Category Archives: Tech News

5 Important Facebook Updates in 2013

There were a ton of updates on Facebook this 2013 and they continue to implement new changes as the year comes to an end. Most of them, I’m pretty happy with as a social media manager, a blogger AND a personal user. However, there’s been a major update with their algorithm from probably a month or two ago that affected many businesses that have Facebook pages. As much as I’d like to get into that, I haven’t done any extensive research, but I have noticed the impact of this change on all my clients and my own pages.

So, I have listed some of the most notable changes on Facebook that affected me personally and at work. Let me know at the comments section about your own list of important Facebook updates for 2013.

 

Whole Photos on Facebook Pages

Before, at work, we used to worry about ensuring that the images we use, especially those with text, are resized into a square. Or at least have the most important part of the image seen when you reposition it on your timeline. Now, you don’t have to spend more time resizing your images as Facebook now shows the whole image on your Facebook page’s Timeline. Check out this screenshot from our food blog‘s page.

Facebook Photos are now showing up as a whole image instead of squares

This is what I loved about Google+ and was wishing for the longest time that Facebook will finally decide to do something about it, so I’m thankful they did! šŸ™‚

The sad thing though is this update doesn’t apply to personal Timelines. You will still see that your images on your account page are shaped irregularly. For me though, I don’t think it should matter since most people will see your photos on their News Feed, so they will be able to view the whole image from there. Well, unless most of your friends or followers prefer to “stalk” your personal Timeline. šŸ˜€

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IT Temp Work Leads to Full-Time Careers

IT Temp Work opportunities

Earning a certification or a degree in IT can improve one’s chances of finding a good job after graduation. Almost all companies would benefit by hiring people who are certified to perform technical tasks. Regardless of the major one chooses, some IT experience is always useful. A certificate or minor in IT places a job applicant ahead of his peers.

IT training makes a recent graduate uniquely suited for a wide variety of jobs. One problem that young adults encounter is not being experienced enough to qualify for good jobs, even if they meet all of the academic requirements. A good way to acquire the necessary experience is to take on some temp work. Even temporary assignments are hard to get these days, since there are so many applicants with impressive degrees and not enough career-track jobs to go around. It is common for people with college degrees to think that they are above applying for work through temp agencies, but the current employment environment makes it necessary to be humble about one’s job prospects.

Temp work can lead to greater opportunities. Many people who start out as temporary employees are eventually hired into companies as full-time staffers. One way to increase one’s chances of landing a permanent job is by taking network administration courses in college. A temporary employee who reveals a talent for managing the company computer system quickly becomes essential, and the business will not want to lose that person, even if the original temp assignment has been completed.

An individual might go through several temp assignments before finding the one that becomes permanent. This is not a reason to become frustrated or to allow one’s confidence to waver. Every successfully completed temp job is a potential new resume entry. It is a chance to impress a new management team and add to the list of people who can provide positive recommendations.

People who are attempting to navigate today’s economic landscape need to be open to new opportunities. There is no way to guarantee that one will land his dream job. He might not even end up working in the field of his choice. Instead of feeling discouraged at not being able to use his degree, someone who had the foresight to take some online career training courses or to minor in IT will still be putting his education to good use. He will have the satisfaction of knowing that his education is being put to good use.

No matter what direction a graduate ends up taking, some IT experience can make that path a bit less bumpy. He might choose to stay in whichever temp field he happened to be assigned to, which is how many people discover previously unknown talents. He could also keep taking temp jobs to bolster his resume while following leads that are more suited to his interests. Completing some IT training is helpful in both scenarios.

Multiply is Closing Down by May 6, 2013 : A Look Back

Ever since I experienced the convenience of shopping online, especially for cosmetics that I already trust, I never looked back. My first ever online shopping experience was through Multiply.com back when you have to manually contact the online seller for the transaction. Now that Multiply is closing down on May 6, 2013, itā€™s a sad day, but I completely understand this business decision.

