What responsibility do we have to our followers?

This past week, I've gotten quite a few (hundreds actually) new followers on Twitter and Google+. What's going on? Does this have anything to do with the new changes on Facebook? Do people hate it that much? Or, does it have anything to do with Farmville changes? 

It's nice to have all the new followers, but with new followers I feel a bit of responsibility to come up with good tweets and links. 

I tried to find some great quotes by joining  quotesdaddy.com. It is pretty good, but, still it doesn't seem to be enough. So, I've been retweeting a lot. 

Oh sure, I know that the marketing gurus are saying to themselves that they'd be doing a lot more than just repeating quotes. But I don't feel its right to blanket people with ads. Don't we have some responsibility to our followers?

I think my responsibility is to only share stuff that I find interesting enough to read. So my question is: What responsibility do we have to our followers? Please tweet me @geekesse.

Are you in a browser rut?

Since this website is about surfing the internet, I thought I'd talk about the tools of the trade today. I'm surprised at the many people who still use Internet Explorer. Are you one of them? I have a number of customers who were, but I've released them from their shackles and I want to set you free, too! You're not stuck with Internet Explorer. There's a favorite saying among web surfers: "Friends don't let friends use Internet explorer." 

Even if you're using another browser, you might want to try something else to see what you're missing.  Every day, you go to the same web sites, interact with the same groups, and kid yourself that you're on the cutting edge. You're not. Did you know that websites appear differently when viewed with different browsers? Sometimes, it can be quite dramatic. Did you know that some tools may be available in one browser but not another? Even if you prefer to remain in your comfort zone, you should have a secondary browser installed.

There are a number of browsers available these days. The other top browsers, besides Internet Explorer, are Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, and Opera. Each of these browsers offer add-on support, multiple tabs, security, and other similar attributes, however there are some major differences in all of them.

Internet Explorer:

Sure, it comes pre-installed with Windows, but there are only two reasons I ever use the application. The first, is to download another browser, the second is to see how badly IE renders my website designs. Yes, it mangles the designs. Most designers have to write in a special code to accommodate those clinging to IE, just so it will render the pages into something that looks close to what they want it to look like. Some just throw up their hands and put a popup advising the web visitor to install a different browser. Microsoft has been making some in-roads toward improving the browser such as adding extension capabilities, and improving the interface, but it still gives much to be desired.

Safari:

If you're using a Mac. Apple's Safari comes pre-installed. However, you don't have to be a Mac user to run Safari. This visually appealing browser is fast, customizable, and has built in pop-up blockers. It rarely, if ever, crashes.  On the Mac, it is set to the default and I have never changed this. I usually keep it open to read my news subscriptions and mail because I find this browser renders text very cleanly and is the easiest on the eyes. Safari does not come with developer extensions enabled. You have to enable it in preferences. Once enabled there are quite a few extensions available. To find them go to

https://extensions.apple.com/. These are the extensions I have installed: The New York Times Browser toolbar, Better Facebook, Builtwith Analysis, Scribe Fire, LastPass, Buffer, Twitter for Safari, and Safari Restore.

Google Chrome

Many of my friends claim that Chrome is blazing fast. I haven't noticed any difference, but I haven't played around with the settings much. The reason, Chrome is supposed to be so much faster is that you can have gadzillions of tabs open, but they are not drawing away any load time from the active tab. Each operates in its own world, so that you can be doing some work in one tab, and won't lose any speed in another. Or, if one tab crashes, you don't have to restart the whole browser, just reopen the crashed tab. One of the features tI also like is that Chrome has is the ability to set the startup to open all of the websites I've added in preferences. It eliminates an extra step. I have all of my clients' websites, plus my own personal links (google plus, my blog, twitter, and iGoogle) as the default start up. I've only installed what I consider basic extensions. They are: Last Pass, G+ Tweet, Google +1 Button, ScribeFire, Shareaholic, Xmarks Bookmark Sync and Zemanta.

