GIFs Return to Facebook

GIF-lovers, rejoice: The web's favorite animation form returned to Facebook on Thursday, thanks to GIF search engine Giphy.

Facebook supported GIFs in "the early days," Giphy co-founder Alex Chung tells Mashable, but stopped supporting them presumably because "they didn't want to look like a MySpace mess with all the blinking garbage on profile pages."

Since then, the GIF has evolved from what Chung describes as "lame clip art" to "an art form." So Giphy worked with Facebook to allow users to share and embed GIFs from giphy.com — at least until Facebook natively supports GIFs again (if it ever does).

Will GIFs overtake Facebook the way they have Tumblr? Probably not to as a great of a degree. The embed format isn't optimal: GIFs don't autoplay, so they function more like short videos.

Gap has partnered with Giphy to ensure that it's the first brand to post a GIF to Facebook, which went up around 11 a.m. ET Thursday.
from:mashable.com

How to get a facebook email account

1 . Login to your facebook account 

2. Go to this link www.facebook.com/about/messages/ 

3. Click on the “Request an Invitation ” button .(right bottom )

After that the button will change to ” You will receive and invite soon “ 

Note that Your email address will match your public username, Eg:

Profile: facebook.com/username

Email: username@facebook.com

If you don’t have a username you can get it here www.facebook.com/username/ 

Airtel Signature Tune Nov 2010 (1 minute)

Bharti Airtel has unveiled New Logo & refreshed 1min Signature tune along with the announcement to launch 3G services.

India’s most leading telecom service supplier, Bharti Airtel has unveiled the new logo of the company on Thursday, 18th November. Along with the logo, the company has also declared to launch 3G services in the country before the end of 2010. The actor, Shah Rukh Khan is the brand ambassador of Airtel and he is called by Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal over the company’s 3G network marking the first Airtel 3G calls.

Download Airtel Signature Tune 2010 (1 min)

Facebook unveils new messaging system

Breaking down recent rumors that it's launching an e-mail killer, Facebook unveiled a new messaging system that will envelop e-mail, instant messages, Facebook messages and SMS.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg launched what he calls a "modern messaging system" to handle the convergence of different kinds of messages and bring them together under one social umbrella. The system, which has been in the works for about 15 months, is designed to save all messages, meaning users will have a history of their communications.

Although people will now be able to have a facebook.com e-mail address, Andrew Bosworth, a software engineer at Facebook, noted that the new system will work with other e-mail systems, such as Gmail and Yahoo mail.

"People should share however they want to share," said Bosworth. "If you want to send me an e-mail and I want to get it in a text message, that should work."

At this point, the messaging system -- code-named Titan -- will not include voice chat. Zuckerberg said that should be coming down the road, but offered no timeline.

More than four billion messages are sent every day on Facebook, with the vast majority of the messages between two people, according to Zuckerberg. And about 350 million people use Facebook to message their friends and family members.

He said he started thinking about those numbers after talking with a group of high school students who told him that they rarely use e-mail. It's too slow, they told him. "I was kind of boggled by this," Zuckerberg said.

"I remember having a similar conversation with my parents about why e-mail was good and regular mail was slow...," he said. "At Facebook, we're all so used to using e-mail. It's interesting to see that all kinds of folks don't see it that way."

So Facebook decided to create a new messaging system that would include e-mail, expand on the concept and tie in other means of communication as well. "It's not e-mail," said Zuckerberg. "It handles email, in addition to Facebook messages, and IM and SMS. People are going to be able to have facebook.com email addresses but this won't be the primary way people use this system."

For the last three or four days, the Internet has been abuzz with speculation that Facebook was getting ready to launch an e-mail killer. Zuckerberg kicked off today's news event by saying that's not the case.

"There was a lot of press leading up to this saying this is an e-mail killer," he added. "This is not an e-mail killer. It's a messaging system that has e-mail as one part of it. I don't expect people to wake up tomorrow and say, 'I'm going to shut down my Yahoo account or my Gmail account.'"

"We expect that more people will IM and more people will message just because it's simpler and easier and it's more fun and valuable to use," Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg and Bosworth also pointed out that the messaging system doesn't exclude non-Facebook users. Users will be able to send and receive messages from people who aren't on Facebook.

