Archive for the 'Facebook, Twitter and Social Media' Category

F is For Follow

Have you ever been in a Facebook discussion thread only to see a lot of Fs in it? So, what does it mean when someone types F in a Facebook group? It merely means they want to remain notified for further posts in a particular thread or they want to follow the discussion by members on a particular topic.

Some members type F or f or follow or following to be kept in the loop for the discussion. However, this practice is rather distracting and annoying to other members who are following the discussion especially if one is following the discussion on their mobiles. Imagine your phone beeping every few moments, you check your notification only to be greeted by a string of Fs.

Some suggest typing “Thank you” or “Thanks” but there really isn’t a need to do so, not when there is an easy way to turn notifications on or off for a discussion or for the group as a whole.

Here is how to get notified of discussion in a Facebook group setting.

Option 1. To turn on notification for the group as a whole

How To Edit Notifications In A Facebook Group Using Desktop PC

You can choose to be notified of “All Posts” or just “Friends’ Post”. Once a group is over 250  members notification is automatically set for “Friends’ Post” only, so you will have to edit your notification settings if you want to see more.

You can read the following from Facebook Help page for the steps.

How Do I Edit My Notification Settings For A Group (Using Desktop PC)

How Do I Edit My Notification Settings For A Group (Using iPhone or iPad App, Android App or smartphone or tablet via browser)

Option 2. To turn on notifications for a specific discussion or thread within a group

How To Turn Notifications On Or Off For A Discussion Thread In A FB Group Using Desktop PC

Click on the arrow next to the discussion  and turn notification on. This will keep you in the loop for discussion on that particular thread. There is no need to type F, or f or follow or following or whatever in order to follow that thread. The above is what you see in a browser on a desktop pc.

Read the following Facebook Help for instructions. What Does It Mean To Turn Notifications On Or Off In A Group

The above images are from accessing FB from a desktop PC. Please read the following extra notes if you are using a mobile smartphone or tablet.

How To Turn On Notifications For Individual FB Post In A Group Using Mobile Devices

How To Turn On Notifications If You Are Accessing FB On A Mobile Or Smartphone Using The FB App

Since the screen is smaller, to do Option 1 i.e. to edit notification for the whole group, first click on the right arrow at the bottom of  the FB Group Cover, this takes you to the About page of the group. You will then be able to “Edit Notification Settings”.

The picture below shows you the steps required to edit notification for a FB group while using the FB  app on mobile phones and smartphones.

How To Edit Notifications For A FB Group Using The FB App On Smartphone Or Mobile

Option 2 to turn notification on or off for individual post is the same. Click on the little down arrow next to the post. you may have to click on the arrow beside the post twice, the first time takes you to the individual post if you are not already on it and the second time to turn notifications on or off.

The image below shows the location of the arrow (1). You may have to click on this two times. Then you will see the screen to Get or Stop Notifications.

How To Get Notifications For Individual Posts In Groups Using FB App

How To Turn On Notifications If you Are Accessing FB On A Mobile Or Smartphone FromA Browser Like Safari

Option 1 is the same as described for editing notifications using FB mobile app. In option 2, you will have to click on the individual post first before  you can click on “Get Notifications” for that post. In order to go to the individual post, click on the timestamp or date right below the post. The picture below show the extra steps for getting notifications when you are viewing FB on a browser using your mobile phone. First you have to click on the Time as shown on arrow 1 to go to the individual post. Then, when you are on the individual post view, you can toggle between “Get Notifications” or “Stop Notifications” as shown on arrow 2.

How to Get Notifications From Individual Posts On Mobile or Smartphone via browser

How To Turn On Notifications If You Are Accessing FB On A Tablet Computer From A Browser Like Safari.

Option 1 and 2 is the same as for Desktop PC.

Typing F may be an easy way for you to follow just one post instead of all posts but it is not very nice for the rest of the members following the same thread. So please follow the steps above. That, I think is a basic FB etiquette. Please be nice to other members when you are in a group.

Do you know that some FB  groups actually ban the use of Fs?

Rushed!

Rushed! That’s what I have been feeling for the past few years. Seems like I am always rushing around to do something or other. I’m always running after the kids and the man. I literally run after them whenever we go out to the mall.

At home, I’m always rushing too. I’m so rushed, I clean my bathroom as I shower with one foot scrubbing the bathroom floor.

At the moment I’m rushing to edit my content that has been moved from Squidoo to HubPages. After the transfer, many of my images were misplaced, videos missing, and links were stripped. I have edited 116 pages but I still have another 68 to go. Its killer work and not a lot of fun. I just edited about 12 this morning and got bored, that’s why I decided to update this blog instead. Its been too quiet around here for some time.

I’ve been rushing to learn new things too. Baking. Digital Drawing. I’m so pleased I managed to figure out how to use layers in drawings. Yay! That was worth rushing to read, learn and draw at the same time.

The above rushed cartoon is one of my first few digital drawings done by using layers. I’m really happy about that.

