Facebook has what it calls a "Privacy Checkup" link to make sure a user's posts are shared only when they want them shared.
To do this, start off by clicking on the image of a lock next to the globe in the upper right corner of your Facebook home page. Privacy Checkup then shows users how to control who sees their posts: whether the whole world, friends, only close friends, or a list they've created -- such as fellow members of a secret society.
Step two: Control the apps that post on your behalf. When we looked, we had close to hundred apps we didn't remember adding to Facebook. Most wouldn't automatically post anything on our behalf, but more than a dozen displayed our activities right out there for the world to see. Hello, out there in Patagonia.
Another new Facebook feature is the ability to save articles, videos or comments to view later.
Just click the drop down arrow in the upper right corner of a post and choose "save." Then, in the upper left corner of the Facebook page, click "saved" to view those items. If you're using a phone or tablet to do this, click "more."
More about Twitter
We recently explained what they call a "hashtag" on Twitter: It looks like this: "#." The symbol is used to organize and navigate a users' way around Twitter. Typing #BillGates when you're logged into Twitter, for example, comes up with Gates' Twitter page. A reader wrote in to say he loved the explanation, but what about the "@" symbol on Twitter?
The @ is used when you're replying to someone else's post. Click the reply icon and Twitter fills in the @ along with the person's Twitter name. You can also use @ when you want to reference someone or something. For example: Suppose you write something about physics and want to credit an article in Scientific American. The magazine's Twitter name is "sciam." So to reference them, you would simply add "@sciam" to your post.
Our Twitter handle is "oncomp." So Joy's nephew tweeted: "@oncomp "Thanks for the smoothie #vitamix." In plain English, we got him a Vitamix blender for a graduation present so he was saying thanks and then referencing smoothie recipes on their home page.
There are great tutorials on Twitter, LinkedIn and other services at lynda.com. The site isn't free, but new users can get a free trial.
Watching People Play
Our favorite nonviolent action game is Peggle, a kind of cartoon pinball game.
We once made a move so cool we would have liked to have been able to share it with others. Now the instant replay feature of the free game service Raptr lets users save video clips of their game play in any length up to 20 minutes. Users could use their clips to start their own video channel online. There is a surprising large number of people who like to see video game replays.
If that sounds far-fetched, consider this: Watching other people play video games has become hugely popular. In 2012, an estimated 1.3 billion hours were spent watching other people play. That number nearly doubled last year, to 2.4 billion hours. It's expected to be 6.6 billion by 2017, according to Raptr. It's like watching football, and you can add sodas and potato chips.
Shutterbugged
People are taking -- and posting -- about 1.8 billion photos per day. Back in the primitive days of 2008, they took 20 million per day. We now post twice as many, about 44 million, every hour. By the way: Only 1 percent are still taken on film. Bye, bye, Kodak; sic semper transit and all that.
We got these stats from GetNarrative.com. Narrative makes a tiny camera about the size of a postage stamp that users can clip on their shirt or just about anywhere to automatically take photos every 30 seconds. We haven't tried it yet but it sounds fun. Unfortunately, it's $279 for a 12-month subscription and $9 per month to renew. The company stores and organizes the photos. The photos are filed by location, so you can use that to quickly narrow a search.
The battery lasts for two days on a single charge and the camera can store 4,000 5-megapixel pictures. To turn it off, all a user needs to do is put it in their pocket or lay it face down. Users just need to plug it into a computer to recharge the battery or transfer the photos to online storage.
App Happy
• Storybug lets a person share an ebook with a child from afar, such as while video chatting together on an iPad or iPhone. It's free for the first two books, then $5 per month. Of course, users could do this in Skype for free, but it's kind of neat to be able to look down at a story page and in a corner of the screen there's a small video chat window. The books are aimed at babies and on up to age 6.
• TeamViewer for Android is a mobile version of this popular screen-sharing program. Use it to get tech support from a remote friend or to offer it. When a user signs in, they get a code to share and so it's just the two of you seeing the same screen. Joy used it recently and was able to see a friend's distant computer screen so she could show her how to add a profile picture to Facebook. The program is free for personal use.
Internuts
• Digital-photography-school.com has some wonderful tips and tutorials. The article on "couples photography" reminds us that stiff photos of grandma and grandpa aren't nearly as nice as photos showing them holding hands and looking at each other.
• Investopedia.com lets you practice investing and includes free newsletters such as "The Warren Buffet watch."
• Ptable.com is an interactive periodic table. We clicked on "rhenium" and learned it's used in jet engines. Who knew?
• SearchTempest.com searches all of CraigsList in one swoop. We found a nice Ikea lamp for $10.
Bob and Joy can be contacted by email at [email protected] and [email protected].
SundayMonday Business on 09/29/2014