This afternoon, I noticed one of my friends on facebook was reading an article on the Washington Post.  I clicked on her status and it took me to the Wash.Post App for facebook so I could read the same thing that she was reading.

I didn’t go to a different site, it was inside facebook.  I could still see the top tool bar (for notifications) but there was also this:

across the top of the new “ticker” were my other “social apps”.

If you had been online when I was reading the Post, you could click on that link and read the same thing I was reading.

How we do social, has changed.

…more to come…

One of the new changes to facebook that is the most awesome yet, is creating a “close friends” list.

On the left of your facebook screen are your lists.  There is one with a star that says close friends.  The purpose of this list is two fold.

1. for people who have never set up lists it is an easy intro to list creation

2. for people who never want to miss things from certain people.  The members of this list generate a notification when they post anything:

This is perfect if you don’t want to miss anything your Aunt Sally posts.  Just add her to the “close friends list” .  A better name for it should have been FB Stalker tool.  Can you imagine how this could help you keep track of your kids postings?

In a business frame of mind you could add all of your past clients to that list and know about important things they post (birth of a child or other life changes).

How are you going to use “Close Friends” on facebook?

According to facebook:

We determine whether something is a top story based on lots of factors, including your relationship to the person who posted the story, how many comments and likes it got, what type of story it is, etc. For example, a friend’s status update that might not normally be a top story may become a top story after many other friends comment on it.

So, what was once top news, is now a top story and if you don’t want it as a top story…
WHAT DO YOU DO?

Easy.
Unmark it as a top story.

If you see something that isn’t interesting in top stories, hover over the right side of the update in question, click the arrow  and click ‘Unmark as top story’ from the menu.

Stories like the one you un-click will not appear next time.  Eventually, there won’t be many perimeters for them to tag “top news” and they may disappear all together.

Personally, I like the changes top stories.

I woke up this morning just list most mornings, got the 16 yr old up for school and came down to check  facebook.

Over night.
Facebook changed their feed (again).

You would think someone had attacked the general populace retirement plan or benifit package. Dang people don’t like change!

I think it is going to take a bit for me to get all of my perimeters set, but once I do.  This new facebook is going to rock.  Many of the changes that have kicked in today are things that I like(d) about google+.

SIDEBAR:  Google+ doesn’t really work for me because most of my friends/business dudes aren’t on it, yet.

Over the next few days (as I am wading through the changes and discovering little gems) I will be posting a few tutorials on how to make this the best facebook yet!  The first one, that pesky news feed!

I got an email the other day that had a link from the New York Times.  It was a map of the us with county data breakdowns like the image below:

I was amazed at the data for the county where I currently reside.  The full size map (found here)  also shows something else pretty interesting.  Despite the trouble the coasts have had with the “Real Estate Bubble” people are still swarming there to live, where the middle of the country is getting a little thin.

How can you use this data (or map) in  your business?

A great time was had by all so we thought we would share the pictures:

 

 

 

 

I have a feeling this could very well become a series considering I work in a real estate office and I am a home owner.

This “homeowner please” is all about wallpaper.  Putting it up correctly, updating a room correctly and removing…hopefully correctly.

Here is a great article on Wallpaper Removal.

Fabric Softener works great with water IF the wall was prepared properly before the paper was hung.
if not….then you are lucky to pull off a 2 x 6 inch section at a time.

My walls were not prepared properly.
2 of them have 2 layers of paper, which ironically is coming off easier than the one wall with one layer of paper.

so, Homeowner please, if you are going to take short cuts now, to make your home more beautiful, fix it before you sell it, or someone like me, may curse you.

Here are some recipes.  I just wing mine…little softener with a little REALLY hot water, just enough in each batch to work a 3 x 3 ft area.  Some times I get lucky and it comes off in one application.  Others, I have to re-apply 3 and 4 times.

My next house is either going to be wall paper free or I am going to hire a professional!

One of the things I do as a part of my job is read blog posts and share all the goodies that the agents need to know.  Not many of them have the time (if they are actively working) to scan the internet learning what they need to know.

I do it for them.
And how!

Stats from Google Reader:

From your 105 subscriptions, over the last 30 days you read 1,921 items, clicked 90 items, starred 17 items, shared 0 items, and emailed 7 items.

Since May 11, 2007 you have read a total of 88,522 items.