Multiply Marketplace is closing down on May 6, 2013

Many people were saddened by the news that the social networking part of Multiply was closing down. I was one of the many Multiply bloggers and users who enjoyed connecting with people on their site before the social media giant Facebook opened its doors.

When I learned that they were transforming their website to a local online marketplace, I was excited. I was even one of the bloggers who went to their press event where they made the announcement. When they went through a redesign, I thought theyā€™ll continue to grow from there.

I remember buying my first gadget online from DB Gadgets ā€“ my Canon IXUS 220HS (I lost it just this year šŸ™ ). Since then, we bought 2 more gadgets from them.

My Canon digital camera that I bought from DB Gadgets

Yeah, I WAS one of those people who name their gadgets. šŸ˜€

I was introduced to my top favorite online beauty store, Digital Traincase, through their Multiply store. Thankfully, they have moved on to their own e-commerce site after the recent issues.

Multiply has helped many online sellers and internet shoppers at the same time. They provided a venue for both to connect in a secure and comfortable (familiar) environment. Before the server issues in the past weeks, transactions went on smoothly on my end.

Multiply Marketplace closing down is a huge opportunity for online stores, but a setback for many online sellers who depended on Multiply for their business to run. Iā€™m sure theyā€™ll find a new venue to sell their products.

To everyone at Multiply, thank you and we wish you all good luck! šŸ™‚

You can read more about this news here.

8 Must Have Android Social Media Apps

Social Media Apps for AndroidWorking as a social media manager full-time, I take it upon myself to make sure I’m updated on the latest news and information related to social media, the internet and the world so I can work on strategies and share them with my team. This may prove to be a daunting task with the vast amount of resources we have. Thankfully, there are various Android social media apps for my phone that help me consume contents more efficiently.

Aside from reading up on social media articles, I also make sure that I share articles I find really useful through my various social media accounts. Hopefully, this list will help you.

 

Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+ and LinkedIn

Of course, you shouldn’t be without these apps developed by the various social media sites themselves. The features you use and love on the Web versions are most likely made available on their mobile apps as well since, well, mobile is the future.

Twitter and Facebook apps for Android

I use my Pinterest app for Android for pinning, liking or even organizing my Pinboards. I use Facebook and Twitter for posting images I find amusing that I’d like to share with my network. I use Instagram for almost exactly the same reason.

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Facebook is Down : After Gmail and Chrome, Now This?

Earlier today, I was having issues with Google Chrome crashing every now and then. What fixed it was disabling sync and logging out of my Google account in Chrome. I also had errors logging into Gmail, but after a few minutes, it was back up. Now, Facebook is down. And from this post on Mashable, itā€™s happening all over the world.

Usually, Facebook acts up when theyā€™re updating something. So far, Iā€™m pretty happy with what theyā€™ve improved, though businesses might have a different point of view. But, everyone started to freak out because of Facebookā€™s outage. Needless to say, Facebook has been one of the go-to websites of people today. And with my work as a Social Media Manager, the downtime affects me big time.

Iā€™m not sure whatā€™s happening, but looks like itā€™s one major and important update that the Facebook team resorted to a wide outage that has been going on for at least 10 minutes now. Iā€™m restless and excited at the same time. šŸ˜€

When I access their site, this is the error I get:

Facebook's outage - Server not found on Firefox

In Chrome, it says ā€œThis webpage is not availableā€. When I checked Facebookā€™s status on Down For Everyone Or Just Me, it gave me this:

Facebook not found on Down For Everyone or Just Me

Iā€™ve been checking some of the people on my local Twitter feed, and no one seems to be complaining. I guess Iā€™m the only one wide awake and are on social media sites because of work ā€“ the rest of them are on their way to work.

If you canā€™t access Facebook too, let me know at the comments section where youā€™re from. If you want to read updates on the status of Facebook, check this post on Mashable.

UPDATES:

  • 6:41pm EST – Facebook is back up, but is working really slow. Other people are still complaining that they canā€™t access yet.