There are a few risks that come with social media. Few of them are very serious, but it is always a good idea to be cognizant of them to be on the safe side. Social media profiles are not often hacked unless they are popular or influential ones. If your social media profile is becoming popular and you are becoming influential on social media, then you may wish to consider increasing your security on there.   Run a social media virus/malware scan There are now a few anti-virus and anti-malware programs that offer to run scans on the things posted on your Facebook wall. Norton (for example) offers…

Picture this: you go to a supermarket and you’re strolling down the frozen food section. You stop and take a moment to look at the pizza. Mmm – pizza. Just as you’re about to pop your selection in your cart, someone next to you pipes up. They tell you just how terrible that brand is, urging you not to buy it, saying it’s too salty, the cheese isn’t organic, and it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Recently, it seems like Facebook Home has become the Internet equivalent of that frozen pizza supermarket debacle. Facebook Home has been attracting a lot of discussion these days. The new ‘apperating…

Going viral today matters as much as having a hit record. But you don’t want to do it in the wrong way. Social media platforms are the world’s kiosk, and any artist would be foolish not to dedicate himself to building a viral presence. But as important as it is to gain new followers, it’s even more crucial to keep them . . . and keep them engaged. Here are five social media don’ts for aspiring musicians.   1. Don’t let your online profiles collect dust You’ve heard it said that idle hands are the devil’s playground. Or how about this one: if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to…

It’s not the hip, new thing anymore. That much is clear as Facebook approaches a decade of existence, but the appeal of Facebook doesn’t seem to be slowing for anyone else other than teenagers. That’s the premise of the infographic below and it seems to have some legs. Parents are getting on Facebook. This is a major downer for teens who once viewed Facebook as the online venue that they could “be themselves” without interactions or even knowledge from their parents and other adults. That isn’t the case anymore. As parents learn how to keep tabs on their kids online, kids are learning new ways to interact….

You have a couple of choices here. You can either mark this down as part of the advancement of society, one that heralds a shift for this generation to truly grow to be the fully digital age. The other option is to toss this into the WTH bin and weep for a generation of children that are growing too dependent on technology. A recent Ipso study shows that the first major milestone for digital media usage is now at three years old, a time when most children are still mastering the art of walking. Researchers have surmised that human babies are extremely receptive to digital stimuli and are able to figure out…

Oh, Google and Facebook. Thanks to the two giants of search and social, you can’t really hide very easily anymore. If you have things in your past that you don’t want known, businesses considering hiring you don’t have to hire an investigator to go beyond the standard background check. They simply need to find you online. Your LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest – they’re all available. Sure, you can go private or choose not to participate in social media in the first place, but there are challenges with that as well. Since everyone is on social media (at least from certain peoples’…

President Barack Obama’s team is very active on social media. The Facebook page that carries his name has new posts twice a day on average with a mix of hopeful messages, political statements, and personalized views into life at the White House. On Twitter, they post several times a day with links, pictures, and quotes from the President. Google+ is a different story. It was only mildly active during the election campaign. After a peak of 19 posts in August, 2012, it started falling off quickly. In September, there were 11 posts followed by 5 in October. November, the month of the election, saw two…

Forget Apple versus Samsung or even iOS versus Android. The real mobile war is (and always has been) over capturing the attention of the users. We simply didn’t know it until Facebook released Home. Android phones can be turned into Facebook devices with Home. It’s that simple. Rather than being an Android device that has apps, Home makes Facebook the driving force of the device, moving the apps and other features of the phone under the Facebook shell. You’ll be able to get notifications and interact with your Facebook friends from any other app at any point other than during phone calls themselves….

So, you’re considering building a new website. You have an idea for a product, you’re starting a new company, or you’ve been charged with taking your 2002 antiquated website and modernizing it. The challenges you’ll face are many. The list of consolidated resources are few. There are schools dedicated to helping people to develop a website but you simply don’t have the time to go back to school. There’s nothing to worry about. Pixaal has a checklist for you. Granted, it doesn’t actually show you how to do any of the things you need such as creating a site map or deciding what sort of buttons you need,…

In the digital age, there are plenty of challenges popping up for parents. The ever-connected world opens doors to risks that parents have never had to cope with in the past. The need for digital manners is just one of the major negatives associated with raising children today. Thankfully, it’s not all bad. Opening up lines of communication and bringing together resources across the internet (and thus the scope of human understanding) is a big benefit that many parents can use. Below is a sampling of a thread from Facebook that points to some of the benefits of social media for parents. It wasn’t…