Opera

The name of this browser alone, tells you that it dances to its own tune. It's a completely different browsing experience. Try out this browser and you'll be suddenly aware that there's a whole new world out there, especially if you are visually oriented. Like other browsers, its appearance is customizable, so I don't mean visually oriented in that way. Everything about the browser has a "feel" and look. Take for instance, its rendering of rss feeds (your newsgroup feeds) which appear like magazine pages.  It allows you to browse with your voice or by flicking your mouse. The browser takes some getting used to, but I'm sure you'll enjoy it. The first thing, you're tempted to do when installing Opera is to go to their extensions page and start loading it up with your standby Firefox extensions. Try to change your method of thinking when you use this browser. Why? Well, first the extensions library is nothing to write home about and some of the Firefox favorites don't work, such as Xmarks sync feature (don't worry, you can still import your bookmarks the old-fashioned way). The second reason is that Opera is more about multi-media. It allows you to stream your photos, music, videos, and phone all together under a program it calls Opera Unite.  Opera Unite bypasses the need for servers so that you interact directly with another person. This is excellent if you're working on a project with another person, because you can work and chat in real time, exchange files, and it does it seamlessly.

Firefox

Firefox is the browser I use to get my work done. There's a reason why its the browser of choice among web developers: its completely customizable. With the millions of add-ons available, there's practically nothing you can't get done in Firefox. Before I talk about extensions, I wanted to mention the great features available in Firefox. One of the best newer features is what Mozilla calls App Tabs, instead of using up valuable real estate on your tool bar, you can move the sites like your mail or twitter page, up to the tab bar where they are always accessible. You can also have tabs in groups. For instance you can have all of your social media sites open in one group; then switch to another group such as Netflix or anything. There's also session restore, which comes built in with Firefox. If, for some reason, Firefox crashes, when you reopen it all of your tabs are restored just the way you left them. And, even if Firefox lost track of the tabs, it pops up a humorous apology "Well this is embarrassing, firefox is having trouble recovering your windows and tabs and this is usually caused by a recently opened page." And lists the pages so you can check off the ones you want to reopen. 

Extensions (aka add-ons):

All of the browsers offer add-ons in one way or another, but Firefox is the king of add-ons with a huge community of developers adding dozens of new add-ons per minute. Don't let the idea of having too many choices deter you from checking out the add-ons. Here's how to find the right ones for you. There's a place called Firefox Collections, which is like Youtube playlists. Say you're interested in Jazz on youtube and you can see the recommended lists of songs that people have compiled. Firefox Collections is the same. Say you enjoy blogging, wouldn't it interest you to see the favorite extensions of Problogger? 

Then you can pick and chose the ones that sound appealing, and if you end up not liking one you can just disable it or uninstall it all together. (A word of caution, I just noticed that the most popular add-on listed in Firefox Extensions is currently AdBlocker. I would not recommend installing it because I've had nothing but bad luck with it. You can try it out, but it's notorious for causing crashes, especially when you go to flash heavy websites.)

I usually end up adding extensions based on need. I need to do some repetitive task and so I search for an add-on that will do it for me automatically. For instance, one of the scripts available is the GreaseMonkey Extension Facebook Mass Accept which allows me to click one time to accept all of my Facebook gift requests and send a gift back. Now, what used to take an hour takes a second. I click on the mouse and get back to my work, but my friends get their gifts. GreaseMonkey is an extension that offers a wide variety of tasks by adding scripts to it. You can get these scripts after you install the extension.

In addition to GreaseMonkey, these are the extensions I have installed on my Firefox browser: Add-on Compatibility Reporter, Buffer, DownloadHelper, Evernote Web Clipper, Fasterfox, Feed Sidebar, Integrated GMail, LastPass, MultiLinks, PowerTwitter, ScribeFire, Smartest Bookmarks Bar, StumbleUpon, Web Developer, WiseStamp, Youno, and Zemanta.

Of course you can over do your add-ons and I'm getting close. But, that's OK. If you're not using an add-on, you can disable and re-enable them at will which I often do. Disabled extensions don't slow down Firefox. If you do notice that Firefox has become sluggish, you might want to check out your addons. One of them might be a power-drainer. To check if a add-on is causing the problem, you can restart Firefox in safemode by going to the help menu and selecting "restart with add-ons disabled." If you notice a significant difference, its due to one of your addons. To find the culprit, disable the extensions one-by-one to find it. Of course, If you recently installed an add-on and then your troubles started then you should start with that one first.

