone”, that means it will eventually come on search engines.

3. While posting…: If you simply post a status message, then it will automatically choose the default settings. Otherwise, before posting, click the arrowhead next to the lock and choose your privacy settings for that particular status message!

4. Groups: Imagine you are having a controversial discussion in a group. Later when you use similar keywords, you’ll find it appearing on Google Search. What happened? Simple. The owner of the group would have set the settings as Content Open to Public. In such groups, whatever you write will become public. Check for that before posting liberally in any group.

5. Twitter type following: Now when you send a Friend request, all the person’s public content will start coming in your live feed. So you can follow that person like Twitter. But if you have a dozen friend requests from downright strangers and don’t “Ignore” them, then you have already started coming in their feed!

6. Photos: It’s better to use Only Friends for personal and private photos. The reason being Friends of Friends also runs into thousands of Facebookers, which is virtually public.

7. Links/Notes: You may want these to be public and show up in searches and hence click “Everyone”.

Final Tip: The moment you click on “Everyone” for anything, it is bound to land up on Google Search. If you want it, that’s fine. Otherwise, avoid it altogether.

Most people will find all this quite complicated and tedious. But if you implement it, it actually works!

© Sunil Rajguru

Random Thoughts 3

Posted on by
6

· All the roads, walls and grounds in India are public toilets. Our Nation should be renamed UriNation.

· Credit Cards should actually be called Debt Cards. Debt Cards and Debit Cards go well together.

· If horns and honking was banned on Indian roads, then most motorists would die of boredom and silence.

· Why call them Moral Police? Immoral Goondas would be better.

· Population Explosion? I think it has already happened in India and we are living in the Post-Blast Holocaust.

· It’s not death I’m scared of… it’s rebirth…

· Inventions keep continuously coming and make things easier and easier for us… then why is life getting tougher and tougher?

· The more you progress, the more time you spend working hard at doing nothing.

· Is Wikipedia turning into a Weakipedia?

© Sunil Rajguru

How Facebook led to the end of civilization…

Posted on by
2

Facebook now has 350 million users. The milestones keep coming and coming. What next?

2010: Facebook crosses 500 million users.

2011: Facebook crosses 1 billion users.

2012: Facebook launches the Second computer and Internet Revolution. Since everyone wants to be on Facebook, everyone wants a desktop/laptop and broadband connection.

2013: The world, which was ready to get into another round of Recession, doesn’t do so thanks to the new IT and Telecom revolution.

2014: Global literacy rates go up as everyone wants to read people’s profiles on Facebook. The phenomenon of stalking vanishes as all the weirdoes start following Facebook accounts.

2015: America issues the Facebook Identity Card, which replaces all other forms of identification.

2016: India undergoes Transformation and as all the Indian politicians jump on to the Facebook bandwagon and try to get as many Friends and Fans as possible. A competition starts to get the maximum number of “Likes” after posting things like: Just laid 20 roads. Just completed the Metro Project. Just electrified 100 villages, etc.

2017: 90% of the world is now on Facebook. The remaining 10% are declared as “Dangerous to Civilization as We Know It” and are hunted down.

2018: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg gets the Nobel Prize for Peace amidst the Facebook Witch Hunt Controversy. Facebook gets the Nobel Prize for Literature.

2019: SETI receives $100 billion funding. Humans are tiring of each other and are desperate to have aliens join Facebook.

2020: The US Presidential Elections is fought solely on Facebook. As expected, Mark Zuckerberg emerges victorious.

2021: Bharat Ratna Shashi Tharoor, the pioneer of political social networking in India, sworn in as Prime Minister.

2022: The Last Wave of Facebook Resistance is crushed. Now the whole world is Facebooked.

2023: Governments and constitutions collapse as local leaders rely solely on Facebook to make their decisions.

2024: The Facebooker Prize displaces the Nobel Prize as the most important global award.

2024: The Facebook Zeitgeist is formed. All one does is feed in one’s preferences, likes, dislikes and ideas for the world, country and city. The Zeitgeist automatically computes and calculates what the world and everyone has to do. No need for committees and bodies of any kind.

2025: Facebook Zeitgeist attains Godlike status.

2026: The Dislike button is finally introduced after years of campaigning and leads to an all-out war on Facebook.

