Poked

How to directly link someone to your Facebook or LinkedIn profile

Want to directly link someone to your Facebook or LinkedIn profile? It's good to know if you want to put the link to your Facebook or LinkedIn profile on a website or resume. Here's how to get the links:

On Facebook this is fairly easy. Log into Facebook, then click the word [Profile] in the top navigation link that takes you to your profile. Copy the URL.

It should look something like this: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=2020640&ref=profile

I think that looks messy. If you want to get a link that is prettier, log out of Facebook and then go to that same profile URL you just copied. When you are logged out and try to go to that link, the URL gets cleaned up to something that looks like this: http://en-us.facebook.com/people/Bridget-Carey/2020640

Or, you can also use a Facebook application called Memorable Web Address to create a clean and easy-to-remember redirect URL of your page, such as http://profile.to/bridgetcarey/

IMPORTANT NOTE: The link will be useless for non-Facebook users if you blocked your Facebook page from being found by people outside of Facebook.  But if you did that, I'm guessing you don't want to share your Facebook link with others, anyway.

This is also a good time to take a look of what your profile details look like to someone outside of Facebook. My public search listing was ridiculous!

You can click the photo for a larger image, but it just says Bridget Carey is a fan of:
    * Skittles
    * Dunkin' Donuts
    * Marvel
    * The Onion
    * Pancakes 
    * Batman: The Dark Knight
    * Iron Man
    * Disney Pixar
    * Star Trek
    * Tropic Thunder
    * The Office
    * Rocko's Modern Life
    * Transformers
    * Arrested Development (2003)
    * Late Night with Conan O'Brien 
    * UF College of Journalism and Communications
    * UF Department of Journalism

Uhh.... if my public listing is someone's first impression of me, I can only imagine what they'll think of me. "I like Skittles and Pancakes!" (What am I, the Nannerpuss?)

So I'm going to change my settings so that kind of Nannerpuss nonsense doesn't show to the world.

To do the same on LinkedIn, go to the tab for "Edit My Profile" (not the View My Profile section). You'll see a section toward the begining of your profile that says "Public Profile." Click the [Edit] link to change it to something classy like http://www.linkedin.com/in/bridgetcarey.

Presto change-o. Thanks to James, a Poked reader, for asking the question!

Privacy settings can’t always protect you from your Facebook friends

I love my friends, but sometimes they have no clue about social networking etiquette.

Posting embarrassing photos is something friends often do, but at least I have control over photos. I can always un-tag myself or set up privacy settings.

But posting my phone number on someone's public profile wall? That's a netiquette offense!

Here's how it happened: Last night I was heading over to a friend's house to watch the BCS Championship game (GO GATORS!). But I wasn't too clear on which road to turn on to get to the place. When I call the guy that lives there, his phone didn't seem to be working. (Phone kept saying his number was no longer in service.)

So I call up my roommate at home and ask her, "Hey, can you send a Facebook message over to the guys that live there and tell them to call me with directions? Put my phone number in the message."

I assumed she understood that to be a private Facebook message. Instead, she put my phone number on their public walls. I didn't realize this until I checked my Facebook account this morning.

My roommate sleeps during the day, so I sent a message to the guys asking if they could take it down. I feel so embarrassed and I had no control over it!

Was it my fault for not specifying to my roommate how to send the message? The lesson learned is that I shouldn't have assumed everyone has the same privacy values I do. What isn't a big deal to my roommate was a big deal to me. So I guess I can't really get mad at her. What would you do in that situation?

In my roommate's defense, I did wake her up from a nap when she sent the Facebook messages. So she was a bit groggy and just being nice and doing me a favor. For all I know, maybe she thought I asked her to post my phone number on their walls.

I'll get over it, but nevertheless it inspired me to write this post as a warning to the rest of you out there --- don't ever discuss private information about your friends on other people's walls, since they have no control over who sees it. When in doubt, send a private message. And in my case, when asking someone else to send a message on a social network, be specific!