These are the top web browsers, but there are many more available. I encourage you to check them out because you really don't know what you're missing til you've tried it.

Are we getting nastier?

I recently set up a blog for a customer and was encouraging him to integrate it with social media accounts such as Twitter and Facebook. He wasn't in favor of the idea because, he said, Twitter had become so "nasty." The tweets he'd seen lately were nothing but nasty attacks. Earlier this year, a poll on civility showed that 85 percent of Americans think that politics had become increasingly uncivil. In "We're getting meaner! What's it to yah?" NPR interviewed satirist Andy Borowitz the author of The Borowitz Report,. who said we have to put it in historical perspective. But overall comments seemed to indicate that meanness was growing. In August, USA Today published an article on the American Psychological Association's findings that the workplace had become uncivil.

In 2008 I wrote a Nettiquete post for members of my newsgroup, but I think a lot of it is still good advice. These tips are really just a friendly reminder of how we should treat other people. You can start by taking all of the "manners" that your mama taught you and apply it to your online communication. That said, here are the most important "rules" to ensure a happier and more successful time online:

1. 1. BE CONSIDERATE. The first, and most important thing to remember is the golden rule. Remember that there's another person(s) on the receiving end of your post or email. It sounds obvious, but sometimes when you're looking at an electronic monitor, its easy to forget. Also remember that your "humor" may not be recognized because we cannot write voice in-fluctuations, etc, as well as we can hear them.
2. 2. "IF YOU CAN'T SAY SOMETHING NICE..." One of the shortcomings of schools is that they don't spend more time teaching people how to argue. How many times have you had to figure out the ratio of a circle in contrast to the number of times you had an argument? I'm just saying, they should re-prioritize the educational requirements proportionately to life's requirements. If you disagree with someone don't, ever, make it personal. Not only is it hurtful, but it doesn't work in swaying others to your side of the argument. I remember once when I was a child, my sis and I were having an argument and she realized she was losing. At the end of her rope, she appealed to my mother with "MOM! APRIL'S STUPID!" The result was that everyone, my mother included, erupted in uproarious laughter. 

A side note: A lot of boards and newsgroups tell you to continue the argument off the list. I'm not going to tell you that because people come away with a false sense of anonymity. There is none. Some think that there's only two people reading a so-called "private" email and so they can say the darndest things. But remember you have no control over what the receiver does with your email and now with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or rather the current abuse of the act, a server can be ordered to hand over all of your correspondence as well. In addition, I have my email backed up from 1987/8 til now. At any time, I can pull up the correspondence from others and blast it across the internet for all to see. I'm telling you right now, give up the idea that there's any privacy involved in the internet. Any lawyer will tell you, "Never put it and writing." And, speaking of privacy, I want to politely decline any further correspondence that include the words "for your eyes only" or "not for publication." What do I do with that? Are you implying I like gossip?

3. DON'T WASTE OTHER'S TIME: Realize also that others might not want to hear you drone on about the same thing (especially if it has nothing to do with the group topic or repeated tweets to your friends only but we're all in on the conversation. This coincides with one of my biggest pet peeves, the email forward button. Don't use it. OK, you might use it once or twice, but only use it if you add some information or some comment or any text at all. Otherwise, consider taking the forward button off your menu bar. You can still find it, if you need to, in the "message" part of the menu. If it says "Pass it On," don't. My filters already put those emails right where they belong, directly in the trash. I belong to a lot of boards and newsgroups, so I get thousands of emails a day and it makes me feel like a heel when I get messages titled, "I better get this back." If I spent my time responding to those I wouldn't have the time to answer all the legitimate queries I get. In that same vein, never post "dittos." If you have nothing more to add and you're not answering a survey, a "me too" is useless.

4. ANSWER YOUR PERSONAL EMAIL: If someone has taken the time to write to you personally, answer them. Even if all you can write is, "I'm busy right now, I'll try to write more later." And with that I add be patient for a reply and if you don't get an answer within a reasonable time period, like say 14 days, then send a gentle reminder. Perhaps, a "did you get this?" and repost your message. Many times, it can take me weeks to write an answer, though I try to keep the time down to a couple of days. 