2027: The last remaining survivors of the Facebook Resistance unleash the deadly Facebook Doomsday virus.

2028: While the Doomsday Virus initially gets 10 billion Dislikes on Facebook, nobody is able to do anything about it and eventually the whole Facebook System shuts down.

2029: With the end of Facebook, mankind is left clueless. The subsequent anarchy leads to the end the existing civilization.

3013: An archaeological find unveils lost data disks pertaining to Facebook. Experts conclude that Facebook was once a planet that existed between Mars and Jupiter and got destroyed due to some mysterious reason.

4014: Thanks to SETI’s success at transmitting the Facebook code throughout the universe, many intelligent worlds are now on to Facebook. The Facebook saga keeps rolling on, as the Grand Purpose of Facebook was not to destroy civilization on Earth, but the universe itself…

© Sunil Rajguru

Breaking News, Social Networking style…

Posted on by
3

I was looking forward to two book releases. I came to know of both through Facebook. (Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol and Eoin Colfer’s And Another Thing…) The same networking site also (to me) broke the news of Michael Jackson’s death and Roger Federer’s last Wimbledon triumph. While all this is fine… I might have got these from the regular news sites had I been more regular … the worrying thing is that more and more “Personal Breaking News” is coming in this novel manner.

Take job changes for example. In the good ole days, you used to come to know through the person himself or atleast through the office grapevine. Now, on your Facebook Live Feed, you suddenly see a status message: Today is my last day in office! You wonder where that person is going. But for that, you’ll just have to wait for his LinkedIn update! These sites will also tell you in which city the person is, how he is feeling, what kind of a day he has had etc. Observe a person’s Wall and you’ll get a fair idea of what kind of person he or she is.

Now is this good or bad? I guess it’s a bit of both. Bad because the personal touch is going. People appear to be more comfortable in the virtual world as compared to the real one. That way, these are more of anti-social networking sites as they bring down one-on-one interactions. Good because it is necessary and we don’t have a choice. Life is becoming busier and busier and we are meeting and interacting with more and more people. If you are a gypsy like me, changing one’s city every few years, then you’ll have a huge network of friends and acquaintances. I guess this is the only way to stay in touch with everyone. It’s pretty effective.

Right now everything you do is more or less public. Maybe in the future we’ll have closed networks. Say ten different home pages on Facebook that cater to a particular group. Or specialized Twitter feeds that are tagged and non-searchable on the Net. I say that because the shift may be from the “Public” to “Private” virtual community talk. Maybe I’ll want to tell everyone in my life all of my news and feelings in a virtual and secure manner.

Wonder how things will be like when my son grows up. Out of all the futuristic predictions I have seen, two stick. One is a powerful microcomputer that can be embedded in the arm. The second is a projection screen. (Then there’s also the electricity generator via body motion.) So you could activate your computer and be in cyberspace 24/7 on any place on Earth.

Would we then all be lonely wanderers doing our work continuously and updating what’s on our mind all the time? (Or locked up in a hut like a hermit doing the same?).

How about an update straight from the mind? Imagine billions of people sending thousands of status messages each and every day in cyberspace. Wonder what an alien would make of that zettabytes (or yottabytes?) of random data.

© Sunil Rajguru

Short Takes November 2009

Posted on by
Reply

· India and US are natural allies. But then the US always has unnatural choices.

· Is it me or is India suddenly getting very weak-kneed vis a vis US, China and Climate Change. Congress: Strong nationally, Weak internationally?

· Karl Marx died in 1883. China liberalized in 1978. The Berlin Wall fell in 1989. Russia launched shock therapy economic reforms in 1991. So what’s with West Bengal? Till when will their Laissez-faire last?

· In the last 5 years, there have been more Elvis Sightings than Osama Sightings.

(November 30)

· With the Smita episode, we finally have a Sasur-Bahu Saga.

(November 29)

· The Gulf’s Ivory Towers are sinking in Economic Quicksand. When Recession seems to be receding in one country, it goes on the ascendant in another one.

· Zardari wanted to be like Obama. But the way his poweres are diminishing, he’ll end up like Pratibha Patil.

· Sangh Parivar bikhra. Sena Parivar Bikhra. Kayam hain Gandhi Dynasty. Unka catchline: Majboot Pariwar, Nirnayak Sarkar.

