How To Sync Facebook Events with Google Calendar

Super simple, and extraordinarily useful:

1. Click on the "Events" link found in the left menu of your Facebook account.
2. On the top of the page you'll find a link called "Export Events". Click on it, and copy the URL that appears in the pop-up window.
3. Go to Google Calendar, and press on the "Add" button, found in the "Manage Calendars" box there. Then select "Add by URL".
4. Enter the URL you've just got from Facebook there, and click on the "Add" button.

Done! You may need to refresh your Google Calendar to see the update.

Combine your facebook and twitter updates

Having recently created a facebook account, I ran into the problem of too many social media networks. Think about it - there's twitter, facebook, trigga, linkedin, and a bunch of others that I don't subscribe to. I really don't want to have to update my status separately on all these different networks... luckily, you don't have to!

Here's how to combine your facebook and twitter updates (note: this will post your twitter updates to facebook, but not the other way around):

1. Make sure you have an active twitter account and an active facebook account
2. Log into your facebook account
3. Search for "twitter" in the upper right-hand corner
4. Click on the Applications tab and select the official Twitter application (probably the 1st result)
5. Select "Go to application" and allow it access to your twitter profile (you will need to provide your twitter account's username and password)

Now, all tweets you post via twitter will appear as facebook status updates. Pretty nifty right? Keep in mind that if you retweet something, the "RT @twittername" will show up in your facebook profile... but that's not such a big deal, is it?

Now you're all set to go. If you'd like to tweet/update facebook on the go (e.g. from your BlackBerry) try using some mobile integration like TwitterMail.

out with the old, in with...

Two days ago, I decided to delete my facebook account. Delete, as in wipe all pertinent information off facebook's servers and forget my profile existed. Having recently read Steve Mansour's 2504 steps to closing your facebook account (http://www.stevenmansour.com/), I was a bit worried at what might follow.

Here's a bit of quick background information...I deactivated my facebook account some months ago (see previous post) because I didn't like how our social lives were moving online. At that point I had no idea if you could delete your account or not, but I figured deactivating it was the safest way to go in the short run. Thinking of what facebook still might be doing with my data (their explanation of keeping it just in case I ever wanted to reactivate seemed to leave something to be desired..) I took the plunge and asked them what must be done to completely erase my profile.

Steve in Montreal wrote that his facebook rep asked him to delete every individual wall post, personal message, picture, comment etc. before they could delete his account itself. My rep (Clive) was a bit more understanding :) Here's a snippet of our email conversation:

Clive: "If you do not think you will use Facebook again and would like your account deleted, let us know, and we will take care of this for you. Keep in mind that you will not be able to reactivate your account or retrieve any of the content or information you have added."

Me: "I would like you to completely delete my entire account. I understand that I will not be able to reactivate it or access any of its information."

Clive: "We have deleted your profile information and removed your email address from our login database. Please let me know if you have further questions or concerns."

Done. This wasn't at all what I was expecting....I had my heels dug in and was ready for a good argument, yet was pleasantly surprised with the efficiency that facebook came out with on this one. Looks like they're learning.

Facebook: the glue is falling apart

I'm not sure if you have had the opportunity to watch Penn Masala's brilliant Facebook Skit...If not, please take 3:56 of your time and go take a peek (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FahBBnfHAQ). I'm not sure if the video was Penn Masala's idea or if they were just contracted to sing the vocals, but I don't mind telling you it is a superb bit of work.

I bring this up to ask you, what is the purpose of facebook? Does facebook contribute in any way toward social networking as it claims to? I myself have been a facebook user for the past year or so, and upon looking back I cannot tell you why. I realise that this very blurb is full of irony. As soon as I send this email, it will be forwarded to blogger, which will in turn create a post on my facebook wall....or page.....or whatever you call it. You may, in fact, be reading this on facebook.

I have restricted my use of facebook to two functions: the marketplace tool, and the exchange of photos. Even so I am inundated with invitations from someone asking to be my friend, to join this cause, or to support some new important application, allowing me to publish globally how much alcohol I consume between 1800h and 2000h on the 2nd Friday of each month....or some other equally useless piece of data.

Last month I was invited to a party through facebook, and facebook alone. Since I don't bother checking my invitations and requests every minute of the day, the invitation did not catch my eye and the party came and went without my knowledge. Whatever happened to picking up the phone and calling your friends?? I'm fine with an email also, or even a face-to-face conversation, heaven forbid.

I've watched some of my friends spend minute after minute scrolling through unbelievably useless groups, photos, surveys, and information of “friends” they may or may not know in real life. I would like to put forth a simple proposition....bring back the art of conversation! If I were to take half of the people one facebook at random and stick them in a large room together, will one even know another? Does all the time spent going through someone's relationships, hobbies, interests and friends-in-my-network serve any purpose? I think not.

Let's go back to calling on the phone, driving to someone's house, getting together to look through photos. Relationships and communities are said to be the glue that keeps society together, and when we trade in our interpersonal skills we're killing the infrastructure of our society. My prediction, however far-fetched it may seem, is that GDP and production will fall in the next 10 years due to facebook (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070911.WBmingram20070911173306/WBStory/WBmingram).

All you facebook users, you've been warned; stop killing your social skills! You're fast becoming dollar signs in the eyes of new companies like www.gk2gk.com – where it's ok to be g33k.

As a final remark, I know that not many people will actually get around to reading this article, and thus I will be creating a facebook cause to support my beliefs. Please consider joining.