The Facebook CEO also noted that the system will offer different messaging channels that gives users a social inbox and a way to get messages filtered to them from friends of their Facebook friends.

"It seems wrong that an e-mail message from your best friend gets sandwiched between a bill and a bank statement," he said. "It's not that those other messages aren't important, but one of them is more meaningful. With new Messages, your inbox will only contain messages from your friends and their friends. All other messages will go into other folders where you can look at them separately."

A few users will be invited to use the new messaging system starting today and will be rolled out to all users over the next several months.

Islamic Documentaries

ISLAM : EMPIRE OF FAITH

Between the fall of Rome and the European voyages of discovery, few events were more significant than the rise of Islam. Within a few centuries, the Islamic empires blossomed, projecting their power from Africa to the east Indies, and from Spain to India. Inspired by the words of the Prophet Muhammed, and led by caliphs and sultans, this political and religious expansion remains unequaled in speed, geographic size and endurance. Islam: Empire Of Faith is narrated my Academy Award - winning actor Ben Kingsley. The three-hour program tells the spectacular story of the great sweep of Islamic power and faith during its first 1,000 years - from the birth of the Prophet Muhammed to the peak of the Ottoman Empire under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. Historical re-enactments and a remarkable exposition of Islamic art, artifacts and architecture are combined with interviews of scholars from around the world to recount the rise and importance of early Islamic civilization. Increasingly, scholars and historians are recognizing the profound impact that Islamic civilization has had on Western culture and the course of world history.

Download Part1 | Part2 | Part3

THE MESSAGE

It is the 7th century and in Mecca, where powerful leaders are in conflict with Muhammad who attacks the many injustices their way of life produces - slavery, drunkeness and cruelty. Muhammad claims to have seen a vision of the Angel Gabriel and calls to the people of mecca to worship one God only. After a revelation from God, Muhammad agrees to take arms against Mecca and at the Wells of Badr the inexperienced Muslim troops are victorious. However, at the Battle of Uhud they are beaten. They accept a ten year truce, so that they can continue to spread the word of God. Muhammad is the Prophet....The Messenger of God. (English Version)

Download Part 1 | Part 2 | DivX Player   Courtesy : World of Islam

LION OF THE DESERT

Lion of the Desert is the dramatic action epic of the struggle of Omar Mukhtar, leader of the Muslim resistance in North Africa in the 1920's and 30's, against the imperialism of Mussolini and the Italian army. Despite the challenge of overcoming the fascist Italian war machine with only faith and wisdom, the Muslims led by Mukhtar maintained their resistance and refused to be conquered.

Download [700 MB] | DivX Player

KHATTAB

This documentary traces the extraordinary life of the Arab commander Khattab from his childhood through the wars of Afghanistan (1988-1994), Tajikistan (1994 - 1995), the First Chechen War (1995 - 1996), Dagestan(1999) & the beginning of the Second Chechen War (1999).

Download Part 1 | Part 2

WARNING: Facebook “Like” Worm Spreading Through Javascript Exploit

Thousands of Facebook users are being attacked by a nasty Facebook worm that forces you to “like” a Facebook page, which then automatically spreads it through a user’s wall.

According to SocialToo’s Jesse Stay, the scammers have figured out a way to exploit the “Like” button via Javascript and are using it to force users to like the page, thus spreading it inadvertently through postings on Facebook walls.

The result is thousands of wall posts for a page entitled “Shocking! This girl killed herself after her dad posted this photo.” Clicking the link enclosed spreads the worm further. Unfortunately, this is not the first time we’ve heard of such an exploit, but according to Facebook Search, a lot of people have been affected by this one.

Do not click any of these links or go to this Facebook page. It will force you to like the page and spread the worm further. As far as we can tell though, the exploit doesn’t compromise your account or steal your password. We’ve put an e-mail out to the Facebook team for more information.

From  http://mashable.com

10 Facebook Safety Tips – How to Protect Yourself

Whether you are new to Facebook or a long time user, you should be diligent in protecting yourself, your family, and your friends while using Facebook. Here are 10 tips to keep your Facebook experience both enjoyable and safe.