(November 28)

· 26/11. A year on. We’re just as vulnerable. No new comprehensive strategy. Kasab still undergoing trial. The state and central Govts still the same! India never learns from its mistakes, where history repeats itself as a farce over and over again.

· Indo-Amrika Bhai-Bhai, beech main hain bas Pak ki Khai…

(November 25)

· I don’t understand China’s assertiveness: Manmohan. Nehru said the same thing and look what happened!

· 1992 was the Year that Babri Masjid was demolished. 2009 was the Year that the BJP was demolished.

· African Americans constitute 13.4% of the US population. Sikhs constitute 1.9% of the Indian population. It’s a great moment when two great leaders of the world’s two biggest democracies shake hands…

(November 24)

· I don’t think we would get the Nobel Prize for Filth. Somebody would beat us there too…

· Why is the ICC suppressing national teams playing T20s? Very few matches apart from the WC. On the other hand non-national team leagues are being done to death. But then again, contradictions define the ICC: International Committee of Contradictions.

· Reddy’s Philosophy: Everything is Mine. Yeddy’s Counter Philosophy: We are a team, there is no place for “Mine”.

(November 22)

· A report says that India’s population will be close to 2 billion by 2050. Where will the extra people live? Or will we be forced to have a billion NRIs at that point of time?

(November 21)

· Kabhi 32/4, Kabhi 412/4* (Sirf chaar din ka farak): Nobody Swings like the Indian Cricket Team, not even an old cricket ball…

(November 20)

· Bow to Japan, kowtow to China, dollar chow to Pakistan, no nuclear know-how for Iran and consistent dipolmatic pow-wow with India: The sum of Obama’s Foreign Policy.

· Maharashtra grew up in the nineties and was at its pinnacle. Now it is going through a mid-life-crisis. Hope it gets out of it and becomes wise and mature soon.

· First the Ore Commitee Threat and now the Core Committee Threat, Yeddy is still not out of the woods.

· Gold touches 17K (May go down). Sensex touches 17K (Has to go down). Sachin touches 17K (Atleast you know he’ll most probably touch 20K and stay there!)

(November 19)

· The weekend always seems so far off. And when it finally comes, it’s gone in a flash!

· Suna hain Teacher Amrika ne Bharat aur Pak ke jhagde ke liye Class Monitor Cheen ko niyukta kiya hain. Bharat Beta thoda mayoos hain kyuni use laga tha ki 2009 main kuch accha “Badlav” aane wala tha…

(November 18)

· Maharashtra has only one true Tiger. And he plays cricket. All the rest are pale imitations.

· A generation of cricketers learnt cricket watching Sachin on TV. Then that generation got a chance to play with Sachin in the team. Then that generation retired. And Sachin’s still playing…

(November 17)

· Coalition Delay Drama. Raj-Azmi. More MLA hungama. Kurban Protests… Is anyone even “thinking” about any of the real problems Maharashtra is facing right now?

· More Sachin landmarks: 30000 international runs. 500 ODIs. 50 ODI centuries. 100 ODI fifties. 100 first class fifties. 200 ODI 6s… The records will keep accelerating and the media will keep going crazy. Bear it Just for a few more years…

· Actually the truth is that Yeddy and Reddy got tired of fighting. They’ve taken a sabbatical. They’ll resume soon.

(November 16)

· Keep Crying. Keep Hugging. Keep Bitching. Keep Plotting. Keep Playing. Keep Acting. Keep Watching. Bigg Boss 3.

· In India, the more corrupt you are, the longer you live.

(November 14)

· If all our politicians suddenly went clean, then the Swiss Banking System would probably collapse and that country would go into economic depression.

· If our politicians pool in their black money together, then they could launch a separate country.

· The Google Wave just passed me by. Neither could I ride it and neither did it leave me wet.

(November 13)

· India finally has a counter to Rajneesh’s 93 Rolls Royces: Koda’s 600 bikes and 30 SUVs.

· Google should not have been so exclusive with Wave. You need lots of people to collaborate and right now there are too few people on Wave. A lot of people have switched off already as there’s nothing to do on Wave.

(11 November)

· Do you want to see your country win the 2011 World Cup? Then it’s not too late, you can still emigrate to Australia.