5. ALWAYS SIGN YOUR POST: especially if you're giving information. In genealogy this is SO important. Facts are irrelevant if they have no source. If you're not willing to leave your name, then you're just a lurker who has nothing to add. Sorry to be so crass, I'm pointing out how others view your posts.

6. QUOTE: Give me some idea of what you're responding to or talking about. Familiarize yourself with the copy and paste keys on your keyboard. It's really exciting when I get an email responding to a post that I put up on a board 10 years ago. But, realize my memory's not that great! I need to know what my question was that you so kindly are responding to. This applies to emails also. Figure out how your email software or email website handles quoting. Sometimes you have to highlight the person's message, sometimes you have to set your program to do that. If the message was long, remember you can just "quote" the part you're responding to and delete the rest, but at least quote something. If you are talking about a web page, give the url. I really, really, and I mean, really!, appreciate people letting me know about a broken link or a error on one of my websites. However, please understand, that I have no way of knowing what site or what page you are talking about unless you give me the url.. Help! (To give the url, highlight the text in the url box at the top of your browser go to edit, go to copy. Now, when you go to your email, go back up to edit then to paste.)

7. CHANGE THE SUBJECT LINE. This is especially true on web boards because many times the search engine crawlers only search by subject line. You took the time to respond, now take the time to make sure the right people see your message. On yahoo groups, it seems to only search by subject or email addresses. So, if a person is looking for a particular subject, and the subject hasn't been changed, those emails are missed. Changing the subject line is an easy thing to do. When you click reply, pop back up one line and write a short description of what you're writing. 

8. BREATHE! Before you hit the send button, look over your reply. Seriously consider whether you'd want to receive the message you're sending. Are you clear? Would you talk like that to someone if they were standing in front of you? We get all caught up in the speed of this new internet thingy, or the thrill and excitement that we have a great come back, that we don't realize the web doesn't have to dictate the speed of our reply. Recently, some college did a study they called The Good Samaritan. In it, they discovered that the one thing that dictated how "good" people acted toward each other was related to how much time pressure the person was feeling. Those who were rude or unhelpful felt rushed. So, remember to breathe. You're not rushed. We can wait for your words of wisdom. If you're a Twitter user, you might want to install the Buffer app on your browser. It allows you to buffer your tweets which will put some space between your reaction and your posts and, at the same time, eliminates appearing as a spammer with 10 tweets in a row.

This blog is probably way too long, and gives too much emphasis on the negatives. The last thing I want to do is scare away newcomers from participating in the two-way street that the internet has become. Honestly, I haven't seen a lot of negative attacks. Perhaps I don't recognize when someone is attacking me because a lot of what I read strikes me as funny. I've been blessed with a great group of followers. If you follow me, I promise I won't get nasty and if I do, throw this back in my face.

The greatest blog post ever written

I'm really bummed. Yesterday, I was away from my computer so I used the new Blogger app and wrote the best post ever written by anyone on the world wide web to date. 

Image via CrunchBase

Seriously! I'd show you, but apparently it disappeared. Or, perhaps it appeared on somebody else's blog. I'll never know. I was just double checking my blogger log, and it's not there. It's as if the post never existed at all. 

I was able to successfully post from the app one other time, so I know it was working correctly. Blogger has, however, recently been making changes to their website. The new features include a sleek look, an improved editor, access to analytics, and many more widgets. They have been slowly rolling out changes with something new every time I log in,  so perhaps I just happened to hit the publish button at the wrong time. I'm crossing my fingers that this was the case and it was a temporary glitch. Still, being leery now, I'll probably use the Evernote app or MacJournal app and write my blogs on there from now on. Both of those allow you to save your post as well as synch it with your computer.

Another reason I'm bummed is because I'd made a commitment to myself and to NaBloPoMo that I would post once a day for the month of September and have made it through all the way until now. I'm still going to count it as if I'd posted, using this post in place of the one that disappeared.

