Facebook changes or how to mess with your users on a regular basis

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Facebook is nice, you can connect with friends, see what your arch nemessis is doing and join groups of people who share your proclivities, however odd they might be.

But there’s the less nice bit of Facebook that we all hate and no, it’s not the „I love to hate this” situation, it’s actual hate. The constant changes. I understand the need for change, that things have a natural development that shouldn’t be hindered, but this particular social networking site is not exactly an endangered species, is it now?

Almost monthly there are little pop up windows coming up telling me about the „new and improved facebook”, created „just for me”, sparing me the trouble of typing a name to find my friends, the site will just find them for me. Looking for something on your profile is a hassle? Well, why not just merge the profile with the timeline and spare you the trouble? I am just not impressed, particularly since almost all of the new features are leaving loopholes opened for my private information to become public knowledge.

The new timeline is a new can of worms, it will probably spawn endless groups with names such as „We want our old Facebook back!!” and discussions on Twitter, of all places, about how the developers are doing this just to annoy us and see how long it takes to make people turn Facebook into one of the (now) obsolete sites – Hi5 or MySpace. Remember when those were cool? Yeah? Me neither.

In order to access this new and improved profile that will give (yet another) facelift to Facebook, no pun intended, you need to provide credit card information or your phone number, there go the paranoid people and supposedly a marvelous world opens up. Marvelous for some, but not others. Most applications that were developed for the old facebook will become unusable on the new one, no more banners in your profile, no more of anything that isn’t facebook run. At least for a while.

It will take a while for the new, improved Facebook to be available for everyone, but have no fear. You will benefit of all the changes, whether you like it or not. God forbidd that you actually opt out of the changes! Facebook is free so you have no right to complain. It’s better, more politically correct, by the show-runners, but this is basically the gist of it.

You’ll have to deal with it and shut up about it. If possible, be happy or fake it until you make it. Just console yourself with the idea that now you can have your own personal timeline starting at birth and going through to your death, with all those special moments peppered in between. Aren’t you happy you made the change yet?

Enjoy the bigger pictures of your friends if you feel like accessing their information or the fact that you can add the places you’ve been to your information.

To put it simple, I am tired of all the changes Facebook makes on my behalf, without even asking. Because you know, we’re all exactly the same and share the same needs and interests. That’s why we walk around claiming that we’re all unique, right?

If you’ve already experienced the „brand new and improved” Facebook, let me know what you think about it. Is it any good in your opinion? Do you feel more catered too or less so?

Facebook profile banner generator

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There has been a huge influx of banner generators for Facebook. Most of them provide you with a set number of images you can choose from for your page, ranging from your favourite dish to your favourite celebrity. All you have to do is want to change your usually boring banner provided by Facebook which blends up your photos and slaps them on top of your profile, usually in a not so pleasing or flattering way.

One of the more interesting generators is profilebannergenerator.com, who also allows you to create your own banner if none of those available are to your liking . It’s easy to use, whether you choose one from the predefined ones or you want to make your own. Keep in mind that you first have to connect to Facebook. After that it’s smooth sailing. The steps you need to take to create or install a banner are explicit and the instructions are easy to follow.

For a predetermined one, all you have to do is select a category – let’s say Celebrities, click on the banner of your choosing and once it’s opened click on it again. Voila, a banner that shows the world how much you like Harry Potter, for example. You’ll have to wait for about 10 seconds before the banner is loaded to Facebook. After the “creating your banner” message disappears you can already see it on your profile.

However if the site creators aren’t J.K. Rowlings fans and they forgot to include Potterverse related pictures you can upload your favourite one, using the very handy and easy to use Upload button on the right side of the page. Once you’ve done that you can crop the picture into the perfect banner and show off to your friends.

The generator is free and it gives you the opportunity to change your banner picture as often as you want, as well as the chance to create new banners whenever you get bored with the old one.

One feature that I like is that you can give feedback to the administrators and let them know if you didn’t understand something or you need help with anything. They answer promptly and to the point, solving whatever issue arises.

How do I remove (delete) a Facebook friend?

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From time to time there is someone you want to remove from your Facebook friends list. Maybe because they are spamming you, maybe because you don’t know them, maybe.. a lot of other reasons.

Here is a step by step guide on how to remove a Facebook friend from your list.

1. Go to the profile of the “friend” you want to delete.

2. Scroll down on their profile page and on the left side find this: Remove from Friends

3. Use the “Remove from Friends” link to remove the connection and/or  use the “Report/Block this Person”  to report and block a spammer. If you only remove them from your  friends list they can still send you messages so, if we are talking  about a spammer, it is better to remove the connection and report the  guy.

Good luck!