Now, its time to go off to rush to do some housework so I can get back to editing. Its also the end of the year so I have to rush to teach the boy his history and Chinese. Have to rush to learn those Chinese chapters from his book so that I can guide him.

Rush! Rush! Rush! That’s the story of my life. What’s yours?

These days almost everyone likes to take selfies. Walk by any beautiful scene, shopping center decoration, restaurant, park etc and you will see someone engaging in this activity. In fact, in November 2013, the word “selfie” was announced as being the “word of the year” by the Oxford English Dictionary. 

Like anything that you find online, don’t believe everything that you read online. Don’t believe everything you see online too as I’ve discovered. Selfies can be instantly “photoshopped” with a click these days with the increasing number of photo editing apps available. Some of them are really amazing too.

Forget about checking out articles on how to take the best selfie, the best poses, best make-up etc, all you need to do is to download one of these apps on your iPhone, iPad or Android devices to take the most beautiful and flattering photo of yourself to share with your friends.

Here are some selfie photo apps to turn your selfies into the beautiful images that you see and so envy.

1. BeautyPlus available for both iphone and android phones instantly gives you flawless skin and shiny hair plus brighter eyes at the click of your camera. I love how this camera removes my pores with one click. This simple no frills app is perfect for the lazy ones like me who wants to do everything with just one click with little customization required. However, you can customize it further if you want, Slimmer face? You’ve got it at a drag of a finger. Bigger eyes? No problem. Lots of filters and fun brushes for you to enhance your portrait are all available with one click before you save and share it on social media.

What is different or good about this selfie photo app: Simple and easy to use with nice results for a flawless look.

BeautyPlus for iOS on Apple iTunes Store

BeautyPlus for Android on Google Play Store

2. PhotoWonder basically does the same thing as the above but it takes it one step further. Want bigger boobs? You can even customize that too! You can “thinify” yourself then beautify your look by adding make-up for longer lashes and bigger eyes. Then add decorations, effects and pick a frame for your perfect selfie. The stickers, brushes and speech bubbles are fun. Lots of filter choices are available categorized into portrait, classic, scene and art category. You can even turn yourself into a sketch if you prefer. You can customize by sliding along a bar till you get the look you want whether it is larger eyes, fixing blemishes or removing dark rims under your eyes. Fortunately, one click is available for lazy people like me.

What is different or good about this selfie photo app: Extras in the form of effects, decorations and frames.

PhotoWonder for iOS on Apple iTunes Store

PhotoWonder for Android on Google Play Store

3. MeituPic  “Meitu” simply means “beautiful picture” in Chinese and that is what you get.  You can slide your finger to whiten or tone your face to a flawless complexion just like what you would see in a magazine. Lots of excellent filters for your good selfies here.  Cropping and blurring is possible and you can have lots of fun with magical effects by adding sparkles, dazzlers and more. You can even take beautiful pictures of your food because aside from the portrait function you can enhance the look of your food, objects or scene. The desmog feature allows you to turn smoggy skies into clear blue ones. I think I will need that one right now.

What is different or good about this selfie photo app: Includes enhancement for food, scenery and objects photos which is not available in other portrait enhancement apps.

MeituPic for iOS on Apple iTunes Store

MeituPic for Android on Google Play Store

I would pick BeautyPlus for its simplicity and wonderful results and MeituPic for being the most comprehensive.

When fixing photos, I personally prefer to smoothen my complexion and add effects for fun and that is it. Somehow, thinning my face and making my eyes bigger seem a little bit much, sort of  like doing digital plastic surgery but that’s just me.

Well, that’s all. No need for a lengthy review or article on how to take a good selfie. Just go and download one or all of these apps and try it for yourself. Then start snapping away and be amazed at your new lovely selfies! They are all available for both iOS and android devices. Enjoy!

Today, my Google Chromecast HDMI Streaming Media Player arrived in the mail. I’m really excited about it because this little thing allows me to watch YouTube videos on my TV easily. In other words, it makes my TV smart! With wifi connection, I can use an iphone, ipad, Android phone or tablet, laptop or desktop computer to ‘cast’ the videos onto the TV screen. Awesome! (as my kids said and it truly is).

What is the Google Chromecast? The Google Chromecast is a dongle developed by Google. It is tiny, just 2.83 inches but powerful. It lets you play audio or video content from a variety of devices namely your mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer or desktop computer onto your TV wirelessly via Wifi connection. You can stream video via an app. Supported apps include YouTube, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora Radio, Google Play Music and Google Play Movies and TV. If you are not in the US and is unable to subscribe to Netflix, Hulu Plus or Pandora, fret not, you can still stream video content from your desktop by using the Chrome Browser with a Chromecast extension. At the moment, this is still under Beta but it works fine.

The box was small and there were four things that came with it.

1.  a USB power cable
2.  a power adapter
3. the Chromecast dongle itself
4. an optional HDMI adapter cable

I immediately set the hardware up. The simple instructions were on the box itself.

I searched for the HDMI input at the back of my Sharp Aquos TV.  I had an unused one called Input 3.

