QR codes, or 2-D bar codes that work with cell phone cameras, could change the way we use Facebook. But would you use the tech?
QR codes—or “quick response” codes—since learning of them in a story last year about how a Texas town implemented them as part of a modernization project. QR codes have been huge in Europe and Asia for years, but the technology hasn’t gained traction in the U.S.
Until, perhaps, now.
QR codes are two-dimensional bar codes that are read by an application for cell phones equipped with a camera. You scan the code with your cell’s camera and the browser brings you to a site with more information on the designated item. For example, that Texas town placed QR codes on landmarks; scanning the codes brought visitors to a website that described in more detail what they were looking at.
Now, it appears that Facebook may be rolling out QR codes to profiles—there are reports that some users have already received the two features—”View QR Barcode” and “Generate status QR barcode”—but as of yet, they don’t seem to be functioning.
If Facebook does decide to roll out the feature, it would undoubtedly send the QR code technology mainstream—and could change the way we use Facebook.
Consider these two scenarios: You meet someone at a conference and instantly connect with them via a QR code printed on their business card. Or you pass an advertisement for a product and instantly access its Facebook fan page to learn more. Using QR codes will be another way to blur the lines between digital and physical relationships.

Youtube – You know that site with videos and all. Yeah! It turns out that its quite popular and you happen to visit and use it quite often. Instead of just searching and playing here are some top Youtube URL tricks that you should know about:
1. View high quality videos
Youtube gives you the option to switch to high quality videos for some of the videos, however you can check if a video is available in high quality format by appending ‘&fmt=18?(stereo, 480 x 270 resolution) or ‘&fmt=22?(stereo, 1280 x 720 resolution) for even higher quality.
2. Embed Higher Quality Videos
While the above trick works for playback, if however you want to embed hig quality videos you need to append “&ap=%2526fmt%3D18? and “&ap=%2526fmt%3D22? to the embed url.
3. Cut the chase and link to the interesting part
Linking to a video where the real action starts at 3 minutes 22 seconds, wondered if you could make it start at 03:22? You are in luck. All you have to do is add #t=03m22s (#t=XXmYYs for XX mins and YY seconds) to the end of the URL.
4. Hide the search box
The search box appears when you hover over an embedded video. To hide the search box add ‘&showsearch=0? to the embed url.
5. Embed only a part of Video
Just append ‘&start=30? to skip first 30s of the video. In general you can modify the value after start= to the number of seconds you want to skip the video for.
6. Autoplay an embedded video
Normally when you embed a Youtube video and load the page, the player is loaded and it sits there waiting for you to hit the play button. You can make the video play automatically by adding ‘&autoplay=1? to the url part of the embed code.
7. Loop an embedded video
Append ‘&loop=1? to make the video start again without user intervention after it reaches the end.
8. Disable Related Videos
Publishing your content in the form of Youtube video? Don’t want people to see other people’s content that may be related but may as well be in competition to you? Just add ‘&rel=0? to the end of the url part of the embed code and you just turned off the related video suggestions!
9. Bypass Youtube Regional Filtering
Some videos are only available in certain parts of the world. Your IP Address is used to determine your location and then allow or deny access to the video. Change the url from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= to http://www.youtube.com/v/
10. Download Video
Although not inherently a youtube trick but useful all the same for downloading videos. Just change youtube to kickyoutube in the url of the video and it will take you to kickyoutube.com with all the options for downloading the video you were watching.

Still not sure what the heck Twitter is or why you’d want to use it? I understand completely: Friends and family members are constantly asking me, “What the heck is Twitter, and why would I want to use it?”
I have to admit, I’m not very good at explaining it. But no matter, because now I can refer everyone to “The Complete Guide to Twitter,” a free 40-page guide from MakeUseOf.
Author Mark O’Neill explains what the service does, why it’s actually worth using, and how to sign up for an account.
You’ll also get hands-on training on subjects like using the interface, sending Tweets from your desktop, signing up for automated Twitter “bots,” and so on.
The guide is available for download in PDF format, though you can also read it online at Scribd.com. It’s definitely worth a look if you’re confused by Twitter or just need help making the most of the service.