So? What was the greatest blog post ever written? Alas, that seems to have disappeared.

Note: This is the 17th post toward my commitment to writing a post a day. Have you joined NaBloPoMo yet?

Stumbleupon: 'You Have Reached the End of the Internet'

Yesterday, I was informed by Stumbleupon that I had reached the end of the internet. I backed away to reread it. My eyes not being what they used to be I was sure I was mistaken. Apparently I had already gone through all the links in my interests list and there were no more interests to select from. 

I looked at the URL. Being a savvy websurfer, I'd heard about the trick of adding  .ro.ro at the end of any link to get you to the end of the internet. For instance if I changed my website url from pastisenterprises.com to pastisenterprises.ro.ro/ I would end up at the end of the internet -- but it didn't have that suffix. It wasn't a joke. 

Restaurant at the End of the Universe

I paused for a much needed drink at a hip hotspot called The Restaurant at the End of The Universe with a couple of old friends who always happen to be there. Arthur, Ford, Zaphod, and Trillian were working on some math problem. "How can it be 42?!" Arthur was yelling over the roar of the band.  As they droned on, my mind went over my options:

• I could start over
• I could start recommending more sites to Stumbleupon. 
• I could look at the Stubleupon alternatives.

Image via WikipediaStumbleupon is a website surfer's dream. You click on the Stumbleupon add-on icon in your browser's toolbar and it whisks you away to a random website. The more you click "like" the more options it has to take you to the next time. And, if you find a really cool site, you can click on Stumbleupon's share button to show others your great new find. When I'm having a stressful moment, or need to take a break from a project I'm working on, I use Stumbleupon to change my mood, lighten up, or just to distract me. Unfortunately, Stumbleupon had decided that I was done. That's ok, maybe I do need a change. There are tons (hundreds) of other sites that allow you to bring up random websites. Here are a couple:

Genealogists You Should Have in Your Circle

Google+ is a great asset if you're interested in technology with a steady stream of posts day or night, but what if you're interested in genealogy? Not so much.
What is Google + (or Google Plus)? - Well, its everything! Its like a blog, its like Twitter, it's like Facebook, its like Google Buzz, its like a photo gallery, its like Instant Messaging, its like video messaging; Its all of those things rolled into one fantastic gathering place. It's a tool to use to connect to your "circle of friends" and share posts to those in specific "circles" about specific topics. You add your friends into circles and then choose what to share with that circle. Sound intriguing? If you need an invite, just let me know and I'll send you one.
Without much work at all, I've added some great people to my circles. I've named my circles: Business Contacts, Family, Following (bloggers who I follow), Humor (people who always make me laugh), Mensans, Friends and Genealogists. You can name your circles anything that you find most helpful.
Every morning, when I startup my browser & Let me rephrase that because In truth I never turn off my browser. So, every morning with I click on my open-all-at-once button that I've labeled "DAILY" in my browser bar, the first site to pop up is my Google+ Stream. That way, while I'm waiting for the coffee to brew, I can see what people are up to, read some news, and maybe get a laugh or two.
But yesterday morning, my stream was a little too long to read through it quickly, so I clicked on my circles one at a time until I clicked on my genealogy circle and hit a wall. There was just one post. It was by Marian Pierre-Louis, who writes two of my favorite blogs: Marian's Roots and The New England House Historian.

'Dogtooth': Disturbing and Thought Provoking. On to 'Red State'...

Last night I broke down and put in a Netflix DVD that's been sitting on my desk for months now. I was reminded that it had been sitting there when Twitter became inundated with posts about the break down in the Starz-Netflix contract. The Satellite TV channel had a distribution agreement with Netflix to provide digital access to movies from Sony and Disney through Feb. 28. 2010. But, Starz announced that it will not continue the arrangement and so Tweets were telling everyone they'd "better" go watch all the Starz movies in their Netflix que. 

When I do watch movies, I tend to watch digitally. I only use the DVD feature when a film I really want to watch isn't available. 

I had read a review about Dogtooth and was intrigued. It was a well-respected film critic and it was the shortest review I'd ever read. It said something like "I'm not telling you NOT to see Dogtooth. I'm NOT telling you TO see it. All that I'm telling you was that it was disturbing." That was it. Then, when it received the nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards, I decided to order it.

