Click the Like Button…

I am postponing for another week a column on video chat. I had some technical difficulties and did not resolve all the specifics of using video chat programs before writing the column. Stay tuned — I plan to write about video chat next week.

Meanwhile, I realized that there is one very important FACEBOOK feature that I did not cover in the last two columns — the LIKE button. With the LIKE button you can let your FACEBOOK FRIENDS know that you enjoy their comments, without leaving a comment of your own. Once you LIKE something, your friend will get notification that you liked the post. Examples of things you might like are family pictures, funny videos, political quotations, and personal comments from a friend to you. 

There is a second kind of LIKE in FACEBOOK, and that is LIKING a business page, also known as a FAN PAGE. A FAN PAGE can be the page of an actual business (such as Travelers Rest Resort), an entertainment venue (a movie, TV show, radio show, or a podcast), an informational website, a magazine, or even a celebrity. You may have been invited to visit a FAN page when you listened to a radio or television program. FAN PAGES have a LIKE button at the top of the page. Click on the LIKE and you become part of the FAN community with access to updates and messages from the page owner, and the chance to post comments on the page. 

If you no longer wish to receive updates from a particular FAN PAGE, you can UNLIKE the page by going to FAN PAGE and scrolling down the left-side of the page until you see UNLIKE. Click it and you will no longer receive updates. 

In other technology news, since Christmas I am the proud owner of an Apple iPad2. Having a tablet doesn’t take the place of my laptop, but it is a wonderful complement to my digital world. Later this winter I plan to write about life with my MacBook Pro laptop, iPad2, iPhone 4, Amazon Kindle, and two digital cameras. 

If you have been using FACEBOOK and have questions, please do not hesitate to email me at onmouseclick@digitalquinn.com.

Making Facebook Yours…

FACEBOOK is many faceted, and as you use it you will discover numerous ways to customize it to fit your needs. One thing you will want to customize on your FACEBOOK page is a profile picture. 

Profile pictures appear in the top-left corner of the page and can be changed as often as you like. Most people choose a self-portrait, while others include pictures with family, friends, pets, or even a favorite landscape. My current profile picture is one of me with my two beautiful granddaughters, and the page of a good friend of mine features a picture of her cat.

To add a profile picture to your page, begin by choosing a photo on your computer hard drive. I suggest a close-up photo that will show up well in a small, thumbnail size. Open your FACEBOOK page and click the EDIT PROFILE button in the top right-hand corner. If at first you don’t see an EDIT PROFILE button, click on your name on the on the right side of the blue bar at the top of the screen.

The first screen to appear is BASIC INFORMATION, which can be filled in if you choose. Along the left side of the screen are other choices, one of which is PROFILE PICTURE. Choose PROFILE PICTURE and you will see an empty box just waiting for your picture. Depending on the browser you are using, you will see either a CHOOSE FILE or BROWSE button — click on it and navigate to the image you want to upload. After you have selected your image, click on OPEN or CHOOSE (again, which one you see depends on the browser you are using), and the photo will upload to your FACEBOOK page. Click on the HOME button and you will be back on your WALL page.

Your PROFILE PICTURE is now in place and you are ready to tackle adding comments and pictures for your FACEBOOK “friends” to see. Comments are what you want to say, and for every comment you can choose to add one photo, or a group of photos which will then be grouped together into an album.

To add a comment click in the dialog box at the top of the page that contains the words “What’s on your mind?” Type your comment and then click on ADD PHOTO / VIDEO. You will then be given the option of uploading a single photo (or video) or creating a photo album. If you choose to upload a single photo, navigate to the photo (or video) you want to upload, just as you did for the profile picture. If you choose album, navigate to the folder that contains your images (all of the photos must be in the same folder on your hard drive), and shift click on the photos you want to add to the album (by shift clicking you can select multiple photos at one time). Click on CHOOSE or OPEN (depending on your browser) and the album will be added to FACEBOOK and attached to your current comment.

If anyone has specific questions about using FACEBOOK, email them to me at onmouseclick@digitalquinn.com. The subject of next week’s OnMouseClick will be making video calls with SKYPE and YAHOO.

Happy New Year…

Happy New Year from the high desert of southern Arizona. We have been visiting with our son and his family since early December, and we cannot put into words how wonderful it was to be with our two beautiful granddaughters (and mom/dad) on Christmas morning. We plan to be back in Florida sometime in January, but I didn't see any reason to miss the deadline for the TR times. We are living in a connected world, and since this column is about technology, it's appropriate that I submit my first column for 2012 via e-mail from Arizona. 

The theme of last season's OnMouseClick columns was up-to-date technology, with the last two columns devoted to the subject of social media, with emphasis on Facebook. I hadn't planned to revisit Facebook quite so soon, but an exchange I had recently with a TR resident changed my mind.

In early November I was catching up with a TR friend who had just arrived from up north, when she told me that she was a new grandmother, but had not seen any photos of her grandson in two weeks. I asked her if she was using Facebook to keep up with her grandson, like we do with our granddaughters, and she said that she didn't use or understand how Facebook works. It occurred to me that a good way to begin OnMouseClick for 2012 would be to give some simple directions on how to create your own Facebook account. 

Facebook is a website for users, who join for free, and who share information about themselves through text, photos and videos. Our daughter-in-law regularly post photos of our granddaughters, and we are delighted by every photo posted online. True, she could easily send us e-mails with the photos attached, but by posting on FACEBOOK she can share the photos not only with our extended family, but also with friends from around the world. We receive an email from FACEBOOK on each new post of our friends so we do not have to log onto to their account and wonder if new photos of our princesses are available.

First, a few caveats for those of you worried about privacy. A Facebook account can be as public or private as you want. I personally have no desire to have hundreds of friends — I am content with a small group of family members and friends as my "Facebook friends." My actual Facebook page is available only to these "friends,." You can control who reads and views your account.

To get started, go to www.facebook.com and fill-in the requested SIGN UP information. You will be asked for your first and last name, your e-mail address, a password, your gender, and birthday (your birthday can be visible as part of your profile, or hidden, it is up to you). Click on the Sign Up button and you have a Facebook account — it is that easy.

Your main Facebook page, know as the Wall, is where your "friends'" posts and comments will appear. Posts can be composed of text, photos, and videos. You can click that you "like" a post, or make a comment. If you make a comment on the post of "friend", your comment will appear on the other person's wall. At the top of your FACEBOOK page is a blue bar, and at the right end of the bar is a drop-down arrow. Click on the arrow and you can choose to edit your account and privacy settings. 

Once you have set up your account you will want to find "friends". In the blue bar at the top of the screen, just to the right of the word FACEBOOK, is a search box. Type in the name of someone you want to friend (Facebook uses the word friend as both a noun and a verb), and a list of possible matches will appear. To narrow down the list of hits, you can use SEARCH TOOLS to add additional filters, such as a city, educational institution, or workplace. Once you locate the correct person, click to send a FRIEND REQUEST. Soon you will be able to keep up with friends and family, share photos, and find out what is going on in their lives.

You might also find yourself searching for old friends from high school and college. This past summer I located a roommate from my early days of teaching. We had been out of touch for over twenty-years, and when I last saw her she was living in California. We connected on Facebook and I found out that she and her husband now live on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. On our way south in October we stopped to visit with them and enjoy their hospitality — a visit made possible only by Facebook.

Next week OnMouseClick will cover how to go about adding text and photos to your FACEBOOK wall, and giving it your own personal touch.