3D Degrees: Meet Friends of Your Friends on Facebook

3D degrees help you find friends of your friends on Facebook. This application allows you to search for your friends’ friends through Facebook to find interesting and compatible people in your area.

Brian Scordato, founder of 3Degree included “So musch in our lives is based on our networks – whether it’s an introduction to a potential boyfriend or girlfriend, an influential employee at a company we’d like to work at, or simply a new friend with similar interests. Our networks open doors to new relationships and opportunities” (Mashable).

To start you can search for people by location, interests, and relationship status. Then 3Degrees will generate a list that matches your criteria. Once you find a connection click “get an intro” to send a message to that person and ask he or she thinks you two are a good match. If they do think so, you will add them your buckets section, which organizes your connections.

And don’t worry about privacy, only friends of friends can view your profile. You can even click on referrals only which makes people to reach out to you if they are mutual friends. So far 3Degrees has 300 registered users and growing.

Will you be checking out 3Degrees?

Your Favorite Sneakers May Have Caused Death, At Least According to Twitter

We’re used to hearing about sky high stilettos causing some serious damage, but sneakers have always been thought of as the safe choice, at least until rumors of the deadly power of Air Jordans hit Twitter. On Friday Air Jordans XI were released to the sneaker enthusiast crowd and reports rang up almost immediately on Twitter that eager shoppers were being trampled in their attempts to snag the much coveted shoe. Furthermore, a Facebook memorial page popped up to commemorate Tyreek Amir Jacobs‘ “death” at the hands of the angry horde. Yet, officials have assured us that while there were serious injuries as a result of the anxious crowds, no death resulted. So, why’s this important? Because it shows us how powerfully influential both fashion and social media can be.

Given our economic situation, with the rise of the Occupy movement and startling statistics that state that 15.1% of Americans live below the poverty line, it seems kind of jarring when we realize that people are willingly forking over$180 for a pair of tennis shoes. Moreover, these lusted after kicks have already popped up on eBay for $300 dollars.

An additional factor of interest is how news and mourning are now circulated in the public sphere. Twitter has allowed mere peons to post news and said news has rapidly spread. Yet, despite the fact that this may appeal to those laboring under the belief that a truly free society must allow all of its citizens to contribute to the dissemination of information, we run into a serious problem: the news is often not verified as it would be by more traditional institutions. Furthermore, the ease in which anyone can set up a page in remembrance of the loss of someone indicates that loss, or faux loss in this case, is no longer an insular community event. Perhaps this connects us on a global scale previously unimagined, but it seems that social media, despite it’s many advances and contributions to culture, has resulted in the masses screaming at the top of their collective lungs for more and more attention, but no one else is listening because they’re screaming as well.

What do you think the Air Jordans’ “death” says about fashion? How do you think social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, contribute to our news intake?

How to Optimize A Facebook Page

Every business now has a page that everyone can like and navigate through. However, if it is not user friendly many will not like your page and this is not good!

Here are 4 ways to help optimize your Facebook page:

1) Choose an appropriate URL. Having an URL like http://www.facebook.com/4ksing553 will not be easy for customers to remember or find. Rather have a URL that ends in like Vintage Finds. This makes people find your page easier.

2) Have a pleasing profile picture. In your picture include your business name, logo, and what your mission or statement is. Make sure the profile picture is pleasing to the eye, don’t include too many wording, and worse make it look “spammy”.

3) Use the featured likes feature. This shows what your business is interested in, who you are as a business, and what kind of message you are relaying. Many will judge your page by who is in your featured likes. A little silly I know, but it happens.

4) Cusomize your front row. First appearances are everything. What they see first on your page is whether they will like it or not. Include the top 5 pictures that represent your business. For example, if you sell jewelry show off your 5 most popular pieces. This will attract more customers and therefore more likes.

So there you have it, 4 tips on how to optimize your Facebook page! Do you have any tips to share? Discuss below!

Facebook Program to Prevent Suicides VIA Chat

Facebook has announced that they launched a program last Tuesday to prevent suicides via chat with counselors. The program lets friends alert Facebook when a certain user expresses suicidal thoughts. If a friend posts a comment about suicide you can also report the comment. Facebook then will send an email to the user with a telephone hotline or a link to start a confidential chat. This is called the lifeline.

Having a feature like this will further help teenagers and even adults with life difficulties. With the growing rate of cyber bullying many teenagers might think of suicide. Many teenagers don’t know where to go or who to talk to. Also, they might not want to call the telephone hotline as they might fear their parents might find out. With Facebook chat, it is confidential and no one will know about it. Just having someone to talk to will help anyone. And don’t worry, everything is confidential, just like if you were talking with your own counselor. Just make sure that you chat in your own privacy so no one can look over your shoulder.

Do you think this is a good idea and should other social media websites follow suit?

Facebook Substantially Increases Character Limit for Status Updates

Facebook is ideal for the dissemination of information in quick and efficient chunks. If you feel the need to digitally publish your feelings regarding Ryan Gosling’s latest film vehicle or offer a stinging critique of the GOP’s presidential candidates’ ideological positions you can always let the world know via a blog. However, the ‘book is seeking to become your go-to destination to write and broadcast lengthy missives, hence their decision to increase their character limit for status updates from 5,000 to 60,000+.

Perhaps your immediate question is something along the lines of, “Why the heck has Facebook increased their character limit by so much? How much additional stuff can people write about?!” After all, the vast majority of us don’t associate Facebook with groundbreaking philosophical treatises and with good reason: the content of Facebook tends to be confined to the mundane (“Going 2 da gym!!!”), drunk (“omg drinking vodka wit the bestie!!!”), and lame (“my gf is so beautiful.”). Don’t believe me? Take a virtual stroll on over to Lamebook. Yet, it appears that the intent of this increase is to intellectually legitimize Facebook. Specifically, the expanded character limit could allow students to collaborate on essay projects together or yes, you could “publish” your literary masterpiece via a series of status updates.

What are your thoughts regarding the new limit? Good idea or not that revolutionary?

Facebook Removes Some Rape Joke Pages

The internet is not exactly known for its adherence to political correctness. Sure, certain segments of the ‘net may expect outrage when you use “gay” as a slur, but if 4chan has taught us anything its that the information super highway thrives on puerile and crass humor. Consequently, the fact that Facebook has become a forum for rape jokes may strike some as a serious step back for women, but it’s not exactly surprising. On November 2 feminists rallied in attempts to get the ‘book to remove rape joke pages and the attempt was met with mixed success. Sure, some of the pages were removed, but many more remain and in fact, numerous pages have popped up as a result of the discussion asking Facebook to get rid of the offensive pages. Of course, this forces us to ask the following: should social media protect free speech?

It’s easy to argue that we should be allowed to say whatever we want on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or any of the other social media platforms available. This is especially tempting when we’re making a point that we agree with. Yet, it becomes far more challenging when we are confronted with opinions, slants, or yes, even jokes that we find morally reprehensible. So, what to do? Should Facebook, Twitter, and similar sites protect your First Amendent speech to say whatever floats into your head or should we censor material on account of the fact that it’s offensive? Facebook’s response to the issue doesn’t really provide us with answers because they attempted to pacify both sides by removing some pages but allowing others to remain intact. Consequently, it looks like we’ll have to continue to see the battle wage on in your News Feed, as well as the courtroom.

What do you think of Facebook’s response to the rape joke pages? Inappropriate and therefore, prime removal targets or simply an immature way to exercise your civil rights?