Now I know what he meant. Whoa. There are few films that I'd say I'd remember all my life. Most of the stuff i watch are chick-flicks so that's not surprising. I forget the premise days after I've watched some of that stuff. 

Disturbing isn't the half of it. I picked up my remote a number of times to turn it off but I was, I don't know, mesmerized? Like the lookie-loos who stare at a car accident, I couldn't look away. And, it had nothing to do with the fact that my Greek is practically nonexistent even though I am married to a Greek. Learning Greek is another item on my To Do Someday list. So, I had to read the subtitles to follow along. 

Stream of Consciousness Post

Hmmm. Today's NaBloPoMo prompt is "How did you feel about the start of the school year growing up?" No. I said I wasn't going to follow the prompts. School is a boring topic. I was lucky though. My brother was, as my geeky friends said, "One of the beautiful people", so I never had a lot of peer pressure. I was always on the fringe of all the groups at school…

Image via Wikipedia

My geeky friends…lol. What ever happened to "Beetle Bailey"? Why did we call him that? Haven't kept in touch with any of my school friends. Well, actually there are a few school friends who managed to "friend" me on Facebook. That's amazing. How did they find me? Its not like I advertise who I "was." I don't have my school listed in my profile, do I? Nope. I don't even have my maiden name on there…
Geeze look at my wall. Natalie needs some LOVE for her Sims. Better send that. Dang, Lana wants to share a special delivery package. I hate those things. Every time I open them I get a freaking brick. Makes me feel like Charlie Brown trick-or-treating and what does he have to show for it? @CB: "I got a rock…"

Creating A Facebook Page For Your Business

Recently, I was asked about the merits of having a Facebook Business page. Actually, the person asked whether they should drop their website and go solely with a Facebook Business Page. Having a Facebook page is not an either/or solution if you integrate Facebook with your business's website or blog. The ideal scenario for a business is to have its own website, plus actively participate in social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Image via CrunchBaseFacebook has some powerful tools for businesses. With a page, those interested in following you can become "fans." Then, anything that you post to your page can be seen by your fans and their friends too. You can store photos, videos, information about your company, and links to your blog. The limitation is that you are bound to their format, and any information is kept in separate tabs.

Guido the Geek Performs Hit on Twitter?

Image via WikipediaWhen White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs admitted his Twitter account had been compromised, a host of feelings popped up for me. Having had one of my websites hacked a while back, I thought well if a site as huge as Twitter could have left its guard down what had happened to me wasn't that bad. It could happen to anyone. The thought of such "huge" people as Gibbs and Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown's wife Sarah getting hacked goes to show how wide spread technology crime has become. Still, don't you find the media's attempts to describe technology a bit funny? I do. In a New York Times article -- Twitter Is Hacked Tuesday Morning - NYTimes.com -- the writer states:

Other attacks, including the first worm to strike the iPhone, launched in November 2009, also paid tribute to Mr. Astley. In rebel-Web parlance, clicking to see Mr. Astley is known as being “rickrolled.” Twitter has since disabled @matsta’s account.

I love that description "rebel-Web parlance." ROTFLMAO.
The article also suggest a mafia-like cybercrime organization, which elicits in me visions of Guido the Geek completing a hit on Twitter account holders. Is there really a "cybercrime organization?" Well, sort of. There are a few groups who's sole purpose is to steal identities. That's what the Justice Department's division of  Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property define as cybercrime organizations. If there is a Cybercrime Mob, is there also a "Godfather?"
I know its not funny to those who were infected. The matter might appear less humorous to me if I'd visited twitter that day. Yes, I have a twitter account, but rarely post any tweets simply because I can't write sentences that short. And, by the time I think of something to say, the subject is too old to comment on. I also don't read tweets off of the website. Like many, I use an app (I prefer NAMBU) to keep up with those I found interesting enough to follow. However, I can go weeks without even firing it up. But, now that I know there's a cybercrime mob, you can bet I'm going to follow @guidothegeek so I can keep up with them.