-- Bridget

New Year's Resolutions for Life Online

Happy New Year! We hoped everyone enjoyed the holidays, and is feeling ready for 2009. Probably you've already made all your usual resolutions like diet and exercise. In today's column we made some suggestions for setting similar goals for your professional social networking life. Without further ado:

• Cut the fat. Do you have many ''friends'' on Facebook that are professional contacts? Are you using privacy settings to keep them from seeing your unprofessional social life adventures? Sort through your list of friends and make sure all your professional contacts are set on a limited profile. Develop the habit of using a limited profile when befriending new work associates.

• Get your profile in shape. Update and expand on your LinkedIn profile. You don't want a colleague or recruiter to see an out-of-date résumé. And while you're at it, bulk up your profile by adding some LinkedIn groups that match your professional interests. The more active you appear to be on a site, the more attractive you'll be in the professional world.

• Practice safe clicks. Don't click first and ask questions later. Phishing scams under the guise of fake links are on the rise in social networks, and there's no better way to annoy a colleague or business contact than to send a bogus link. These links direct people to a site that can steal your password, corrupt your account or spread malicious links to other connections on your network.

• Clear out profile clutter. Are you an application collector? Go through your pages and clear out applications you don't use or want visible.

• Join a new network. Explore new social networks. Twitter can be a great resource for professionals to expand connections. Whereas Facebook is more about making connections with people you know in the real world, Twitter is about connecting with strangers sharing your interests. It's a place to follow people in your industry and get questions answered.

And finally . . .

Our New Year's Online Resolution is to remember the Golden Rule: Don't be an application, invite or network pest. Recognize boundaries -- everyone might not feel the way you do about privacy and adding friends, especially when it comes to colleagues on social networks.

What are some of your resolutions for 2009?

Avoiding twits on Twitter

This week I got a netiquette question from a West Coast reader regarding Twitter and what to do if you are uncomfortable with someone who is "following" your updates.

We'll call our reader "Jane." Jane's ex started following Jane's best friend's Twitter account after the break up. Jane's best friend was uncomfortable with the ex "following" her posts, but since she knew the ex, she thought it to be a bit brutal to just block him.

Before I answer, he's a little background in case you don't use Twitter: Basically, the idea of Twitter is that you want people to "follow" your 140 character blurbs (like a Facebook status update). Facebook is a place where you tend to connect with people you met in the real world, but Twitter is a place where it's more acceptable and encouraged to meet and "follow" complete strangers around the world that have your same interests. Twitter can be a powerful marketing tool, and if you haven't used it before, I encourage you to set up an account. Play around with it if you have time during your holiday vacation.

But back to the question. The friend has two choices. She can set her posts to private (which kind of goes against the idea of Twitter, so no one really likes doing that). Or the friend can block the guy. My take is this: If Jane's friend is uncomfortable, then just block the guy. No one should have to feel uncomfortable just for the sake of not looking rude. That's what I would do in that situation. It's not like Jane's friend is going to hang out with the ex (or so Jane hopes). To be nice, Jane's friend could send a private message saying something like, "Sorry, but my friendship to Jane comes first, and she's uncomfortable with you following me." Just put the blame on Jane!

But if Jane's friend is still friendly with Jane's ex, then I say just deal with it. That's the risk that goes into being on any social media. The world is going to find you. Nothing is really secret when you engage in social networks. So either block the guy, or get over it.

Niala and I will be taking a break from Poked for the holiday, but you can follow me on Twitter @BridgetCarey (In Twitter speak, that means my account name is BridgetCarey.) Feel free to ask me any of your social network etiquette questions or shoot us an e-mail at poked@MiamiHerald.com.

Happy Holidays and Happy Twittering...

Did a drunken MySpace photo cost student her degree?

Yet another tale of caution when it comes to mixing social networking with the professional world. A student-teacher at Millersville University sued her school, saying she was denied a degree because of a photo on her MySpace page where she was a "drunken pirate," the Washington Post reports. She said it was free speech, but a Pennsylvania court said no because she was a public employee, and ruled in favor of the school.