· Bangalore is the new London: Never leave home without an umbrella.

· While the dabbawallahs of Mumbai have reached Six Sigma, the efficiency of many darshinis in Bangalore would run them close.

· One day when India becomes 100% Internet Literate, will people like Shashi Tharoor be seen as legends?

· Question of the Son: AFTER getting the Nobel Peace Prize, can one do as much violence as one wants?

· The Chinese claim Arunachal as their own… so they should be happy that the Dali Lama is setting foot on Chinese soil…

(10 November)

· A few decades from now, when the Internet-addicted generation will start dying in large numbers, will inheritance of Inboxes and Social Networking Accounts be a big thing?

· Last choice Aussie bowler > First choice Indian bowler

· If Reddy is Ready, Yeddy is Steady.

(November 9)

· Is the Lotus slowly becoming extinct across India?

· The Hand has well and truly plucked the Lotus this year.

· Paisa<Rupee<Peti<Khoka<Koda

· Aussie Revival. Indian Decline. We were No. 1 for a day and couldn’t handle it. Aussies weren’t No. 1 for a few months and they couldn’t take it.

· If Obama actually visited Bangalore, saw the state of the roads and infrastructure, he would be tempted to give the $4 billion grant to Bangalore…

· When the Indian top order collapses, the Tail fires. When the top order is on song, the Tail presses the self-destruct button. Sigh!

· There seems to be no ReddyMade formula for the Karnataka Government Crisis.

· Looks like Bigg Boss 3 is a Crying Season Special.

(November 8 )

· Bush became an Oil Billionaire. Gore a Carbon Billionaire. Koda a Black Money Billionaire. To each his own, I guess…

(November 7)

· Tendulkar is the Rock Star of cricket. And all the commentators are his groupies.

· Bangalore is the Underpass capital of India. With so many rains all the time, hope they are floodproof!

· Karnataka Govt Race: Reddy! (not) Steady! (Yeddy will) Go!

· Progress in cricket. Before we used to sometimes self-destruct 50-100 runs before the end, now we do so 2-3 runs before the target.

(November 6)

· Deja vu! Tendulkar falls just 19 short of the target. Scores a brilliant century. Breaks another record. India lose the match anyway.

· Code of Koda: Apna Sapna Money Money

(November 5)

· Let’s have an Obama Day… A day when all day we will talk and talk good things but actually do no work.

· There is an old English saying: An ounce of image is worth a pound of performance. Obama has a pound of image, which translates into an apparent ton of performance.

· Reports say Obama is getting thinner during his Presidency. I’m not surprised: Talking burns a lot of calories.

(November 4)

· In Google Wave, you can do Multiple things like chat, email, upload photos, files, blog… with Multiple people over Multiple periods and replay it all in the end. Personally, that would give me Multiple headaches. Wave is totally ahead of “my time” atleast…

(November 3)

· Robin Singh sacked. India gives one of their best days on the field. A tribute? The law of averages catching up? We don’t need a fielding coach?

(November 2)

· After 2.5 years, he’s still Captain Cool and Captain Courageous. At this stage most Indian captains in the past have looked quite jaded or simply retired. World No. 1 for a record number of weeks + Victories galore = Still most people don’t rate him as a great all-time batsman!

(November 1)

© Sunil Rajguru

The strange case of the Ayodhya report…

Posted on by
3

The recent Ayodhya report…

…slammed all the BJP leaders and cleared former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, apparently helping the Congress.

…got leaked inconveniently, apparently helping the BJP rally together and their leader LK Advani looks to be back in business.

…put former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh in the dock, apparently helping detractors of the Samajwadi Party.

…made some strange references to Mughal and Muslim rule, apparently offending the minorities and amusing the RSS.

Isn’t that so typically Indian? Every report and committee in India apparently seems to be doing a lot of things and effectively does nothing at all.

Like today is the anniversary of 26/11. Apparently a lot of things were done. Former Home Minister Shivraj Patil had to go. Vilasrao Deshmukh is no longer the Chief Minister. Kasab was caught and gave tons of vital information. We made a lot of noises against Pakistan. A lot of CCTV cameras were set up.
But effectively, we all know that we are just as vulnerable a year down the line.

Apparently we are on our way to becoming a great nation, but effectively, I don’t know…

© Sunil Rajguru