However, when I tried to stick the Chromecast dongle in there, it didn’t fit. Nevermind, that’s what the HDMI adapter cable is for. All I had to do was to join the HDMI cable adapter to the Chromecast dongle.

Here is a picture of the HDMI adapter and the Chromecast dongle.

I join them together like this.

This baby needs to be powered, so the next step is to join the USB cable to the Chromecast dongle.

You can power the Google Chromecast by using the power adapter or if your TV has usb, all you need to do is to stick the USB cable in the USB input on your TV.

I decided not to use the power adapter because I couldn’t figure out how to use it.

So, first I inserted the dongle into my HDMI Input 3 behind my TV…..

 Then I inserted the USB to my DVD player with a USB. If you are using the power adapter, all you need to do is stick the one end of the usb cable to the dongle and the other end to the power adapter. You don’t have to use your DVD USB input like I did. I used that because my TV does not have a USB input. Every cable and adapter you need is all provided.

With the hardware ready, the rest of the setup was easy. Now what I have done so far was to plug it in (Step 1 on the box). Then all I had to do was follow step 2 (switch input – in my case Input 3) and then step 3 which is go to google.com/chromecast/setup and follow the instructions there to setup. It was really easy too.

Soon, I was able to play my YouTube videos from my ipad. However, I am an international user. In the US, besides YouTube, the other supported apps are Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora, Google Play Music, Google Play Movies and TV. So my use was somewhat limited to watching YouTube videos. These looked great, the audio and visual were terrific.

You can see that I am watching from Input 3 using the Google Chromecast in this picture.

I didn’t want to just watch YouTube videos with my Google Chromecast. I wanted to watch streaming videos from my Google Chrome browser so now comes the real test. I had read that there were problems with that. The Google Chromecast can mirror any website you are visiting using the Google Chrome browser. So that means, if you are watching streaming video on your Google Chrome browser, it should mirror that too.

In order to do this, I have to be on the web by using the Google Chrome browser. I also had to install the Google Chromecast extension. This is no different than installing apps on my ipad. Very easy. Soon, I was watching streaming videos on my TV. The most delightful thing is when you are watching cast videos on your TV, you can still use your device for other things at the same time. For example, I took some of these photos from the phone using my phone camera, while the videos from YouTube were being cast onto the TV. The videos continued to play while I used the camera phone, surfed the internet on other tabs etc. This is what is really good about the Google Chromecast. While your device is casting, you can still use it as normal for other purposes.

There was a slight lag between the audio and visual and casting was not perfect at first but that was quickly fixed by going to my Google Chromecast extension and setting the options to standard video quality 480p instead of 720p.

Whats my verdict?

I love it! I think I will be watching a lot more YouTube videos from now on as it works best with that. For the price, USD35 it is definitely worth it.  If you are an international user like me, you will have to pay some extra shipping charges to your country but it is still worthwhile. Shipping charges for me in Malaysia was more than half its price so do check on the shipping charges for your country. It is very easy to set up. You basically just plug in and play in minutes.

Small issues. I did not have any problems setting Google Chromecast up in minutes. My Sharp Aquos TV was ready to cast and there were no issues. I did face a few small issues though as I tried it out with all my devices.

1. My ipad was able to cast YouTube videos. However, I could not install the Google Chromecast extension on it. It said “Sorry, your operating system is not surpported just yet. The Chrome Web Store is available on Windows, Mac, Chrome OS and Linux.” So I could not mirror streaming videos from my ipad.
2. My android phone the Samsung Galaxy Ace was able to cast YouTube videos but the Google Chrome browser was not compatible with it so I could not cast streaming videos from it.
3. I have not tried it out with the iphone at the time of writing.

My Google Chromecast was set up in the Living Room TV and I had no  problems casting YouTube videos and streaming videos from both my desktop PCs upstairs. So before you buy, do check up the minimum system requirements required for casting a tab from your Chrome Browser. However, if you are like me, you probably have multiple devices at home and one or two of them are sure to work.

Do note that in addition to installing the Chrome Browser. You will also need to install the google cast extension for your chrome browser. If you are not a very techy type of person like me, one easy way to find out whether your device is supported is to try to install the google cast extension for your chrome browser. If you are able to, then you are supported. If not, your device is not and you will not be able to use this feature.

I love words. I love reading them and writing them. Now I love pictures and I love combining pictures with words. I love writing poems, quotes, sharing experiences through non-fiction writing. One thing I haven’t explored is fiction. I don’t think I am imaginative enough for that though.

I think my love affair with words started in primary school. As the youngest child in a family of 5 whose mom passed on when I was 10, I was never heard at home. Shhhhh was what I mostly heard. No. No. Not when the adults are talking. My brothers and sisters are born within four years and then there is a four year gap before I came along. So I never got to join in very much when the siblings were talking as well. As a result I became taciturn and quiet. Well, at least that is my analysis of it or maybe I’m just naturally born that way.

So, maybe that is why I find that I can express myself much much better in writing. In writing, my words just flow out naturally. In writing, I have so much to say. I am really glad to have my blogs, my books and even my FB group for me to express myself. Being able to ‘speak’ at last makes me happy.