By no means are Twitter and Facebook perfect: You might wish that Facebook made it more intuitive to hide FarmVille or certain status updates. Or, maybe you wish that Twitter would introduce a new feature like nested tweets. Good news: For many of these website tweaks or suggestions, there’s likely to be a script you can download to fit the bill.
Here are my top eight picks for Facebook and Twitter add-ons. Many of these solve common user gripes (such as not knowing to what site shortened URLs will bring you on Twitter). Some, like “Facebook Fixer,” enhance the site and allow you to customize it beyond standard options. Do note that most of these scripts require that you first download Greasemonkey, and not all are compatible with every browser, so be sure to check the requirements before you download a script.
1. Facebook Fixer.
This script lets you customize your Facebook account and offers many features that are enabled by default, but can be enabled or disabled independently. Some of these features include: larger profile and album pictures; homepage customization where you can hide independent sections such as pokes, suggestions and “connect with friends”; and calendar integration, which includes a link on each profile that synchs birthdays with Google Calendar, or the option to export a file with all your friends’ birthdays, which can be imported into sites such as Google Calendar, Yahoo, Apple iCal, Microsoft Outlook and more.
2. Facebook Purity.
The Facebook Purity script cleans up your homepage and removes all newsfeed items from third-party games such as Mafia Wars and FarmVille, and zaps announcements on who’s become friend with who, who’s attending a certain event, who joined a group and who became a fan of something. Optional items you can block include: comments on a status, photo, photo album or link; tags in a photo or photo album; and event postings.
3. Unfriend Finder.
Ever wonder if you’ve been dropped by a Facebook friend? Every time you log in, the script checks to see if someone is missing from your friend list. When the script detects someone is no longer your friend, you get a notification and a bubble counter in the Facebook toolbar. There are two types of “unfriends:” Either you removed them from your friend list or they removed you (but they’re still on Facebook), or they deactivated their account and are no longer on Facebook. If they reactivate their account, you’ll also be notified.
4. No Facebook Ads.
If you’re tired of the age-targeted ads Facebook runs, take advantage of this script. Downloading it will remove ads from your Facebook account-including flyer ads, network ads, bumper ads-leaving its appearance a lot cleaner.
5. TinyURL Decoder.
While URL shorteners do save space on Twitter, you’re often clicking at your own risk-phishing scams and spam-laden direct messages are becoming more and more common on the microblogging site. This script decodes the shortened URLs on Twitter’s website and displays the original URL, so you can decide whether or not to click.
6. Nested Twitter Replies.
Twitter’s website still only allows you to view @replies in a list, which can be confusing if you’re trying to follow a conversation. Applying this script automatically displays tweets in a nested conversation format, making it easier to follow.
7. @Troynt’s Twitter Script.
This Twitter script does it all. Among its many features: expansion of Links in tweets; inline inclusion of YouTube videos and Twitpic images; nested tweets; option to save, reply to or retweet a tweet when you hover over it; autocompletion of a username when you begin typing “@” in a tweet and much more.
8. Twitter Old Style RT Emulator.
If you hate Twitter’s retweet button and long for the old method, this script will convert all retweet symbols and user pictures into “RT @username.” Note that this script only works in Safari and Firefox.

February 18th, 2010
Facebook is growing faster and faster. It is not just a social network. It has become one of the largest Internet companies, posing a threat to the giants – Google, MSFT and Yahoo. And they understand that. They understand that online communication more and more centers on the activity stream or feed. They understand that the social graph might become the most valuable data asset. They understand that they are behind.
Buzz – The end user perspective
Google made a bold move to begin building its market share in the stream arena. They announced Google Buzz is now an integral part of Gmail. So what exactly is Google Buzz? Well, it is not much different than the Facebook newsfeed stream. You share thoughts, links, photos etc. either with everybody or only with friends, and those people in turn can respond to your posts. Google has also created a public profile where all your public posts, together with some personal details you wish to share, are open to anyone.
Buzz – The website perspective
While Google is building its consumer product, Facebook is focused more and more on their relationship with other websites. The Facebook Connect service is their invention to further cement their position with end users. People are now able to login to websites, like ABC.com, using their Facebook account. The sites, in return, can enable users to post to the Facebook newsfeed from their sites in a more efficient way, which drives lots of traffic back to the originating sites. Everybody wins, so everybody integrates Facebook Connect into their site.
Each Facebook Connect implementation contributes to the Facebook database. For example – if a website related to buying cars has implemented Facebook Connect and a user has connected on that site using their Facebook account, Facebook will know that this user may be in the market for buying a car. The data implications go far beyond this example, but that would require a separate blog post.
The bottom line is that Google has this data front to deal with as well. They need to be deeply implemented within websites the same way Facebook Connect is integrated there. Google is already providing an authentication API so theoretically sites can use them to sign-in users, but until there was Buzz, the main value proposition was missing. Sites integrate Facebook Connect because they want it to generate traffic. They want to easily post to the user’s news feed. With the Buzz service focused around the news feed, Google will be able to provide this real value to sites as well.
Google will likely soon release its Buzz API as a direct competitor to Facebook Connect, and sites shouldn’t ignore it.