It seems there were other factors involved here than just one photo. And no matter if you agree or not with the court's decision, it's just another reason to make us all paranoid about the photos we put on social networking sites.

Can time stamps get you in trouble at work?

Imagine, if you will, that you updated your Facebook status during work. There is a time stamp next to your status. Your boss can see that you were on Facebook during work hours. Do you worry?

Someone brought this up to me in conversation and asked if there was a way to remove the time stamp.

Facebook will always show a time stamp for your status. There's no way to remove it. It's not a worry for me, but I can see how it might be for some people. It will also always show a time stamp when you post on someone's wall. However, you can take off the time stamp on your news feed and wall for all other Facebook actions.

1. Click on Settings
2. Click on "manage" next to Privacy
3. Click on "News Feed and Wall"
4. On the bottom of the left-hand column there is a check box you can un-check that says "Show times in my Wall"

Yet another way for your non-friends to see your "private" Facebook photos

Facebook photos of my Halloween costume (pictured here) came up in coversation at work, and one of my editors -- who isn't my Facebook friend -- said they also saw the photos.

The Halloween party photos were posted by fellow Poked blogger Niala, who hosted the party. The editor -- who isn't my facebook friend -- also is not Niala's facebook friend. (But if that editor is reading this post, I'll be happy to add you! Heh, heh...) So if the editor isn't connected to either Niala or I, how did the editor have access to the party photos?

A friend of the editor was tagged in a party photo, so the editor was able to scroll through all the photos in Niala's party album.

I don't mind. Heck, I'm proud of my Tinkerbell outfit! If there was a bad photo in the mix, I would have asked Niala to take it down. But it's just another thing to keep in mind of how people who aren't your friends can still see your photos.

Normally, I block my bosses from seeing photos that friends tag me in, since I don't have control over what stupid photos my friends will share. But here is a case where a privacy setting wouldn't have made a difference.

I guess Niala could have made the party's photos super private. That's not always fun, but I would recommend doing that if you post photos that might be deemed scandalous... or just deemed embarrassing to show the boss if they are of a co-worker. Luckily that wasn't the case for me... this time.

If you thought privacy settings kept your privacy, think again...

This week's column is a tale of caution: Beware the co-worker that pulls up your social network profile at work. If you open up your party photos to a few co-workers, don't be surprised if they open them up at work and show others... like the boss.

Many of my co-workers are blocked from seeing my more ''social'' moments on Facebook . . . such as the booze-fueled housewarming bash I threw a few months back. Not exactly something you want the bosses to see.

So imagine my horror when I saw a co-worker (who had full profile access) not only browsing through my party photos at work -- but also showing them to someone who walked by!

Lucky for me, the person who saw it already was my Facebook friend. And that co-worker quickly realized that a social network faux pas had been committed.

I thought I had it under control because I used privacy settings. I trusted that co-worker with access, but I didn't take into account that the pictures could be shared with others at work.

So the lesson learned goes two ways. First, assume that things you see are for your eyes only. It's disrespectful to let the whole department huddle around your monitor to look at someone else's profile.

And, of course, don't assume bosses won't see a photo just because you blocked their access. Unless you block all co-workers, someone at work could share it in the office. Nothing is 100 percent safe from being seen just because you use privacy settings.

Niala has experienced this same problem, a little differently. Here's her story:

I've had a few incidents with co-workers who aren't on social networks but like to get into people's business. Hey, we're all journalists -- it's sort of a hallmark of the trade that we're all nosy. But I have to draw the line when they are hovering over my computer, and, in some cases, asking me to click on things in people's profiles. I'm not sure that I've done the best job telling them to back off. I usually just tell them they need to open their own account.

For some reason, people who would never read an e-mail on your screen have no problem being social network voyeurs.

Had a similar situation? Post a comment or e-mail us at poked@MiamiHerald.com.