1. Do not place your personal information on your Facebook profile. Items such as your residential address, your phone number, your cell phone number, your date of birth will all become very public information instantly and it will come back to haunt you in many ways. Check your profile constantly to ensure that you are not displaying personal information. The risk of identity theft or being tracked down by others is too great. If your friend really needs your contact information, then have them give you a call or send a private email outside of Facebook. Nothing is scarier than your ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend calling you out of the blue or finding out that a new credit card was taken out in your name on the other side of the country by an ex-con.

2. Be careful when placing photographs of you or your children on Facebook. Please ensure that you have all your privacy settings set to maximum. There was a reported instance of a family photo being “snapped up” and used for commercial purposes. One family was surprised to find their Facebook family photo on a billboard in Europe.

3. Do not ever think that your Facebook page is private amongst only your friends and family. Job interviewers, lawyers, investigators, the police, and the entire world will be searching for information on your Facebook site at some point. Most people will need a lawyer whether it is for a divorce, a speeding ticket, a personal injury lawsuit or a work-related injury. I have personally seen instances where parties to a lawsuit and witnesses have posted items on their Facebook site which was subsequently used later in a job interview or a deposition or even in court. Do not think for one second that anything you post will ever be kept private. Your whole life is up for dissection and a simple Google search on your name will pull up your Facebook profile. Try it.

4. Do not accept all Friend Requests. Of course the purpose of Facebook is to socially connect with people you know. However, not every Friend Request is legitimate. There have been reported instances of private investigators, police officers, sex offenders and the like creating fake accounts to gain access to you online. If you do not know the person, then do not add them to your accepted friends. Again, as soon as they gain access, they will be searching your personal information, your postings, and viewing all of your photos. Keep your list of accepted friends and family close as you would in the non-digital world. The cute guy or girl that emails a Friend Request to you may just be the private investigator that has been hired to dig up dirt on you.

5. Be sure to keep your house clean. Most people who use Facebook, including myself, have run into the situation where their Facebook is clean and professional. Only then have a friend or family member post a photo of you in a bar when you were in college, or smoking when you were not supposed, or running down the street with the stolen street sign when you were in high school. These scenarios are often not done to harm you but they can be quite damaging to your professional and personal life. Be sure to monitor and clean your house for these skeletons in your closet. Notify any friends or family members immediately when an item is posted to take it down.

6. Be sure to watch what you place on your Wall. The Wall is exactly that, a wall such as the bulletin board at work or in school. When you make postings to your wall, the post is placed prominently on your Facebook site and also copied to all your friends and family as an update of what you are doing. It is the equivalent of hitting the Reply All in an email. Do not place postings regarding your late night out or your latest fling unless you want your friends, coworkers, and family to know of your escapades. If you really need to detail your latest rant against your boss or how you acted during the football game last week, do it in a private email outside of Facebook. There are now Web sites designed to post embarrassing Wall postings. Do not be the person that millions of Internet users are now laughing at.

7. Do not leave your computer on with your Facebook account open. Leaving access to your Facebook account is the equivalent of leaving your wallet or cell phone in public on the picnic table. Anyone can sit down and start making posts to your Wall, redesigning your site, or even entice friends to play the greatest prank on you in your life. Be sure to sign out.

8. Be sure to have virus software for your computer and keep it updated. There are several viruses out there that attack your email address library. The viruses then send out posts to everyone in your library asking them to become your friend in Facebook while giving them the same virus. This has happened to several prominent attorneys I know and there is no stopping it once it has begun.

9. Spend time checking your spelling and grammar. We are all busy people with busy lives. However, not checking your spelling and grammar on your postings in Facebook can lead to several unwanted consequences. First, you can mistakenly type a word that is offensive or leads to a direct contradiction in your intended message. Checking spelling on the front end when posting can save you hours of time in trying to correct a mistake that offends your employer, significant others or your family.

10. Be careful not to provide too much information. Facebook is intended to be a social network. However, you do not need to go into every detail about your wisdom tooth being pulled or how your latest hot date ended. People do like details but only in an appropriate environment. If you feel the need to share then do it in person or over the phone. This also includes your family and friends. You may feel the need to speak about your friend’s latest date or their ongoing medical treatment but they may not want this information known to the world. They may have gone at great lengths to keep their medical treatment private and there is nothing worse than a non-family member knowing more than the immediate family members. Respect their privacy and you will be better for it.

Paying attention and following these 10 tips will ensure your experience with Facebook will be positive and safe.


©2009 Robert Wilson. www.turleylawfirm.com.